Meet "Marzoga", Essaouira pt. 2

My response to uncle Fran's christmas card

This was the day I was looking forward to, Camel riding. Got up early and took a 2 and 1/2 hour to the coast. Easily, we met ten times nicer people as well as noticeably fresher air (kids did not try to profit from tourists by selling Kleenex). Valerio found many Italian speakers, one of which got us to our Riad (hostel) inside the labyrinth like Medina (walled city) of Essaouira. The Riad was amazing, the workers were amazingly lax with everything, offered us free coffee, and set up our camel ride for us as well as transportation while we settled ourselves in our room.

Took a jeep to the camel ranch, petted horses, cute puppies and the occasional cat that wasn't an ass while we waited for our camels. They all seemed to take a liking to Emily and not to me, a huge first in the world of animals.

The picture in order is Emily, Vale, and Crazy-Insane Neurotic Ex-girlfriend Sam, and still is to all aunts asking. The camel ride was amazing, we went through the forest, saw some creeks, wild dogs, bulls, and walked along the beach. I rode on the feisty Marzoga of which only I could tame.

If anyone has a chance to go on a camel, take it, its not at all life changing but it will definitely shape your perspective on camels forever. Camels are not at all nice and make the ugliest sound known to man (guessing). Marzoga kept wanting eat Sam ahead of me, probably because she doesn't take showers (fact). For anyone interested, Marzoga likes long walks on the beach as well as drooling and spitting. Special skills involve saving grass and sand in his mouth for later. Very sociable.

Came back to the hostel, free ride again, and finally paid for our nightly stay. Changed into our gear and went to the beach. When in Rome, do as the Romans do so I took the surfboard the hostel offered to customers. We walked to the beach out of the Medina and to the coast. Surfing was really fun, I even got up a couple times and pics to prove it. Of course I am full of excuses like the the waves were not big enough to get a good "shred" in, the board needed more wax, and my right nip was chafing like Andy Bernard's on "The Office" so take what may.

And for my Aunt Colleen and Aunt Nancy, I was getting all the stares from the Moroccan women on the beach. I dont know if they were jealous because they can't go in the water without wearing their burqa's  or that I was looking really Gnarly Awesome surfing... Either way I was awesome.

Left the beach so we could get money for dinner, return surfboard and watch sunset, but of course, I was traveling with women and missed it by at least 2 hours (1 for each). Tried to go back to our hostel a different way but of course made it just in time for primetime shopping in the Medinas main street, and traveling with a huge surfboard in a dense crowd is a perfect way to enrage people as I took out many women and children... Kickin' ass and taking names.

Got dinner at an awesome restaurant where I got 3 dish meal, starting with tomatoes with basil and tuna on top, tastes better than you think. Next was the main course, cous cous, as if i dont get enough already at Grandma Donahue's house. This was probably the first and only time I will ever crave cous cous. Lucky for me, my dish of cous cous came replete with chicken, figs and baby Camel leg we think. Dessert was a dish with a small assortment of bite size cookies, of which 3/4 tasted like they were made with laundry detergent.

That night we hung out on top of the terrace with 1983 red wine. I tried to break out some of my dad's b.s. wine lingo,"Assertive yet not too pushy". Like everyone else in our family, they also were not impressed.

 Went to bed after. Sleeping again was quite hard with Vale's open floodgates and had to walk around again downstairs before I could attack the sheep's and the fence again. However it was humorous to see the other strangers in our room unable to sleep. Sam gave him a nice rap upside the head and he finally shut up.

The next morning i woke up early to hang out on the terrace. This is what the view looked like. Stole some leftover mint tea from the guys we met from last night and relaxed. ( see what i mean by Labrynth?)

Before Our bus came we did some more exploring on the other side of Essouira where fishing and such happens. Of course I let my curiosity take over and climbed the stone wall and scaled craggy rocks to get some pictures no one else could. (Sounds cooler than what I actually had to do, and to my dismay i found a 70 year old who was able to do the same thing.)

Took bus ride back after losing 50% of our group a half hour before our bus ride back to Marrakesh. Part three to come soon!