Essaouira

We got a reasonable start this morning and headed out a little after nine for the three hour drive from Marrakesh to Essaouria. We were quickly out of the city and on to the flat road that crosses aired, rocky, pink land and small towns until it hits the coast. Along the way are nice views of the High Atlas Mountains in the distance.

Essaouria is a totally charming and adorable town right on the water, with a nice strip of beach and a lovely old town of white washed buildings with blue trim that is car and scooter free. The weather also obliged us, with temps in the mid to upper 70s and gorgeous blue skies. Mark and I had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water—literally; the wall we sat next to was a sheer drop down to the water. (And for lunch? Fresh sole muniere. Mark had raw oysters, which I would have loved to have sampled, but I was having some minor, uh, “traveler’s issues,” so decided to skip it.) After lunch we took a walk along the water to the harbor, where rows of blue fishing boats are all lined up and bobbing in sync, with larger craft nearby. Then we headed back into to town through the old city wall, and passed by the fish market (which is no longer open to tourists) and on to the fortifications with their show canon. Next, of course, was shop after shop of trinkets and souvenirs, of varying quality and craftsmanship. It was a nice stroll, and street cats abounded, which I always get a kick out of. We went back to the Sofitel for a rest and some email-checkage before dinner. (The Sofitel, by the way, is lovely. A totally comfortable and welcoming and cozy five star hotel without any pretension or snobbery – and excellent service, to boot. I tend to have a favorite hotel on every trip and this may be it (even though—d’oh—it’s a chain). Of course, I gather there aren’t a lot of choices in Essaouria.)

We had dinner at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant, where a super-friendly cat (who is used to table scraps, no doubt) made herself comfortable in my lap for a bit before the food came and I was finally able to boot her… Let’s hope she was flea-free. From our table we could watch the locals as they passed by on their evening strolls, and groups of guys playing soccer on the beach under the lights.