BY :  Megan Tinsdale

https://www.megpaigedesigns.com/post/tiznit-to-agadir

In Tiznit we met our host for the next week who kindly took us for dinner and to the supermarket before heading to his place in Aglou. The plan was to head to his farm nearby where Jack and I would stay, however a storm was picking up and by the time we got to the farm the weather was so bad we headed back to his house in town. The storm was just a wind storm, no rain, which meant sand was getting thrown up wildly, visibility was very low and the sandy track up to the farm was changing shape with new bumps forming from the sand. The next day was still windy but we managed to harvest some potatoes and do a bit of weeding before heading back into town. Finally, by the third day the wind had died down enough for us to stay over at the farm and settle down there for a few days. When we arrived we were greeted by a poor exhausted hedgehog who had fallen into the pool!

Tired but alive!

The pool was at the heart of the farm, with a pump to bring up water from a well and irrigation to grow plants and trees. By planting seeds and watering them, an incredible job has been done of transforming the landscape from an incredibly dry and sandy site with just small scrub bushes, to a much greener area with lots of trees, vegetables and herbs growing. The water and plants also brought with them more wildlife, not just the hedgehog; tortoise, frogs, birds and lots of insects.

Spikey hiding space

My favourite insects were the big black beetles, they were everywhere and I loved watching them roll around the sun dried dung they had found which was sometimes 3 times the size of them! My least favourite insects were the ants, sometimes I would pull a weed out the ground only to realise the roots were a home for a colony and hundreds of them poured up out the sand, spreading frantically outwards over my hands and bare feet if I wasn’t quick enough.

Despite the many bites on my feet by the end of the week, weeding and harvesting barefoot in the sand was a truly wonderful experience. There are few things that feel as good as warm sand underfoot and it really made for a strong feeling of connectivity to the earth. Grounded and working with nature to create something beautiful. We also didn’t need to use any gardening tools to do weeding which felt particularly novel to me. As the ground was sand it was really easy to pull weeds up using just our hands with minimal effort. It was a very satisfying job, especially when a weed came up with extra long roots!

Barefoot desert gardening

Our days passed by much the same at the farm, but there was a nice rhythm to it. We would feed and spend time with the cats and dogs, do some weeding, drink some tea and cook meals using some of the veggies that we harvested. We had: freshly pulled up potatoes, shiny purple aubergines, tiny sweet tangy tomatoes that burst with flavour in your mouth, fresh coriander, basil and wormwood. Tomatoes grew sprawling out over the sand, instead of strung up vertically like we grow them at home. The basil plant was huge, as the growing season is all year round there they don’t die over winter and just keep growing and growing which I find amazing. It was also amazing to see veggies growing straight out of the sand. Mohamed (our host and the owner of the farm) has done such a fantastic job growing produce and transforming the barren land and it was really inspiring to see his vision taking shape.

Tagine with fresh veggies

After saying our goodbyes, we left the farm relaxed but excited to go back to a city.  Tiznit where we spent a night before catching the bus to Agadir the next day. In Tiznit I had my first taste of harira soup (I then ate this every day for the rest our time in Morocco because it was so delicious!). It’s a thick hearty soup with noodles and chickpeas, usually served with dates and a sweet, sticky, spiced pastry called chebakia. It’s one of the cheapest things on the menu with most cafes serving it out of huge saucepans to patrons sitting at tables at the side of the road. The saltiness of the soup paired with the sweetness of the dates and chebakia make a perfect combo.

Dinner!

Our last few days in Agadir were spent wandering around and eating lots of delicious food from cafes at the side of the road. We also had to check out the souk, we’d heard from other travellers how huge and crazy it was and we spent an afternoon walking up and down the aisles. It was quite an overwhelming experience but we were determined to leave with a teapot and some hand carved wooden dice to bring home which Jack haggled us a good deal for. I have still definitely not gotten used to the concept of haggling and as a person who’s more on the introverted side I can say it will be relief to be back home and walk into a shop and know what to pay for something by looking at the price tag!

At the souk

I enjoyed our time in Agadir a lot, on one evening we walked down to the beach to have a dip in the sea. The water felt amazing after walking around in the heat all day and when we came out we watched the sun set with a stray dog that befriended us.

Post swim sunset watching

Overall, Morocco has been a really interesting country to visit. We came to escape the UK winter but got so much more than sunshine. We made new friends, learnt new skills, played new instruments, tried new foods, drank A LOT of tea, and discovered a country rich in culture with unique natural landscapes that were a first for us both. Although we were in Morocco for 6 weeks there is still so much more that we would like to see there. We heard many descriptions of the north of the country and the atlas mountains from Moroccans and other travellers but unfortunately didn’t make it this time round. We prefer to travel slowly and the desert was calling us this trip but we will definitely be back for the mountains!

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