UNBELIEVABLY annoying!!!

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Geo: 31.5093, -9.76345

Bad sleep ... exhausted last night, but couldn't get to dreamland until after 2, and I was up before 7. I tried falling back asleep but soon gave up, and crawled out of bed not long after, still fatigued. The fatigue was short-lived, as the lack of hot water in the shower definitely shocks the system! It wasn't really the lack of hot water ... it was that the only two choices were cold water, or ice-cold water!

Mary was just getting ready by the time I was done, so I headed over to the bus station to check schedules for today's journey to Essaouira. The vibe was completely different today, as our late arrival last night meant the streets were quite deserted - there definitely was a buzz in the air. Strange smells, scooters zipping by, donkeys pulling carts, live chickens clucking ... it was a bit more like the Morocco you would expect.

The bus station - UNBELIEVABLY annoying!!! In a matter of mere minutes, the time it took to do a quick boot around the terminal looking for a bus schedule, probably 10 guys got in my face, trying some kind of hustle. Once again, I must say it was UNBELIEVABLY annoying. Have you ever wanted to punch a complete stranger in the face? Well today I did, a number of times, in fact! I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Back to the hostel to find Mary, to grab some breakfast at Place Jemaa El Fna. We wandered a bit, taking into account some tips from the hostel's manager, and settling on a place that seemed busy with locals. Not knowing what to order, we just followed along with what others were ordering.

We popped over to The Koutoubia, a 900 year old mosque, on the way back to the hostel to pick up our bags. Off to the Supratours bus station in the new town - unfortunately, there wasn't a 12:30 bus like we thought, so we had a couple of hours to kill before the next one. It's always a funny thing - the ticket girl was a cute local, but seemingly got cuter after speaking Spanish with me. What can I say, it's a beautiful language!

Off to walk around the new town - it's fairly modern, and is actually a little bland compared to the chaos and bustle of the medina. It's more of an art gallery and boutique kind of place, as opposed to the medina's chickens and donkeys.

The bus ride to Essaouira was pretty rough, conducive to motion sickness - it's a good thing that the bus let out at a rest stop about an hour into the ride, giving us a chance for some fresh air. Incredibly, there was a couple on the bus traveling with their two small children, and though they only stepped off a minute or two before us, they were already seated and feeding the kids their bottles before our feet had even hit the ground! It seemed almost magical how quickly they were able to do this! We had earlier seen them at the Supratours bus station and remarked how difficult it must be to travel with two kids - apparently, it's nothing for these two!

Essaouira is described as being reminiscent of a French seaside town - I couldn't tell, because it was dark and rainy by the time we arrived. And really, I couldn't see anything because before even stepping off the bus, touts were already shoving flyers for accommodations in my face. Seriously, I wanted to punch a bunch of people at the bus station. If somebody ignores you for a good ten seconds, would you continue shoving a flyer in their face, and keep on yapping?

We found our way to the Riad Nakhla - though charming, it's definitely nicer in the photos! The room was tiny, with barely 10" on either side of the bed. One of the Riad's workers suggested an inexpensive place across the street for dinner - normally, I'd take a local's recommendation to heart, but we thought twice in this case, given the number of annoying touts we have come across so far in Marrakech.

We did look at the menu of the place recommended by the worker, the 4 Seasons, but decided to wander around town in search of other options. One was Elizir, touted by the guidebook as being the best restaurant in town, but its menu was a contemporary take on Moroccan cuisine, and we wanted to sample something more traditional tonight. There was Restaurant Ferdaous, which seemed to be as authentic as it gets, but its rather limited menu didn't sound as appealing as the one at the 4 Seasons, so we returned there. It's a cozy little place, low lit, with a Spanish guitar soundtrack.

After dinner, a nice little walk through the town - market stalls, art galleries, the main plaza, and down to the water. It's a bit of a relief to come here after the craziness we witnessed in Marrakech, as it's a bit slower paced, and feels like you can relax and catch your breath. I think we might regret not staying here more than a night ...

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Photos

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Some kind of savoury porridge that was finished off with some type of oil or liquid, that had a bit of a pungent spice that wasn't terribly appealing. The crepe was quite tasty, crisp and chewy, served with goat cheese inside and topped off with what was possibly honey, or maybe some type of sweet syrup. Mary's not a big fan, but I'm really digging the mint tea here - she compares the taste to toothpaste.

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The courtyard at the Riad Massine II.

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Even all the way here in Morocco, Real Madrid's got some fans!

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The Koutoubia.

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One of the countless dried fruit vendors in Marrakech.

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The streets of Marrakech - tons more people, donkey carts, and clucking chickens are the only things required to complete this picture!

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What's neat about the medina is that you can be walking amongst some crumbling buildings but all of a sudden, you come across something stunning like this gate.

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Marrakech's new town - a lot less hectic than the old town. I was tempted to pop into the Zara across the street, in the hopes that they had imported some Spanish females to work inside :)

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The theatre.

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Marrakech's very modern train station.

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Holy bling in the new town, Batman!

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We wandered around the new town a bit, getting lost a couple of times, and ended up at Kechmara, a contemporary cafe recommended by the guidebook, a place known for featuring local artists and music. I can't say it should be known for its food, however.

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The bread that came out before the meal wasn't too bad, and tasted better than the croque monsieur. Some crappy olives (aren't they all?) were also served, and some odd brined citrus peel. At least the orange juice was decent, and shows the difference between here and the medina - a juice here is half the size, and 7 times the price. But at least here it's served in a glass that gets washed between customers - or you would hope it is ...

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The croque monsieur was rather crappy - soggy, and flavourless. A grilled cheese made with processed cheese would have been WAY better than this garbage. A bad sign - shortly after ordering, I noticed the waiter clear away two plates of croque monsieur, each of which had a half a sandwich left on the plate. If only I had seen that BEFORE ordering! Salad - just some lettuce with a flavourless vinaigrette.

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Luckily for Mary, she ordered off the kids menu - a plate of fries.

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Mary likes to wear her backpack in the front, not for security reasons, but because she likes to stroke it and call it "my baby".

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Chilling in the Riad Nakhla, in Essaouira - is it just me, or is it kind of creepy that Mary would take a picture of me through the window? There's something very peeping-Tom about the whole thing ...

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The 4 Seasons - very comfortable and inviting sitting on the cushioned benches, we loved the ambiance.

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Some mint tea was brought out to start, and a little platter of mushy pasta salad with some cold veggies (one seemed to be a tasty type of sweet, spiced squash), along with some warm, crisp bread.

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Mary started with harira, a traditional Moroccan soup made with chickpeas, onions, and tomato, among other things - it was kind of bland.

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Tuna salad - kind of crunchy rice, corn, and a bit of mayo. Simple, but surprisingly tasty.

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Mary went with a beef and vegetable tajine - decent, though the meat was pretty tough.

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Fish tajine - a bit burnt and overcooked on the bottom of the tajine, and the only veggies were green peppers and olives. Not too bad.

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Dessert - pear and some really good bananas, in orange juice.

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I think we're still a little dazed and confused here in Morocco - at least, we look that way! We both feel a little out of our element.
You can see the orange juice that Mary chose for dessert. There seems to be a great selection of fresh fruit juices available here in Morocco - I had a fresh apple juice that was a bit pulpy, but very nice.

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Too funny - this butcher's shop was closing up, but these cats were waiting outside as if they were in line like paying customers!