15 October 2014

We woke at a good time to catch an early bus back to Essaouira. We ended up on an overflowing public minibus and got dropped off just outside the medina. Before entering the center of town we picked up some pancakes at a tiny stall and headed straight to our favorite cafe for a relaed tea/coffee. The peace and quiet didn't last long, once we'd set off for a little shopping in the medina. Tempted by the gorgeous carpets hanging outside we headed into a tapistry shop. After a bit of a clumsy bargain, Alby decided it was a good idea to spend 700DH on a 1m² carpet - supported by Clara's naive carpet knowledge.



It was such a great idea that we decided to celebrate the buy with a fresh orange juice whilst the carpet was being repaired to tip-top condition. However, feelings of regret started to torture Alby and the realisation of being 'had' set in. With a story of Moroccan carpet shop vendour quality, Alby headed back to the shop to get back "our only money for the rest of the holiday". After some disagreement Alby emerged victorious and we headed to the bus station for a ride back to Marrakech. Three hours later we arrived at our previous hostel and noticed how much more alive the city was this time. We enjoyed a yummy harira and tajine at the Jemaa el Fna and settled for the night.

10 - 11 October 2014

We headed to the supermarket and the bakery across the road to pick up some tasty goodies for breakfast and set off for the bus station. Half an hour later we were already on our way back to Marrakech after scoring the last two seats on the back row.


After a dusty and windy (!) road through the mountains and lots of car sick passengers we arrived at the bus station in Marrakech. As soon as we'd hopped off one bus, a tout grabbed us by the arm and got us straight onto the bus to Essaouira... again the last two seats! This journey was less traumatic as the road was straights and flat and we arrived in Essaouira at around 5pm. We found a nice hotel at the seaside, a typical blue and white joint just inside the medina walls overlooking the sea and enjoyed an Atlantic sunset from the balcony.



We headed out of the medina towards the port for dinner where we planted ourselves at one of the many fish grill stalls. We shared a plate of fresh snapper, sea bream and calamare before heading back into the medina for an ice cream treat.


We started the next morning with a welcome lie-in and headed to cafe L'Horloge to treat ourselves to a Moroccan pancake breakfast, accompanied by honey, jam and amlou (a Morrocan delicacy which is a mix of aragan oil, ground almonds and honey).

We spent the rest of the morning wandering through the streets of the medina, filled with little boutiques, cafes and eateries. In the cobbled alleyways we discovered Essaouira's typical architecture. Crumbling white-washed buildings with lovely old big wooden doors and roof terraces with ornate steelwork - all a little worse for wear, thanks to the corrosive sea breeze.




In the afternoon we headed to the beach, where we took advantage of the midday sun to read our books and chillax. We wandered back to town via the port, where we enjoyed the sunset amidst local fishermen selling their catch of the day, sea crew fixing their boats and seaguls fighting for the scraps. We found a delicious tajine in a little eatery and headed back to our seaside hotel.