Tuesday 10th March 2020
Essaouira to Marrakech
After breakfast we had an hour or so to spare so we walked the now familiar route to the port and watched the fishermen working for a while.
The port was bustling with activity.
Buckets full of the morning catch were being thrown up to outstretched waiting hands, emptied and immediately thrown back down to the sturdy wooden vessels for the next load.
A while later, we pulled our suitcases through the dirty and dusty labyrinth of alleyways enroute to the bus station. These small lanes are permanently sandy due to the sand persistently blowing off the coast.
One thing that I won’t miss are the wheels of the bikes, motorcycles and other small vehicles seemingly constantly biting at my heels, as they attempt to go about their business delivering products etc in the narrow lanes.
Of course, we tourists are a nuisance to these folk as we slowly meander and also to the guys pushing the sometimes heavily laden handcarts. With all the noise of the medina, it is impossible to hear their shouts of warning, and they may have shouted six times before you realise someone is shouting at you! By this time, they can be more than a little angry, particularly if they are pushing a heavy cart up the steep inclines in Fez’s medina!
Small tuk tuk vehicles carry everything from dangerously long steel rods to huge sacks of flour for the bakeries.
There are hundreds of cats in this seaside town, all of which appear to be well fed. Apart from the morsels they steal at the port, I suspect there is an expat community taking care of them. Turning a corner, it is not unusual to come across a line of tubs of cat food laid open; we also came across a couple of handmade cat houses. They were brightly painted with CAT HOUSE written on the side, these fat cats are obviously clever too!
In many Islam countries that we have visited the muezzin sounds quite melodious, soothing even, but not here in Morocco. There are apparently no recordings and a muezzin still calls the faithful to prayer. With the many mosques and their close proximity, their cries are often out of sync and a little hard on the ears.
I have mentioned the many beggars, and we think that we have noticed more here than in the other places that we have visited in the country. As we walked to the bus stop, I was just about to stop and walk back a little when Dave commented “he has got two legs”. Apparently, as we approached, a seated beggar manoeuvred one of his legs so he appeared to be an amputee. Some young people are begging and some seemingly able bodied middle age folk but of course you never really know…
Outside of the medinas, the towns are modern and clean. Here in Essaouira the long, palm tree lined promenade is extremely clean, as is the beach. In all the approaches to the towns, we have seen wide avenues and dual carriageways with flowers neatly planted in the traffic islands and on the roundabouts.
On our journey to Marrakech we were over the moon to spot around a dozen argan trees with goats high in their branches munching away, unfortunately the cameras were not to hand.
Also, we saw storks and their nests on the tops of minarets again. These long necked and long legged birds are considered sacred here in Morocco. Therefore, it seems quite appropriate that they stand majestically on top of the holy minarets. A Berber belief states that the birds are transformed humans. Even today, a three month jail sentence may be incurred if someone is caught disturbing the birds.
It was mid afternoon when we reached Marrakech and the temperature was a blistering 28 degrees Celsius
Stopping at a small snack bar we ordered a couple of calorie loaded pancakes. Afterwards, with the aid of Google maps, we located our hotel.
This is the first modern hotel that we have stayed in while being in Morocco, all of the other accommodation has been in traditional riads. The bathroom is the cleanest that we have seen here.
Later, we set off for a walk around the area which is extremely modern. The buildings are all low rise though, perhaps the rule of buildings not being higher than the minarets continues outside the ancient medina. After spending quite some time searching for the airport bus stop, we eventually gave up and went into the railway station and asked at the information desk. “It is directly in front of the station” the smiling lady informed us. “Yes, we thought it was but we didn’t see the bus stop” I replied. “There isn’t one” she said. “Oh well, that’s why then” I laughed.
Earlier, as the bus was arriving in the city, I had spotted a sign for a Chinese restaurant, we thought it would be a change so we spent quite a while searching for it but to no avail.
So, we settled on the Bella Italia restaurant and after our rather long walk, ordered a couple of ice cold beers while we perused the extensive menu. From the window we could see the red double decker tourist bus and a couple of horse and carriages, also carrying tourists.
Our Italian meal was tasty and an enjoyable change.
It was unbearably hot in our room when we returned and the remote control for the air conditioner wasn’t in the room. So, I popped down to reception for it, “I will send my friend with it” the male receptionist said. “Okay, thanks, and its room 106” I said heading back into the lift. However, when I got out of the lift, the room next to the lift where our room was was not 106. Ohh! I thought, where’s the room?
It was not where it should have been ha ha! Maybe it was on the second floor? Well, it wasn’t there either! But, I did meet the man with the remote! He showed me where room 206 was and I said “No, our room is definitely next to the lift”. I suspect that he thought I was a little crazy as he just turned around and went. Luckily, Dave had heard my voice and came out of room 214! Room 106 was in the last hotel! Perhaps it is time to head home!
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