Morocco - Aourir
Banana Village or Aourir is situated
7 km north of
Agadir. The
Atlantic
Ocean coast location with a mountainous back drop give this
village a special appeal to people traveling south in
Morocco down the "International Road" a few km after the village
of
Taghazout.
Banana Village was given its name by Jimmy Hendrix in the 1960's
due to the large quantities of fresh sweet bananas which are
found for sale on the side of the road and grown in the valley
above.
The spring water flowing up through the rocks has been redirected
to irrigate the banana trees which have been a main source of
barter through the generations.The village is still called Aourir
by the older Moroccans.
Argan trees can be found growing behind the village
Aourir Souk
The Souk is the highlight of the
village's week, every Wednesday the market place is filled with
the colours and smells of the fresh products, lemons, oranges,
the mixed aroma of Tagine spices, the
heat of the afternoon sun and the distant noise of the waves
hitting the beach give this market a special vibe to the people
who are lucky enough to be there. I picked up a new accessory
for the Yamaha TY at the Souk;
baby Mule panniers. These fit over the
frame of the bike and are perfect for a quick trip to the market.
Siad's Garage
Founded in 1977 and still going
strong. Siad's Garage, is filled with parts and hands which
can help you with any mechanical problem which could appear...You
have one of the problems that we have all bad dreams about;
the van goes wrong. SIAD with his team (Mohammed and Lowafi)
can mend all, from an oil change to new springs, these boys
will do the job.
This was the first garage in the village and the main customers
over the last 3 decades have been the hippies and their collection
of colourful campers. Road Side Repairs and Recovery. Keep his
number handy : (00 212) 04 83 14 083 or (00 212) 06 15 20 591
Surf Life a true story
The surf Club of Aourir has a story which
would easily come from the fairy books: One sunset a Moroccan
surfer was out surfing 6-8ft Anchor Point,
when King Hassan V joined the lineup to shoot a few waves on
his jet bike.. the boy in the water started to talk to the King
about the lack of funds in Moroccan surfing and how it was difficult
to find and buy equipment.
The King listened to the
boy over a few sets and said that he would help. Since this
point break meeting, money has been given by The King to help
Moroccan surfers compete on the International, National surfing
circuits and to buy equipment for the fund less surf clubs of
Morocco.
