Atlantic Coast - Morocco - page 438

Around Safi
The wonderfully wild coastline north of Safi, with its dramatic cliffs sheltering gorgeous
sandy coves, makes a great drive. The first stop is the headland of Sidi Bouzid , where you'll
get a great view back over town. It's a good spot for lunch at the popular fish restaurant Le
Refuge ( 0524 46 43 54; Rte Sidi Bouzid; mains Dh100; Tue-Sun) .
Driving further on, you'll hit some undeveloped beaches that are up-and-coming surf
spots and home to one of the longest tubular right-handers in the world. At 12km from Safi,
sheltered Lalla Fatna is one of the nicest spots on this stretch. Take a left by the Lalla Fatna
cafe down the steps to the sands beneath the cliffs. Further on you'll reach the headland and
lighthouse at Cap Beddouza (23km), where there's a wide, sandy beach.
In summer (May to September) bus 15 runs along this route from Rue Driss ben Nacer in
Safi.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Essaouira
POP 70,000
Essaouira (pronounced 'essa-weera', or 'es-Sweera' in Arabic) is at once familiar and exot-
ic with its fortified walls, fishing harbour and seagulls soaring and screaming over the
town. At first it seems as though this could be a town in Brittany, France - not such a
strange thought given that Essaouira was designed by the same Frenchman who designed
Brittany's most famous port town, Saint-Malo. And yet once you enter the walls, it is also
infinitely Moroccan: narrow alleyways, wind that reputedly drives people crazy, the smells
of fish guts and damp sea air mixed with aromas of spices and thuya wood, women in
white haiks (veils), midday palm-tree shadows on red city walls, and the sound of drums
and Gnaoua singing reverberating from shops and houses.
It is the coastal wind - the beautifully named alizee, or taros in Berber - that, despite the
crowds, ensures Essaouira retains its character. It blows too hard to attract sun, sand and
sea tourists: for much of the year, you can't sit on the beach at all as the sand blows hori-
zontally in your face. No surprise then that Essaouira has been dubbed 'Wind City of
Africa' and attracts so many windsurfers. Sun-seekers head further south to the temperate
clime of Agadir. The charm of the town is that it hasn't been entirely taken over by tourism.