Essouaria....

So finally, after almost a year, I've been able to go surfing!!!

The seaside town of Essaouira is the complete antidote to the craziness of Marrakesh. It's only about 1 square km and is surrounded by beautiful battlements that protect it from the pounding waves. There is also a nice beach which stretches as far as the eye can see (and then some) and turns more and more desert-ish the further away you get from the town (the camels wandering around help create the desert look).

At one end of the town there is a big fishing port and I spent my first evening watching the 'fish auction', where most of the town's restaurateurs frantically buy lots of weird and wonderful sea creatures to cook up in the evening. After watching the sun dip down into the sea and finally set, I headed back to the hostel for dinner with the other guests followed by an impromptu guitar performance from the owner and the rest of his band.

The next day I spent virtually all day surfing which was fantastic! However, the only thing that's (almost) interesting enough to write about is that somebody stole my shoes while I was in the water....so I had to walk the 2km back to the town barefoot....damnit!!

The last morning was spent walking 5km down the beach to see the ruins of an old castle that was susposedly the inspiration for Jimi Hendrix's song Castle in the Sand....then it was off to Casablanca!