And maybe it is … It has been such a weird time, listening to the news about the country falling to bits and yet all is normal for us. Got excellent use from the NT card today:
Sissinghurst
First ones in so had the gardens to ourselves for a bit
Made sure we had our coffee outside. Apparently all NT cafes to close from tomorrow.
Nymans
Maybe a couple of weeks too early to see all the best colours, but who knows where on earth we will all be.
Wonderful early Spring day.
Bexhill-on-Sea
Rye
It was very windy. Couldn’t go into any cafes for lunch so bought a sandwich and huddled in this hide with a fantastic view of the birds.
And it’s getting weirder every day. Talk about social distancing and over 70s staying at home. Meanwhile the south coast is gorgeous and quite a lot of folks out and about. No idea if it’s quieter than usual as we wouldn’t expect to see many people on a midweek Tuesday anyway.
Are we crazy? Are we selfish? Are we in denial? Who knows, although it does feel extremely odd to be having a nice time while the world is falling apart.
Last minute we have rented a lovely little house in Kent for a couple of nights. It isn’t far and we can behave exactly as we would be doing at home – that already sounds a bit defensive.
But we had a lovely day.
And, of course, liberally interspersed with coffee, tea and cakes.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring …..
An Essaouira day, so pretty much identical to yesterday. Lunch at our favourite restaurant
And a walk along the beach, around the Medina and then home. Perfect journey, so home by 10.00.
So a few random photos to remind us.
Back in Essaouira so not much to report. Although the hotel room (suite) is wonderful. Eileen negotiated an upgrade and a discount at the same time.
Our terrace
Our sitting room
And just outside the door
We have been incredibly lucky with the weather throughout – although not so sure about the Moroccans as it seems the winter rains haven’t come. They’re probably all in the UK. But add that to the virus threat and the tourism industry is worried.
But for us it’s gorgeous. A bit like Oxwich but sunny.
And an arty shot in the old town.
Sunset. Cheers.
And finally a question:
Is the following picture:
a) our view from dinner; or
b) more amazingness from the incredible Greenland odyssey?
Well sort of. Back to Essaouira today.
Thought a map might be helpful, especially as Ouirgane is a tiny hamlet in the mountains.
But first, caught some nice early morning mountain pics.
One of the unexpected things about where we’re staying is the absolute silence when we went for a walk. Not sure where the birds were, but total silence is not something we’re very familiar with.
Then headed off after lunch. No lunch for Eileen – although she’s just about better, the idea of eating before a 4 hour car trip through the mountains didn’t appeal.
We took the scenic view.
Fabulous. The rest of the journey was fairly nondescript apart from the awful unmade roads for about 10 miles.
This was more typical though. Good roads, empty and lots of boring desert to look at.
So we resorted to listening to Radio 4 podcasts …..
But a little bit of light relief
And the shepherd, who clearly knows an opportunity when it arises comes scampering across the field “to say hello”. Ended up giving him a slightly larger note than I should have, so made his day!
Back at the same hotel for a couple of days before home.
Actually the same ones but from different angles!
Eileen a bit under the weather today so didn’t venture very far. Bu to be honest we didn’t need to. Not a bad place if you’re indisposed for a day.
