28th October, 2019

Agadir

Well we couldn’t have asked for better weather as we headed leisurely south on our day at sea, towards to African continent. Light winds with plenty of sunshine & temperatures in the mid 20’s, we were a world away from the persistent rains and low temperatures forecasted back home in the UK. Not that I’m gloating or anything…

Monday morning dawned a hazy start, Sahara desert dust in the air reminding us of where we were in the world. A gentle swell curved around into Agadir harbour before we found complete shelter from the sea inside the small but busy industrial port. We found ourselves squeezed alongside in between a small German cruise ship astern, and a large Russian trawler ahead of us. Some might say a sardine & sauerkraut sandwich…

Shaped by the Atlas Mountains on one side, Agadir is framed on the other by a rather nice golden sandy horseshoe beach. The Portuguese, French and of course Africans have all had a say in this city’s past - and there are appropriate monuments, in the form of old forts for example, to each of their tenures here. Souks with the usual enthusiastic vendors can be found in the city centre, along with bars, cafes, restaurants & hotels aplenty along the city’s waterfront.

As always, our ship’s tours ventured off to the best highlights within and surrounding the port, and today these included Paradise Valley in a 4x4, a visit to Paradise Museum, a trip to see the Casbah and Berber Horsemen racing in action, a Berber cooking experience, a visit to Ancient Taroudant (an historic town) and many more besides. The weather remained perfectly African throughout our stay for all to enjoy; that is, warm & sunny.

Come late afternoon, it was time to gather all back on board again and nip to the Canaries overnight. We had our traditional Britannia Club party that evening, where the Captain felt compelled to tell our most loyal guests yet another rotten joke at the conclusion of his address. After the party, the normal feast ensued with everything from Escargots to Steaks on the dining room table, and to top the evening off we were treated to a fantastic show from Saga’s new resident entertainment team entitled ‘A Night at the Royal Albert Hall.’ A spectacle, and great sing-along stuff.

We would awaken to find Lanzarote on the horizon the next morning, all being well…

Captain Kim Tanner

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