In Chefchaouen and Marrakech it had been chilly in the evenings once th sun went down. In Sidi Ifni the temperature reached 25° in the afternoon and didn’t drop below 17° at night so we were able to sit outside after sunset and enjoy a glass of wine listening to the sounds of the ocean. In the late afternoons when the heat was beginning to fade, we walked down to the beach for a swim. Actually swimming was not really possible because of the big Atlantic waves rolling in. The sandy beach was shallow and we were able to stand knee deep in the water and jump the waves as they crashed in. If you were caught unawares, the rollers would punch you in the belly and knock you off your feet, tossing you like a pair of socks in a washing machine. It was most refreshing and exhilarating.
Mid morning we would cycle up the hill to the town and visit the market to pick up fresh supplies. Fishing was the main industry in the town and there was an open air fish market (with no ice or refrigeration) as well as stalls that sold meat and others selling fruit and vegetables. The meat stalls had butchered carcasses hanging at the front together with tasteful displays of the animal heads. We saw goats’ heads complete with their little horns and, the worst still, the head of a camel, looking as grumpy as they do in life. We didn’t buy meat or fish but the vegetables seemed inexpensive. I paid less than £1 for 4 oranges, 2 lemons, 2 pomegranates and 2 large beef tomatoes – and I suspect I was overcharged. We stopped for a glass of mint tea before peddling back to our beach side camp.
I took a bag of washing to a lovely lady who had an ancient twin tub washing machine and who charged less than £2 to wash a 10kg load. She filled the machine with a hose pipe and had a box of Daz washing powder. An hour later the damp washing was neatly folded and ready to hang out to dry. The washing dried more quickly in the sun that ever it could in a tumble drier at home.
