Chefchaouen ~ The Town of Blue

Chaefchaouen is the 'blue city' you have probably seen pictures of if you have seen any unique pictures of Morocco. It is also called 'the blue pearl' of Morocco. I will put a lot of my photos here. They may look like others you have seen but I assure you they are mine. It's not a huge town so it makes sense that any visitors might have taken photos of the same alleys or doors. I have also been to Chefchaouen twice. It is another Moroccan destination that is worth a visit and maybe even a second visit.

Getting to Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen is off the beaten track. A highway runs parallel to the Mediterranean coastline but you have to go off this highway and into the mountain range to get to Chefchaouen. I booked a 'White Taxi' to take me. These are the taxies that go between cities. They are expensive but not too bad. If you have several of you, you can book the whole taxi. If it is only you or you and a friend, you may have to hang around until the taxi is full. Friends of mine used a White taxi and they paid for the whole taxi, even though they only needed two seats. They paid for the extra seats themselves. This gives you lots of room (otherwise they pack the people in to get their money's worth) for the long trip. A word of caution on the White taxies - the drivers are crazy! They speed like they are in a rally. If you are on the road and see an accident, more often than not it is a white taxi.

Some will say there is another reason Chefchaouen is a popular destination with back-packers. It's known for having good access to drugs. ...to put it bluntly. The hills around the town are supposedly well stocked with poppies - and other vegetation. I'm not interested in any of that. I just want to see unique places around the world. These places are so foreign to me that they open my mind and feed my imagination. They are beautiful, exotic and awe inspiring.

Why so Blue?

So, Chefchaouen...why so blue? I have been told two reasons by locals. You judge which one you want to believe. The first is that painting buildings different shades of blue keep the flies and other bugs away. They boast you will not see so many mosquitoes in the town. But, it is also quite high, resting within 'the Rif,' a mountain range that stretches across the northern edge of Morocco, so will have fewer mosquitoes anyway. The second reason for it being blue was that blue keeps ghosts away. Weeellll... these are stories told to me by hoteliers and shopkeepers in that town. Believe as you will.

I think it looks like a 'Smurf village' because everything is some shade of blue. You don't see Smurfs but you see hooded shadows disappearing down alleys. Locals all wear long robes with pointed hoods (a djellaba) which adds to the exotic feel of the place. Or, because a lot of the blue paint is glossy, it reflects light everywhere and looks like its made of ice. As dusk settles over the town and the colours are less evident, it makes me feel like I have gone back in time to Inner Earth with Gandalf and Bilbo... You've gotta experience it to get what I mean.

Quaint Buildings in Chefchaouen

I stayed in this fabulous hotel, right in the middle of the town. Just outside the door is a café with luxurious colourful pillows on the benches...tables are blue...fancy lights add to the mood. The chairs

are blue with half moons on them and nice food options. A little farther on is the central square with

an ancient walled palace that you can tour through. The restaurants in the town cater to every price range and every mood. One of my favourite, fully Moroccan meals I ever had was in a restaurant just off the square in Chefchaouen.

I've got to talk about the hotel. It was the coolest hotel I have been in. There are a lot of amazing hotels and Ryads (Riad) in Morocco but this one was unique and affordable!!! If you have money you can find awesome hotels everywhere. But if you are not floating the world in cash, you have to search harder. the room had a plastered fireplace in the corner. I was there just after Christmas and

the fireplace was going regularly! The bathroom had a copper sink and the shower was plastered as well. The rooftop had a lounge area where we relaxed after our tours. It had a great view over the town. You could see all the blue buildings and the mountains beyond. There were lots of different levels throughout the hotel with stairs everywhere - I thought I'd get lost. The rooftop had wonderful, built in sofas and tables everywhere. It was a fabulous spot to hang out and play games.

Because these small hotels are built in old buildings, there are not a lot of windows in the rooms. Every floor and every room had different wrought iron lights. The fancy kind you can buy in the souks. In the hotels though, these lights have wonderful tile work around them. The light from the lanterns, speckle the wall and soften the mood, no matter what time of day it is.

In and Around Chefchaouen

Because Chefchaouen is in the mountains, it is a good starting point for a mountain trek. If you love trekking you can do a multi-day trek that takes you through simple mountain villages. You do need to book this with a guide since it is not easy to find the villages themselves. You need to know where to sleep in these villages as well. There are some Auberges (hostels) but the guides might also have relatives that you can book with. Authentic is great. Authentic means real food - cooked by Moroccans that know their spices and use tagines all the time. I did a 6 day trek in the High Atlas but that will be another blog.

Also, there is a replanting program

on to plant trees on the slopes. You can visit the green house that grows the trees until they are big enough to put in their new home. I did this with students and it was so exciting to see them get involved in this. I made a special friend in the green house - I loved her hat but didn't have one to trade with her. She loved my sunglasses! But still no trade. I needed the sunglasses - they were prescription. Sigh! I did get a picture though.

We were there during Eid al Fitr, the Muslim celebration that 'breaks the fast' of Ramadan. It is a big holiday and unfortunately, affected our touring a little bit. Stores were closed and some restaurants. Eid is a big family time and is very important to the Moroccans so we ate what we could find and enjoyed the celebrations going on around us. It was not noisy but reserved and everyone was very involved with family. It was quiet and the streets were empty so we strolled through the city and I got a lot of my photos that day without people in them. I was intrigued by the doors. So many heavy wooden doors, often painted some colour of blue, with heavy metal knockers or handles. Blue steps up to doors or down to doors. Flowers and terracotta planters. Trellises and wrought iron everywhere. Every corner you go around has the perfect picture. The blue town of Chefchaouen is picture friendly. It is also one of the most photographed places in Morocco - and that is hard to believe.

As you can tell - I just can't get enough of the doors and the blue everywhere. It's not just blue. It's a gorgeous, happy blue. All the shades go together well and is a feast for your eyes. I hope you can get there one day. And I have no doubt that you will be as taken with it as I am.