What goes up must come down. The day started with a trek downhill, back to Imlil to pick up our packs and get back into the van one last time for our drive out of the mountains. Unfortunately, I seem to have caught the cold that’s been going around, and I woke up with a sore throat and a fever. Traveling while sick sucks, but it happens. Nothing to do but take some pills and soldier on.
We drove from Imlil to Marrakech, but didn’t really stop there; we’ll be back on the weekend. Instead, we made a quick stop at a supermarket for some picnic lunch supplies. The supermarket was huge and had everything – sort of a giant Loblaws or Costco-style place – and, like elsewhere in Morocco, alcohol was sold discreetly from a side door. Some of the others stocked up on wine. My major purchase was a jumbo-sized pack of kleenex.
We took our bag lunches to a small roadside cafe just outside Marrakech, where they let us eat our own food as long as we bought some drinks. There was a giant dust storm outside that was so thick that we had to wrap scarves around our heads just to run back to the van.
On the way to the coast, we passed the argan trees from which argan oil is made, and stopped at a co-op where they make and sell all sorts of beauty products and cooking oil from the argan nut. The cooking oil sort of tastes peanut-y. They make all sorts of outlandish claims about the argan oil, that it can cure everything from bad skin to respiratory problems to cancer. And if you believe that, I know a Nigerian who wants your bank account number. Needless to say, I didn’t shell out fifty euros for magical face cream, but it’s easy to see why the highway is dotted with argan oil places every few meters, because they must make a killing at it. The argan nuts are eaten by goats in the summertime, who climb trees to get at them. We kept our eyes peeled for goats in trees, but sadly, none were seen.
We arrived in Essaouira at around sunset and made our way to our hotel, which is in an old Riad in the Medina. It’s very charming, if a bit run-down; our first room had a non-working shower, and the second room (on the roof) had a broken door and windows. But that’s okay, it’s all about the experience.
Essaouira is a peaceful coastal town right on the Atlantic. It’s very laid-back compared to the other cities in Morocco so far. It was also nice to come “back to civilization” in a sense; shops, restaurants, even WiFi. We went out for dinner to a nice restaurant, which, unfortunately, I was having trouble appreciating because I felt so crappy. But I made it through about half my pizza (needed a break from all the tagine) before heading back to the hotel to crash.