Essaouira

After all of the rain in Chefchauen we took a train as far south as we could travel in one day. Essaouira is a sunny tourist/fishing town on the beach which is exactly the drastic geographical change we wanted after a week in the rainy mountains. Gorgeous sunsets, walks/runs on the beach, fresh sea food, and gelatto. That was our itinerary for the week.







On our train ride to Essaouira we met a guy from Austria who we ended up getting an apartment with for three days and spent countless hours talking about Schwarzenegger, Weiner Schnitzel, and American politics.
The world is very interested in American politics again/still and everyone we met wanted to chat about OBAMA. In fact as we walked through the streets touts would ask us where we were from and if we said U.S. they either shouted "OBAMA" at us with a smile or wanted to discuss his African heritage and relation to Muslims in length. We had one waiter who's only word to us throughout the entire meal was "Obama". Serving us bread "Obama", serving some drinks "Obama", to ask if the food was good "Obama?", and bringing the check "Obama". Always with a smile. This warm, open greeting for an American abroad is a stark contrast to my 2003 experience in Spain where I attended the largest European protest against the Iraq War in cognito and led everyday life as a "Canadian" to avoid invidious comments and/or being spat upon. The change in administration makes international travel much more pleasant for an American. At least for now.