The yellow powders are saffron-spice blends to make Essaouira's signature fish tagine, but the mysterious purple pigment is what first made Essaouira's reputation, some 2, 000 years ago.
Half-asleep, I shuffled to the canopy-level observation deck of my rustic wooden cabin, grabbing binoculars and Tito Narosky's "Birds of Argentina and Uruguay" just as a flurry of yellow plumage transformed into what locals term the "banana toucan, " a rare and striking saffron toucanet.