We hopped on a bus with the leftovers of our Morocco team and headed to Essaouira. Fresh air, ocean breezes music, and crowds. Lots and lots of music and crowds. We arrived a little after lunch so we were left to our own devices till dinner. Since neither of us was feeling too great, we stayed in and bought a few groceries to get us through the day.
Elizabeth went to dinner with the group while I stayed back. I met up with everyone after dinner for a quick dessert. Later in the night we walked around Essaouira with one of the younger couples to get a lay of the land for visiting the markets the next day.
During our time in Essaouira we were mainly left to our own free time. The next morning we enjoyed the freedom and the laid back attitude of the area. We walked around the city, visited the beach and the fort (another GoT filming location) took a lot of photos, and could not agree on whether to buy any more art.
For lunch our guide took us to a hole in the wall that served fresh grilled sardines. I was still not feeling great so Elizabeth was the only one that indulged in the treats. It was interesting to get a feel for how the locals eat the fresh fish.
The highlight of the day was fighting through a crowds to get to some crepes. We happened to be in Essaouira during a local music festival – Gnaoua World Music Festival. The music festival brings in massive amounts of people. After dinner we decided to go a grab a couple of crepes as a dessert. Our timing was all off. We decided to leave right when the stage nearest our hotel was ending its set. (If you’ve ever been to music festival you know what happened next.) The next thing we know is every single person at the stage is leaving to head to the next stage. The only route there was in front of our hotel and into the same street we were heading down. Instead of waiting for the crowds to pass we carried on our merry way with crepes on the mind. While we were in the crush of people, I spotted the Tasmanian from our tour. He had left our dinner group to head to the only bar in town. We caught up with him and I laid my trap.
I sneaked right up next to him and pinched him on the rear and immediately hid behind the person next to me. Our Tasmanian looked around, confused and trying to figure out who was flirting with him or trying to steal his wallet. The mass of humanity was almost exclusively men, further causing him concern.
Never one to be satisfied with only a little turmoil, I went back to the well. I grabbed him again, and he swung around looking for a fight. He said a few things to the guy standing directly behind him who was shocked and worried about his future and probably his face.
The worried onlooker, pointed to me, telling the Tasmanian I was the attacker. I jumped in at this point to prevent anything from getting out of hand. I didn’t need a Moroccan’s blood on my hands. We all shared a good laugh at the expense of our Tasmanian friend.
Elizabeth and I had crepe to celebrate.
We ended the night back at the hotel with the group playing cards into the night. With the festival taking place outside our hotel, there was no way we were going to get any sleep.
We left Essaouira after lunch the next day and headed back to Marrakesh. We were ready for Italy and ready for no more tajines or couscous.
By this point, we were exhausted and tired of Morocco. Feeling a little homesick we indulged in the American way for dinner. One of our friends on the trip eats at McDonalds whenever she is in another country. We thought we might as well join the fun and get a little taste of home.
The entire country, it’s people, their ways, and much of what they do and how they do it and may always be foreign to us, but we realized that Morocco was a new and exciting place. It was exciting way we did not particularly enjoy. It is frenetic in a way that does not lend itself to us little Alabamians successfully navigating the streets, medinas, and souks with confidence. Perhaps the confidence would come with further trips and experiences in similar cultures.
Those will be a long time coming.
Our last day in Morocco was filled with a trip to the mall, and a typical mall food court lunch. Elizabeth says that this Dominos pizza completely recharged her batteries.
By midnight that night we were in Italy
We Interrupt this Blog Post with a PSA
We saw a disturbing sight while in the mall. Without being long-winded, we witnessed a couple involved in a domestic issue in which a man verbally and physically assaulted a woman while sitting a a table not 20-30 feet from us.
Sadly, it isn’t the first time I have witnessed a man assault a woman. It happened while I was in college and I called the police, who showed up and made a big deal of it, with our group giving statements to the police.
As I was determined to get security, once I explained the situation, they were unmoved. I tried to stress the physically assaulting bit, but security stood resolute. They were not moving from their post. And I know they spoke English so they understood what I said.
I was not satisfied by their inaction so we left and I tried to find some police nearby, but there were none to be found.
Regrettably, that’s where the story ends.
Security stood idly by. I was livid by their careless attitude. But I was in a foreign land using a foreign language. I did as much as I felt I could do without getting over-involved.
So in closing, if you see something, say something. It never hurts to at least try
.
cornetravel 
😢
LikeLike