Time to move on again. Essaouira is your basic surf town and was fun to explore. Hints of Santa Cruz were around. But it was time to go. even though most of the road to Marrakech was under construction and a bit bone jarring, it was nice because we were forced to slow down thus were able to enjoy the vistas a bit. Finally we made it into Marrakech and its legendary heat. The thermometer was on high today… All the pools that we have swam in so far have been unheated and we have been trying to explain to Sydney why. Today she finally gets it…
We are staying at La Maison Arabe and have easily the largest room of the journey. We are in the Nahrr Suite which is two stories plus has access to a private roof patio that has a bathtub/jacuzzi. The thought of a bathtub outside sent Sydney into stitches. As with the other hotels we have stayed at someone put lots of thought onto this one. The only real ‘problem’ is the internet connection is spotty, something we have had since we arrived in Morocco.
Jamal met us after lunch and a swim and gave us a short tour. We stopped at another woman’s cooperative this time for rugs then we were off to Marrakech’s legendary Djemaa el Fna and it deserves its reputation. Full of food stalls, snake charmers acrobats, monkeys… A melange for almost every sense. Sydney got over her fear of snakes and let one be draped across her. No it was not harmful, what kind of parents do you think we are? We ended up at an overlook watching al the action in the Djemaa el Fn as the sunset. The darker it got, the more crowded it became with both tourists and locals. Our guide lives not too far from here and says he likes to hang out here on his day off, one of the snake charmers is a good friend.
We ended the night back at the hotel relaxing after a long day sipping some Moroccan wine. We have a bottle of Domaine de Sahari Reserve, vin rouge du Maroc from the Atlas mountains. Non-vintage it looks but it was complementary. I will let you know….
Sydney at the Djemaa el Fna
Djemaa el Fna
Dancers in Djemaa el Fna
Some local food.
Snakes.... Why did it have to be snakes....