I came across this place called Sidi Ifni. I had read about its strong Spanish influences and how its people supported Spanish football teams, took siestas and are were likely to greet you with a hola rather than a bonjour. The Spanish inside me was screaming, “You need to go and check this place out!”
Until 1969 (not so long ago) when this place was still under Spanish power, this small town was known as Santa Cruz del Mar Pequeña. It still preserves all of its street name signs in spanish (although the locals and the maps have different names to them!)
You can find a letterbox outside the Post Office marked “Correos” (picture above).
Not to mention that I was approached many times with a “hola guapa que tal” (taking into consideration I do not look spanish whatsover. This was really amusing).
Whilst walking around some of the lonely, abandoned-looking streets, I got this sense of better times in the past. This is something the owner of the Riad I stayed at (called Maison Xanadu – one of the places I recommend to stay in if you ever visit Sidi Ifni!) mentioned to me. He told me that Ifni was much wealthier before. You could find cinemas, swimming pools, casinos…now the only form of entertainment I could see was an abandoned cinema called Cine Avenida (yet another Spanish name).
I sensed this feeling of punishment in the air. As if the town was punished for being the last city ceded to Morocco. More than 40 years have gone by since this happened and not a single penny has been invested in its development. Hotel/tourism infrastructure is basic and lacking (one of the reasons you won’t see many visitors around). From a “selfish” perspective, this could be something good as you get to experience the real past and present Sidi Ifni.
Only 10km away from Ifini, you can find yourself at Legzira Beach, a place where nature shows off its beauty. The highlight of this beach is the two dramatic natural red stone arches reaching over the sea carved by the water and the wind. I could really feel the sound of the ocean, which transported me onto another world. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to witness sunset which I heard was one of the most beautiful things but I did find this little local restaurant (not hard to find anyway as there are only about three restaurants) with a small rooftop terrace facing the sea were I ate fresh grilled sardines for just 2euros (I still can’t get over how cheap seafood is here) accompanied by a freshly squeezed orange juice and a Moroccan salad (one of my best meals here so far!)
I had heard many good things about this place called Mirleft (situated 30km from Sidi Ifni). So I decide to head to this town before I head back home. Getting from Legzira beach to Mirleft turns out to be a whole adventure. Let me just start by saying that in order to get some form of transport you need to stand in a deserted road and pray that a bus or shared taxi will arrive soon. By deserted I mean: no people, no trees, no shade, just a road. Wait, I am lying, I was accompanied by a donkey with whom I started taking selfies out of boredom (this is a little embarrassing to admit)
A bus or shared taxi never turned up (this was after a 40 minute wait) so I end up being driven by a supposedly Moroccan gendarme (I started getting paranoid thinking about those movie scenes where the supposedly police guy turns out not to be a police and just a crazy maniac who end ups raping you – Yes, I might have seen too many movies). The whole situation didn’t help after he told me the story of a girl who had just been raped at Legzira beach (I was about to jump out of that car at this point). Thankfully, all of my paranoias stayed as paranoias and I arrive safely to Mirleft. If you are not a fan of water or water sports (or that is not the purpose of your visit) forget about coming here as there is nothing to do or see (which turned out to be my case).
My journey ended with a 4h bus ride back home on one of the region’s most beautiful road, offering wonderful views of the ocean, rugged hills and an amazing sunset.
P.S: I want to thank all of those who read my blog. I hope you have enjoyed everything you read so far! Until then, I will keep taking adventures and creating memories :)
