Rising this morning is more relaxed as we will remain in Essaouira half the day before departing for Merrakech after lunch. Kate and I still decide to grab an early breakfast and hit the streets. We first follow the now quiet streets toward the water and take an early walk on the beach. We then return to the harbor and tour the seaside stone battlements before joining the building crowds in the Medina's streets. We visit many other shops including surf shops 'manned' by Muslim women in traditional garb. We again lunch on pizza with an ice cream dessert and return to the beach for a stroll. The now busy beach has filled with swimmers, sunbathers and kite fliers.
Sadly we return to the hotel to grab our bags, hike the streets before arriving at the bus station. Mohamed buys our tickets, we board the bus and bid farewell to this great city. On the road to Marrakesh we make a quick stop for snacks and use of facilities before continuing. Even though this is our shortest days' drive, the later start has pushed our arrival in Marrakesh after dark. The Nouvelle's streets are packed long before we enter the city and the final push into the bus station seems to take forever in the heavy traffic. Finally exiting the bus we again play the petite-taxi game and the group soon rejoins at our hotel in the Ville-Nouveux. Following the room key lottery in the hotel lobby, everyone finds their room and freshens up for dinner. We then head back to the lobby for a quick drink before dinner.
Leaving the hotel on foot, we soon make our way to the famed Jemaa el-Fna, Marrakesh's marketplace. A hike of about twenty to thirty minutes, mostly following the Medina's walls, sees our arrival at this almost otherworldly scene. In the mayhem we find cars and taxis, horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians all converging on this vast square. A huge smoke column rises above what seems like hundreds of food vender's hawking their goods, with roped off seating areas beside their make-shift kitchens with hundreds of people milling about. Snake-charmers, gambling, boxing matches involving children, musicians of all types, whirling dervishes and trained monkey shows are only a small facet of the entertainment here. Mohamed quickly ushers us through the spectacle for our dinner and is soon sidetracked from his intended destination by a gastronomy entrepreneur. This man offers Mohamed a better deal than his intended cook and we settle in for dinner. We start with mint tea and share multiple courses of entrees I can't even describe, much less name, most of which was enjoyable.
Following the melange of dinner courses, we explore the crowded market looming beyond the numerous food kiosks and are surprised to find the tents and ramshackle merchant's stalls conceal a labyrinth of alleys and sub floors of vender's hawking their "great bargains". One crowded alley gives way to another and to another and soon the chaotic scene starts to look the same the further we travel. The stalls are brightly lit and it almost seems like sunglasses are needed. Tiring of the endless stalls of merchants, we make our way back to the plaza and the brightness of the stalls quickly gives way to the almost complete darkness of the plaza.
Several 'entertainers' have gas lanterns lighting their shows and we soon find even a quick glance at an showman will garner a tirade of insults if no coin is dropped to the entertainer. It's also soon apparent that the entertainers enlist others to 'shake-down' the crowd to elicit more coin flow. As this disappointing scene unfolds we discover Natasha has disappeared and devise a strategy to find her. Everyone splits into groups of two and searches predetermined areas, meeting back after about 20 minutes of searching. After our search, we regroup and happily find Natasha is again within our party. Tiring of the marauding groups in the Jemaa el-Fna, we head back toward the hotel and visit a nearby club for late night drinks. After a few relaxing drinks and conversation we return to our hotel and call it a night.
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