Essaouira's main beach is a wide arc of clean sand running south from the medina for several kilometres — wide enough at low tide for football matches, camel walks, and a surprising amount of horse traffic. The wind that makes the town famous also makes the water cold and choppy: this is a beach for windsurfers, kitesurfers, and walkers more than swimmers and sunbathers. For calmer water try the small Plage de Safi to the north when the swell is down. Down at the southern end, past the river, are the photogenic ruins of Borj El Berod and the Berber village of Diabat, once a 1960s hippie hangout when Hendrix and Cat Stevens were rumoured to be living there, now a quiet stop on a long beach walk.