Morning traffic in Marrakech — yikes — What a nightmare! Intersections are free-for-alls with everyone abandoning the notion of "lanes." Thankfully Tahar is driving . . . Not quite as aggressive as some (probably because clients are in the car), but more aggressive than we're use to back home even on the 101 and 405 highways. Unfortunately, just as we are to break out of traffic a call comes in from La Maison Arabe — my grey carry-on bag was left in the hotel. Instead of paying attention to be sure all my bags had been brought down from my room and stowed in our vehicle, I'd gone off to buy a couple of last minute gifts. Damn!
Good natured, Tahar weaves our way back to the riad, picks up my bag, and dives back into traffic. Once out of the city, the sky "blues-up" and as we head towards the coast the landscape turns pastorale. Along the way we pass orchards of Argon trees (argania spinosa) that produce the valuable oil whose flavor is similar to toasted hazelnuts. It is a plant unique to this region called the Souss and which holds great attraction to goats — as we discovered!
Spotting some munching in the trees, we stop. While Jewel and I take photos, Gypsy immediately picks up and cradles a young baby — the perfect antidote for time spent in the city! Soon we are yelling for her to move as a gorgeous white goat goat high up in the tree above her begins to pee . . . clear miss . . . whew!
Good natured, Tahar weaves our way back to the riad, picks up my bag, and dives back into traffic. Once out of the city, the sky "blues-up" and as we head towards the coast the landscape turns pastorale. Along the way we pass orchards of Argon trees (argania spinosa) that produce the valuable oil whose flavor is similar to toasted hazelnuts. It is a plant unique to this region called the Souss and which holds great attraction to goats — as we discovered!
Spotting some munching in the trees, we stop. While Jewel and I take photos, Gypsy immediately picks up and cradles a young baby — the perfect antidote for time spent in the city! Soon we are yelling for her to move as a gorgeous white goat goat high up in the tree above her begins to pee . . . clear miss . . . whew!
Our next stop is at Le Val d'Argan vineyard about 12 miles from Essaouira and the only one in south Morocco. It was founded about 20 years ago by a Frenchman, Charles Mélia, whose family owns Font du Loup in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. His Moroccan vineyard is dedicated to growing red and white grape varietals from the Rhone Valley. Today, the vineyard has almost 80 acres under vines, which we are told yield over 100,000 bottles a year. Our vineyard guide is a young man who is interning. His family, he tells us, owns a small vineyard in France. After the tour we head to the vineyard restaurant for a bit of morning wine tasting and wondering why he chose to intern here rather than Italy, New Zealand, or the United States!
Starving, we arrive in Essaouira about 30 minutes later. Tahar parks down by the waterfront and takes us to one of several seafood shops where they will grill whatever we select . . . It all looks great — and not a tagine in sight! We choose a Spider crab, handfuls of shrimp, calamari, and a mild fish. Yummy, but not inexpensive. Since reading on-line that customers can negotiate the prices at these waterfront cafés . . . we do so . . . successfully!
Too bad our trip is winding down . . . we're getting better and better at this way of buying almost everything. I suspect it will take a few days once we are home to get back in the habit of pay full-fare in stores!
Essaouira's medina is pedestrian, which means that porters have been arranged to take our luggage by hand cart to our accommodation for the next two nights — Dar Maya. Unlike a riad, which is typically an traditional residence that is organized around a courtyard, a "dar" is house that is more in the fashion of bed & breakfast. Dar Maya is lovely and perfectly situated so that it is easy to get around, yet quiet. Behind a traditional wooden door on a narrow alleyway, the four-story home is tastefully modern inside. There are spacious guest rooms (5) that are beautifully, but simply decorated — all looking onto a lovely open courtyard. There is also a fourth-floor lounge that I discovered in the last hours of our stay and along with a roof-top terrace with outside bar and small plunge pool.
Too bad our trip is winding down . . . we're getting better and better at this way of buying almost everything. I suspect it will take a few days once we are home to get back in the habit of pay full-fare in stores!
Essaouira's medina is pedestrian, which means that porters have been arranged to take our luggage by hand cart to our accommodation for the next two nights — Dar Maya. Unlike a riad, which is typically an traditional residence that is organized around a courtyard, a "dar" is house that is more in the fashion of bed & breakfast. Dar Maya is lovely and perfectly situated so that it is easy to get around, yet quiet. Behind a traditional wooden door on a narrow alleyway, the four-story home is tastefully modern inside. There are spacious guest rooms (5) that are beautifully, but simply decorated — all looking onto a lovely open courtyard. There is also a fourth-floor lounge that I discovered in the last hours of our stay and along with a roof-top terrace with outside bar and small plunge pool.
The day is not over . . . stay tuned for pics of our self-exploration after settling into our hotel . . .