Essaouira

Essaouira on the Beach

Where to start.  Well when I last left off, we were talking about Spanish beaches in Valencia.  I think that is a good starting point.  The liberal environment and very relaxed standard for dress and undress.  Well to keep things balanced, we are now at the beach in Essaouira, Morocco.  Pretty chill place also, well kind of, but totally not the skin camp we saw at the beach in Spain.  It is so so funny the contrast.  Instead people are covered quite well, but they seem to still be having a bunch of fun.  Right now there are more Moroccans on the beach although there is a good smattering of tourist trade.  I think we will witness the change as schools let out in Europe and people start to trickle in on vacation.  The photo above is on an overcast day, so not many people at the beach.  However, most days have seen the beach packed.  We haven't been lately, instead more at the medina and just getting situated.  Funny we went to the beach today though because this is the closest we came to rain, with the day so overcast.  The medina wasn't very crowded either.  Funny, today we tried the English lady's take on Mexican... hmm...

Medina, Front View

The local prices are pretty good, there is a bit more haggling than friends told me, in reference to prices, but no big deal.  It is like any other tourist destination, I just wish we could have come here twenty or thirty years ago, it might have been funner.  People are friendly and very helpful.  French goes a long way communicating, Arabic probably goes a little better.

I was pretty good haggling in our time in Egypt and had fun, lots of fun.  I love haggling.  I even enjoyed haggling in Marrakech, but when we got here, I don't know what happened.  Some of Candice must have rubbed off on me or something.  Whatever the case, I am on a mission now, to get good prices and enjoy doing it, like I used to.  Maybe the atmosphere is too laid back in all other respects.  More on that later though.  I mean, you cant complain when you buy a shirt for 15 bucks that the tailor made himself, especially when he will make more to your order, but I don't know, maybe I am cheap, I always feel like I am getting got.  I mean wouldn't it be better if that shirt was 10 dollars? I mean that is like 85 MAD (Moroccan Dirham).  Then sometimes it is best not to make a scene, like earlier today, dealing with the camel man.  More on that in the future.

Medina, Entering from the back side

Anyway, we are getting some major exercise, since our apartments, both of them, have been outside of the medina. The first one was very near the fabled castle made of sand.  However, we ended up moving and are about  a mile from the medina or the beach.  So you figure, 10-15 minute walk to the beach isn't bad.  We are overpaying for our accommodations, but when you are paying roughly $400 to live in a relatively chilled beach town for a month, who can complain that much.  I should get better at bargaining though, but the landlady was so tough, she was staring me down with a serious I don't give a damn look, en Francais, of course, if that is possible for a look.  So I am like well, talking with our assistant who was helping us communicate, ie speak more fluently in French and Arabic, while assuring his side deal, and she wont budge.  Well she budged a little bit.  But not that much.  Anyway, money isn't everything in life, and she seems to be pretty cool in the end, and she is a hajjah (very respectable) - so probably has some nice money stacked to the side too.

Since we ended up in this area known as Borj deux, we have been entering the medina from the side.  An interesting side note is that by doing so, we avoid the tourist center as much, for better and for worse.  The medina is not paved in this area and they are working on the infrastructure, so until they get it together it is sandy and sometimes a bit muddy.  But since there isn't much rain, it is mostly sandy.  One benefit is that you avoid tourist touts until you get to the front of the medina where tourists are more plentiful.  The prices are more fixed, and the merchants are more serious, if you catch my drift.  But either which way, it is cool.

More photos and stories to come.

Cabanyal, Valencia

The neighborhood where we rented a flat here in Valencia is a quaint port community known as Cabanyal. The people are friendly and for the most part, try as much as they can to help when they notice you struggling with the Spanish language to get what you need around town. One of the few remaining neighborhoods with original architecture and not many buildings over four stories, there is a struggle here to keep gentrification from demolishing older flats, replacing them with newer condos and pricing the locals out of the community.

Mural about the greed that defines the development in the neighborhood

Very nice coffee shop with friendly owners and delicious donuts

Cafe solo with a complimentary galleta carmelada

Calle Jose Benlliure 

The corner bakery

View from the corner of Casa Montana, a historic bodega

The beautiful beach which is a five minute walk from Cabanyal

Paella

Valencia is the birthplace of paella, a rice based dish that can be the foundation to any number of added ingredients. Seafood paella usually has a variation of shrimp (with the head on), calamari, octopus, local fish such as merluza, mussels and/or clams. Paella Valencia is a combination of chicken, rabbit and snails. Besides being cooked slowly in a huge pan over an open fire, the other signature of paella is saffron. Authentic paella, that is. It's how the richly golden yellow color of the rice is attained. 

Delicious seafood paella in a traditional pan

The restaurant where all kinds of paella can be found, located on Calle Reina.

My take on seafood paella