May 24th: Slowing down

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Life in Essaouira is slow. After a week I may feel as though I  am sleepwalking. After 6 weeks I may need to be resuscitated! I tend to live life at a fast pace and have been told that I accomplish more before breakfast than many do in a day. So this will take some getting used to. Perhaps this is just what I need to aid in this recalibration of my life? I've always taken time to stop and smell the roses, watch the bugs at work. But now I'm really learning to slow down. There are no pressing needs, no appointments. Just life, and time ticking slowly by.

Our routine, thus far, consists of waking, having a leisurely breakfast, showering, walking the medina to buy food for lunch, returning home for a leisurely lunch, walking the medina to buy food for dinner, returning to the apartment to cook and have a leisurely dinner, walking the medina, returning home to catch up on the day's  news, going to bed, rinse and repeat … my blog is going to become awfully dreary… anyone care for a daily weather report?

My aunt insists on fruit throughout the day, so I am being plied with watermelon, kiwi, bananas... yet we pass by all the beautiful mangos. I will add them to the menu soon. We passed a cafe and she said their coffee is really bad -  it's Moroccan. When pressed for an explanation it transpires that it's Turkish. Yes, yes!!! That's what I want!!! I am not typically a coffee drinker, but Turkish coffee and a slice of baklava, oh happy memories of life in Dearborn, Michigan.

Today we went up on the rooftop to see the city spread below us. Then we walked to Bab Marrakech, the City wall, the ramparts, the port, and the fish market.  Bab means gate, and the medina has 4 gates - roughly corresponding to N,S, E and W, but none opens out to the sea. There are definitely more up-market areas of the medina, streets that are Americanised, the restaurants offering burgers and wi-fi. The port is being enlarged to allow for cruise ships… this way of life has, I'm sure, changed greatly in the past few decades. It will become unrecognizable once the cruise ships arrive.

We visited the artisans co-op area, quieter and less visited than the central streets, and watched seamstresses and carpenters at work. We strolled in and out of the tiny stores and visited an art exhibition in the turret of the ramparts. My aunt is French and belongs to the French institute, so we wandered in there and saw an exhibition of photos of “ethnicfolk” … the folk, in all but two photos, appear to be frowning at the camera, seemingly questioning why they're subjects of his camera.

The harbour, with its fish market, is a bustling place at all times of day, with arrays of freshly caught fish proudly displayed by the fishermen; conger eels, moray eels, rei, sardines - sardines everywhere, fried fresh by street vendors. The market is smelly and crowded; a loud and lively place - just as a good fish market should be! It is a place to see, but not necessarily a tourist destination as the walk through water sloshing with fish guts is not for everyone! The assortment of fish changes constantly yet, just as with my visit to the souk, I found all the vendors willing to tell me the names of the fish and to take photos when I asked.

The evening held a late night concert by Oum in the Place el Menzah, a square close by. It is Ramadan here, hence the vendors open up late and the streets are filled with celebration at night.

The local guide book offers the following snippets: the average temperature is 18°C (64°F), population is 80,000, taxicabs are un-metered and cost 6Dh (60 cents, 50 pence), “security is quasi-total.” The port was constructed in the 18th century, the Kasbah, armed with bronze cannons, to keep watch against invasion from the ocean.

Everyone here speaks French, so I stand next to my aunt, like an idiot child, understanding much but saying little… hopefully that will change.

The sun shines but offers little warmth, and the night's are downright cold.  It is a beautiful place, and the people friendly. I'm not sure it is somewhere I could live.