Essaouira, Morocco

Finally stopping for longer than a couple days, Essaouira has been our first try of the “staycation” we’ve been seeking. The unpacking/packing of our backpacks and moving every day is definitely the first thing that gets tiring when living out of a bag. We’d heard this place mentioned a few times to be a chill coastal town with a bit of an art and live music scene. After our previous full-day bus trips, the short 3.5-hour luxury coach from Marrakesh was a welcome change.

We’d booked an Airbnb for 6 nights with the idea that we could settle for a bit and get into a more normal routine for a week. Some exercise, some work on our projects, some time to hit the sun and sand and just read a book. (where I finally started this journal and found FindPenguins). Basically stop for a week and chill out.

We arrived about lunchtime and immediately noticed how much cooler it was. While still at 26°C it was so much more enjoyable than the mid 30’s we’d had the previous week. The one downside that we’d heard to Essaouira was that it is always windy. While not immediately noticeable we soon realised that the plan to sit on the beach, or lounge on the terrace, wasn’t that practical.

Very much a tourist town, there is the typical Moroccan old Medina that has been built up inside an old fort. Originally built in 1769 the modern town sprawls away from the fort. The Medina is similar to Fez and Marrakesh with the various souk stalls selling oils and handicrafts. But where Essaouira stands out from the others is a big port full of blue fishing boats and a long flat beach stretching out away from it. With the constant trade winds this beach attracts windsurfers and kite boarders all year round. And an entire end designated to camel and horse rides.

The 7 days here have been great for what we were after. A chance to give the staycation a go in a cheap place while still having some things to do. We had a go at cooking up a Moroccan dinner by shopping in the food markets and buying spices and meat from the stalls. Getting vegetables was easy so we grabbed some staples for a diced pan fry. Next was to find some spices which took us into a spice stall where the stall owner turned out to be a guru on all medicinal herbal remedies you could think of. He proceeded to open every jar off the shelves and had us smell each while explaining what they were and could help with. Everything from menthol crystals to ginseng as a Viagra. Even opium poppies to add to tea to “help you relax” 😂. We grabbed a spice mix of paprika, ginger, cumin, pepper and whatever else and then went to find a butcher. Something you definitely learn when travelling to countries like this is that the food service standards we have in Australia don’t apply here. Butchers here, whether it be red meat, chicken or fish, don’t use refrigeration. The meats are laid out all day on display. Apparently it isn’t an issue in the heat with flies all over them 🤢. We stopped at a little butcher stall with primal cuts of beef (we think) hanging off the roof and sitting on the bench. When I asked for some steaks the butcher casually carved off a chunk from the slab on the bench and threw it on the scale. So with a scoop of couscous from the next stall that was dinner I guess. While definitely nice to have a home-cooked dinner, the reality was we were better off grabbing a cheap chicken Shawarma (kebab).

We’d worked with a pretty cheap budget for the week so the second last night decided to find a nice seafood restaurant. As a complete fluke, we found the most incredible food and service of our entire time in Europe so far. After being seriously underwhelmed by the minimal flavour of the foods in Morocco, this place blew our minds. With a modern twist on Moroccan food, this place served up some incredible flavours. So much so that we went back the next night. Absolute standouts were the Monkfish with saffron cream and the crab linguine that tasted like a bouquet of flowers. Not to mention the local Moroccan wine!

So all in all, Essaouira was everything we were after. After the first couple of days of persistent wind that made it a bit hard to be productive, the second half of our stay was perfect. Some crazy sea mist that lingered one day led to no wind for the last 3 days. Happy with that!Read more