Agadir, Morocco

This modern city in southwestern Morocco, suffered a huge earthquake in 1960, where 15,000 people lost their lives . There was nothing left of the old town after the quake, but it has since been completely rebuilt. We negotiated with a taxi driver to take us out to the market and medina of Taroudant, just over an hour drive. We passed huge modern suburban apartment complexes along a beautifully landscaped highway. The winds were extreme today, with sand from the Sahara Desert blowing straight across the road. The countryside was dotted with hothouses growing vegetables, goat shepherds walking the fields, and small towns with dusty shops. Taroudant is surrounded by an impressive 7-foot town wall made of local red clay. Our taxi driver led us through the souk and maze-like streets where vendors were selling all sorts of day-to-day products, spices, vegetables, rugs, and pots. He lent us his phone so we could call Jonas before Shabbat! He told us he had to get us back to the ship since prayer-time was at 12:30. So off we were again, racing along back to Agadir. When we returned to the ship, we were surprised to have lunch at a fish barbeque on deck, with our chef carving a 380 lb tuna, which was caught and brought on board yesterday in the Canary Islands. Delicious!