From Essaouria to Marrakech

Sorry for the long gap in posts… The new apartment I moved into does not have wifi, and to be honest, I just have been too busy/lazy to write the past few days. On Friday I set off for Essaouria, the small beach town I wrote about in my previous post. I arrived at about 4:00 p.m. after a crowded, sweaty, three hour bus ride and set off to go find the hostel I had booked – Atlantic Hostel. It was in a great location, had an amazing rooftop complete with a bar and many sofas to lounge on and best of all two little adorable kitchens to keep you company.

My first night there, I struck up a conversation with three Germans (two boys and one girl) who had been traveling Morocco for the past five weeks via rental car and sleeping in a tent. We stayed up late on the roof talking, playing cards and overall just having a great time. It was so refreshing to meet new people after being with the same ones everyday, all day for so long. Not that I don’t love everyone else in the program with me, but rather the fact that meeting new people from all over the world is what I love most about traveling, and living in a secluded apartment can make that challenging.

The next day I had planned to go to Marrakech to join back up with the others in my program, and it just so happened the Germans were heading that way as well, so we all took the 11:45 a.m. bus together. Once in Marrakech, it was time to say goodbye as I had to go to my new apartment, and they set off for their hostel.

The new place I am living at in Marrakech is nice, but just way overcrowded. There are seven girls and two beds. Not exactly ideal situation, but we are making it work. The worst part though is the lack of air conditioning, with tempatures reaching the 100s here. Sometimes I swear it feels like I am literally melting.

Yesterday was the first full day I spent in Marrakech, and we walked to the city square. Honestly, I find Marrakech must more beautiful and exciting than Agadir. It is such a clean city, and there is so much to do here! The Saadia Tombs, the Ben Youssef Madrassa, gardens of Jardin Majorelle… The options are endless. This also explains the fact as to why there are so many more tourists here in Marrakech.

At around 5:00 p.m., Devon and I were walking through the markets when we ran into none other than the three Germans I had been with in Essaouria. What are the odds? We spent the rest of the day with them, hanging out on the roof of the hostel that they were staying at and going out to the square to listen to the live music. Unfortunately they are flying home today, so last night was really the final goodbye. 🙁

Today, I am not quite sure what we will be doing. All of us are meeting at 1:00 p.m., and from there, who knows. All I can say is that I pray it is something indoors and involves air conditioning.