No Wind…

My heart sunk as the owner of the kite center in Essaouira pulled up the wind chart which was colored blue and yellow the whole time I was planning on being there. The two worst colors you can see if you plan on kite surfing. No Wind.

With no backup plan and 3 days to fill before I was due to head to Spain I was talked into to doing surf lessons. There was a bit of disbelief amongst the guys at the center that I was Australian and had never surfed before. Part of the reason I had never learned was to avoid this exact situation, being placed in a group of 12 year old beginners and looking dumb as people on the beach looked on as I fell off of white wash that never peaked over a foot high.

However the embarrassment was short lived and after the first hour I was able to stand up on most of the waves and by the end of the second day had the technique to be able to ride both directions on the 4 foot waves coming in at the back which meant for the third day I could skip the lesson and head out on my own to practice.  I should have taken this up a long time ago…

Jamaa El Fna

The sights, the sounds, the smells, the energy… It’s hard to describe the feeling of entering the main square of Marrakech after the sun goes down. Entertainers surround you and encourage you to get a photo with them (for a price), snake charmers sit cross legged playing tunes while a crowd surrounds them, men walking around with monkeys on leashes, orange juice vendors call out across the square, food vendors hustle tourists and locals alike as they walk through the rows of stalls. Everyone vying for your attention and a bit of your money…

(Unfortunately the photos during the night didn’t turn out so well but here is a few of the main square not quite at its busiest)