The bus ride to Chefchaouen was 4 1/2 hours North through the mountains...this time into the Rif mountains. The drive was fairly uneventful...and I tried to sleep a bit as well...we arrived at our destination just after noon to the quaint blue city of Chefchaouen.
This city sits on the mountain side and has its own special charm...perhaps it's the kif being grown and sold in the area though! It has Spanish influences and the houses of the medina were painted blue in the 1930's to keep mosquitos away....it is a stunning sight at every corner.
Upon arrival at the city center, we booked our bus ticket for Friday and the bus attendant let us use his phone to call the caretaker of the apartment, Dar Domingo, we are renting for the next three nights. Amine arrived with a smile and escorted us by taxi up the mountain, outside the new city, to just on the edge of the medina...we have a spectacular view from our roof top terrace!
Once settled in we enjoyed some time in the sun with a cold beer...thanks to the previous tenants...on the rooftop, which we had full access to as we are the only people here. Mid afternoon we decided to figure out where we were...following Amine to our apartment was a combination of twists and turns, stairs upon stairs, and door after door...this will be interesting for us as we both have issues with getting doors locked and unlocked.
As we ventured out, at the first corner we were treated to stunning scenery and it just never stopped. Blue whitewashed walls and doors, red tiled rooves and cats everywhere you turned. Kids were playing outside, tourists were wandering around taking photos...lots of hippies here...and many shopkeepers wanting you to check out their goods. I can't wait to check out some of the artisan works in the area.
It was pretty hot and we were getting tired and thirsty, so we headed up to the highest terrace we could find to relax and enjoy the view...of course we chose an Aladin themed restaurant as it seemed so Moroccan! The views of the Kasbah below, the Spanish Mosque above, mountains all around and the blue houses was by far the most unique scenery I've seen in a long time.
We then stopped for a bite to eat at a restaurant Amine recommended and then headed out for a little walk to the top of a hill where the Spanish mosque sits. From here we enjoyed the sun set over the city...stunning to say the least and very cool to hear the competing mosques play the call to prayer in this mountainous city.
Once recovered from the steep hike up, we took our time walking down to our apartment, taking pictures and marvelling at our surroundings.
Our apartment has no heat and although it was 25 degrees today, it gets cold at night. Amine came by and lit the wood stove in our living room and after raiding the kitchen downstairs, we found hot chocolate to drink by the fire...not something I thought I would be doing in Morocco at the end of March!!
I was extremely tired, so it was an early night and hopefully another great day tomorrow checking out the many special features of this unique city.
Until then....
Lisa & Lisa
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