Your blog authors: Bill and Thompson

At around 9:00 after a very fruity breakfast, we got to explore more of El Jadida. We visited the bastions of the Fortress of Mazagan as well as exploring the Manueline Cistern, both a telling of the rich history of Portuguese conquest as well as a stage for multiple movies due to its cavernous features.

At roughly 10:30, we started our four hour bus ride down to Essaouira. Along the way, we stopped by a horse-training paddock and learned about the importance of horse-racing in Moroccan culture (the horse trainers mentioned a national competition) as well as how saddles are made.

After settling our belongings in our hotel, we made our way down to the Medina at Essaouira at roughly 3:00 PM. After having lunch at La Petite Perle, we immersed ourselves in Moroccan trade culture through a scavenger hunt, where we interacted with merchants (practicing our French skills along the way) to complete certain tasks.

We had a light dinner afterwards, and we were free to explore the rest of the Medina until around 9:00 PM, checking out shops of artwork and clothing that suited our fancy along the way. We then returned to the hotel, resting up for what tomorrow would bring.

BONUS: Le Chat du Jour / The Cat of The Day

Because of the abundance of cats within Morocco (and students’ obsessions with cat pictures), a cat will be featured daily on this blog.