Subtour 9: Morocco/Ceuta 0332. Dreamlike Chefchaouan (165--new)

A few days after getting back from my 3 day North Morocco tour, I turned right around to do another North Morocco tour•picking up exactly where I had turned around last time.

Chefchaouan.

It’s the next town after Ouazzane•and probably the town that Moroccans have insisted that I visit more than any other… So, yeah, I’ve got pretty big expectations about Chefchaouan.

I actually take the roundabout way, which I trust will be faster•take the overnight bus from Casa to Tetouan and then catch a bus south to Chefchaouan at 5:30 in the morning.  It’s a chilly, windy morning as I climb on the bus along with rugged looking Riffiens…

The bus winds up through the mountains into the thick fog a bit until we reach what looks like a small, modern-looking town.

I get off, walk through the fog to a little plaza that has a distinctly European feel… past a couple more plazas and Spanish style cafes… all the way to the other end of town... There I found a beautiful little stream with a backdrop of jagged cliffs topped off with thick mist…

I starting to discover the Chefchaouan charm.

I find a path that follows the stream… a little bit dirty in places•but still preserves its pure mountain charm.  And then, on the other side, I see Old Chefchaouan.

Chefchaouan did not disappoint.  It’s true, not all the houses are the clean, mystical white and blue that you see in the postcards, but there is something magical and dreamlike about Chefchaouan and easy to fall in love with the town.

Looking for an alternate way back, I found myself on a road climbing high up the mountainside… Suddenly I was at the top of the ledge gazing down at the city barely visible through the mist.