We awoke to this wonderful sight of a camel caravan on the beach. It was to be another relaxed morning walking around in the medina, so we took our time getting out of the room and to a nice, plentiful buffet breakfast in the hotel coffee shop.
Morning hunger pangs assuaged, we headed out, and along the beach towards the old town.
We made our way to the port in order to see the fishing boats. It was a good time to come as most of the boats were returning with their morning catch.
We entered the gate leading into the city and walked upto the main square. The wharf was busy with fishermen sorting the morning catch and seagulls hoping to find tidbits lying around.
The main square was crowded with tourists sitting in cafes enjoying the fresh sea breeze, and with locals going about their business.
We made our way down small alleys towards the ramparts. Everywhere the blue and white that are the colours of Essaouira were in evidence.
We walked around the ramparts, enjoying the air. The sun was hidden behind clouds which made for a warm but not hot day. The famous winds of Essaouira were doing wonders to keep the temperatures down.
We visited some of the thuya wood workshops below the ramparts. This wood is native to Morocco and both the bark as well as the sap of the tree, which solidifies into a wonderful golden rust colour are used, along with other wood inlays like cedar and lemon wood to make beautiful boxes and trays.
We took this picture of this adorable cat curled up sleeping in an pot outside a workshop.
We walked around the medina, looking at the little shops. Most of the stuff was the same -
- lots of babouches........
.....the colourful spice cones......
.....and cloth bedcovers and bags.
It was starting to get hot as the sky cleared up, and we decided to head back to the hotel, and eat another non Moroccan meal there.
Essaouira is a wind surfer's paradise, and there was plenty of action out on the water.
We got back to the hotel, checked out, and crossed the road to the hotel's restaurant on the beach. After another very good pasta, and a Tiramisu dessert, we were ready to roll out of the city. It is the kind of place one would like to stay at, relax and enjoy for a couple of days, but Marrakesh awaited us.
We stopped enroute to Marrakesh at an argan oil co-operative. The argan tree grows only in Morocco, and the nuts of the tree are ground to yield an oil which is very good for health. It is higher in good cholesterol than olive oil, and does wonders for the skin. In Morocco, the oil is processed in small co-operatives, thereby generating employment for hundreds of wwomen, most of whom work flexible hours, and some even from home. Goats in particular love the nutty flavour of the argan and are not averse to climbing into the trees to get at the fruit making for very amusing pictures, and it used to be common for children to throw goats into trees for tourists to take pictures for a fee. It was discovered that this practice hurts the tree and reduces the yield of nuts and hence is now discouraged.
It was late evening as we pulled into Marrakesh with the Koutoubia mosque glinting in the foreground as we drove into the medina. What a difference from the Fes medina this is, with wide roads and open gardens.
We reached our riad, the Ksar Anika in the Mellah, and offloaded our luggage. It was time to say goodbye to our friend Khalid who had accompanied us throughout most of our adventures in this country, and had driven us safely over piste and tar, over highways and mud tracks, through desert and mountains, all with a smile and a laugh. He was the perfect escort, with lots of interesting information and a wonderful attitude.
We walked into our seriously huge room, freshened up and returned downstairs. The riad was beautifully lit up, and everything was shining with the newness that comes from being brand new. There were not too many people staying there at the moment, so it was very quiet. We were quite content to stay indoors for dinner, and since they had no advance notice, the lovely receptionist Meryem, along with our attendant Emil, personally cooked some pastillas for us.
We ate in the cocktail bar which was beautifully lit up, and then sat by the pool for a bit, before heading upstairs for a good night's rest.
