Coastal road towards Essaouira
It’s April and our Morocco tour has seen us visit Sidi Ifni and our first glimpse of the Atlantic. Now it’s time to drive on, taking the coastal road towards Essaouira, our next drive on this Morocco tour.
We weren’t expecting the coast road to travel inland, but the Atlantic is soon out of sight. Instead, we come across bustling towns along the way, where everyday life is moving at a fast pace.
The road is busy with all sorts of vehicles, animals, bicycles and scooters, so we’re watching what’s going on around us, concentrating on every move.
After navigating the inland towns, we’re soon approaching Agadir and the Atlantic coast again.
Approaching Agadir
One of the big name resorts of the Atlantic coast is of course Agadir, a popular destination for flying holidays. We’re soon in a different kind of Morocco to those landscapes we’ve seen so far on this trip.
Long, grassy boulevards of pristine grass, neatly trimmed with perfectly placed palm trees line the route beside us. The roads are wide and modern with shopping malls and out of town shopping centres.
There’s even a large Carrefour supermarket, a Decathlon store and the first Mcdonald’s we’ve seen. To our left, on the coastal side of town are rows of pristine hotel complexes, with so much more building work going on too.
We don’t stop in Agadir itself, but instead drive a few miles further along the coast in search of a coffee stop.
Cliff top surf view
Just beyond a port area we spot some campervans parked up on a rough headland above a beach.
After checking on Park4Night, we make our way down to this cliff top parking area. Here we find several campervans, all parked overlooking the surf beach, so it seems a good enough coffee stop.
As the coffee brews, we take a closer look around. This surf beach is really busy with so many tourists enjoying the hippy vibes and beach life on the waves.
It’s so different here on this stretch of coast, we’re not used to seeing so many holiday makers and the beach scene that goes with it.
Settling down to coffee with a view soon leads to a visitor selling donuts. These smell delicious, so we take one for 15 MAD and enjoy the sugar hit. Next up comes a bangle seller, followed by a couple of children asking for money.
At this point our Italian neighbour brings out a box of food, enticing the children to choose from the selection on offer.
Onwards to Taghazout
A short drive further along the coast is another well known Atlantic town, famous for its surfing and hippy feel it’s the town of Taghazout.
We drop down towards town, finding a car park to leave the campervan which already has a few other campers parked up. The occupants are working away on laptops, too busy to look up from their screens to notice us.
We’re not sure if it’s free to park, but there’s no one around to pay, so we take our chances. Steps lead down to the edge of town with a glimpse of the ocean to our left.
This surfing town has many youngsters, mostly looking fresh out of high school or university, enjoying a first trip away or part of gap year travels.
The seafront is straight ahead, where a walking path follows the ocean in the direction we’ve just driven.
Old fishing village
We’re heading into the old fishing village, where cafes are busy with young adults eating tagines and sipping mint tea.
Out in the distance towards the ocean are surfers, ready to try out their skills on the waves of Morocco.
Strolling the town actually doesn’t take that long. Taghazout is much smaller than we thought, for some reason we imaged a fairly big place.
Several surf shops line the streets, along with cafe’s, souvenir shops and small food stores. There’s sweatshirts, and towelling robes for sale, along with surfing goods for those who come here to try out the waves.
A small inlet beside the water is home to fishing boats, where dogs are checking out the aroma’s of sea life.
Camels and dunes – Coastal road towards Essaouira
Apparently, we could stay overnight in the parking area for 30 MAD (about £3), but we’re ready to move on along the coast.
As Taghazout and its surfers disappear into the distance, our coastal route begins to pass large mounds of sand dunes.
Camels can be seen in rows, walking through the sands, with the Atlantic beyond. Several large parking areas, allow us to stop and take a look at the views.
We share the route with donkeys and carts, mopeds and bikes, as the road winds upwards, above the beaches of the Atlantic.
Then the landscape begins to change again. This time there’s more greenery, where trees and crops cover the terrain along road side hills.
It’s beginning to get late, so we have to think about finding a place to stop for the night.
A campsite at Sidi Kaouki
Checking out our Apps, brings us to a choice of campsites at the small beach town of Sidi Kaouki.
We head for Camping Soleil, for no particular reason other than convenience for the way we’ve come.
It’s another walled campsite, like most we’ve stayed on in Morocco, with clean toilets and hot showers.
There’s no sign of the owner named Ali, but there’s a note to ask guests to find a place and he’ll come by later.
Vast beach – Coastal road towards Essaouira
We can’t resist a stroll before sunset, so head off onto the beach road which is just beyond the campsite.
The vast expanse of beach leads to the ocean, where waves crash and empty sands provide solitude.
There’s straw parasols lining the sands and stacks of sun loungers piled high, otherwise there’s so much empty land here, underdeveloped we wonder if soon there will be building work in these parts like we’ve seen in Agadir.
The busy town of Essaouira is only about 20 minutes from here. We’re unsure if we’ll visit tomorrow, but for today, we’re ready for rest.
Back at the campsite, a tortoise strolls by, its slowness is looking a little like how we feel. Tired after a long day and ready for sleep.
