My darling friend Kia has a stunning Riad by the Sea in Essaouira. Essaouira was the final destination on my trip, and I was thrilled to be able to spend time here at Dar Qawi. Honestly, I barely left the house for the first three days – I was so content there. It’s full of beautiful details and well thought luxuries. The staff are wonderful, and I felt pampered beyond belief. Essaouira is more western and relaxed than many other places. The salty fishy air blows throughout the town, keeping things fresh. The food is the best I found in Morocco, and the people charming. We peeked at the Outsider Art scene at the huge and awesome joutiya (flea market), ate heartily, watched sunsets with camels, and took a few photos.. The very busy fishing port is non stop action – fishermen fishing, seagulls hustling, fat cats eating, sellers gutting, customers buying – it’s non stop. The ocean just keeps on giving. Dar Qawi – Riad by the Sea The good news is that Dar Qawi is for sale. It can be yours, if you’d love a new home by the sea.
No trip really begins until two weeks in. For the first 14 days at least, I find my heart and mind remain wherever and with whomever I’ve just left behind. And then shit gets real. Presence happens. For whatever reason I chose Morocco (oh my what an unplanned contrast to Bali) it was incredible – my eye was continually delighted. I spent many happy hours on buses, trains and in grand taxis – and so my surprise, enjoyed each of them very much. Six Weeks in Morocco I left with much of the country yet to be discovered, but I’m happy to have been to the mountains, the oceans, the cities and the desert. Until next time Morocco. Shukran.
The Sahara. Oceans of sands, timeless winds, camels and endless sunshine. The silent space of a star filled night. The sunrise which brings color to the world moment by moment. The sense that you are on the edge of the world, between modernity and the ancients. Oceans of Sand on the Edge of the World Every movie I’ve seen filmed here flashes in my mind – Peter O’Toole and Omar Sherif, Star Wars and Gladiator. Jesus of Nazareth, The Sheltering Sky, Jewel in the Nile, Kingdom of Heaven and Babel.. This is the yellow I was craving after years in the jungle. The silence and space – a contrast to the raucous jungle which grows before your eyes. Here the only movement is the odd beetle, a flowing tuft of grass and the moving sands.
Sand and dust, donkeys and asses, snake charmers and acrobats, tagines, orange juice, cactus fruit and fresh succulent figs. French and Arabic, leather bags and fragrant spices, coloured rugs and beaten copper, hammams and cobblestones, cart wheels and the call to prayer. Marrakech Morning Mornings here start late. The light doesn’t filter down to the alleyways until later in the day. There is no sunrise in a riad, unless you’re sleeping on the rooftops.
Yellow. As far as the eye could see. Sand and dust and desert. I haven’t been anywhere new in awhile. I got the tingles of new discoveries, the unknown and the mysterious. Yellow The opposite of Bali’s green. Dry heat, thick mud walls, camels and dunes. North Africa, our meeting is overdue..
