Essaouira: The City of Content Cats

K has been dying to visit Essaouira since reading this article last spring. With the Marrakech International Half Marathon on our schedules, we decided to start off our trip to Marrakech in Essaouira, a small, coastal town about 3.5 hours west of Marrakech. But I digress...because do you know what exists between Marrakech and Essaouira??

GOATS.

IN TREES.

Yes, THEY ARE REAL. It's not just a fantasy J has been living out via a wall calendar from 2015. It turns out, goats enjoy eating the fruit of the argan tree. **Fun fact #1: The argan tree is native only to Morocco and Algeria, with pure argan oil being made in Morocco - hence why it's so expensive in the US. It used to be very difficult to buy argan oil outside of Morocco.** So, these goats climb the trees to eat the fruit, but they spit out the seeds. The seeds hold the power to transform (through an intensive process) into argan oil, or Morocco's version of nut butter, Amlou. **Fun fact #2: Argan oil that can be used for cosmetic purposes is different than the argan oil used for cooking. Cosmetic argan oil uses raw seeds; therefore, the oil has no odor. Argan oil for cooking uses roasted seeds, giving the oil a pleasant aroma and a slightly darker color, great for salad dressings, cooking, and sauteing.**

Ok, ok - back to the goats. This was a life-changing experience for J. Seriously. He would not stop talking about it. "This trip has been great. But you know what I'm thinking about? How badly I want to go back and take that baby goat home." We've unleashed a monster! Here's the proof you've been waiting for:

Of course, locals have taken advantage of this phenomenon and wait for tourists to show up and take pictures. Then ask you for money after melting your heart with a baby goat. But when that equates to $2...totally worth it. In fact, we're pretty sure if J offered him $20, he would've given us the goat.

After wrangling J back into the van (sans baby goat), we stopped at one of the women's cooperatives for producing argan oil. We learned a lot about the process of making argan oil and got to see how it's done. With how much product you see in Moroccan markets, you think, "there has to be a factory where this stuff is churned out quickly." Nope. There are many argan oil cooperatives where women like the ones in the photograph work all day, every day to produce argan products by hand. No fancy machines, no comfortable desks to sit at, no heat or air conditioned facilities.

With bags full of goodies, it was time to enjoy more of Essaouira. We wandered nearly the entire Medina, containing our purchases well. One shop almost tricked us into buying a carpet, by using an innocent cat as bait. After walking away from bargaining with a shopkeeper, there was this friendly little fella sitting in the doorway. K knelt down to say hello (of course), and the sweet lil' thing just jumped right into her lap and gave her a hug (literally - sat in my lap, then propped himself up and wrapped his two scrawny arms around my neck, and nuzzled my chin)! K told the shopkeeper, "How much for this guy? Free?" And he responded, "Free, with the purchase of a carpet!" Damn cat! Sneakiest employee in the joint!

Essaouira has a really great blend of old and new strewn throughout it's Medina. The modern, yet authentic, shops were really incredible and it was one of the best places we'd been to in Morocco for browsing. Handmade goods, cafes, art...it was all there, and much of it was unique. One of the restaurants we dined in was an art exhibition from head to toe. And we happened to be there when the owners and the artist showed up for a visit. That was cool and all...but the real star was this fella:

He could've cared less about the food, music, and bustle taking place around him. After all, this is actually HIS restaurant. And everyone there knew that. But he was nice enough to sleep next to us as we ate our deliciously healthy meal.

We took a little stroll along the coast and the port, searching for the famously happy cats. Unfortunately, it was the afternoon and although there were plenty of vendors selling seafood, most of the cats were full-bellied and asleep in the sunshine.

Our thoughts on this trip: We left Essaouira with not nearly enough cat photos. We will have to return.