PEAU TRIP TO MOROCCO!
"The Search for the Purest Argan Oil in Morocco: A Journey Through Agadir and Beyond"
Day One: A Red Light and a Red Face
We arrived in Marrakech, picked up our rental car, and set off for Agadir. In London we are great drivers, however in Morocco driving felt extremely unfamiliar and day one proved it. We were so excited to get to Agadir that we didn’t realise we had run a red light right in front of two police men. We were very casually pulled over and were attempting to talk our way out of a fine. But, to my surprise, the police were very friendly. They let us go with a warning and we set off on our 258.5km journey.
After arriving and refreshing ourselves at the hotel we decided to explore Agadir. We spotted a group of boys playing football and of course we couldn’t resist a friendly game with them.
Day Two-three: An unforgettable drink, Cooperatives and a Late-Night Ice-cream
Day two was the highlight of our journey. If you didnt know yet, my partner is Moroccan and always waves the ‘Morocco is the best’ flag when we’re back home in London. She loves to boast about how great the food and drink is, specifically a certain drink called Hawai, which she claims is a blend of Lilt & Rubicon, so of course being in the country i had to try and see for myself. And let me tell you, I was hooked after my first sip. I couldn't drink any other drink for the rest of our trip.
On our way to visit several cooperatives, we stumbled upon our first one and were greeted by the friendliest women. These women were the guardians of the argan oil making process, and they welcomed us with open arms. They even allowed us to participate in every stage of the process, from cracking open the argan nuts to separating the kernels.
Every cooperative we visited, we were welcomed with the warmest hospitality. After our first production experience, we were keen on taking part in the process again and again, which was both a learning experience and a fun one. We were in awe of the women's dexterity and efficiency in breaking open the nuts, and we couldn't help but join in and try our hand at it.
The women were thrilled to have us there and showed us their prized argan oil, each bottle filled with the golden liquid that they worked so hard to produce. We took photos and videos, capturing the essence of this unique and traditional process, and the women beamed with pride as they posed for us.
It was a truly unforgettable experience, and we left with a newfound appreciation for the women who work so hard to preserve this ancient tradition. We couldn't help but feel grateful for their warmth and hospitality, and for the opportunity to be a part of the process of making Argan oil.
The next day we set off early again and visited many more villages and cooperatives fuelled by our stock of hawai. We stopped at every opportunity to talk and mingle with locals to learn more about the Amazigh culture.
After hours of driving and learning, we returned to the hotel and had a few hours left before dinner, so we set off on a late-night walk in Agadir and cooled ourselves with some ice-cream.
Days Four to Six: The Race Against Time, Corruption, and Icecream Cravings
The last few days of our trip were filled with excitement and challenges. Our Argan oil cooperative selection process was very thorough, and definitely worthy of It’s own blog post. So keep your eyes out for that one!
We went back to our favourite cooperative to source the Argan oil, but they told us that they may not be able to produce enough for us to take home. Argan oil goes through an extensive filtration process, so they needed to make sure the oil would be of high quality before handing it over to us.
In between we collected our oil and dedicated a day to content creation
On the way back to the airport, we had another police experience, sprinkled with a little corruption (on their part). They attempted to seize our Argan oil, claiming that there was a rule about shipping over a certain amount, which turned out to be false. But of course, we weren’t regular tourists as my partner speaks both french and Moroccan Arabic. So we managed to get ourselves out of that situation and continued our trip back to Marrakech.
Our journey to Morocco in search of the purest Argan oil was an unforgettable adventure. We discovered new foods and drinks, played football with the locals, had a beautiful learning experience with the Amazigh people, drove a total of 1500km and even encountered some corrupt police officers. And still managed to bring back the highest quality Argan oil you can buy.