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Bookmark & shareA Top Day in Essaouira
It's a hot and sunny day in Essaouira. Seagulls freewheel against a canvas of the most perfect luminous blue. I can just see a sliver of the sun-spotted sea over the neighbour's rooftops. A hearty breakfast of steaming coffee, hot Moroccan pancakes slathered in honey, and a bowl of chilled fresh fruit on the terrace has to be one of life's most satisfying experiences - one that can easily stretch half the day. Oh, OK, I have to do something I guess. I would head straight to the beach: in winter when it's fresh and windy I can walk for miles along yawning wide beaches, the smack of salty air on my face. In summer there's a whole other scene - the surfers are out in force, the sunbeds are full of lounge lizards and kids are up to their elbows in sandpits. A horse or camel trek can also be great fun and it gets you well out of the claustrophobic medina and into the pretty countryside. On other days I hook up with friends for some mad quad-biking. Lunch is always an easy affair in a beachfront cafe or even better at the portside snack stalls where you can buy your own fish - fried or grilled on the spot. In the evening the action moves back to the medina for the evening rush between and . This is when the town is at its liveliest and I love poking around the hidden nooks and crannies - like the little bric-a-brac auction opposite the fish market or the glittering windows of the gold souk. Then a rendezvous at Taros Cafe for a glass of chilled white wine on the roof terrace. For more romantic assignations, enjoy a beer on the ramparts watching the sun go down before a deliciously intimate dinner in Villa Maroc.
Author: Paula Hardy
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