Carol's Travels

This morning we walked through the area where fishermen were bringing in their catches to sell.  The men in the blue boat are throwing up sardines for men to catch and take to stands on the shore to sell.

We talked with this delightful retired fisherman who said he has plastic teeth.  He knew famous rock stars who used to hang out here.

He paints numbers on a lot of the fishing boats.  Notice the huge red net in the foreground.

Our lunch was purchased at this fish market.  Our guide took giant prawns, monk fish, sardines, calamari, and sand dabs to a restaurant that cooked fish that people brought in to them.  Every kind of fish was absolutely delicious!

We walked beside the water.

Musicians at the port

A cannon fortress that was never used

Chair with a flair…in the shop where they made many different items of various kinds of wood

We made several stops on the way to Essaouira with our new Guide, Abdullah. We ate lunch at a local widow’s home.  Overseas Adventure Travel pays her to prepare and host lunch for travelers. She made a delicious goat tangine with potatoes, carrots, and peas.  For dessert we had thinner pasta than angel hair, buttered, sprinkled with cinnamon, powdered sugar.  We had a good time asking her questions and answering hers.

Our hostess

We stopped at a farm to talk with a farmer who grows artichokes, potatoes, and corn. Unfortunately, one night he couldn’t stop the wild boars with babies from eating all of the artichokes.  It is against the law to kill wild boar.  Note the huge potatoes that he gave our guide, Abdullah.

Look at part of the produce section of this beautiful supermarket in Essaouira.

Atlas Essaouira and Spa – at last, we are staying in a hotel instead of another Riad

One of the market stalls in the Médina…I liked this Médina much better than the others we have seen.  It is in an upscale city where real estate is being purchased by people from France.  We saw some of the huge houses on our way into the city.

A woman making Argon Oil.

Fresh seafood in the Médina

Today was a free day to explore.  We spent some time in the historical Berber Museum and the lush gardens where the Yves St. Laurent Memorial is.

This tree was my favorite spot in the garden.

Paul and I sat on a bench to enjoy the peaceful surroundings after we had walked through the gardens.

Yves St. Laurent Memorial

Bicycle Wheel Yard Sculpture

We walked through the narrow streets (wide enough for only four people to walk side by side) in the artisan section of the market.  We had to be especially careful of the small motorcycles that zipped through the walkways.  Shopkeepers displayed items  outside the store to entice people to walk inside.

In one section we saw many men doing metalwork with arc welders, hammers, anvils, and other tools.

There were sections of wood, basketry, leather, jewelry, lamps, and clothing to name a few.

A food vendor at Marrakech Market on Saturday night

Games at the market square

Fancy restaurant where we ate our farewell dinner.  Eleven of us are going on the post trip and five are going home.

View of the stringed instrumentalist from my table