We ended up spending three weeks in Agadir, which is a lovely beach resort town but not at all the “real Morocco” that we love. We did enjoy the wild, long Atlantic beach and, best of all, we met up with the Royer family, good friends of ours from Jura, where we used to live in France. We had some good times together and the children preferred Hotel Kasbah to the Wanda Guesthouse.
I, Caro, fulfilled an ambition and went to a hammam (Moroccan baths).I went with a French girlfriend to a public hammam where all the other women were Moroccan, many with children or women with their mothers. They took no notice of us at all, which was perfect. They give you a big bucket and a ladle and you get undressed and find a place in a large tiled room heated like a sauna but the heat is not dry, it’s very humid. There you relax and then you scrub off all your old skin with a scratchy glove and special soap and rinse off from time to time with cold water. It’s lovely. Then you leave all shiny and new for the price of 10 dirham (1 euro). It was a brilliant experience which I’d love to do again.
From Agadir we went about 70 miles to Sidi Ifni, sailing very slowly with light winds. I have two nice memories of this trip…during my night watch a yellow crescent moon came up which looked exactly like a smiley – I had never seen that before….and when I woke up I saw dolphins jumping in the orange sunrise – and this I saw through the window from my bed! Another first!
Sidi Ifni is a fishing port with an entrance that can catch you off guard. We were guided in by a fishing boat through a narrow unmarked channel with waves breaking on each side. Not to be attempted except in very calm conditions! Once we were in there, it was another friendly place. We took a taxi to visit the town which is a few kilometers away from the port. It’s fairly basic but with loads of character because it was built by the Spanish in the 50s and 60s in art deco style. Very cute.
We left the next day for the Canary Islands because we didn’t want to be trapped there if the sea came up. Another slow passage in very light winds which is getting kind of boring. Where are the famous Atlantic trade winds? We are now in Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote. Wanda is anchored in Puerto de la Naos next to white sandy beaches, volcanic caves and even a castle. The kids are happy. And for the adults, well we’re in Spain which is always a pleasure.
Here we met up with Martin’s brother Peter, on holiday with his girlfriend, Pavlina. For Peter’s birthday we tried to go sailing, but we had to motor again for lack of wind. Anyway we did manage to celebrate at anchor in Playa Blanca surrounded by volcanoes.
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2 comments
Ellyn says:
29 November 2009 at 21:55 (UTC 0 )
Hi Caro, Martin, Jacques and Max-Martin,
Wonderful blog posting. I am living through you vicariously, and Rob will be so happy to read you post.
The baths sound heavenly. I have always really wanted to do that too.
Cool that you are in the Canaries again. Depending on how long you stay, they may even be in range for us, but not until 2010. Keep us posted.
We did not get time to Skype you this weekend, but will try again next weekend.
We really love you guys, and miss you, and hope you continue to have good times. I would love to see a smiley face moon and dolphins outside my bed….
Love,
El
P.S. I think I made it so that you do not need to login to post a comment (I am testing it with this response). I’ll try to get some time to work on things more, but just did a few updates.
kieran says:
11 December 2009 at 08:09 (UTC 0 )
Hi Carolyn,Martin,Jacques and Max-Martin
It all sounds excellent and I am sure you have given the boys just the best worldy education and a love of the sea as well. The photos are great but you might want to get someone other than Carolyn taking all the pics. Martin amd the boys certainly look well.
Christmas is 2 weeks away today and NZ is going through the normal nuttiness that ensues. Maria ,Aeneas and Leo are all well and Aeneas is just about to finish his first year at primary school which he really enjoys . Nothing really exciting is happening at the moment but tell Jacque that New Zealand is joining Le Bleu at the World Cup next year in South Africa. 27 years between drinks and I am sure we will be the under under dogs but crikey what a hoot just getting there.
We look forward to more of your news. Take care of each other and love and hugs to you all – and have a great Christmas
Kieran,Maria, Aeneas and Little Leo