Essaouira

Last weekend we had a much needed and deserved 4-day weekend, so 7 of us rented a couple cars and drove 5 hours south to a town called Essaouira. This town was an old Portuguese port on the beach. Along the drive we stopped at a town called Oualidia for lunch.

Oualidia

 

 

 

After stopping in Oualidia for some fresh fish, we stopped in Safi where we got a tour of a place where they made pottery from hand.

The guy mixing the clay with his feet

Hand sculpting the clay

more sculpting

All the pottery was hand painted

 

 

 

 

 After looking at pottery we got back into the car and drove a few more hours where we finally arrived in Essaouira. We stayed in an apartment located in the Medina and overlooked the ocean.

The words on the bottom corner say, "From Morocco to the rest of the world."

These cannons were used by the Portuguese. This was also the view from our apartment.

The square in the middle of the Medina

Oh yeah, we rode some camels along the beach

We went to a restaurant and when we asked for the bill the waiter brought us a calculator and the menu and told us to add up our bill. We all started laughing and so the guy brought back a larger calculator.

And we watched the sunset over Africa from our rooftop terrace. 

The weekend was great! We saw some amazing scenery and met some interesting people. While talking to the locals and telling them that we are teachers, they told us they went to the school of life. We learned a lot about the school of life, and how it isn't what is in your pockets, but the love, happiness, and family that you have.  Overall, a fantastic time getting out of the hustle and bustle of Casa. I cannot wait to go back!