We’ve been taking it a bit easy for the past few hours, after walking around the seaside town of Essaouira. We arrived earlier today, and are staying inside the walls of the old town, in the Bagdad Villa hotel - the ex-palace of a local chief turned into a boutique guest house. You have to traverse some pretty dodgy dark alleys to get here, but are pleasantly surprised once you get past the ornate but secure front door to the open courtyard inside.

It didn’t take us too long to get here from Marrakech, and following an uneventful and scenically devoid journey we arrived at the coast. It didn’t take us very long to realise that we wouldn’t be able to park the car anywhere near where we were staying (it’s mostly all pedestrianised inside the city gates), but wheeling or luggage over cobbled streets through the bustling crowds proved to be easier than expected.

We run into a minor snag, in that our hosts don’t speak even one tiny iota of English - something we hadn’t run into since we arrived but probably our own fault for not learning any bloody French in the first place. We’ve so far managed to make ourselves understood, but I am slightly nervous about the fact that when we asked for a room key, they said there wasn’t one! (In case this is my last log entry before my computer gets stolen, if you value your piece of mind - as well as your valuables - always check that your room comes with a locking door.)

After we had settled in, we took a brief tour around. Away from all the hustle and bustle of our locality was an enclave of local arts and crafts shops, manned by local craftsmen producing fine furniture, musical instruments and artwork. Thankfully, they aren’t too pushy with regards to making a sale here, so you can quite easily browse without feeling the pressure to buy something.

After availing ourselves of a nearby ice-cream parlour and coastal scenery we made our way back to the hotel for dinner.