Catching Waves on Asilah Beach
April 12, 2016
I am a huge fan of ocean and beaches; when I found out that we were visiting one of the calmest beaches in Morocco I jumped with joy and couldn’t wait to explore the lovely and peaceful city of Asilah.
My classmates and I jumped into our bus and headed north, we drove along the Atlantic Ocean and I kept admiring the breathtaking view that was beside us. We arrived at our hotel called, “Hotel Alkhaima.” As we walked in, we saw a beautiful patio with a swimming pool that is located right in the middle of all the rooms.
My roommate and I made our way to our room; I stepped outside the balcony and noticed that our hotel was right next to the beach, such an amazing view and also having a swimming pool to accompany the sight. I felt like I was on a vacation in such peaceful and quiet place.
Asilah is located in the Northwest tip of Morocco, in the early 1900s it set out to attract tourism and boost the economy of the city. It was the Spanish area of Morocco, where the majority, to this day, speaks Spanish.
There is an annual art festival known as the International Cultural Moussem of Asilah, which features local artwork and music. The city has modern holiday apartment complexes and restaurants along the coast that lead to the city of Tangier. Asilah hosts many other musical and art festivals and it is also known for its artistic walls that have remained inside the medina for many years.
Later that evening, we got ready to hit the town. We made our way toward the medina to shop for gifts and also have a nice dinner along the seaside. As my friends and I were walking, we received so much cat calling, it was probably the worst that I have ever experienced in Morocco.
My thoughts were that it wouldn’t be so bad because it’s such a tourist place and the locals are used to seeing many different women not dressed within the norm of their culture.
As we walked into the medina, we noticed a lady sitting down on the floor painting with her toes and we saw the many paintings that surrounded her. We stopped and examined each painting and were amazed at the detailed and incredible work she did by just using her toes. I couldn’t help but to purchase one of the paintings I adored.
We continued to walk around the medina and admired how nice and clean the art was that was displayed along the walls. Every shop we encountered was also organized and neat.
I kept bargaining with locals to reduce their prices, and the funny thing is that I kept doing it in Spanish. I also bargained for my classmates because the the shop owners understood me better.
Later that night we stopped at a French restaurant, it seemed relatively fancy. We had a full-course meal with our wine on the side and reminisced about our memories we had made during our study abroad and how sad we were going to be once we concluded our stay.
We finished our meals and made our way back to the hotel, we rode a horse carriage and dared one of our friends to get off and run next to it because the horse was going so slow.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we decided to have a couple of more drinks at the hotel’s bar, and headed out again to find out if there was nightlife in the tourist town of Asilah.
We encountered a carnival that was located on the beach, so my friends and I decided to ride on one of the craziest rides that did a full circle and stopped at the top (which was the scariest part). We faced our fears and went on the ride. As soon as it reached its full circle and stopped, my friends and I told the man to stop the ride in four different languages because we were so scared! We finally got off and couldn’t help but laugh!
The next morning we made our way to Paradise Beach, which is about an hour away from our hotel. We arrived in the morning and began to play with the ocean waves. My friends and I made our way deeper into the seaside, where we found natural green mud and placed it all over our bodies and left in on for a while. The green mud definitely refreshed my skin.
As the day progressed, my classmates and I played soccer followed by a nice lunch called “tajin” on the beach.
Asilah was one of my favorite places of all in Morocco. It’s peaceful, and featured some breathtaking views.
