Welcome to Morocco!

If you've never heard the song "Welcome to Morocco," I suggest you check it out on You Tube!

Our first holiday of 2023 came at just the right time; it was already March and we literally hadn't had more than a few days off at a time since our adventures in Epernay (July 2022). 

We decided on a 10 day all-inclusive holiday to Morocco; it would be around 26 degrees and we could do as much or as little as we wanted.

The holiday was booked through EasyJet Holidays and to be honest, I wasn't expecting too much. We were staying in Agadir at the Iberostar Founty Beach, a four star hotel about 4km from the marina and centre of the city.

The flight left Glasgow Airport in the early afternoon so we had plenty of time to get through, park the car and take advantage of the airport lounge booking that we had. The flight out was reasonably good, although the screaming child behind us was very irritating. 

We got through passport control and picked up our luggage without any fuss, then went to find our transport to the hotel. I decided to book private transport as it was only £4 extra, plus it would allow us to check-in ahead of other guests. 

The journey to the hotel was 35 minutes, and we arrived just in time to have some dinner. We were told to leave our cases at reception and go for some food before the restaurant closed at 10pm. First impressions were good, and check-in was no problem at all. We decided to book a Junior Suite as the price difference was practically nothing; the room was big and we had a beautiful view out to the beach (although it was 10pm, so it was really dark and misty but we could hear the waves). We decided to have an early night and figure out everything the next morning.

Breakfast was good, and there was plenty of choice. We ate reasonably quickly as we had a meeting with the rep at 10am, and as we were interested in doing a few tours, we felt we should go. Fatih was originally from Tunisia, but because of the lack of tourists, he needed to find a job elsewhere. Anyway, he gave us a very informative talk about Morocco and we took away the list of tours which we would book later. The plan for now was relaxation and sun, plus "Welcome to Morocco" each time the entertainment team came over the loudspeaker - it's the Morocco World Cup song and its super-catchy!

For most of the day, we sat by the pool close to the bar; we did take a wander along the promenade and the beach a few times, but that all seemed like too much effort as the hawkers were always out in force. We even got skinned by the donut seller, although they are delicious. Lunch was usually at the pool bar and dinner in the main restaurant, then we would sit outside and listen to the entertainment, although the singer they had was pretty terrible. 

There was also a speciality Moroccan restaurant that we went to once; it was good but there was so much food (Soup, Chicken Basteeya, Cous Cous or Lamb Tagine and Fruit Salad plus Mint tea and as much wine as was possible to consume)!

Apart from a few walks along the beach, we decided to book two trips; one to Marrakech and the other to Agadir.

The Marrakech trip was long, but it was definitely worth it. We were picked up by bus super-early and set off along the newly built motorway to Marrakech. We had literally been travelling for about 20 minutes when we stopped in a lay-by to see the famous goats in a tree. Its all very odd, but they seemed reasonably happy eating the argan leaves!

We then stopped at a service station for a 20 minute break and some coffee before driving onto Marrakech.

Our first stop was the famous Koutoubia mosque, and although we were not allowed in, it was very impressive from the outside. We then wandered around the medieval city and into the souk before going to a Cooperative to hear all about Morocco's famous spices and of course, Argan and Cactus oil. I'm pretty sure we all spent a fortune before going for lunch in a rooftop restaurant just off the main square. The guide then took us to Jemaa El Fna square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we could see snake charmers, monkey tamers and get a henna tattoo. We decided to pass on all of those and go to a bar and relax; it had already been a long day and we were exhausted. It was happy hour so we had a couple of beers, then went to meet the rest of the group to drive back to Agadir. It took another 3.5hours to get back, but we made it back for dinner.

Our second excursion was a city tour of Agadir; the bus picked us up and took us along to the marina where we walked along the esplanade. The next stop was to the ruined Kasbah atop a mountain; thankfully there was a cable car which took you up to see panoramic views of Agadir. It was only a 4 hour tour, so there was no dawdling about; next stop was Mohamed V mosque to admire the architecture followed by another stop at the Agadir Women's Cooperative to buy some spices and Argan oil. Our last and final stop was the famous Souk El Had, but none of us were particularly bothered so we happily headed back to the hotel.

We had a fabulous holiday, made even more special by Hassan, a super-friendly waiter who we met on the first "Champagne" night. Our glasses were literally filled up up every 5 minutes, and even when we were sure we didn't need anymore, he would say "holiday, holiday" and fill it up again! Champagne night happened every three days, but that didn't stop us; our new found friend would bring us Champagne and even snacks like dates, almonds and walnuts to our room, what a guy!

I would thoroughly recommend Agadir, and the Iberostar Founty Beach Hotel...maybe we will go back some day and I can have more donuts and another pina colada!