Chefchouan

On friday I woke up very early to catch a 6:30am Supratours bus from Essaouira to Marrakech in order to get to Fes before dark. My original plan had been to catch the 9am train but I missed it by 15 minutes, so I waited at the Marrakech train station until the 11am train. I had a yummy lunch and read for a bit. The train took nearly 8 hours, I arrived in Fes around 7pm. It was very hot as well, no air conditioning in 2nd class on that train! I then stayed the night in Fes, just relaxed and took a nice shower. I stayed in a very nice hotel not far from the bus station that was also air conditioned! It felt wonderful. I've been to Fes before, so I was ok just staying and relaxing at the hotel without doing any exploring.

The next morning I took a 7am CTM bus to Ouazzan and then a grand taxi the rest of the way to Chefchouan. The CTM was wonderful and air conditioned, :). Fes and Chefchouan were a bit warmer than Essaouira but still cooler than Errachidia. I arrived in Chefchouan before lunch and found the hostel where I had a bed on the roof for only 40dh a night. Was awesome and so nice. I ate a delicious lunch of a cheese salad made with fresh cheese produced in the region and shrimp with a flan for dessert, then explored the old Kasbah in the square with a friends before going back to the hostel and relaxing. Met a really nice american and some australians during the day as well. Many of the australians were leaving for Fes in 2 days time.

The blue of Chefchouan

The blue of Chefchouan

my beloved roof top bed at the hostel

On Day 2 I hiked up to the fields with a peace corps friend and the american I had met the day before. We had a full lunch and then a hot steepish climb up the mountain and past a church/synagogue. I had yummy chicken pizza with the cheese salad and flan again. The hike up was during the hot part of the day, we were so hot by the time we reached the top and there was an amazing cold water source with the most deliciously cold water. We had decided to make this venture at 3pm, not the coolest part of the day. But we made it and without burning. I did manage to lose my sunblock on the way up though, :(. We took some great photos and then made our way back down, showered and then ate dinner. I then had a late shopping trip with the american I'd met and we bought some things from a local seller. I bought a beautiful long sleeved short red patch-worked silk dress. It's beautiful. It was also the American's birthday.

me and my new american friend on our mountain hike

me posing in front of the beautiful views

not a Moroccan mountain hike without seeing a herd of goats

view on our hike

Chefchouan's view at dusk from the nearby mountain

I had planned to leave on Day 3...but then decided I liked Chefchouan so much and didn't desire to stay in Fes for a couple nights that I changed my mind. Luckily I was able to sell my ticket to another traveler and bought a new one to leave on that Wednesday, August 4th. The australian guy I met walked down with me to the bus station to see about changing my ticket. Boy it's a steep walk back up that hill! For lunch we bought some food and made a veggie and tuna couscous with fruit for dessert with a relaxing afternoon of fast internet. That was another great aspect of the hostel, the super fast wireless internet that I took full advantage of. We went out to one of the local restaurants for dinner and brought another American with us who had just arrived that day. Always great food.

On Day 4 I spent the morning post card shopping with my new friend as well as with another American who had just arrived and one of the Australians. It was a great morning. We started with a yummy breakfast of melowee and honey and orange juice. For lunch we bought fruit and some tomatoes and watched part of Sex and the City 2. Then we ate an early dinner in the cutest little nook of a restaurant in the square but soon regretted the decision as it was so warm. It was me, the 2 americans, a girl from japan and the aussi guy. I ate pastilla and had "cake" for dessert with coffee. The "cake" was actually an assortment of cookies. We were going to take a hike but decided we were too tired and too dark, so we wandered around the medina instead and took photos and shopped. Earlier that day I had bought a new blanket. It's thin and large with different shades of blue and made of cactus fiber silk. Later that evening I bought a new purse and earrings as well. The purse was a green version of the blanket fabric and I bartered the price down to 55% off his asking price, :). The earrings are an amber colored plastic set in silver. Then that evening we finished watching Sex and the City 2. It was our Aussi friend's last night and was supposed to be mine...

many things to be purchased in Chefchouan

store shopping at night

But alas on Day 5 I decided to extend my stay one more night. I had switched my ticket the day before and decided to travel straight to Al Hoceima instead of down and around to Fes and Taza. I enjoyed a relaxing day hanging out with the 2 american girls. We had a small lunch, relaxed and then took a late hike up to the church/synagogue before eating an early dinner where we met an English guy. I missed our aussi friend's presence. The place where we ate dinner did not have friendly staff, but the food was good. I had my now favorite cheese salad and a delicious carrot soup that was supposed to be onion. Oh well. I had a late night not going to sleep until 1am and then getting up very early at 5:15am to get my 6:30am CTM to Al Hoceima.

I absolutely loved Chefchouan. My bed on the roof was perfect during the summer, the place was clean, the bathrooms nice and the people so great. The food was decently priced and delicious. Overall a great experience and I was sad to move on. I had also met many interesting fellow travelers.