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Tourist Attacked by an Octopus!
Essaouira, Morocco
March, 2006
Spring Arrives in Essaouira
Spring is my favorite time of year in Morocco. Flowers are blooming, the fields are green and the sun shines almost everyday. All this week the temperature will reach the mid 70’s, a true sign of the departure of winter.
Today I took a wonderful bike ride from Essaouira to Diabet. This is a very easy ride which is mostly on a dirt trail that starts just to across the highway from Essaouira Camping. There is a little man-made bridge where you can cross the river Ksab and once your past Diabet you can always stop at Tangaro for a mint tea. Tangaro is a nice little hotel with a wind mill and prides itself for not having any electricity after 6:00PM.
This was truly a remarkable day. I couldn’t believe how lush and green it was all around the dunes that lead to the beach. The entire surrounding countryside is in full bloom and the bright red Poppies are adding to and unusually large amount of wild flowers.
As I crossed the river I looked towards the beach and noticed a Great Blue Heron fishing in a small pool and a flock of ducks bathing and resting. The entire area around the river is as lush as I have ever seen it.
All the green is due to the fact that during January and February the area received an above average amount of rainfall. I cannot prove this with real numbers, because there are no Essaouira rainfall totals or averages online. But rest assured, everyone in town says there has been above average rainfall including the King of the Café, so it must be true.
The photo above is of a wonderful field and old shack near Tangaro. From Essaouira, cross the river, ride through Diabet and turn left on the dirt trail just after Tangaro. This is a scenic trail that leads down to where the main highway crosses the river. The trail takes you though a lush little valley that has an excellent view of the river, the castle made of sand and the Ile de Mogador.
What a wonderful ride and a wonderful time of year!
The other true sign that spring has arrived is that all the mother cats in Essaouira are starting to have their babies. If you are walking around Essaouira during the next few weeks, keep your eyes out for cardboard boxes along the streets. You may think the boxes are abandoned or filled with trash, but approach and you may be surprised.
It is tradition here to leave boxes out so the cats have a place to bear their young. I have once seen two mother cats sharing a box with all of their 8 kittens. It was really a wonderful sight, all those little fur balls piled together. So keep you eye for the boxes of kitties, but don’t touch, sometimes the mothers can get a bit testy!
Breaking News!! Tourist Attacked By Octopus on Essaouira Reef!
In other exciting news, today I was attacked by a Giant Octopus out on the Essaouira reef! It was unbelievable!
I was minding my own business hunting around the tide pools for shells and rocks when I came upon a pool that was particularly deep and fascinating. It was filled with beautiful river stones and had a little cave that went into a deeper pool. I stuck my hand in up to my elbow, grabbed a handful of stones and the next thing you know this Giant Octopus swam up and grabbed my hand with his slimy tentacles!
I was shocked. It was giant! OK not GIANT, but over a foot and a half long and six inches wide. Bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in a tide pool.
Maybe my hand does look a bit like an Octopus, and he just wanted to be my friend, but I don’t think so. This Octopus knew what he was doing. He swam up, grabbed my hand, looked at me with his beady eyes and before I was able to pull my hand away he gnashed his spiked teeth at me. A vicious little creature.
After I ripped my hand away, the Octopus swam away slowly towards the deeper pool laughing triumphantly that he had scared the bejesus out of a dumb and ugly land creature.
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