Some of our group needing cash to pay for their various
repairs and replacements (we’d helped them out of course, that’s what friends
do) a trip to a cash machine was called for. So as Brian/Ann and Ron/Jeanette
and never been we decided to take the bus into Agadir and show them the souk.
So after breakfast walked up to the site entrance to where we could flag down a
local bus.
Since we arrived a few days ago a fence has been built
around the site, or probably more accurately to separate the parking area from
a local development. We later asked the guardian and apparently there is a
hotel complex planned for the site in three years’ time. However it would not
start for at least a year so the camping should still be here if we come back
next year. On our bus trip however, we saw evidence of what looked like being a
new proper campsite being built and other “wild-camping” areas being fenced off
too.
Local transport has several variations; the first is the
ordinary bus, all reasonably modern, clean and comfortable and operated by the
Spanish bus company Alsa. The next is what is known as a taxi-bus; these are
old Ford Transit one tonne vans, sometimes with wooden crates for seats but no
windows, which ply up and down regular “routes” and are stopped by just
sticking your hand out, giving the driver 5 dirhams and crawling in, often with
huge amounts of luggage too that often over-spills onto the roof. Finally there is
the Grand Taxi (meaning large taxi) which are always old Mercedes 250s in
various stages of dilapidation – there are hundreds of them! Again you just
stick your hand out, indicating how many seats you need and if he has room he
will stop. They always fully load them, that is with 6 passengers plus the
driver – good job Moroccans are of smaller build – and will pick up anybody
along, again, fairly regular routes.
We decided on the bus which perversely is the most
expensive, though probably the least nerve-wracking! All of 55p each! A
pleasant half hour run took us to the central bus station, well perhaps that’s
a bit generous but it was a square where buses started and finished. We had
borrowed a map but Colin and I remembered the way more or less and a persistent
local, who turned out to be a stallholder in the souk, assisted us. For a tip
of course!
As we described in our blog last year, Agadir was almost
completely destroyed in an earthquake not so long ago and has been totally
rebuilt so it is quite modern. The souk is now a series of stalls and small
shops lining criss-crossing alleyways which has evolved a character of its own.
But, being Friday, it was very quiet although everywhere was open for business.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant close to the mosque and had a close up
view of their weekly dedications where they could not all get in, the service
being broadcast over (very) loudspeakers.
Further wandering round resulted in various purchases, both
necessary and not quite so urgent (!), before returning to the bus station
mid-afternoon. A short wait then return to the vans for a welcome cuppa and two
rather anxious doggies who had been shut up in their van whilst we were away.
It’s not a good idea to take pets into the cities, especially into the souks.
On our return we found that the battery was failing on
Brian's van but, guess what, solar-panel-man just happened to come round and had
a brand new battery which he fitted in no time! Actually it was quite a good
price although being a captive market doesn't help.
We also learned that the Funster crowd had invited themselves
down to our patch tomorrow afternoon for “beer-o-clock”. Ah well, there goes
the neighbourhood!
Incidentally if you want to get some idea of the Funsters,
take a look at the website:
is a good starting point.
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