Essaouira Style

We departed Marrakech this morning, heading 3 hours west by bus to the port town of Essaouira. Although we've read that the town has lost some of its quiet charm in the past decade, we were all immediately struck by the laid back atmosphere. It was a welcome change from the souks of Marrakech. Pale colors with pops of bright blue, narrow, quiet alleys sprinkled with European styled cafes, and a bustling port all make Essaouira extremely picturesque and fun to walk around.

Children playing in some bright blue fishing boats in a tiny port.

Live crabs and fresh fish for sale. "Hello! (or in Cory's case "Konichiwa"...funny becasue she is Chinese American, not Japanese but it doesn't stop all of the men from yelling it her way) Where you from? Good deal...better than America. I give you good price."

Rows of boats lined up at the port.

Cute little fresh orange juice stand. 5 Moroccan dirham is about $.50

Cory and Meg enjoying some sunshine and cool tradewinds coming off the Atlantic in the "Wind City" of Africa.

Old mural painted on the side of a boat with piled fishing nets below.

Man and bike at the port.

This port has historically been Morocco's principal port, offering goods from the caravan trade in Africa to the rest of the world. The coastal area was also well known in Roman times for being the source of a shell that produced a highly sought after purple dye. The color was so rare that it became associated with royalty and was worn only by the Emperor and the Imperial Senators.