We took the Quaker and the Geek to Essaouira which is a good place to take guests as it is quite compact and they don't need babysitting. We now always stay at the Palazzo Desdemona which is convenient for the car park but also just by the entrance to the souk close to the port and the beach, so you can't really get lost.
The Quaker still being bonkers for cold swims meant that they went to the beach. She was delighted to find that, it being school holidays here, there were camel rides at the far end of the beach. Sadly they did not have a camera with them to record this for posterity. The beach is not my sort of beach because it is entirely tidal and there are no fixed loungers to read in. It is much more like the Atlantic beaches of my childhood when sand got into your sandals,sandwiches, socks, towels and clothes but strangely has no deck chairs to rent for you to carry out onto the wet sand.
We left them to it and went to the fishing port where they were bringing in the sardine catch.
The fish were already in crates on ice and were handed up.
People were coming up and buying boxes or sometimes just a bag on the quay. The seagulls were happy. So were some of the feral cats. I have never understood the Westerners attitude to cats in Essaouira. Yes they are very good at begging if you are eating but will disdain the scraps which are not to their taste. There are charities set up by sentimental westerners to feed the cats. Some bring tinned food from Marrakesh! This is a fishing port. The scavaging is good!
We stayed a while and watched the boats. Most of the activity was in the inner harbour with the small boats but a few of the larger boats were moving in the outer harbour.
Then we wandered round looking at the nets on the dock.
The larger boats seem to fish with nets but some of the smaller boats seem to fish with lines with muliple branches. Surely this can't be for sardines though!?
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