Moroccan Adventure Part 4

Chefchaouen

Map of Chefchaouen by Journey Beyond Travel

“We can’t go to Morocco without seeing Chefchaouen,” Darwin said. “Of course! I’m all in,” was my response. My brain was running on an overdrive. I’d been trying to construct an itinerary to cram in four major Moroccan cities in 8 days: Casablanca, Marrakesh, Essaouira and Chefchaouen. What was I thinking?

There was so much to see and not enough time, but we did manage to visit with Jackie in Essaouira. Our final stop was Chefchaouen, before we head back home to the Philippines.

We took a bus from Essaouira to Marrakesh, a 2.5 hours trip. Then from Marrakech, we took a train ride to Tangier via Casablanca. Total was about 6 hours. Then there was supposed to be a bus from Tangier to Chefchaouen. That was another 2 hours, making for a long night.

“Why don’t you just buy a ticket from the bus station in Essaouria?” A local travel agent suggested to me. “If you purchase a first class ticket from Marrakech to Tangier, they will provide you a small bed in a cabin and you’ll be more comfortable.”

I estimated 14 hours travel time more or less, including the transits along the way. A bed was deemed necessary. The first leg of the trip was the bus trip from Essaouira to Marrakesh. It was a breeze. We met Adil in person. He maintains an interesting blog and website about Morocco and I’d been consulting with his wife Jade online, prior to visiting Morocco. They both manage an exotic desert yoga tours in the Sahara deserts. Adil’s the guide and his wife, Jade is the Yoga instructor. Who’d have thought that we’d end up in the same bus, coincidence or synchronicity? You decide.

Aside from us, he was the only person speaking fluent English. He and Darwin chatted about music most of the way. He shared what it was like growing up in the desert of Morocco as a Berber nomad and then settling down in Texas. When we arrived in Marrakech, we waited for our gate to open to take the midnight train to the exotic Tangier. At the last minute we found out that we didn’t get our promised beds. I sprinted back to the ticket counter, 10 minutes before departure. Darwin stayed behind with our incredible magical growing luggage. By the last leg of our trip, we had a ton of luggage!
We bought some souvenirs and memorabilias. Darwin, the chef in the family was intent on North African cooking. He’d purchased a jumbo ceramic ‘Tajine’. We weren’t exactly traveling light anymore. I made the mad dash to secure our bed passes. And boy, did I run for my life!

I was so scared that the train would leave without me. Darwin boarded on the train already, so it would have been me stuck in Marrakech. Why weren’t we informed of this small very important detail? Who knew? To my relief, the ticket counter was full of breathless and panting passengers like me. I found out the hard way, what many tourists I’m sure had discovered before me. We purchased our tickets in person. But had we purchased our tickets online, they couldn’t have been upgraded to a sleeper cabin.

Forewarned is forearmed, so word to the wise. Don’t buy tickets in advance or online. Get your tickets at the station. Simply, secure your sleeper boarding passes at the ticket terminal before you board. I felt bad for the passengers who bought their tickets online. Will they get a refund? The ticket agent was not forthcoming. When we arrived in Tangier, my online research told me that there were buses to Chefchaouen. We didn’t find any buses at the railroad station. We had to commute to the bus station which was in another part of the city. We arrived at dawn, groggy from a lack of sleep, and a not so comfortable ride. We decided to splurge for comfort this time and hailed a cab. It was more or less $50 as compared to advertised online published rate of $150 to 200

We took a cab from Tangier to Chefchaouen and did some sighteeing along the way.

Our goal was to check in and get settled at our hotel, not to mention a lil’ bit of sightseeing enroute. After an exhausting train ride, we arrived in Chefchaouen and the stress evaporated. The Blue City did not disappoint. Chefchaouen is one of the most beautiful cities in the world that I have experienced. With houses painted in different shades of blue, up high in the cool mountains, it was picturesque!

There must have been an enormous sale of blue paint one day. Like an annual buy-one get-one-free sale! I mused.The entire city turned out en masse one weekend. A citywide painting party ensued leaving no door, window, stairs, flower pots untouched! Mosaic designs embellished the exterior walls and somehow everything blended in harmony, which was visually pleasing to the eye.

What did I like about Chefchaouen? Like Casablanca and Marrakech, Chefchaouen had Riads, Medinas, and a Mosque. Instead of the White or Red City, Chefchaouen is in tones of blue. That and it’s a clean city too. There are tons of shops and vendors and they are so laid back compared to Casablanca. The Medinas even seemed less crowded when we visited. Could it have been off season?

Even so, they weren’t ‘as in your face’ haggling like Casablanca or Marrakech. We could gape at the merchandise, shop in peace, and even take pictures. People warned us that Chefchaouen was a drug hub and we might get some offers. Yup, we did get solicited by hashish (or opium) dealers. Even in our 60s, we look hip! We thought to ourselves. We politely declined, because we neglected to budget in time for a blue Moroccan jail. It would have been one for the books!

The food in Chefchaouen was yummy. There was a wide variety of eclectic international food choices. We also noticed that a lot more people seemed to speak English and Spanish. We had some really wonderful authentic Italian vegetarian pizza. The breakfast the next day was provided by our Airbnb host at a Bohemian looking place called Dar Elrio. It was run by a young woman from France and her Moroccan husband. She loaded our plates with fresh fruits, warm homemade bread, yoghurt and eggs.

Thanks God for translation apps, we can communicate with the locals.

We booked a beautiful suite to celebrate our last days in Morocco. It overlooked the mountains and waterfalls. You could hear the gushing water from the falls at night from our window. We loved our accommodation at Dar Elrio. We had a great view of the city, while still within walking distance to the Medina for shopping.

Morocco was a great trip and our last days in Chefchaouen were so restful and laid back. It was the perfect place to bid a fond farewell to Morocco and North Africa. Laden with gifts and souvenirs, we booked a private cab. We rode in an air-conditioned comfort from Chefchaouen to Casablanca. There was no way, we can make our flight in the evening if we took a bus or train. The cab ride was about 5-6 hours drive depending on the traffic. We boarded Saudia Airlines, a flight of 16 to 18 hours by way of Jeddah. Then finally, home sweet home.

As you might have guessed, I was able to fall in love with Morocco in eight short days. I long to go back someday, but not another marathon trip. In retrospect, I’d plan our trip differently by staying longer in one place. The best part of the trip was experiencing the people and the local life. Booking a house for a month or two and doing side trips along the way, may be the wiser alternative.

Photo credits:
Darwin and I took most of the photos ourselves. Some were done on our phones by kind locals. See below image sources for a picture I’ve absconded from the web.

Map of Chefchaouen by Journey Beyond Travel was taken from a Pinterest website.