Four Tickets to Paradise

A day I would happily live again (and again).

Paradise Valley was high on my list of places to visit in Morocco. I was determined to not let it whither on the “wish list” like poor old Fes. Although a popular spot for locals, Paradise Valley is not a super common tourist destination (yet). It’s just not as easy to get to as other places. Fortunately, I put my best researcher on the job (that would be Mike!), and we put a plan in motion. Adam and Katie joined us for what was easily one of my favorite weekends of the year.

First, to get to Paradise Valley from Marrakech we took a Friday afternoon bus to Agadir. This turned out to be one of the strangest bus rides of my life. Our driver and another car began dueling on the road. There was a lot of fist shaking, fast breaking, and bus swerving. Finally, the bus and car pulled to the side of the highway to hash it out. About half of the men on the bus also jumped off to have a go at the car driver. When the bus driver returned, it was now the passengers’ turn to shout and complain at him. The woman in front of me cried, “Incroyable!” so many times I was beginning to wonder if that was the extent of her French vocabulary. Turns out, it was not.

We stayed the night in Agadir and enjoyed a nice meal near the water. Mike had to work Friday evening so he took a later bus and met me at the hotel. The next morning we arranged a taxi to take us to the nearby surf town of Taghazout. Our accommodation ended up being an empty hostel but that didn’t matter much. We were headed to Paradise Valley!

Prior to arrival, we hired a car and guide to drive us out to Paradise. I would recommend this route over a drive-yourself situation. The rode was extremely rough. Plus, you’ll get to stop at an argan oil cooperative! (Ok, that’s a bit of a joke. Pretty much all tours, guides, and roads lead to an argan oil co-op.)

After parking the car, we grabbed everything we’d need for the day and hiked in. There are a couple of different spots along the river for jumping and swimming. Our guide took us to one place and explained, “If you jump here, you must jump here. Do not let the wind carry you forward. Here it is deep. There it is 3 feet.” We passed in favor of a safer place further along the trail.

Left: View from above / Right: Mike jumping.

I wish I could say I jumped. But honestly, I was so scared I could feel it in my feet. I wasn’t scared of the jumping part… just the walking on wet and slippery rocks at a great height to get to the jumping part. I did, however, take my role as photographer quite seriously.

After lounging in the sun chatting with some young Moroccan hikers (who were backpacking with a pallet of eggs!), we hiked over to another more populated swim hole. For the record, I did get in the water here.

Can you see me?

On our hike back out we stopped at (the only?) little cafe in the hills to enjoy our pre-ordered tagine and mint tea. It was a gorgeous place to relax, refuel, and enjoy each other’s company. Mike and I were so lucky to have Adam and Katie as our “couple friends*” who were always up for an adventure. With a little luck, one day we will all end up in a similar part of the globe again.

All tuckered out, we headed back to Taghazout and then on to Marrakech the next morning.

xo, jill

*but individual friends too!

Thanks to Mike’s iPad for providing all these photos.