Essaouira from 28.8 - 1.9.2018

Tuesday, 28th of August 2018

Full of anticipation for a lovely idyllic harbor town with alternative surfer boys, we got off the bus after a 3-hour drive from Marrakesh to Essaouira. In the past, Essaouira was a pilgrimage site for hippies from all over the world, some of whom settled there and brought the harbor back to life with small surf shops. So we could have guessed that Essaouira, with its approximately 80,000 inhabitants, is somewhat more urban than, for example, Mauerstetten. In addition, you can see that the old walls of the houses have suffered from the sometimes strong trade winds for many centuries. However, it didn't take long and we were captivated by the charm of the blue and white city. During a visit to Carrefoure, the only large supermarket in the city, which is located 3 km away, and where according to a large poster bargaining is not encouraged, we stocked up on water, soda, fruit, and other snacks for the next days. The search for food in the Medina of Essaouira was very difficult due to the large selection - buuut we had the right instincts again and were able to enjoy the best fries of our lives! After that, we had a round of happy price haggling at the market, with a fresh breeze blowing and carrying us back to the hostel.

Wednesday, 29th of August 2018

Today, we had to clarify some things regarding our travel plans: Where are we going on the 1st of September? And how do we get there? Besides, we came to Essaouira to take a surf course - Leon for kite surfing, me for regular surfing. After asking around at the surf shops on the beach, we had to realize that surfing is not an option for us. Leon's price expectations for kite surfing differ too much from those of the surf school, and for my regular surfing, the winds are simply blowing in the wrong direction right now. As consolation, we will visit a hammam in the next few days. All this organization led us along the sandy beach of the Atlantic, with the sound of the wind in our ears and the salty sea air in our noses. I truly believe that the entire city was gathered there: the kids in soccer training, the teenagers playing basketball, the men sunbathing or drinking coffee shirtless, and the women fully dressed in the sea. I tried dressing like the surfer girls in revealing clothing (i.e., long pants, off-the-shoulder top). It's something you can do if you're willing to put up with demanding looks. But soon it became very uncomfortable for me, so I put my long blouse back on at the fishing harbor. There was bustling activity at the harbor: seagulls flying through the air, some fishermen lovingly restoring their boats, and others offering their catch of the day at the fish market. There were small fish, larger ones, eels, rays, all kinds of mussels, and even sharks on the sales tables. Then, how should I say it, I had a so-called "stomach upset" (I'll spare you the details), which honestly required me to recover a bit in the hostel... I would have felt better if I could have taken a shower and put on something fresh - but unfortunately, there was nothing fresh left. So, let's do some laundry, ready, set, go. After Leon's dirty laundry was washed, he decided to take his wet items up to the rooftop terrace so they could dry nicely in the sun. Well, to be fair, I have to mention that he helped me wring out the wet laundry beforehand until he noticed blisters on his palms. Real housewife hands! As for me, I continued washing and scrubbing my remaining laundry, and just as I was fishing out the last pieces from the washwater, Leon reappeared in the room: some shirts had fallen down and are now dirty again. So, turn on the faucet and play the game once more. In the end, we stretched a clothesline through our entire room, opened all windows and doors, and let our shirts and panties dry in the draft.

Thursday, 30th of August 2018

Like an old married couple, we set off for our morning walk on the beach after breakfast, observed the hustle and bustle of today's youth for a while, and then fixed a hammam and massage appointment for the following day. Leon was most excited about my upcoming massage because he is convinced that his job as a masseur is now done for this trip. We made our way back to the hostel to indulge in a long sunbathing session on the rooftop terrace with a book and a game of Yahtzee, accompanied by fresh figs from the market. A Jewish festival filled the beach promenade with many people and a large police presence during the day, but especially in the evening - and we were right in the middle of it. To celebrate the day, we treated ourselves to pizza in a fancy restaurant, where a guitarist played live lounge music in the background. Maybe out of concern, but I suspect it was more to preserve the upscale lounge atmosphere in the restaurant, the friendly waiter specifically warned us about an especially spicy sauce. This piqued Leon's curiosity, and he ended up putting half the tube of sauce on his already hot Diavola pizza. The next few minutes were spent trying not to scream from the fire in his mouth and hopping in a circle. Hihi. With our bellies full and in high spirits, I sang to myself on the way back, but neither "Bella Ciao" nor "Brüderchen komm tanz mit mir" scored points. Now I have a singing ban. That's not fair, is it?

Friday, 31st of August 2018

"Absolute relaxation" should be the motto of this day. True to that, we set off early in the morning (11 a.m.) to the small paradise of Essaouira called Azur Spa. Honestly, I can't remember a moment, except for Christmas Eve just before receiving gifts, when Leon seemed so excited and uncertain as he did that morning. He even considered canceling his booked hammam with a subsequent neck and shoulder massage. But I couldn't allow that. Soon after, we found ourselves wrapped in soft bathrobes, wearing plastic thongs underneath, in the beautiful treatment rooms of Azur Spa. Our paths diverged there, Leon being herded into the hammam by the delicate ladies with hand and feet, and I followed another woman into the massage room. When we met again about an hour and a half later with a cup of spiced tea each at the relaxation lounges, I could immediately see: Leon enjoyed it. He had even dozed off in the steam bath and had been scrubbed with black soap from head to toe (yes, even his feet... even though the woman was almost hit by Leon's uncontrollable twitching because he's ticklish), washed, and finally massaged extensively. I liked it equally well, so two and a half hours later we left the salon feeling relaxed and happy. Before we wanted to rest in the hostel, we made a detour to the bus station to buy our ticket for the night train to Tangier. We were not prepared for what happened next. Firstly, the staff there had bad news for us, and secondly, they were so unfriendly that it took me hours to recover from it. But let's take it slow. The bad news was that our train was canceled, and we either had to take the transfer in 60 minutes or wait for the night train in two days. After some back and forth, we were presented with another option for the following day, during the day. 14 hours: first, a bus to Marrakech, then a train to Casablanca, and from there, another train to Tangier. Although we would be without accommodation for the night, we chose this option and instead of a relaxing afternoon on the rooftop terrace, we took a long walk to the nearest supermarket to stock up on water and snacks for the upcoming trip to northern Morocco. No matter the context in which we have had contact with Moroccans so far, we always felt ripped off or treated unfairly afterwards. And we always smile politely and try to respect their values (e.g., clothing) - after all, we are guests here. We are just as human as they are. Maybe we look different, practice different customs, live differently, but that doesn't give them or us permission to be treated disrespectfully from start to finish - be it about money or with looks. We have to fight for everything, and so often we have felt completely out of place, we should always negotiate every price (and if we don't, we end up getting cheated) ... honestly, I wonder if, even if you grow up with it, that can make you happy? Leon and I, in any case, are pretty fed up at the moment. Nevertheless, we still want to enjoy the second half of our trip, or at least classify it as "experiences". In this sense, we followed the lead of all the young Moroccans and ate a super cheap and really delicious sandwich with fries at a kind of kebab shop. To support the local economy, we then bought a hammam towel for Leon (because he liked it so much) and an argan oil for me (because I really need it). According to the ticket, we will leave at exactly 9 a.m. from the overall relaxed, windy harbor town of Essaouira towards the north of Morocco. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.