March 27th to 31st: Chefchaouen

From Fes to Chefchaouen took us about 5 hours, including a lunch stop. After leaving Fes we soon entered the Rif Mountains, a Berber area, and drove the rest of the way through green, lush scenery. There is clearly more rain here which, with the warm climate, may well account for Chefchaouen being the country’s marijuana growing centre. It is called kif locally and the guy in the top photo is sat on a rock having a smoke. This is tolerated here at least for the locals but it is not permissible to deal in or export the drug, so tourists beware: no pot plant for aunty from here!

Above is the medina, the original Chefchaouen, hidden in a fold of the mountains. So hidden, in fact, that before 1920 when the Spanish army arrived, it had been visited by only three Westerners. This is remarkable as the town is only 70 miles from manic, international Tangier, but even these days the villagers in the hills seem reluctant to talk to strangers and many are unable to understand much Spanish or French, the official second language of Morocco. This is in stark contrast to remote Berber areas elsewhere in the country where the locals seek you out for conversation in French or English. Maybe elements of the region’s fiercely independent past insularity still persist. In Chefchaouen itself visitors are very welcome and delight in the quaint alleys and squares washed in blue lime, as per example below.

The campsite is located above the town and leads onto mountain tracks with splendid walks looking down on the town. The photo two above was taken from one of these walks, as was the photo below.

We did a day trip to Tetouan near the coast, a city of 400,000 inhabitants, and the Spanish administrative capital of the part of Morocco they ruled over during the years 1912 to 1956. With some small exceptions, France administered the rest of the country, by far the majority, and thereby French continues as the country’s second language after Arabic, in the same way that English functions in India as their second language.

This is one of the plazas in Tetouan and could be part of a square on the Spanish mainland. And then from Spain, straight back to Morocco: the doorway with the old ladies sitting on the step could be from any part of Morocco.

The mix of Spanish and Moroccan is everywhere in the city, unsurprisingly. Look below at the king’s palace (remember, a palace in each city!): Spanish building, Moroccan pillars. Spain itself often has a similar mixture as a result of decades of occupation by the Moors (the Moroccans) with many original Moorish structures remaining but also this same influence in later architecture.

We came back from Tetouan by a tortuous route, firstly 30 miles of roadworks, then 20 miles of the worst potholes (like bomb craters) so far encountered. But an experience! One more day of packing, and then back to Spain.

Our two months here have been an excellent adventure, thanks not only to the fascinating variety of Morocco and the weather, but also to our travelling companions who all strived to get along together as part of a team, and succeeded: we were friends at the start and at the finish.