Essaouira

About sleeping on the dunes and in the middle of nowhere.

Kitty R.

Kitty R. and Grandpa T. hitch hike pleasantly from Marakesh to Essaouira. The driver offers them delicious bread made by his mum and a place to sleep in his car when the night comes, but Kitty R. and Grandpa T. have other plans. By sunrise they reach Essaouira, where they treat themselves with an awesome mix of fried no-name fishes. They share their food with some street cats, which eat given snips in a lazy and unwillingly way (in this town such a fishy treat must be an overboard for everyone).

The night time approaches. Kitty R. and Grandpa T. move to the periphery of town, where they can plunge into nearby ocean dunes. There, they settle down and during a discussion about life and how Morocco became familiar for them (‘it’s like travelling around hometown, don’t you think Kitty?’) they fall asleep. In the middle of the night the wind starts to blow into their sleeping bags so much that they wake up to grab their belongings and half-consciously find another dune to plunge into. There, they meet M., who plays on his ukulele in the warm light from a little fire. They find out that M. is their countryman, travelling for a Rainbow gathering somewhere on the Canary Islands. Talks follow about travel basics, green tea is shared and time to continue sleeping.

The following morning Kitty R. and Grandpa T. have a quick look at the ocean and soon after they leave Essaouira to get to Sidi Kaouki. This little village turns out to be a paradise, but only for surfers. The only excitement of Kitty R. and Grandpa T. is evoked by one grey camel, that chirps like a tiny bird (!) while waiting for any tourists ready to pay and ride on it. Apart from that the area is pretty empty. Soon, Kitty R. and Grandpa T. meet a man with two horses and a very warm, hospitable heart.  S., that’s his name, gives them the key to his house and calls his brother to come and pick them up.

The brother shows up soon with his toddler son, both riding on a donkey. They lead Kitty R. and Grandpa T. through the desert filled with tiny holly. A pacey walk after the man and his son on the donkey leads them to little, stony hut with a horse’s shelter (‘scumbag and sticks’) at the entrance. The man introduces Kitty R. and Grandpa T. to Jessica (a 3 month old donkey, and incredible cuddles lover’) that has a grey fringe, same as Grandpa T. by the way. Unfortunately they have only a moment with her as soon the man loads his donkey with fodder and son and rides away into the desert scape. The young Jessica follows them excitedly. And so, Kitty R. and Grandpa T. stay completely alone in a white, stone hut surrounded by sand and hollys. There is no window, no electricity and only rain water stored in pots.

During the day, when it rains, they run outside naked to catch the rare opportunity to wash themselves. In the evenings they install hammocks on the only one tree growing nearby, so they can swing while looking into the satiety starry sky with a stripe of Milky Way.

In the night Kitty R. dreams about being responsible for separating the Earth from the Sky. Godlike dream.

PS. The next days Kitty R. and Grandpa T. are not alone any more. It appears they live with one desert gecko, one brown mouse and three wild dogs. Together they create an awesome pack!

shop assistant

meat & olives

Jessica and Grandpa T.

Kitty R.

Grandpa T. , White Dog and the hut

dessert life

very shy Gecko

comments powered by Disqus