From the beautiful blue city of Chefchaouen, to manic Marrackesh and the sands of the Sahara - Morocco is a stunning, schizophrenic country full of surprises.
First Stop - The Blue City of Chefchaouen
After a disastrous morning that started with us oversleeping by an hour and making our flight with literally one minute to spare (can you say "hot mess"?), we met up with our son, Kellen and his wife, Whitney and flew direct from London to Fez. Our driver was waiting for us at the airport, and after stopping to grab lunch at a rather sketchy vendor that he recommended for street food (grilled chicken legs and hot, greasy fries - it was fantastic!), we started the 4 hour drive to Chefchaouen.
Most itineraries we researched offered Chefchaouen only as a day trip from Fez, but a four hour drive each way and a strict limit on how long the drivers were allowed to work, left only a couple of hours to explore the city and it just didn't seem like enough time. So instead we hired two separate drivers to get us there and back, and booked a hotel for an overnight stay, and I am SO glad we did! The city is so breathtakingly gorgeous that even the 24 hours we spent there didn't seem nearly long enough.
If I were to do this again, I would have flown into Tangier instead - which is only about a 90 minute drive to Chefchaouen, and saved a lot of time and probably saved some money on the driver as well, as the private
driver from Fez and back was very expensive. Another way you could save money would be by taking a bus for about a tenth of what we paid for our private driver, but some things we had read made us a bit leery of going this route. Later we talked to some people who did take the bus and said they had no problems at all, so if you're adventurous and thrifty, it might be a good option!
We pulled into the city after dark, hungry and freezing (this is Africa! How can it be this cold???), but the great hotel we found at the last minute immediately set out hot mint tea and snacks for us, before we even had a chance to check in! Our rooms were much nicer than expected - vibrantly colored with a living room and kitchen and a made-to-order breakfast delivered in the morning. We spent a few hours exploring before turning in that first night and stumbled on The Aladdin Restaurant in the main plaza with amazing views, that was open late for dinner.
Before sunrise the next morning we became acquainted with one of the most distinctive facets of life in a Muslim country - the adhan, or call to prayer. The call to prayer occurs five times each day and traditionally would be shouted by a meuzzin from the mosque's minaret or in the streets, but today is usually announced through loud speakers.
At first equal parts alarming and annoying, I eventually grew to enjoy the mournful sound and the sense of order it brought to our days. I was never able to tune out the one at 4:30 AM however, which I suppose is probably the point, and the reason that the pre-sunrise prayer adds the line (in Arabic) "Prayer is better than sleep"!!
After the call to prayer and breakfast we spent the rest of the day walking around this #instaperfect town exploring, shopping, and of course taking photos.
Everywhere you look there are picturesque scenes of the market, the winding streets, the kasbah, the children, all the cats, and of course the beautiful blue buildings. There are several theories as to why the walls are painted blue. One theory is that the blue keeps mosquitoes away, another is that Jews introduced the color when they took refuge from Hitler in the 1930s. The blue is said to symbolize the sky and heaven, and serve as a reminder to lead a spiritual life.
Regardless of the reason, the effect is stunning and I suspect has evolved into a very shrewd marketing strategy for the Chefchaouen Chamber of Commerce (if there is one!).
As day came to an end we headed outside the medina to see the Spanish Mosque.
Built in the 1920s but never used, the mosque has fallen into disrepair. It is a moderate 15-20 minute uphill walk (or so the guide books say - I was huffing and puffing pretty good by the time I got to the top!) but once you make it up there, you're rewarded with a spectacular view of the sprawling city below. As we watched, the sky turned bright orange with one of the most beautiful and intense sunsets I have ever seen.
After the sun set we headed down the hill and back to town where we met our driver at the hotel and started the long drive back to Fez, excited to see what the second largest city in Morocco (after Casablanca) has in store for us!
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