Up & Down

On New Year's, we went to the a little town on the coast called Essaouira. It is close to Morocco's most famous town, Marrakesh, so it has a lot of European tourists too. Visiting Marrakesh is quite an assault on the senses, so the tourists looked quite happy and relaxed afterwards in laid-back Essaouira! We saw more Europeans in the old city than Moroccans!

The city is famous for its high winds and we loved watching the parasurfers glide through the water for amazing distances! Yes, it was warm enough to swim - for the girls, that is! I stayed on the sand in the sun :)

The Portuguese were here briefly, but long enought to build forts and add plenty of cannons!
Gerald and I ate lots of seafood, but this is as close as the girls got to it! They are not seafood fans and see no reason to change. Seeing everything in the raw did not help! At this shop, we picked out what we wanted and they grilled it right there.

As is commonly in Morocco, we rented an apartment instead of a hotel room. We knew it had two bedrooms, but what we did not know is the layout. Packed into the old city with all the other ancient houses, we learned that the only way to build is straight up.

First floor: Staircase

Second floor: Girls' room

Third floor: Our room

Fourth floor: Kitchen & bathroom

Fifth floor: Living room

Sixth floor : Terrace (pictured)

We got dizzy just getting to the living room!

All these rooms were tiny, but there were plenty of stairs! The only thing you could do upon leaving any of the rooms was to go up or down. To go the bathroom in the night, the girls climbed two flights of stairs. We found ourselves constantly hollering into the general area of the staircase to another family member - "Where are you? Up or down?" We decided there is no way to gain weight in such a house. It took all four of us a long time and many calories to merely set the table on the terrace, two flights up from the kitchen. Then of course we forgot things and had to go back down. Then there was clearing the table which was another complicated operation. Up, down, up, down - what a life! Now I understand why the handicapped and elderly rarely leave their houses in the old city!

After a lovely time of involuntarily becoming more fit, we headed home ready for the new semester to start.