I leave for Morocco this afternoon. It’s still an out of body experience to write, and then read, that sentence.
Yesterday as I was driving down Moreland Avenue on my way home from exercise class, a hawk flew along side my car for about a block before it landed in a tree. It was so close! I love seeing hawks in the sky and think of them as a good omen, a sign from Charlie. As I approached Ormewood Avenue, another hawk swooped across my car, maybe brushed against the windshield and then flew off unharmed. I don’t know what it means to see two hawks within minutes of each other but I like to think that it was an auspicious sign, a blessing, a happy sendoff. Come to think of it, we also saw a hawk through a window in exercise class and we all gathered for a moment to admire it. That’s three hawks within an hour. It feels good, and it’s a great way to start this journey.
Sunday, November 16, 2025.
And indeed it was. The 4,499 mile flight lasted exactly 7 1/2 hours. Getting through the Atlanta airport security was a breeze, as was getting out of the Marrakech airport, no delays, no long lines, no hassles. It was almost too easy. Mustapha, our trusty driver picked us up promptly at 7am. The view on our way to Essaouira morphed from early morning darkness to a landscape drenched in the colors of sunrise, a rainbow or two and several sun dogs by midmorning. No kidding. It rained a little bit on the way, which I didn’t mind at all as the area needs rain. Where there should be rivers, there are parched red riverbeds. And old olive trees densly leafy and so dusty, I didn’t recognize them as olive trees.
We arrived in Essaouira early which gave us a chance to explore the city (cats everywhere!), eat lunch at KSOU, a roof top restaurant, and then get settled in the apartment, La Skala. Our place is colorful and spacious, every room has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Great views of a jagged shoreline, waves crashing against the rock outcroppings, tiny fishing boats in the distance, noisy gulls overhead, a great blue heron or two, horizontal strips of clouds across the sky, maybe rain way off in the distance. Yeah, it’s beautiful here.
Close to sunset, Jeff and I headed out to the end of the port, ostensibly to watch the sun set and the fisherman with today’s catch. We had heard about small stands where fisherman sell fresh fish, cook it on an open fire a few feet away, and serve it at primitively built picnic tables. Elegant it is not but delicious and reasonably priced, yes! We had a generous plate of shrimp, octopus, sardines and orata, dorata to them and bream to us. So good, so simple, we may do this tomorrow night, too. Bought a banana and nutella crepe for Shauna and, of course, Jeff and I split one. Just because. After all, it’s our first day in Morocco.
Jet lag, I’m tired and I’m going to bed.