Day 2 - Essaouira

After only a day in Agadir, we are off to Essaouira; the hip and trendy part of Morocco according to Anna. It meant an early start with breakfast at 6.45am. It was that early that there was no omelette girl, much to the dissatisfaction of Aoife and Anna - I was happy enough with my Cauliflower and rice but of course I waited for an omelette too.

Checked out of Hotel Tildi with a taxi waiting outside, I read somewhere that Moroccan’s love a haggle so when he said 50 MAD for a taxi to the bus station, my price of 20 MAD helped us settle for 30 MAD. I could be on The Apprentice. The bus depot was a dark basement with a field of tarmac for the buses to park, not the most welcoming of areas but we held our own and weren’t bothered by locals, surprisingly. Despite getting tickets for our CTM bus online, we were told we had to get tickets for our bags as well. For all the hassle, it worked out about 37p for a bag. At least we were on our bus and on the way to Essaouria. Anna and Aoife napped together as I made friends with my seat partner through the very rough French I knew. It turned out that she liked le la geographie and disliked le l’histoire too!

Along the coast we were greeted by fantastic coastal beaches and the odd herd of goats, but unfortunately none of them were up in the trees yet! After a pleasant 3 and a half hours, we arrived in Essaouira at a different bus station than I anticipated. It meant we had a 40 min walk ahead of us but it was good to see the city for the first time. Drenched in sweat, we also had unwilling help from a shop vendor to show us the way. To be fair, he was also nice and didn’t ask for money…maybe don’t always believe what you read.

A day of exploring and adventure lay ahead and after checking in. Thanks to Suite Nastassja for having us! After some local Tagine and spiced rice for lunch, we travelled through the medina towards the beach for a swim. Only 2 days in, we have found that Moroccan’s are so laid back and they take their time with everything. I wouldn’t blame them in this heat.

Tans topped up and dried off from the seawater, we had booked ourselves in for an adventure - Quad driving through the dunes. We travelled through the forest, over the dunes and along the beach for an hour of what could only be described as really good fun! If you are looking for any adventure in Essaouira, definitely try Essaouria Spirit Watersport centre. They were brilliant and it was just the 3 of us with our guide, who made us do a photoshoot just to add to the excitement.

The garage for the quads were a short drive away from the town and when we got back, our guide was away with another group and we were left stranded. After 15 or so minutes of creating small talk in French with a local inhabitant of the area, as well as admiring the make shift fences and doors - I don’t think the locals care too much about their vanity - our driver finally arrived to take us home.

A great time was had by all and to celebrate, we visited Le Taros bar for a drink and to check out the scene as recommended by so many travellers. We had arrived at sunset before music had started, but the rooftop bar already appealed to us and we booked in for dinner tomorrow. A few tapas dishes and our new favourite Moroccan wine (le clos petite) we chatted to an American landscaper who sat beside us. She had been living here and there and everywhere being so vague about it in the process. She also complained because she got too much vodka in her glass for her drink. Definitely weird.

Suited and booted after drinks, we embarked on an adventure to find a restaurant for dinner. Whilst navigating the mazes of the medina, we stumbled upon a rooftop restaurant and decided to take the gamble. The food and staff were amazing but the music left much to be desired. We managed the bread basket course before having to move downstairs. The music was a mix of the 2am bar closing commotion of shouting and chanting, accompanied by 4 of the loudest cymbals in Morocco. Every song sounded the same but in their defence, they definitely got people looking up at the rooftop restaurant and coming in for a nosey.

The portions of food were huge and as we rolled back to the apartment, Aoife was nearly caught up in a fight with a cat when buying water. Thankfully the cat caught himself on. Just as we were trying to sleep, I thought echos of the band from earlier were still ringing in my ear - in fact it was just a man shouting at the police outside at 2am. It was almost identical without the cymbals.