Chefchaouen & Fes
Fes to Blue City
Chefchaouen is a northern city situated in the mountains of Morocco. It’s known for its buildings and walls which are all painted in cobalt blue (Which is my favourite colour!). Some say the buildings are all painted blue to keep mosquitos away. (Another reason why I wanted to go to this place.) Hence, we booked another private day tour from Fes to this blue city. Chefchaouen isn’t that close to Fes and takes about 3-4 hours by car to get there. When we arrived, we took a stop an a city overlook and were already super excited to see this unique place. The weather that day was extremely comfortable, since it was up in the mountains, the temperature was around 24 degrees Celsius unlike the desert which was 40 in July!
Arrival
Our driver dropped us off at a busy intersection and said to meet him back there around 4 hours later. With this limited timeframe, we rushed to the entrance gate to quickly explore ourselves. Chefchaouen is a very popular destination for tourists so within the first couple streets and alleyways it was filled with shops selling souvenirs, leathers and clothing.
Rooftop restaurant
Since we arrived around noon, our first priority was to have lunch. We hiked up for about 10 minutes and we reached a square filled with restaurants. Again, we were greeted with pushy salesman who would try their hardest to get customers in. We decided to find a restaurant with rooftop seating to enjoy a beautiful view of the city and needless to say we made the perfect choice. We had a good meal, it was sunny with a light breeze, the whole experience was soothing, relaxing and surreal.
Influencer’s paradise
Chefchaouen definitely is an influencer’s paradise. I first discovered this city through instagram and I was in awe of how beautiful this place is. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to take pretty photos here too. Everywhere you look, it’s an instant perfect background for a photoshoot. We came across someone’s home (front garden) that was purposely decorated for tourist who wants a “pretty” photo. The home owner actually charges a dollar Canadian to go in and take a couple shots.
Cats Everywhere!
Cats are pretty common in Morocco and they are the same in Chefchaouen. They just roam around like they are part of the locals. They would be in restaurant balconies, food markets, and even going into people’s homes. We also came across a fish market where the locals would feed them leftovers and some would just drool over fresh fish :D
Patiently waiting
Guard Cat
Popular shopping destination
This blue city is not only famous due to its bright blue walls but it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as coloured paint, artisanal clothing, wool garments and woven blankets. The bright orange and red blankets and pots made such a great colour contrast against its blue walls. Again, great backdrops for the gram ;)
Further up you go…
The entrance to this town was packed with tourists but the further you go, the quieter and more serene it gets. There were less people and more locals. We came across a little square and rested here for awhile, sipping our orange juice. We felt a kind of calm and peacefulness here like we were in a completely different world.
Fes
We didn’t spend much time in Fes. The last day in Morocco, we just wanted to take our time and relax. Our riad is actually really close to the Blue gate of Fes. Inside is another medina. Again our tactic is to go straight without turning to avoid getting lost. Initially we wanted to find the infamous tannery in Fes. But the medina was just way too chaotic (plus we were just roaming around on our own) so we threw in the towel.
Riad Tahra & Spa
Lastly, we wanted to give a special shout out to the riad we stayed in Fes. The hospitality here is great! The host we had was super friendly and helpful. We also wanted to mention we love their veggie tajine so much we ordered it twice! Again, we can’t forget to mention their orange juice is just exquisite!
Parting Thoughts
Morocco was an awesome place to visit. It was definitely a culture shock for us for sure, but we learned so much by seeing and interacting with the people there. Their craft, architecture and pottery were the most impressive. Lastly, the one thing we definitely will miss the most (can you guess?)…… is the freshly squeezed, sweet and succulent orange juice. Good bye for now! Til the next adventure!