Essaouira tagged posts

In Africa, Morocco On  25/02/2015  No comments

I would have a free week in Carnival, so I asked Òscar where he would like to go. He answered straight away: Morocco – because of the movie Casablanca I’d always wanted to know the country.

I have already visited Morocco in Easter holidays on 2002, but the trip was a bit complicated. I got really sick on the very first day of the trip. I was so bad that the hotel had to call a doctor. I was traveling by myself and all in all wasn’t very pleasant. After Marrakech, I took a tour to the desert because I’ve always dreamed of seeing the Sahara Desert. I visited the Atlas, Kasbahs, Dades, Merzouga and slept in camel hair tents on the desert. Then I went to Fez and Essaouira. At the end, I never got to write about this trip in Errante. I came back from my holidays really involved in my doctorate’s work and the memories stayed exclusively in my head.

Now it was time to come back to Morocco, with someone since my experience alone wasn’t that good...

In Traveled places, Morocco On  21/02/2015  No comments

Essaouira has been a strategic port throughout the centuries: traders, pirates, colonial powers, all had used (and fought for) its harbored bay. Nowadays, it may have lost its geopolitical importance but it remains one of the main tourist destinations of Morocco. So, when Fatima from Infinite Morocco invited us to a tour to Essaouira, we didn’t hesitate.

Our driver Mohammed picked us at Jemaa El Fna and we headed west towards the sea. The cities that we passed by (Loudaya, Zoudia, Chichaoua, Sidi Al Mokhtar) had the same red colors of Marrakech but, as we got closer to the sea, buildings gradually changed from red to white. Halfway across our journey, we had a surreal vision of goats climbing on trees. They do that to eat the nuts that produce Argan oil. When we took pictures, the goat herders came asking for some money. An extra income is always welcome, I guess.

Essaouira’s main attraction is its fort. It was built in the 18^th century and it’s well conserved...