5 July

VIA SAFI TO ESSAOUIRA

After a typical Moroccan breakfast with ‘fried Crepes’ we drove off southwards to Safi first, known for its Portuguese influences and pottery. The landscape was becoming more and more arid as we progressed and we were wondering what all the goats still had to graze in the barren landscape, for sure not much as they were skin over bones!

We decided to visit the old Medina in Safi. Once arrived and having parked our cars we were greeted with ‘goedemorgen’ by a Moroccan by the name of Said. (Not hard to guess why he knew that word!)

He proposed to show us around the beautiful old Medina. The Jewish people have left their marks here and there in the architectural finishes whereas the Portuguese added sole of theirs too.  Said proposed us to go and see his pottery work just on the outside of the Medina. Safi is known world-wide for this colourful artwork.

We were shown how the pottery is made on a spinning table, how it is baked and painted.  To finish off his guided tour, we were shown the different shops where his work is sold.

It was lunch-time and he proposed to take us to a small local restaurant on the seashore.  By ourselves we would never have found it, nor would we have walked in maybe… I don’t know, but did we have a delicious lunch! The ‘cuisto’ treated us on a big dish of fried fish, shrimps and calamares.  Well, there wasn’t much left on the plate!

We finished off in the Medina Souq with a kilo of different olives or 1.50 euros,  different vegetables for a salad for 60 cts and fresh Cumin and pepper. After having thanked Said for the great tour we set off to Essaouira, another 2H drive.

To  change our hotel  habits we thought we would try a camping at about 15 km south of the town.  Camping Le Calme turned out to be quite rocky, dry and hard (what did we expect …)  and was covered with Argan nuts scattered everywhere on the terrain… uhh,  this could be quite a challenge for 2 nights with our 2 mm mattresses! Luckily they had rooms for rent and we decided to take a big room and a smaller one for our stay in this area. These were nicely decorated and situated around an inside patio ‘Moroccan style’. (see pics here)

The boys quickly inaugurated the quiet pool. A great refreshing moment after what turned out to be our first warm day in the country!