After returning from our walk yesterday evening our host Reda showed us around the hotel. The four rooms that have been prepared for renting in ten days time were amazing. No Travelodge standard here. Large airy spacious areas with an ensuite the size of a box room. One even had a dressing room. Outdoor swimming pool, spacious open plan kitchen, diner, living room and landscape gardens, all this for less than the cost of a room at the Travelodge on a Sunday night. As night fell Redas three dogs slept outside behind Marge. Unfortunately something spooked them about five this morning. That was it. Angela was awake for the day. We wanted to be away early anyway. Angela was really looking forward to today. There are three places she wants to visit whilst in Morocco. The first Agadir where we flew out to for a week in early February 2025, the second Marrekesh, the third Essaouira. Essaouira is the one place that pops up when you Google Morocco or look at a Moroccan guide book.
It is a port city and today we arrived just as the lorry's were arriving to collect the catch from dozens of the iconic blue wooden trawlers. Amongst the organized chaos the tourists mingle. Well really getting in the way. But the day to day running of the port continued around us all.
A stop at a pretty cafe on the square and then a walk into the Medina, where we ate lunch at a bohemian style Cafe.
Our order chicken tanjine for two turned out to be turkey meatballs in tomato sauce topped with an omelette, accompanied by a basket of bread, for one! Somewhere our order had become lost in translation. Never mind. It was tasty, and more than enough food for the both of us as we'd eaten a very large pain chocolate at the cafe each.The Medina was interesting, the stalls varied. No one hassled us which was a pleasant relief.
How these medinas remain standing we can't fathom, upon closer inspection they look as if they are on a point of collapse.
The beach at Essaouira was stunning, and clean. In fact the whole town was clean. At last we'd emerged from the largest rubbish tip. The area we are in now is a tourist hot spot, especially for surfers.
We are staying the night on the camping area at Sidi Kaouki, a small rural town. It is popular with the surfers. We were a little confused as to how horse riding, camel riding and quad biking all taking place on yet another clean sandy beach, worked alongside the surfers. But there you go, it obviously does. What really amazes us is that it appears to be the low season here. The other campsite is closed for a months annual holiday. Now we realize why we have seen so few other Europeans. Angela feels uncomfortable that she always seems to be amongst men. We tend to see very few women on a daily basis. Angela's mum Margery wouldn't have minded. She always thought men made better company! Having begun our day earlier we were at the camping area in good time to do some washing. It's always nice to be able to put the line up and wash the dust out of our clothes. That's one constant pain about Morocco, everywhere is dusty or sandy, and it gets everywhere. This morning Angela bought cornflakes at the supermarket, and the box was covered in dust. Today has been a good day. For the first time since arriving in Morocco Angela has felt relaxed and happy. John says we're on an adventure. Adventure isn't in the guide books, it's in the unexpected moments. Angela wants the unexpected moments to be joyful, today was one of those days.