Agadir for Wifi

Agadir is actually not such a bad place considering that it is rather nondescript. At least it has lots of four star hotels where there is good Wifi reception. Agadir is more than just a beach resort town. It is the economic hub of the Souss valley. It has a university, many young people and a 'modern' outlook. It also has a seizable ex-pat population. It does not have a 'heart'. Probably due to the fact that it was flattened by the earthquake of 1960. When I first started traveling south of the High Atlas mountains I didn't want to spent any time there. I had seen some of the sun scorched, pink fleshed, crowds in shorts and halters in Marrakesh and I thought I would die of embarrassment if I saw an entire Moroccan town filled with them. Mind you I find it uncomfortable too if I see them in the Leidsestraat in Amsterdam. The first time I stayed in Agadir I was in the cheapest hotel closest to the airport: the Ibis Hotel on the eastern bypass as far as possible from the beach and surf fun. It was everything you would expect of that kind of hotel: cheap, minimal and characterless. But its position next to an Afriqia filling station and cafetaria where all the local MacGirls came to study made it bearable. However when Heleen Toet had to catch the plane in Agadir, Bert refused the Ibis. We stayed instead in the Tildi hotel close to the beach. It turned out to be a great choice. Most resort hotels also have noisy indoor entertainment of some sort. The Tildi hasn't. Instead it has a beautifully appointed garden and pool. It is a big but quiet hotel for holiday making families and couples from everywhere. It also has a helpful staff and functioning Wifi. Not only that but it is easy to find being close to the main drag that connects the important dots on the way out of town. That means that it is also a great place to come to when one needs to meet or connect with people. On top of that it turned out that Agadir has plenty of places with a typical Moroccan ambiance whether 'modern' or 'traditional'. And that is why one is in Morocco in the first place, isn't it?

Building in Sidi Rabat

When the long narrow stretch of coastal lands became national park there were people living there. There were several families that had claims to land and there were two villages: not only Sidi Rabat but also Tifnit. Some fishermen have built houses inside the face of the cliffs. The population of the endangered Black Ibis has stabilized thanks to the ban on grazing in the National Park. But a new challenge has emerged: illegal housebuilding. It will be hard to stem the tide and bring to a standstill the growing number of dwellings that infringe on the building rules. The culprit is beach tourism. The locals want to profit too from the development of the Atlantic coast south of Agadir. Maybe new built houses are not allowed, but in Sidi Rabat the original homes were not more than huts. Those huts are now transformed into modern villas. In 2014 when I was here with Bert and friends we stayed in one such villa. It was big and luxuriously appointed. From my bedroom I saw renovation work being carried out on a former fisherman's hut. Coming back almost all the huts are renovated. Sidi Rabat is an amazing place to stay if you don't mind it that the village is out of the way and the lack of touristic amenities.