Reflections

Sitting on the tube in London, listening to the so familiar sounds of the underground travel world. I search for my headphones and then put on a shield between me and the monotonic rhythm of the train. The sound of rhythmic African music fills my ears as my mind wanders back to my week in Morocco...

Essaouira proved to be like a beautiful glass of wine, changing its notes as you taste it more, becoming more indulgent and making you feel dizzy with a delicious, yet lively oblivion. The city's streets wind and bend into a maze of beautiful white stone buildings, dotted with brightly colored doors which have all been there for years. Silently watching the people bustling around and collecting stories which will never be told. 

The Windy City holds so much history in its old city walls that if you breathe in the air hard enough, I swear it feels like you can taste the moments that have happened there long time before you and me. The Atlantic Ocean surrounding the city gives it the most beautiful soundtrack, underneath the daily buzz of the markets, the people and the nature itself.

Arriving to Essaouira is a treat in itself especially after Marrakech which is busy and not as welcoming as the smaller coastal city where I felt at home for the time that I spent there. One of the many beautiful things that happened in Essaouira was the impromptu music and singing which I was lucky to witness and participate in every night that I've been there. Guitars, drums, gnawa (the local Moroccan small metal instrument), people tapping their hands on the table, singing, whistling. Whatever you could do to make a sound, to contribute to the beautiful symphony which everyone was making. I even got to play the guitar and sing some Lithaunian songs which I remembered from the very little I can play on guitar. It was so nice to sing in my mother language in a completely foreign country, with complete strangers who were there to only enjoy themselves and to let the music take over. It was such a wonderfully overwhelming feeling that I felt as if the music and happiness was inside me. I could literally feels something warm, comfortable and yet so exciting slowly exploding inside me. 

Atlantic Woodstock hostel was my residence for the time I was in Essaouira and it proved to be an excellent choice. I had the warmest hosts and everyone working there, always making sure you are ok and if you need anything else. Also I got to participate in a beautiful and such a delicious dinner and music night. The boys cooked Tajin which is a locally specialty, slow cooked with lots of vegetables and meat if you want and the special mix of spices from the local markets. I brought back some spices so I can try to recreate a bit of those exciting flavors while in London.

On a day out walking around the old medina, I met a group of people who were scouting for locations for a film which will be made in Essaouira as well as in the desert. Very random mix; a Hungarian arts director, a Moroccan production director from Casablanca, a guy from Essaouira with his daughter who now lives in. France and another guy who was always cracking jokes and did speak French but I'm still not sure where he was from. I met them all while sitting down to eat some fresh seafood near the old port. I ended up going for a coffee with them and then met them all later on that evening. One of the local guys and his daughter ended up giving me a ride to Marrakech since we were all going on the same day. It turned out to be a fun little road trip with super nice people! 

On my last day in Essaouira I went to a local hammam, a place where women and men (separately) go there to wash themselves, to scrub their skin and apply soaps and body masks. I went with Hayat, the daughter of Aziz and there were only  local women there. They stared at me a little bit at first since tourists usually don't go to the local hammams and instead go to the hammams geared for tourists, which is reflected in both the kid of treatment you get and also the price. I couldn't have been happier to go to the local hammam because it was such a cool experience, especially since Hayat did all the talking with the hammam attendants which scrubbed you down. Everything was very basic, you sit down on a mat, right on the floor next to other women of all ages and kids, bathing together. The hammam was separated into four different rooms and each served a different purpose. 

The first one was for changing the second was an in between room and the third one was the main bathing and scrubbing area, where the last and fourth room had the hot water tubs where you would go to fill up your buckets to use for washing. It was such a nice a relaxing experience, especially since the weather outside was chilly to say the least. 

Ah, another great thing which I mentioned earlier is the goats which climb trees! Still amazed by that and here are the pictures to prove this strange image which I spoke about.

Now going back to my last day in Essaouira and then arriving to Marrakech at around 3am... All week I thought that my outbound flight to London was at 12:30pm which is why I planned my time in a way that I could have an hour or so to run and get a couple of last minute things. When I arrived at the Purple Camel hostel in the old Medina, only a few minutes away from Jemma el Fna, it was a little after 3am. After ringing the doorbell three times, I was losing hope to actually getting inside and sleeping a few hours until waking up at 8am to do some quick shopping. Luckily someone finally opened the door but the new challenge then was the fact that it was a full house there and they had no beds available, even though I have made a booking to reserve a space. 

At that time my only option was to either go somewhere else which I wasn't too keen on since it was middle of the night or to sleep on the sofa of the common area upstairs. I wouldn't have minded that option so much except for the fact that as most homes in Morocco, this one was also a riad style house. Riad style homes have an open middle with lots of fresh air coming in which would have been nice if only it wasn't freezing outside! The guy who let me in found two blankets for me but I still slept with all of my clothes on, my hat and the blankets pulled all the way over my head, in an effort to create a warm air bubble, shielding me from the outside cold. We agreed that I will only pay a little bit for the sleeping arrangements since I didn't even have my own bed. Later on I realized that it turned out to be more than he explained to me but that was my mistake for not checking the math when he gave my change back. 

So, when my alarm clock rang at 8am, I peaked from under the blankets and saw a curious expression on a face of a young guy, looking at me funny. He asked me shyly, "Did you sleep out here?". I growled a sleepy "Yes...". As I started to get my things together I thought I should double check the exact time of my flight. When I did, I was shocked to see that my flight wasn't until 5pm! All of the sudden I had five extra hours to enjoy my last day in Marrakech. Wonderful! After a lovely little breakfast and some great chats with other people in the hostel, I set off to enjoy my few hours which I magically got given to spend there. 

A girl from Mexico told me about a place called Henna Café which does the obvious thing that is in it's name and also had a lovely selection of tea and food with a cute little rooftop terrace. Henna Café donates some of its proceeds and gives back to the local community. It sounded like a perfect place for me since I wanted to get henna done and I could do it somewhere where my money would actually help someone. 

On the way there I got lost a few times but I just continued to wander, hopeful that I would soon find this mystical Henna Café. After wandering for a bit, I sat down on the side of the road in the sun to recharge a bit and to not get frustrated since I couldn't find the place. I was beginning to lose hope since the Henna Café was nowhere to be seen. As I was sitting on that curb trying to think of a new plan an old little man pulled up to the roadside with his donkey and a carriage full of boxes of unknown origin. He looked at me, said "Bonjour mademoiselle!" and then proceeded to ask me if I could watch his cart and donkey while he goes to do something very quickly and that he will return in two minutes maximum. He said all this in French and somehow I understood exactly what he asked! I nodded and he said "Merci!" and rushed off down the street. Here I am siting here on the side of the road in the northwest medina in Marrakech looking at this little white donkey and he's looking back at me with sad little eyes. I couldn't help it as my lips curled into a giant smile! Life always manages to send these little messages in a form a smile, a hello and sometimes an ass! :D a very well dressed man was standing around me and finally walked over an asked if it was my donkey. I laughed and answered "Yes!", the posh man put his head back and laughed with a sincere smile an mouth full of white perfectly positioned teeth. I figured I'll ask him in case he might know where Henna Café is. To my surprise and excitement, he knew exactly where it was and explained to me in very clear French how to get there and then walked off after saying "Have a good day Mademoiselle!". So here I was, again sitting with the donkey and smiling from ear to ear. The donkey's owner came soon after, said a big, happy "Shukran!" and slowly disappeared from sight pulled away by the cute little white donkey. 

I did end up finding the long awaited Henna Café and had a lovely tea, Moroccan salad and got henna done on my hands by a lovely little old woman.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect last day. After the Henna Café I made my way back to the center, grabbed my bag and went to catch the bus to the airport. Although cutting  it very close, I made it on time and settled in for the three hour flight back to London. I was departing with a heavy heart, for the fact that I was leaving a place which I fell in love with but happily with a dancing soul for the beautiful memories I made during my short stay here in Morrocco. 

Until next time Morocco! Shukran!