Sunday, Sept 29th, Essaouira, Morocco

Greetings!

We left some of our friends behind in Marrakech today, as the main part of our trip ended.  Zak and they will drive north to Casablanca, and we drive west to the coastal city of Essaouira.  It had a reputation as a hippie town a couple of decades ago, and has become a surf town lately.

Would you believe that a special (and expensive) oil would be made from the nuts chewed by goats that climb trees?  Thousands of tourists do, and they stop by the side of the road to take photos of the goats in trees.  Won't see that here.  Instead, you'll see a family who provided us lunch and insights into rural life, and a farmer who walked is into his squash patch.  Both were valuable sources of survivors of drought, dependence on tourism, and centuries of successive central regime change.

We arrived on the coast to cooler temperatures, beautiful beaches, and windsurfers.  There is a much more laid back vibe here, and most of us are ready for it.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Sunday, Sept 29th, Essaouira, Morocco.