Emeraude Hotel Essaouira

... in that bitty "Title" box that travelpod offers. Thus... my "OMG...Ack!" above.

Whatever. What no doubt you're far more interested in is - whattheheck I've been up to this past week, yes?

Many, many adventures. A dizzying array of sights, sounds, people, experiences.

But perhaps I best rewind here and post a bit at the earlier dates at each location in Morocco.

Stay tuned...

... able to canter along the beach and through the waves with her horse – totally awesome, I want to do that some day – I AM going to do that some day! I was having a fantastic time, but part of me was extremely disappointed at having to be led. It was amazing riding along that beach – really beautiful, ******* the legs and bottom, but breathtaking just the same. We make our way back through the sand dunes to the ranch – the entire time we are riding around ...

So, we're off to the coast today – we get up, have some more delicious Moroccan pancakes and then walk from the riad to a main(ish) road to get a taxi to take us and our luggage to the bus station. The smallest, ramshackled taxi in the history of taxis comes along and just as I’m thinking no way we’ll all fit in there – luggage en all, the drivers squashed our bags in and slammed the boot shut – one of the bags being on the ...

... A popular old Russian song by Alla Pugachova, the light suddenly went down low for a couple of seconds and the show was over... It looked like synthesizer of a band member was burnt by electricity failure=( It was so pity...

So, as far as we ended our drinks, we went back through the night city, which looked wonderful at night... Then again we spent some time by the pool with some wine=)

Hotel Palais Le'Heure Bleue







Imagine waking up to the sun peeking in through your suite window.

Just enough to summon you to the balcony to take in the marvelous views of Morrocco
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The sea, the port and the towns that await you...


This could be the start of your day when you stay at the Heure Bleue Palais
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Located in ...

... lovely room in Moroccan style. I felt like I'd never want to leave again. My first stop was Il Mare. A restaurant right behind the city walls but high enough to look over them. Ten days before Christmas, I was sitting outside on the roof terrace, enjoying a good lunch with a view of the ocean. It was blue skies all over and just pleasant. Was it really 3 days since I was walking through the snow...

... checking in, I appologized to the owner and told him that I did not think the room and I were a good match, got my money back, and left. This may sound like not a big deal to you, but for me it is, as in the past I would have either stayed at the booked place and resent being there, finding more reasons as to why I thought it was a mistake to come there, or alternatrively, I would have explained in detail to the owner why I thought his riad was overpriced and a rip-off. I am ...

... retirees, and well-off French people, as well as the hippies' backpacker successors like myself. Essaouira's breezy location and mix of rocky headlands and sandy beaches make it a favorite for surfers and wind surfers too. Our campsite was located along the beach a few miles south of town, a distance that looked enormous as I looked toward Essaouira from the beach but one that actually took only about 40 minutes to walk. I spent two afternoons and ...

... start building a bit of confidence through the tricky stuff. Doing some self analysis on riding style I realize I was riding with my head looking down at the sand the whole time. With the notable exception of sky diving, the first law of motion sports is that you will generally go in the direction that your head is pointed. So I try following the guide but looking into the distance and keeping that nasty sand in my peripheral vision. As a result, the riding gets much much easier. I ...

I spent yesterday starving as my stomach problems got worse. We got the CTM bus to Essaouira, where we were welcomed by touts wanting to take us to rooms. We succumbed because the room is in the area where we wanted to stay - at the far end of the medina, not far from the bus station. At 70 Dm it's cheaper than the hotels and we have a kitchen with a view of the sea, and a hot shower. We met up with the Phillipino couple again. They have been ...