Morocco > On the way to Agadir

At quarter past eleven in the morning, I am dropped off at Schiphol for a group tour with Sawadee in Morocco. At counter 32, the very last one, the tour guide Obbo is already waiting with the check-in information. The check-in goes smoothly, but the line at customs is quite long. Well, we have to wait for the plane anyway, which hasn’t yet arrived from its return flight. At the gate, I meet the first fellow travelers and strike up a conversation with Liesbeth. She is currently having a hotel built, Chez Amalia, in the Ammeln Valley near Tafraoute. Everything should be ready by March, when she will move to southern Morocco.

Morocco - The plane at Agadir airport with the setting sun

Unfortunately, Liesbeth will have already returned home by the time we arrive in Tafraoute. The flight to Casablanca passes fairly quickly. Along the way, I have a meal, do a little puzzle from the newspaper, and chat with two women sitting next to me. They have booked a tour with Rosetta. Once in Casablanca, the entire group is complete, giving us a moment to introduce ourselves. The group consists of 14 people. Casablanca Airport is quite chaotic, and it’s unclear exactly where the flight to Agadir departs from. After asking around, we are taken to the plane by bus. Shortly afterward, we take off for a short flight of just under an hour. In broken English, I have a conversation with a burly Moroccan man from Agadir. Around 5:30 p.m., we land in Agadir. A minibus and a Land Cruiser take us to the hotel. The Land Cruiser nearly doesn’t make it—the driver realizes a little too late that everyone is stopped for a police check. Screeching to a halt, he stops just in time. Better to fasten the seatbelt, then. At the hotel, there is more opportunity to get to know each other over dinner. Almost everyone already has experience with more active travel. We eat Tajine, a Moroccan specialty. Tajine is a stew made with chicken, lamb, or minced meat. The Tajine, and especially the starter salad, tastes excellent. After coffee, we stroll along the Agadir Boulevard, enjoying the view of the Atlantic Ocean and the evening life on the promenade.