Sofia Somewhere

For our last full day in Morocco we explored Marrakesh . Marrakesh is truly different from all the other Moroccan cities we visited. It's the most modern of them all (of the cities we visited at least, as we didn't see Casablanca nor Rabat), and the most used to tourists. There were many tourists dressed in Western clothes (including shorts and sleeveless tops). After breakfast at our riad , we crossed Djemaa el Fna, made our way down the boulevard which was lined with kalesas (nothing new to us Filipinos) to the Koutoubia Mosque and out of the medina . Kalesas lining the road with the Koutoubia Mosque at the end Our destination for the day was the Jardin Majorelle (Majorelle Gardens). We chose to take the almost 45 minute walk, and we arrived at the gardens a bit past 11. We queued, bought our tickets (70dh), and headed in. The Jardin Majorelle  is a stunning 12-acre botanical garden created by French painter Jacques Majorelle when he resided in Marrakesh. t...

Our ninth day in Morocco was spent in Essaouira, a gorgeous port city (relatively) near Marrakech. Despite coming from a three day desert tour, we braved the bus once more and took a day trip to Essaouira. We weren't able to buy tickets the day before (the office was already closed when we went out), so we left a bit early in the morning to try our luck buying tickets for the day itself. We arrived at the bus station at 8am, and were able to buy round trip tickets for the day. We hopped on the bus at 8:30, and found ourselves in Essaouira three hours later. At the port Essaouira , formerly known as Mogador , is a coastal city in Western Morocco, by the Atlantic coast that was once Morocco's main trading port. Though not used for trading anymore, its harbour is still teemed with fishing boats, and the city has become famous for its fresh seafood. When we arrived we immediately headed to the coast to check it out, and decided to walk by the beach. It was quite windy, and...