Today’s post recaps the miscellaneous moments before, during, and after our time in Essaouira… the oddest of which features goats climbing argan trees along the side of the road. More on that in a moment.

I’ll back up to our day-long drive towards Essaouira, which features stunning views like this:

We grab lunch at a grocery store en route.

We stop at an argan oil factory late in the afternoon for a quick tour and shopping session.

Argan oil is used in both food and beauty products. Women go through the process of removing the outer layers — first a peel, then a layer of pulp, then a nut with kernels inside — so that the kernels can be ground and pressed.

We sample argan oil as both a food dip and in various beauty products (shampoos, lotions, etc.).

Moving on, I have a bunch of food shots from our seaside meals in Essaouira. My tour mates kindly let me photograph their plates, and I think we all have serious cases of food envy regardless of what we order. This area is known for seafood and boy does it deliver.

The second night in Essaouira we dine at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the water which our guide Mohamed recommends. We spend a full evening laughing and enjoying good conversation.

This restaurant is also a great vantage point for photographing the fortress below, which I shared yesterday along with Games of Thrones photos.

Aww, fun times. Karen, Natalie P., Natalie T., and Tally pose for the camera.

We order more seafood tonight. You can’t go wrong.

We walk down to the beach once more. Tally hasn’t been feeling well and takes a quick, refreshing dip while the rest of us support her from the sand.

We’ve arrived at the tree-climbing goat photos from which this post gets its name. On the way back to Marrakech, we stop briefly at the side of the road where locals watch over this argan tree. (If you go — be prepared to tip them a small amount for taking photos, like $1 USD. Don’t tip until you’ve finished taking photos or they’ll ask for more.) Goats perch precariously on even the highest of branches. We’re told the goats choose to do this, and I’m sure to a point that’s true, but it sure feels like the locals watching over the tree have a vested interest in this too. I hope the animals could get down if they really wanted to.

We’re offered the chance to hold a baby goat. Once he’s in my arms, I don’t want to give him back. He’s so sweet and calm.

Natalie poses with this little guy:

Oh man, we’re approaching the end of our time in Morocco. Next up is Marrakech, our final stop.

Thanks to Nomadic Tours for discounting my tour in exchange for photography and blogging. Opinions are my own.