An Unplanned Year

Day 13

Today we did a cooking class, cooking 3xtagine – lamb & prune, chicken, lemon & olive and vegetable; 3x salads – carrot, zucchini and capsicum & tomato; as well as learning a shortcut way to cook couscous the Moroccan way. (Hint, it’s not adding boiling water and covering for 5 minutes!)

We then arrived in Marrakesh and took a couple of hours to relax by the pool on the rooftop terrace.

Overnight: Marrakech

Day 14

Today we had a guided walk around Palais Bahia and the souks, with a quick stop at a herbalist before ending up at the square of Djemaa el-Fna.

The Palais is half private and half public. It’s the home of the King when he’s in Marrakech. Previous occupants have been the French military, plus a previous Sultan with his 28 wives/concubines and eunuchs. It is ornately decorated and very popular, we were lucky to be there early.

The souks were surprisingly hassle free, maybe because we had a local guide; many places were also closed as Friday is a holy day.

The herbalist showed us spices and different oils.

Sarah had the day at the hotel as she wasn’t feeling well.

Overnight: Marrakech

Day 15

The rest of our tour group ended their tour and started heading home (Canada, England & Australia) today. We jumped in a new car and drove to Essaouira, a beach city that is really lovely and again, a completely different side of Morocco. Loud waves, surfers and the biggest (& whitest) seagulls we’ve ever seen!

We stopped at an Argan Oil collective on the way here and saw how argan oil is obtained, by hand, from the tree nuts. We did not see any goats in trees (it’s a thing, they eat the argan seed husks) as there has been a lot of rain recently and there is lots to eat on the ground.

Sarah then went back to bed and Kevin went to the Essaouira medina and fort with our guide.

Overnight: Essaouira

Day 16

We got up and crossed the road to the beach before breakfast this morning (fresh air/ stretch legs etc). On the beach there were so many rocks and pebbles of different colours, sizes and shapes, all polished smooth by their time in the waves. Some were almost spherical.

Kevin had another day out today, Sarah stayed in, feeling a bit better but not well enough to wander around a medina for multiple hours!

The outing today involved choosing a fish from the market adjacent to where the boats come in, taking it to a nearby restaurant where they cook it for you! How fresh is that!

For someone who didn’t eat fish until 2022, he demolished it!

Overnight Essaouira

Day 17

Sarah was finally feeling like a human being this morning so we had a quick brekkie and headed to the medina and fort so she could see them before we left. Market stalls and shops were just setting up for the day, and boats returning with today’s catch.

Late morning we headed back to Marrakesh. On the way we passed goats in trees. Yes, they actually climb trees! These ones had been ‘influenced’ in the name of making a dirham off tourists, but they were in trees nonetheless.

We sat back and enjoyed the scenery, listening to our guide’s favourite Amazigh music-it’s great music actually and suited the mood and scenery perfectly. We drove back via a motorway as our guide didn’t want us all to risk dying as we did the other day with people doing insane overtaking.
(Not so) Fun fact: road accidents increase by up to 25% during Ramadan-all the fasting and minimal sleep combined with no coffee!

We’re staying in a gorgeous riad in the Medina tonight. You’d have trouble finding it with a map, but it’s worth the effort!

Went for a walk and rooftop dinner for sunset.

Overnight: Marrakesh