I gotta be honest… I spent 10 nights in Essaouira, Morocco and did a whole lot of nothing… like for real I spent a lot of days behind my laptop working on my blog. I am glad I did though because I got 100% caught up and will now be able to get my groove back as I travel through Spain. Yes I wanna play tourist again in Spain, I’m so ready and oh am ready to have a beer at a BAR!!! As you know my time in Morocco has had its ups and downs… I loved Chefchaouen and loved the million shades of blue it had… then I got to Fez and well I hated Fez and for a minute I was actually going to go home. Then I visited the Sahara Desert and if you read my letter to the Sahara you know that it made me realize all over again that what I was doing is really amazing and to take it day by day. I was ready to get my groove back right after that, but knew I needed a few more days of rest and doing nothing to regroup. So I made my way to Essaouira and did just that. Instead of boring you with a long blog post I thought I would just share my highlights of my time there.
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I didn’t arrive in Essaouira alone. I arrived with my group of friends from the Sahara Tour. It worked out so well because we all had the same plan after the tour one more night in Marrakech to rest and then make our way to Essaouira. It was also Virginia’s birthday (the one in the yellow next to me). We decided to have a special lunch (lots of fish… LOTS OF FISH) & then relax before having a fun night. We walked very far to buy some beers & wine for later in the night. We ended up spending most of the night in our hotel room drinking and chatting before making our way out to some of the clubs in Essaouira. It was a great night of fun with friends.
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Ahhh the harbor in Essaouira is amazing… I spent a few afternoons walking around just snapping pictures. It provided me with many amazing photo opportunities.I loved that all the little boats were blue. Reminded me of Chefchaouen.
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After our 1st night out on our way home at like 3am we bumped into Amin. The girls being girls talked with him for a while and had a crush. He let them know that he was a singer and plays at a local restaurant and was going to play that night. They took the details down the next day we all made plans to meet up there to watch him sing. I’m glad we did we enjoyed a some nice mint tea and watched him sing many songs. Some originals and some covers. I have to admit I was moved… this boy can fucking sing. I even have one song on video… I plan on making it one of my Music Monday songs soon, because it was an original of his and I could so relate to it.
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Yes you guessed it… the girls being girls talked with him after the show. We ended up having dinner with him after the show and then being invited to his home. It was very surreal… he showed us his whole home. The thing I loved was that he didn’t have much. I mean really his room had a mattress he sleeps on and that was it. Along with his stereo he uses to listen to new music. We then spent time in his kitchen just a table and another mattress used to sit on. We spent many hours there talking. Talking about life, travel, dreams, and the world. It went down as one of the highlights of my whole month in Morocco.
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Oh & also that night at his home I used my 1st squat toilet. I was so glad Meri had a baby wipe, cus if she didn’t I would never have been able to do it. I was so scared, but I had no choice. It was like 2am already and I had no clue where in town we were and could not go back to the hostel. I of course took a picture of it…lol!!! After using it I realized it wasn’t that bad, just hated I had to take off my jeans to be able to use it. Now I know I can use them with no problem as long as I have toilet paper.
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If you didn’t know Essouira’s nickname is WIND CITY… its so damn windy year round it’s crazy. It’s a surfers paradise, but because of that it is not the best beach to lay out in. Of the 10 nights there I only visited the beach twice. I know crazy… me a beach lover… but it was because it just wasn’t the best beach to lay out at & it didn’t help that the water was cold.
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My lovely sandwich shop… I have a habit of finding a a good cheap place to eat and going back to it a million times while I am there. This was no different. It was the cheapest sandwich shop I could find. For $2 I could get a huge sandwich with fries and a drink. I was in heaven, because I wanted to be on a super budget during my stay here, so when I get back to Europe I can splurge a bit… on well beer!!! I also loved that they knew me so well after the 3rd visit and I no longer had ot tell them no olives or to put hot sauce in my sandwich.
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My hostel was definitely one of the highlights of my stay in Essaouira. I was paying 60MAD ($7.37) a night and that included free breakfast and a great WiFi connection. I was finally able to actually edit so many pictures I had been wanting to edit for future IN PHOTOS post (trust me I have many more to come and oh they are good… well at least I think so). If you are coming to Essaouira, I recommend you stay at this hostel. It is called Hostel Dar El Pache you should be able to find it by asking, but if you can’t let me know and I will give you directions to it. It was clean and had a very relax, chill environment. It was also a better option than the hotel we stayed at the 1st night that I got into an argument with the manager over WiFi…lol. I leave that story for another time.
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AND THE BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT OF THEM ALL… WAS THE SUNSETS!!! Even if I didn’t do anything all day I still made sure I was out of the hostel in time for the sunset. I swear I could never get tired of watching the sunset. I watched at least 6 of them and loved every single one of them. Just to sit there and watch the sun disappear into the Atlantic ocean is amazing. It was time I spent pondering about life and just enjoying some time alone with my thoughts.
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Aside from that I also loved walking around taking pictures of everything. This town is very relax and chill and just an amazing town to regroup on things. It was also hear I decided that it was time for for me to move on from Morocco. My original plan had me going to Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier from Essaouira, but I just didn’t want to do that. Instead I booked a cheap flight on RyanAir from Marrakech to Sevilla. I hope you enjoyed the highlights… I have now been back in Spain and look forward to posting about it again very soon. So have any of you been here? What did you think of it? Who else loves sunsets??? I swear I can’t get enough of them… Do any of you find a cheap place to eat and stick to it during your stay somewhere?
Essauira looks like such a beautiful place. I love it when you find somewhere you feel like you can relax and chill out for a few days and get your head together, you definitley need a place like this when your on the road for so long.
Your photos are gorgeous – except the squat toilet of course! But you really do get usedbto them quite quickly (and you’ll end up REALLY appreciating clean Westerrn toilets in the future!)
Looking forward to your posts from Spain.
Monica, ahh Essauira really is a very beautiful place I loved it a lot!!! It is so nice to find a relax place where you can just hang out for a few days and just do nothing. It is needed on a trip of this length.
Glad you enjoyed my photos… yeah except for the squat toilet, but I had to include it… It was a highlight after all. Oh, but I don’t think I will ever be able to get used to them.
I loved it there….after the chaos of Fez and Marrakech (which I enjoyed, but certainly wouldn’t call relaxing), it was so lovely to be able to chill out in such a friendly, gorgeous town. I particularly loved going to the harbour to watch all the sardine boats unload, was an amazingly colourful sight.
Geoff recently posted..My 7 Links: Revisiting some old favourites
So glad I am not alone… agree with everything you said. I loved it for those reasons exactly.
I love that the singer invited a group back to his home! THESE are the experiences you’d never get unless you were on the road and open to them!
I’ve only had to use a squat toilet for quick business and I know my next encounter with them will be quite the experience!
I’ve been saying it on Friday but I’ll say it again — really loving the shots, Jaime!
Heather recently posted..What’s Next: Lifestyle Choices
I know Heather it was amazing… I couldn’t believe it either. It was such an amazing experience & the things we talked about were just awesome. Oh yes any encounter with a squat toilet it quite the experience…
Thanks again for the compliments on my photos!
I can’t believe you were in Morocco that long. Time flies.
Sounds like a killer deal on that hostel. $7.37 for all of that. I wouldn’t want to leave.
Looking forward to Spain stories!
Kent @ No Vacation Required recently posted..Table for 9 Billion Please
Yes Kent a whole month… I can’t believe it either. Time sure does fly… and oh yes that hostel was a very good deal.
Hey 🙂
We are going to Essaouira the next days, and i looked for the Hostel (but cause wie had really Bad Hotel experiance in Fes and Rabat) but i can just find ‘Hostel Dar El pacha’ and the Price is About 290DH for a Double room (100dh for Single) is this the right Hostel?
Has Anyone any Tipps?
Thank you
Isabel, I don’t think it was on Hostelworld or online any where. I think we found it by just showing up and walking around. I wish I could remember where it was, but it’s been so long and honestly don’t. I don’t even know how much it had cost me. You could just show up and find a place. Be sure to check it out and if you like it stay and if not then leave. I do that plenty of times when I’m on the road.
How funny you took a picture of the squat toilet! haha I encountered my first one in Paris this last summer, and had to mentally prepare myself just like you. What a deal on the hostel too; a perfect place to recoop over travel burn-out without blowing your budget.
Patricia GW recently posted..Lifestyle Experiments (grab your goggles)
Oh Pat I take pictures of everything it’s so sad…lol!!! Yeah I always have to think about everything when I use one… it’s like an attack you plan 1st…lol!!! Oh yes it was a great deal and just what I needed!!!
Sounds like a cool place- I specifically like the shot of all the boats.
Erik recently posted..Photo of the Day- Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio
It really was & thanks Erik. That harbor was amazing to take photos of.
Wow, $7 a night is amazing. It’s cool to take time and just chill now and then and not be running around all the time. I always try to do that to recharge my batteries!
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy recently posted..Checking out the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock
I know rigth Scott $7 is just perfect… to enjoy it not worry about anything and recharge!!!
The photo of the surfers is the best photo you’ve shown from your whole trip. Great capture!
Ahhh I really love that photo too David. Thanks for the complement!
all the pictures are gorgeous… i like the way you wrote this post… it made me feel like i was there… and it’s amazing that you got invited to a local’s house… 🙂
flipnomad recently posted..Chatuchak Weekend Market – Bangkok’s Best Shopping Destination
Thanks Flip! I know I still think it was very amazing we were invited back… such a cool feeling!
I love to hear stories of locals inviting strangers into their houses. It’s what makes travel so great. The unique perspectives rarely seen by the average tourist. Way to go!
Head south and come visit us in Namibia!
Jermibia recently posted..Game Drives at Erindi Private Game Reserve
I know its just amazing Jermibia, I love moments like that.
Me and my friends are going to Marokko in two weeks and I am so looking forward! Can you please describe where the sandwich shop in Essaouira is located? So that we can find it 🙂 ?
We are also thinking about doing a desert trip. Your photos look so good!!!
Hi Manuela, thank you for the comment. I’m trying to think where the sandwich is and can’t. I know it’s on one of the main streets it’s not hidden. Look for the name of it that you see in the photo. Oh & YES don’t MISS the desert trip. That is one of the highlights of my trip and so happy you liked my photos.
Hi guys how are you doing ? This is youssef im from essaouira but i live in south of morocco , i have enjoyed amazing times in essaouira with my friends and familly members , the fastival of gnawa music was really fantastic , im looking forward go back again next summer .