There’s some great restaurants here and a good few of them we’ve had the pleasure of dining at. The ‘tardis’ like restaurants line the small streets, intermingled with the impressive galleries and artisan stores. Essaouira has a hippie vibe running through its DNA, which in turn creates a very relaxed atmosphere everywhere. The medina is pedestrianised and those that aren’t walking, weave their antiquated, sometimes heavily laden bicycles, through the small streets and when a more substantial vehicle is needed, they roll in modified 3 wheelers, or small dumpster trucks, that somehow manage to slide huge loads through the narrow streets. The beach here is pretty flat and wide and when the tide marches out, it’s perfect to enjoy long walks along its 2km shoreline. Aside from the expansive beach, a large supermarket in a small mall, pretty much everything happens within the walls of the Medina, which takes on a different persona depending on the time of day. And with the exception of the souk which is busy from first light (8 ish), each day typically starts slowly at around 10am and builds thereafter, with merchants welcoming tourists steadily throughout the day. The sun sets at around 6:30pm, bringing out early diners and late shoppers (stores close at around 9:30ish), leaving the night owls to carry through to the early hours, supported by the colourful sounds of north African music drifting into the night sky. The partner of one of the guys that looks after us, was launching a cookery school and asked Rach and I if we’d be willing (mature) students for a promotional video and marketing stills. We spent a very sociable evening under the tutor ledge of the great local chef Hanane, learning how to make a lamb tanjine whilst whilst being filmed. We then sat down with the family to enjoy the tasty tanjine and some delicious Moroccan entrées.
Dream Chasers 