This past weekend was my roommate's last weekend here in Morocco. So we decided to do a trip together down to Essouria... girls weekend!
Essouria is a hippy, port town on the southern, Atlantic coast of Morocco. It hosts the Gnawa festival every year, but we happened to come the weekend after this large festival... Although I was sad we missed the festival, it was nice to see the small town in its natural setting. It definitely had a young, hipster vibe to it, and everyone seemed much more laid back. It was a lot of fun to explore, and there were great places to buy rugs. I ended up finding a small one made in the Sahara that I really liked, and decided to wrap it up and bring it back to the US with me.
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Thuya wood... Essouria is renowned for this special wood
and the delicate craftsmanship that goes into these beautiful boxes and trays. |
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Emma walking down the narrow alleys to our hostel.
At night it was quite creepy to walk back to our hostel,
but we met other travelers from the hostel that we ended up going
out with at night. |
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| A shop with traditional Gnawa instruments. |
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| baby camels!!! |
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| Really pretty ramparts up to the North Bastion. |
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Famous for its fresh fish... where you chose what you want and how much,
they make you a deal, and then cook it for you right there in front of you. |
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| Emma and the remains of our fishy meal! |
The second day, we met a group of girls from Whales and rented some bikes to explore the surrounding beaches. It was incredibly windy, and we took a wrong turn, only to end up where we began. It was nice to get a little exercise, but we decided to abandon the bikes for horses and camels. The girls from Whales decided to ride camels, and I jumped on a horse for the fastest ride I have ever had in my life.
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| Stopping along the rode to fix the chain and take a quick pic. |
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Stop at the Hendricks cafe for some shelter from the wind.
When I took a quick look at my face in the mirror,
it shimmered with a thin layer of fine sand that had been
whipped up by the wind. |
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This horse looks small, but it was strong, and at the
slightest touch it lept into a full gallop. |
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| Our panini chef! |
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Some cool Moroccans that we met and invited us back to their
house to cook some traditional tagine. |
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| ...need some meat? |
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Lots of fruit stands in the old Medina where
no cars are allowed to drive. |
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| The lounge area of our hostel, "Riad El Pacha" |
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Met some Moroccans building a new boat... although it
might look like it, he is not trying to cut off my head. |
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| The beautiful port! |
