Thursday 13 September 2012

Day Seven and Eight - Essaouira to Oualidia

Two days ago we drove from Essaouira to the Lagoon town of Oualidia. The journey took us north up the Atlantic coast.

We started driving beside the sea where miles of deserted land rolled down in to the fierce sea. Wrinkled orange dunes lay at the bottom of the hills before they are swallowed up by the surf.











Farmland battered by the winds from the Atlantic lay higher in the hills above the coast. In more sheltered areas fields fenced off by rock and reed would climb down closer to the coast.


For miles we travelled past beautiful untouched coastline hardly passing a car. We did see lots of donkeys and carts passing the long distances between towns to exchange harvested products. Doors to small garage like buildings and tents lined the street through towns selling fruit, vegetables, tyres, plastic containers, tired looking shoes, mechanical products and of course a well simmered tangine and mint tea.








As the road progressed we passed over hills that created huge cliffs to the sea instead of sandy dunes!





We passed a few more remote towns before reaching Oualidia.


As soon as you get into town you can see the huge lagoon. It opens up wide in front of the town then runs a further 7km up and down the coast. It creates a peaceful area to swim in sheltered from the huge waves that crash into the beach beyond the rocks and sand that protect the lagoon.








Oyster fishermen rest their boats on the sand while not out getting a catch. Men with giant BBQ's wait on the beach for you to purchase the freshest catch from these boats and have it cooked right there in front of you.
We check into our guest house (again in a mechanical part of town) then head into town for some food.



Later on we drive out to explore the far ends of the lagoon where we see salt and crops being harvested.








We take a boat ride out along the lagoon in the afternoon to see all the oyster catchers and farms at work. In the evening we find a fish restaurant a little out of the main town and enjoy eating some local fish dishes as well as sampling the famous oysters!

We spend our first night in our guesthouse before spending the following morning on the beach the otherside of the lagoon.


We watch the waves crash in continuously! Even when you paddle with just your ankles covered you can feel the surf trying to pull you out!

We stop for a light lunch and spend the afternoon visiting local places and relaxing before enjoying another dinner out of town of fish and seafood! We watch the sun go down at the restaurant behind a mini lighthouse.








Today is our last full day in Morocco! We will travel further up the coast to Casablanca for our final night before we return to Spain. It feels like we have been away so long and seen so many different things! Casablanca is supposed to be the commercial hub of the country not visited by many tourists but I'm intrigued what it has to offer as lots of people say exciting things about it!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very useful blog. Keep up the good work.

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