We’re on our way back to Marrakech now, but as we’re not actually due at our only pre-booked place on this trip for a couple of days, we’re taking an extended detour over at the shockingly expensive Ksar Massa (near the Sous Massa Bird Reserve), before heading back over the mountains.

We were in the car for the best part of the day today, leaving Essaouira by about 10:30am and heading south towards the city of Agadir. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see much coastline on the so-called coast road (which for most of the trip was about 1km away from the coast itself) but what we did see was worth stopping for to take in the views and the sea air.

The closer we got to Agadir, the more and more it felt like a surfer’s haven. Shops selling wetsuits and beach gear were the order of the day, and more and more people on surfboards were out struggling to catch the odd wave (which was actually an extremely rare and brief occurrence). To cap it off, the restaurant we stopped at for lunch was playing the universal sun and beach music over a knackered old sound system - soca music and Bob Marley.

On the drive through the city itself, you got the sense that there was or was going to be some sort of occasion or event - Moroccan flags were up everywhere, and there were coloured lights and decorations adorning the street furniture. Policemen and soldiers were positioned along the central reservation, one after the other, though they were mostly unarmed which gave the impression that they were there mostly for show.

The road through the city is exceptionally well made, due to a big cash donation by the King of Saudi (it’s no coincidence that he has an obscenely large holiday home here). This soon disappeared after (what seemed like a lifetime) we made it out of the city, and were back on the standard single lane plus undercarriage shearing precipice which oncoming native drivers were almost always too happy to force you off. Road conditions lapsed considerably on the turn-off to the hotel, degenerating into a shingle-only piste that would have parts falling off less well-made cars.

We finally made it to the hotel at around 4:30pm, and following a knuckle-biting few minutes when they thought they might not have a room for us (and a moment of shear astonishment when they told us one night would be 2300Dh), we disappeared off to our room to dump our bags.

After a little while, we thought we’d head out and investigate our surroundings - there’s a massive beach behind the hotel, completely (for now) untouched by the ravages of tourism; great from the point of view that there’s not a soul around except us and the birds, but not so much judging by the lack of beach cleanup facilities (only really needed due to the generous contribution of trash by other tourists). Still, I’d take a lack of touts and French tour groups over spotlessness any day.

After an hour of worrying seagulls and dipping toes we went back for a wash and brush up, before going to the bar for a pre-dinner drink.

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I’m not entirely sure why this place is so expensive, other than the fact that it’s the only half-decent hotel in the whole of the Sous Massa National Park area. It’s nice enough on the surface - the rooms are huge (though dark and a tad gloomy), with decent enough facilities (including a small hifi, something I personally appreciated) and the staff are incredibly friendly. Beyond that, I’m not sure where all the extra money is going.