The Magic of Morocco: part 2

If you've been paying close attention, you might've read in the first part that we booked 2 trips. So where was it the next one was going? The second one was a day-trip to Essaouira, a beach village at the Atlantic Ocean. On our way we stopped to see the trees with goats standing in it (really! crazy sight...) and that appears to be good for the production of argan oil (the Moroccan oil every western shampoo brand loves). Essaouira is a lovely city, it reminded me a lot of Greece and Portugal, since everything is white and blue and of course: I finally saw the sea again! 

We had a wonderful lunch (I ordered sardines, since fish is Essaouira's speciality) and as we were enjoying the hot sun on our faces, we met two hippies from Morocco. They had a guest house in which they arranged jam sessions and cocktail nights. As you can imagine, we got along really well and we decided to spend the night in Essaouira, rather than going back to the bus at 6. That night we ate lots of fish again, drank red wine and met people from all over the world. All of this in the bohemian-ish guest house, definitely my kind of style.

As for Marrakesh, don't get me wrong: it's an exciting city. There's always noise, the mosques are beautiful and all the buildings are very colourful. The souks were an experience on its own. You can buy so many great things: Moroccan lamps, candles, lots and lots of rings, tea pots, ashtrays, scarfs, leather bags, etc. You definitely have to know how to haggle, otherwise you pay way more for the bargains than what they're worth. Fortunately we were quite good at this, we can both be very distinguished, reserved and almost cold. This proved to be really useful whilst shopping! 

At the food market in the main square of Marrakesh, we had more troubles since the guys over there kept shouting and screaming - everyone wanted us to eat at their place. Once, we had already eaten and were just strolling along the square, when men started shouting: 'You're skinny! You need to eat!' And then one guy said: 'Lesbians!' And all of a sudden they were all screaming: 'Skinny lesbians!' I couldn't stop laughing cause the situation was so absurd. We were just walking very innocently and all at once we were skinny and lesbians. Crazy, crazy city.

The food was really good though. We ate at the market several times. It was very cheap and tasted really well. I've had more couscous in one week than I had in the last year I think and I'm pretty sure I won't eat any more olives, vigs and mandarins for a very long time. Moroccans eat lots of sugary things and only white bread, so I was craving for a good filling dark sandwich when I got home. I didn't crave for the other things at home, since, as you all know, I'm a Fernweh patient. To be back home is to feel deserted again. In other words: not at home. Because I feel best when on the road, and Morocco turned out to be a great place to spend time on the road. While seeing so many different views and experiencing so many different things: city life, cosiness in the desert and fun at the beach. I'll be back, for sure, to see all those other marvelous landscapes Morocco has to offer.