Monday Aug 6 – Essaouira

Note my shirt for which I must apologize... Leo found it in his bag and doesn't know where it came form. Anyone claim it?

This Sofitel by far has the best beds of any we’ve slept in (we all agree). Each one is an oversized twin but not quite a double and made up with a luxurious duvet, thick but light and with a crisp white cover. The staff is unendingly friendly and always agreeable even if they don’t have a clue what you’re saying, and the pool is not too cold – though the wind this afternoon could have knocked your socks off. In hopes of blocking ourselves off from the wind we moved from the pool area up a flight of stairs to the upper deck which has a low wall around it making it more protected, and hammocks as well as lounge chairs for curling up in. I can feel my muscles getting softer by the minute.

Wandering through town this morning in search of Thuia wood trinkets was a blast but I would have been helplessly lost had others not had some better sense of direction. Even though Mark says the city is laid out in a grid I could not at all follow where we were in relation to anything else. But we found all of the places we wanted to revisit from yesterday and found some new good spots too. There were lots of women offering henna tattoos, but we never seemed ready to stop and sit for one. Excellent people watching - especially as it got to be lunch time there were thousands of people milling about. Surprisingly, Mark – who is enjoying a day off – found us in the masses before drifting off to find himself some food.

Dinner last night was in an open air oceanside restaurant where most of us ate the catch of the day – something Mark called ‘Saint Pierre’ and seemed surprised we didn’t know it. Tonight we eat at the hotel and then – alas – pack up to leave in the morning for Marrakech.