Day Fourteen Essaouira

Day  Fourteen

Date:     11 May 2013

Place:    Essaouira

Weather:   Sunny and warm

Accommodation:   Hotel El Mehdi

It was lovely to wake up and not have to pack up and be on the road again.  We enjoyed a slow-paced breakfast and then headed off to see Essaouira.

Some of the travellers, including me, had booked massages for today and the first group went in the morning.

David and I wandered over to the beach where there was a brisk cool breeze blowing.  Kites were flying and the beach was sprinkled with walkers and wind-surfers but it would have taken a hardy person to be a swimmer.   A soccer field had been marked out in the wide stretch of sand below us from the promenade and a serious game was about to start between two kitted out teams. 

No fishing today...too windy!

 

With the 18th century rampart in the background.

 

 It was a short walk to the fishing boats in a protected area and plenty were tied up as it was too windy for fishing today.  An older gentleman kindly took us around and showed us the area, the different hooks, the boats and behind the scenes with the men mending nets – all for a tip of course!

Essaouira is Morocco’s third largest fishing port after Agadir and Safi and the restaurants’ boards near the port advertise a lot of fish dishes.

David and I were on a shopping mission as I had decided to give out ‘awards’ to our fellow travellers for our last official night out together.  We found a lovely fellow who helped us choose some Moroccan ‘fez’ style hats to be given out.

It was great walking the streets and browsing in the shops as there is certainly a diverse range of goods.  After a café au lait and some crepes I bought some beads and then we wandered back to the hotel for a bit of a rest.

Essaouira is a great place for shopping!

Spotted this man with firewood while we sat at the café.

 

My two hour massage was wonderful – Cameron and another traveller and myself were lead through the alleys by our guide to the upstairs room of a Berber massage parlour.  They were obviously doing a roaring business as there was no time delay between clients.  Our whole bodies were rubbed with argan oil so we cannot complain about dry skin!

After we left the massage parlour the sun was shining but a very cool wind was blowing.  We now had to get ready for our last night ‘en masse’ as our tour guide is leaving us after we return to Marrakesh tomorrow. 

It was decided to wear something we had bought on the trip…..a very easy task…..and the group came up trumps with leather jackets, pashminas, beads, t-shirts etc.  We set off from our hotel to the bus and drove to a lovely restaurant (Fanatic) situated on the beach. 

After our first round of drinks Cameron was charged with the task of thanking Said and Abdulla for being such a great tour guide and driver respectively.  They were very appreciative and Said followed up with a short speech thanking us for being such a great group…..of course we were!

I then presented ‘awards’ to the group and David and I had earlier in the day purchased Moroccan hats to give to each member of our tour group.  Everyone seemed to appreciate the idea and we had some good laughs!

Said our guide with Abdullah our driver.....great people!

 Second last night....and a great dinner on the beach.

 



Some Moroccans joined us!

 

At dessert time I’d arranged for Said to organise a birthday cake for David and we enjoyed a ‘western’ style sweet.

Happy Birthday!

 

It was time to head off and tomorrow is the last day as we head back to Marrakesh.  The time has flown and we have all enjoyed each other’s company…..I’m already feeling sad to be saying goodbye to such lovely people!