UKC

Flying to Agadir and driving to Tafroute in March and mates have said that where they stop and I will be stopping the major issue is veggie diet and no beer.
So anyone know the best place to by booze, I`m guessing a supermarket in Agadir but which one.
Are there restaurants in Tafroute were meat dishes can be bought.
Are there ATM`s in tafroute or will I have to do that in Agadir.
Cheers sjc

In reply to sjc:

- the bar at Les Amandiers, for one, though I suspect there are others
- pretty much all of them (I hope you like lamb tagine)
- yes, two

Much more information on staying in the area at http://www.climb-tafraout.com

Cheers
Jamie

In reply to sjc:

meat is murder

In reply to sjc:






You're going on holiday to Morocco and you view lack of beer and meat as a problem?

If you want to swap places I'll take the suffering for you

In reply to sjc: Can you really not go for one night with out beer and meat?

In reply to timjones:


Seriously!

But from my experience, lack of meat isn't going to be an issue unless your one of these people who won't eat anything other than a slab of steak. It's a rural area, and the common style of food seems to be a veg stew with a bit of meat. The proportion of meat to veg probably increases the more you're willing to pay. If anything, we were more worried about being able to find anything veggie for my girlfriend.

Dunno about the beer situation - we were staying in the Kasbah on the other side of the range. We brought in some whisky from duty free, but we mostly just drunk sweet mint tea and didn't really miss the booze.

In reply to sjc:

I'll be going to morocco in March too. I hadn't considered that beer would be a problem. But if there's the option to sip a cool one and watch a desert sunset, then I will!

In reply to sjc:

When I drive to morocco (I live in Gibraltar)I always take a few bottles of whiskey with me.I drink the single malt and barter with the cheap stuff!

In reply to Ramblin dave:

If anything, we were more worried about being able to find anything veggie for my girlfriend.

At the start of the post I certainly assumed the concern was going to be finding a properly veggie meal.....

In reply to Carolyn: It will be fine finding veggie food. The Moroccan people are very accommodating.

In reply to silo:

We operated a "don't ask don't tell" policy on what sort of stock they used, but generally yes.

And to expand a bit on the alcohol thing, not drinking much while staying in Morocco isn't like not drinking much while staying in (eg) Ambleside, because the culture is generally set up around the assumption that people won't be drinking, so you don't end up with an obvious beer shaped gap in your evening...

In reply to sjc:

You're chums must be staying at a guest house out of town, I'm guessing. The Berber people are not vegetarians in general, but of course they don't take alcohol or eat pig. Indeed, one of the prevalent smells in the town is that of the butcher's just off the main square.

Tafraoute is not at the ends of the Earth. It's a very pleasant market town with all the facilities you'd expect. There are a number of ATM's, a bank, a post office, and at least two places in town where you can get a beer or bottle of wine with your dinner, as well as the larger hotel just out of town - Les Amandiers. This has proper restaurant facilities and a bar.

If you do want to stock up on drink for use back at your accommodation (might be best to check they won't be offended by your use of it) head NW from the airport (the opposite direction from Tafraoute) and look for signs to Marjane Supermarket. This'll cost you an hour or so of your first day in Morocco but you may think it's worth it. We do!

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Thanks for that a useful website, but from a quick look some of the info is from 2009.

In reply to Martin Bennett:

Thank you very much, really helpful that. I had no idea what to expect of Tafraoute and your description of the facilities has rather surprised me. I shall check with the accommodation that they are happy with me taking alcohol and the Mint Tea sounds very pleasant, as suggested up thread, watching the Sun go down with a Chilled Beer after putting up a new route would be rather special

In reply to Martin Bennett:

Don't get a car without power steering. Isn't that right Martin?

In reply to sjc:

Jamie covered more or less everything in the first reply. The food is not particulary varied but getting meat is no issue what so ever - you'd have more issues if you were vegetarian!

Martin has described the supermarket in Agadir - if you buy booze there, you'll have to drink it in your hotel, but be discreet.

In towm, Les Amandiers has bar and is the place to head for a beer and sunset on the terrace. The bar and resturant are open to all.

The Kasbah resturant in Tafraoute sells beer and wine and the food is good.

TBH, the climbing is so good that if I had to go without beer and meat for a month, I'd still go. This comes from someone with considerable weaknesses for beer, pies and kebabs.

In reply to sjc:

Climb-Tafraoute is absolutely up-to-date: I know that Steve was out there only a few weeks ago and he's constantly updating information.

Incidentally, it's also the home of the most comprehensive and recent guidebook, Tafraoute (2013).

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Cheers Jamie, it was this page that made me wonder http://www.climb-tafraout.com/money.htm

In reply to sjc:

I think that's all still pretty accurate.

In reply to Gaston Rubberpants:


My arms are still aching from the April one Al! Happily on the October trip we got the best Logan in the country - all mod cons including air con and a socket for your Ipod as well as power steering. Trouble was it had not a scratch on it! However the Samazar road seems to be in better nick after the dry season so we weren't lurching into the scratchy plants quite so often - I even broke my record from valley base to Ighir - 29 minutes at a staggering average of 12mph!

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Yes probably is, problem was I went straight to the money section which was the bit I was interested in and saw 2009.
The site which I have now had a better look at is really good with plenty of info and I shall be sending my mates a link.

In reply to Martin Bennett:

I would be up for another trip but I think my son has his heart set on a return to Kalymnos. If I can save my pennies I might manage both but daren't commit this side of Christmas. Spent a lot in the last few months on new furniture and a new car.

In reply to sjc:

Understood. I'll mention that to Steve next time I see him, actually, as you're right - it might not inspire confidence to see a 2009 exchange rate, even if it does still happen to be correct.

Cheers
Jamie

In reply to sjc:

as suggested up thread, watching the Sun go down with a Chilled Beer after putting up a new route would be rather special

It certainly is! We'll be back in March as always - see you there. Or in the beer aisle at Marjane!

In reply to Martin Bennett:

I look forwards to meeting you.

In reply to sjc:

Check out www.Moroccorock.com as well. Their guidebook only covers the north side of the range but if you buy it you can get an up to date supplement.

In reply to sjc:

If you just want to eat meat and go on the piss I'd suggest the Lake District instead.

Most meals you will be served in inland Morocco will be lamb based and delicious, and beer isn't impossible to find. One the best things I've ever sampled was locally made Fig Schnapps, which we bought from someone in the arse end of nowhere near Beni Mellal.

In reply to Removed User:

Not necessarily a case of 'going on the p155' but it is very satisfying to have a cold beer on the Tizourgane Kasbah terrace after a hot day, 400m route and 'interesting' drive back from Samazar.

Incidentally, if staying at the Kasbah Malika doesn't mind storing beer that you've bought from the Marjane hypermarket in the kasbah fridge :0)

Cheers, Ali

In reply to Removed User:

Please try and avoid crude language, it is very tiresome.

In reply to Alii:

Yes, I am stopping at the Kasbah so maybe my question should have been are there any ATM`s and restaurants that do meat dishes closer to the Kasbah than Tafaroute.
But no worries it`ll be fine just excited because I have booked my tickets.

In reply to sjc:

The Kasbah does half board (ie your evening meal is included in the price) and there aren't really any restaurants to speak of nearby. So you bring enough cash to cover your bill, allowing a bit extra for packed lunches, bottled water and mint tea, and you're basically done. Although you can get more cash in Tafraoute if / when you go over there for a rest day or a day climbing on the south side of the range.

And the Kasbah is where I was particularly thinking of when I said "veg stew with a bit of meat" - it's proper traditional peasant food where they put a little bit of meat or fish in with the vegetables to add flavour and give them some protein rather than just slapping an entire chicken on your plate, but it's really nice.

In reply to sjc:

In any case, any worries will evaporate when you come round the corner on the Agadir road and see the Kasbah in the distance and realise that you're basically staying in a frickin castle.