September 20, 2009
I love Essaouira! It is the perfect town for relaxation, full of delightful restaurants, unique shops, the ocean breeze, and adventure. Lunch today brought us to the pier where for about $7 a person, we enjoyed platefuls of sea urchin, squid, shrimp, sole, and a fish I don’t know. I was NOT a fan of the sea urchin- it was raw, slimy/crunchy, and fishy.
Left to right: Rohan, LuAnn, Jim, Philippe, Linda, Tom
You can’t walk by someone’s shop without them urging you to come in, sit down, and start talking about the wares. We first enjoyed the marquetry shop where a single man handcrafted beautiful items out of Thuya wood.
The man pictured below invited us into his shop, sat us down, and pulled out beautiful beaded and silver jewelry from around Morocco. We were enthralled to learn about the circular symbols found in Nomadic jewelry and the bright stone colors found in the Atlas Mountain Berber jewelry. Of course, he knew we were enthralled, so the bartering was on. 600. 200…. And I was beginning to feel guilty for trying to cheapen things so beautiful and full of story. Eventually, we came to a fair price, I’m accessorized with a Berber bracelet and nomadic necklace, and I was able to take this wonderful portrait.
As if our day wasn’t full enough…after a morning of bartering, we headed to our camel-riding appointment. Tom realized that he had forgotten to bring a hat; one thing came to another and we were all in a shop having turbans put on us! The turbans came in useful as we rode our camels along a sandy and windy beach for two hours.
This shopkeeper was happy to put a turban on for Tom
Left to right: LuAnn, Jenny, Me, Pauline
Stylin' in our Turbans! :)
I tried to get Tom to get closer...
Camel Portraiture
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Amazing!!!! You are such an incredible photographer!
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