Essaouira - The beautiful Wind City of Africa.

The first part of my Moroccan adventure begins in the lovely 18-century fortified seafront town of Essaouira (essa-weera, or es-sweera in Arabic). You may recognize the iconic blue fishing boats by the port, but if you haven't heard of this beautiful place, it's a city in the western Moroccan region of Meṛṛakec-Asfi, on the Atlantic coast. By car, the journey takes no more than 4 hours from Casablanca.

But don't let these beautiful sights fool you, this place smells incredibly fishy. It was physically impossible to stay a little longer and it definitely is not enjoyable. Most tourists, myself included, walk up to the port just to snap a quick picture before retreating into the safer and more pleasant smelling beachfront.

The 'Wind City of Africa' definitely lives up to its name. The coastal wind blows pretty hard here and while it is nice and refreshing, it is also kind of difficult to relax on the beach, or by the coast.

Beautifully lined goods displayed in front of shops seem to be a thing here in most of Morocco. And I have to say that it is certainly most pleasing to the eye. Most shopkeepers here speak multiple languages, and they are a master at capturing your attention. Glib with praises of your outfit or even trying to guess which country you're from, once they've caught your attention, they'll strike a conversation with you and offer you Moroccan mint tea in their shops. Of course, their ultimate goal is for you to feel welcomed enough to buy something from them. But know that you are allowed to say no and walk out of these shops. Unluckily for me, I wasn't very strong and couldn't refuse some of their hospitality, I did end up buying a moonstone ring and some tea leaves.

If you don't mind spending some time or money in these shops, you'll find that these Moroccans are very interesting people. Most of them come from the desert to sell their goods and they are known as Berbers. Some are dubbed as the best spice maker in the city, while others are aspiring musicians with an honest job. People in Essaouira are friendlier than most in the country if I do say so myself.

The thing I was most excited about before setting foot in Morocco was the riads that I would be staying in. In this city, I stayed at Riad Lalla Zina. It's a small riad but it was cosy enough for one person.

While these beautiful riads were transformed from old Moroccan houses, some might not have heating in Winter or air-conditioning in Summer. Which is also why I woke up a few times in the middle of the night, freezing my butt off. The chilly Arabian night really knows how to make a tourist feel welcomed.

Formerly known as the Mogador, this medina's souk (an Arab market) is fairly small compared to the rest of the country's. Souk Jdid is the main market place with limited alleyways.

I spent two days in this small town and personally, I think it's more than enough. It was a lovely time wandering the kindest souk in the country (you'll read about my worst encounter in the next destination).

As with every country I go to, I bought some postcards and sat down at this delightful restaurant and began writing to those who asked for one. I've found that my favourite thing to do in Morocco is really just sitting and sipping on Moroccan Mint tea while I people-watched.

After sending out these postcards, I made my merry way to Marrakech.

Thanks for joining me on my adventures. I'll see you next time! -N