Tapas to Tajine : Bumping Down The Coast

Time to move on from Fez, We enjoyed it very much and were sad to leave. One of the nice things is the weather cooperated nicely, the oppressive heat one hears about did not happen. Jamal said it was more like January and although we did see a Bank thermometer that said it was 45C it did not feel like that. I think all Bank Thermometers must be broken around the world.

We had a 7:00am flight from Fez to Casablanca. You can guess what time we awoke… Mostly uneventful except for the fact that the Moroccan security treat all travelers like they are International travelers. We (and others like us) were repeatedly asked about where we were going, how much Dinar we had, what to declare on both ends of the trip. They were incredulous that we were only going to ‘Casa’ as they said and we repeated several times that we had a driver meeting us and were not leaving the country for several days. An interesting education in cultural differences.

The trip to Essaouira was long and made longer by major road construction going on. The King is investing heavily in his country and so is Spain we are told. It will cut down on illegal immigration into Europe. But we made it to Essaouira, a windy town known for windsurfing and the like. Very beautiful. Sydney saw her first camel, said it was bigger than she thought it would be.

We are staying at the Palais Heure Bleue, a Relais & Chateax hotel. Very beautiful with an adventuresome feel. An old world travel hotel. As promised we took Sydney swimming after we checked in. She jumped in to the pool and as she swam, call to prayers started across Essaouira.