On Saturday we all more or less slept in. We finally got going and left the house at around 10:15. On our way to the taxi stand we stopped at an outdoor cafe and ate brunch. The food in Morocco is very influenced by Europe and the breakfast was a very French breakfast.
After fueling up for the day, or the next two days honestly, we went to the taxi stand to haggle for a ride to our destination: Paradise Valley. Paradise Valley is a natural river where tourists and residents go to relax and sunbathe.
The drivers first started out by offering to take us, stay there for two hours, and drive us back for 700 MAD (Moroccan dollars or Dirhams) which is around 70 USD. But we eventually were able to haggle him down to 250 total for the ride there, two hours on site, and the ride back for all four of us.
The taxi from the Marina was about an hour. Once we parked, we made our way to the start of the hiking trail to Paradise Valley. The hike from the parking area to the actual site is about 30 minutes to 45 minutes. We crossed rivers three or four times and there was some fairly steep inclines along the way that I struggled with in my sandals.
After we finally arrived, we settled on a spot by the river to take off our outer garments and get semi-nakey. A few of us started to brave the river. We found that the water was incredibly freezing, in stark contrast to the blazing sun overhead, and that the rocks were thick with algae which caused the rocks to be slippery. In fact, my roommate, who was not even intending to get in, put her feet in, slipped, and was submerged. Fully clothed. Once she fell in, the rocks were so slippery that she was unable to even crawl her way back up the rocks and she had to swim her way close enough to shore so we could grab her and haul her in.
After that, we were all more careful and tip-toed our way in to take our pictures in ankle-deep, freezing water.
After spending our hour there, we packed it all in and started our half-hour hike back and then hour taxi back to the Marina. Once we got back to the Marina, we split up to have some individual time. My friend and I felt like we could use some more time in the sun, so we headed to the beach right outside of the apartment we rented.
Once it got cold, my friend and I went back to the apartment to shower and change so we could go out and watch the sunset in warm clothes.
After the sun went completely down, we shopped in the small strip of stores around the harbor. I bought some hair accessories and a super cute purse in a French store Parfois and then pants and a tank top in an English store Stradivarius. Once we were done shopping we went home to change into something a little nicer for dinner, and I wore practically everything that I bought (You can see almost the whole fit below).
For dinner we went to go check out what looked like a club/restaurant called Sky or Sky Bar (can’t remember the real name), but we basically turned around as soon as we entered since there was at a maximum 4 middle aged men alone smoking hookah. We settled on another outdoor restaurant. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment and slept, lol we’re definitely a rowdy group of college kids right?
Well that’s all for my second day! Stay tuned for the day three my last day in Agadir!
