Essaouira

A 3 and a half hour bus ride from Marrakech brought us to Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. We knew we were going to like it as soon as we stepped off the bus, the air is much cleaner and cooler with the sea breeze, the white painted town is beautiful and the atmosphere is much more relaxed and easy-going. Essaouira, which used to be called Mogador, has a reputation as a hippy town, popular for water sports and once home to Jimi Hendrix.
We did some exploring of the old Medina, where there are still hundreds of little shops on tiny streets but without the motorbikes which were always racing around Marrakesh which makes it much quieter and more chilled out. We had a falafel wrap from a little street food place and walked down to the fishing port to see the old city walls and all the little blue boats. Vera had an encounter with a live Lobster which was a little closer than she would have liked.
In the evening we sat outside a restaurant for some dinner and mint tea and did some people watching. Ramadan is more noticeable here, most of the little shops close up just before sunset so that the people can break their fast as soon as the mosques start the call.Read more