3 Weeks Essaouira and a lot of Waiting

Back to the coast

We drive directly from the farm to the west and arrive in Sidi Kaouki - a surf village. There, unfortunately, we witness a relatively small dog being run over in front of our eyes. It was an accident, but no one really seems to care. The car owner checks his tyres and then drives off. The dog bleeds to death on the road. An elderly man comes, wraps it in plastic and carries it a little further down to the beach, where there is usually rubbish anyway. It was a very unpleasant arrival...

The next day we walk through the medina of Essaouira and check out the different kite surfing providers. We got some contacts from Soumaya - a friend who also works with the 99 Femmes project. The town is relaxed and friendly. In search of a place to sleep, we pass through the village of Diabat in the south. Apparently Jimmy Hendricks once spent the night here. Or something like that. In any case, there were enough rumours to set up a "Jimmy Hendricks Hotel" and a "Jimmy Hendricks Café".

We all live in the yellow submarine

We find the hostel „Yellow Submarine“ where we can also park. Officially it is closed, but we try our luck anyway. And lo and behold, Phips and Simon open the doors for us. The two Germans - together with a few others - want to get the hostel going again. They are really nice, we get on very well and stay with them. They show us the town, the beach, the good spots where you can snack on chickpeas. We try kite surfing for two days. I am not enthusiastic and Luca somehow twists his foot. But we will certainly try again. We also try to extend our visa, but it doesn't work. We also get to know our neighbour Youssef, who takes care of the hostel. in the evenings the five of us sit in the hostel and enjoy life. During the day, we help a bit with the renovation work and film and take photos for their Instagram account. When Phips and Simon leave after a week, we can still stay here, even though the hostel is actually closed (thanks again for that!).

Zi Hounti - Art at the Ocean

Youssef takes us to the souq and to "La Ferai" - also a kind of junkyard, but not for car parts, but all kinds of other things. In between, there are small rooms for artists. There we meet the artist Aziz, who gives us a workshop on therapeutic painting. He also lives in Diabat and the next day we visit him for tea and painting backgammon boards together. One for us and one for Adam, Youssef's son, who is totally into the game but doesn't own one (yet). We get to know Aziz better and better and spend almost every day or evening together. With cooking, going for a walk, talking a lot and then also with making a portrait about him.

In the meantime, we briefly had hope that we would get a place on a repatriation ferry organised by the French Embassy. However, after a long wait, we did not get a call. So the ship left the port on 12th of March without us on board. In total, we spend almost 3 weeks in Diabat, transforming the walls of the hostel into art and making friendships that last. We even met Karine, Soumaya and Ahmed again when they presented the 99 Femmes project in Essaouira.

Another time Agergour - full of hope, waiting, disappointment

We notice, however, how the eternal waiting, always in the same place, makes us tired. So we set off again. Again to Aguergour, because after all we are here to fly. When we arrive, we hear of a next repatriation ferry on the 26th of March. We spend days in front of the phone again. As we don't want to miss the call under any circumstances, we stay on the ground for two good flying days - which almost breaks Luca's gluttonous flying heart in particular. Someone even calls us this time with the super news that we are on the list. Only to inform us a day later that the ferry has no more room for cars over 2 metres. Since our bus is 2.15m high, we were unlucky again. That really wears on our nerves.

There are rumours that the borders will open in April, as Ramadan also begins on 3.4. Even more concrete, that they will open on 7th of April because there will be a meeting between the King and the Spanish Prime Minister. So hope remains, but it takes a lot of strength. Besides, it always means that we don't know how long we'll be here. Do we have to be at the harbour in five days or in five weeks? We are completely at the mercy of others, have no possibility to decide by ourselves... of course we expected that it would be difficult from time to time on our journey, but when the time comes, it is always different from what we imagined.