From Marrakech to Essaouira by bus

Day 4: MARRAKECH - ESSAOUIRA - MARRAKECH

Monday, October 31, 2011

Ringggggggggg ... you can't be, it's 6 in the morning and the alarm is ringing. The first idea is not to get up, we're on vacation. But no, today we are leaving Marrakech to Essaouira by bus at 8 in the morning, so we can't recreate too much in bed.
We went down to breakfast at 7 in the morning at Riad Assalam, a breakfast that as always is very complete, but this morning, as it is earlier, the same owner of the Riad prepares us.
We see that it is almost 7.30 so we set off to cross the street to take a taxi to take us to the station where to take the CTM bus.
And the bargaining begins. They don't give us a truce even at 7 in the morning.

They ask us for 50 dirhams to take us (5-minute journey) and in the end after a little while haggling, we get to reach 20 dirhams, but in the end the taxi driver with whom we have been “talking” does not want to take us and calls another one so that take us ... there is no one who understands !! ... hahaha
We arrived at the station with a little less than half an hour for the bus to leave and there we met some more tourists.
The bus from Marrakech to Essaouira It leaves on time, from platform 10 and the first stop is at the old train station in Marrakech.
After an hour and a half we stop again in the middle of a kind of service area. There we are another 20 minutes, where we take the opportunity to stretch our legs and go to the bathroom.
The route passes through a couple of villages and the rest of the landscape is all desert ... the landscape is so arid and so monotonous.
The truth is that the route from Marrakech to Essaouira by bus It gets a little long, but between a little reading and seeing the landscape for a while (even if everything is deserted), we get along quite well.
At 12 in the morning we arrive at the Essaouira bus station and we started to walk down the street, until we reached what we recognized from afar as La Medina.
Another option to visit Essaouira is to book a bus tour with a guide in Spanish, where they will pick you up at the hotel.

Entrance to the Medina after the trip from Marrakech to Essaoira by bus

There we already decided that it is best to save the map and start wandering aimlessly.
Of the first things we see is that merchants are not as insistent as in Marrakech and that gives us a little respite for today.
Entertaining ourselves looking at a hundred things at once, without realizing it, we arrived at the port. There we find the postcard image that we have seen so many times of this coastal city.

Postcard views in Essaouira

Views of the port of Essaouira

We walked for a while and then, when hunger begins to tighten, we decided to go to the beach area, to the restaurant Chalet de la Plage, which they say is an institution in Essaouira.

Essaouira Beach

There we eat a Moroccan salad and sardines first (a tray with 10 !!)

Moroccan salad in the Chalet de la Plag

On the main course, some fried squid and a lobster, plus a dessert flan and a coke and a beer. And two coffees !! All for 495 dirhams. Yes it is more expensive than we have paid so far, but we can say that the food is very good, the lovely place, with a terrace overlooking the beach ...
Anyway, we have put on our boots and the price has been very good for what we have eaten.

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Squid in the Chalet de la Plage

Lobster in the Chalet de la Plage

After lunch we have made our way to the wall with the intention of climbing and seeing the town from above.
The journey through the streets of Essaouira to the part of the wall has made us "reconcile" with Morocco, because after the last day we spent in Marrakech we were a little stressed by the experience in the Souk.

Details of the streets of Essaouira

Corners of the streets of Essaouira

Details of the streets of Essaouira

Essaouira streets

We arrive again to the area of ​​the port of Essaouira

Shops in the port area

Essaouira port area

We have paid the 10 dirhams per head and there we have gone. Awesome! Without a doubt one of the best views we could have of the city of Essaouira.
There are things that cannot be explained with words and this is one of them. Maybe the pictures can do it ...

Essaouira Port

Posing in the Port of Essaouira

Essaouira

More practical information to prepare your trip to Marrakech

- 50 things to see and do in Marrakech
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Marrakech
- The best desert excursion from Marrakech
- 10 essential places to visit in Marrakech
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Marrakech

Inside the "eye" of Essaouira

And now Roger inside the "eye" of Essaouira

Essaouira in black and white

Details of the Port of Essaouira in black and white

Essaouira Walls

There we are until more than 3 in the afternoon and then we decide that the time we have until 5 that we have to take the bus from Essaouira to Marrakech, dedicate it to tour the souks.

Essaouira

Entering the area of ​​the port of Essaouira

Essaouira streets

Relaxation in Essaouira

And that is what we have done, but not only walking down the main street, but also entering the adjacent streets, finding images of the more traditional Essaouira.

Essaouira

Essaouira corners

Essaouira

White and blue in Essaouira

Spices in the Souk of Essaouira

Essaouira Souk

A corner of Essaouira

Spices

Nuts

Definitely Essaouira would have deserved another day ... and with this idea we return to the station, to make the trip back to Marrakech to Essaouira by bus.
Sure we will see each other again Essaouira, but next time it will be for a few more days ...

Back to the Essaouira bus station

One of the squares of Essaouira

Essaouira streets

Essaouira

We have 3 and a half hours left that we spent between writing the travel diary, reading ... and commenting on the trip ...
We arrive at Marrakech bus station at 8 in the afternoon or so and we take a taxi directly, since it does not leave us at the station where we have gone this morning (the one near Majorelle), but it leaves us in the other one that is further away and We don't feel like breaking our heads.
The taxi takes us directly to the Plaza, where we leave without thinking to eat a pizza and then return to Riad Assalam to rest.
Today has been a long day but we get an incredible image of Essaouira in this trip to Morocco!!

Day 5
MARRAKECH - GIRONA