Shades of Blue
It was dark blue skies and grey blue seas on the short hop across the straight of Gibraltar to Africa. Ceuta (See-u-ta) is a Spanish town on the tip of Africa with borders to Morocco, where Big Em spent a few days in the marina. A day of exploring there and we were ready for Morocco! Andy, Rachel, Russ, Jess and the kids took taxis to the border and after crossing, a pre-arranged driver met us on the other side.
Chefchaouen (chef-sha-wan), the city known as the ‘pearl of Morocco,’ sits high in the Rif Mountains of northwest Morocco. The historic buildings are painted in every color of blue. Even the streets are blue. No one even really knows how or why it started, but it is captivating. The winding roads of the medina are filled with artisans, bakeries and rug sellers. In the main square is the Kasbah, a 15th century fortress.
Just on the outskirts of town is the Spanish Mosque, accessed by a short hike to amazing sunset views and a panorama of the cerulean city. We spent two nights in Chefchaouen and got lost in the tiny streets, each cuter than the one before. Rachel tasted all the pastries, I fawned over all the rugs. The kids enjoyed the fried dough, and no one ate the camel burger.
Our AirBnB host was friendly and we found the shopkeepers to be welcoming and not overwhelming. When I asked to take photos of people, only the men would allow it, the women stayed out of the way. The traditional dress for men in Chefchaouen due to the cool mountain climate is the Djellaba, a long or short woolen robe with a pointed hood.
Moroccan food is divine. We tried all the traditional dishes and most enjoyed the pastilla—savory chicken baked in a crisp pastry topped with powdered sugar, almonds and cinnamon. The couscous was plentiful along with lamb, tagines with vegetables, plums and apricots. We drank mint tea until we were blue in the face but you can’t feel blue when the (blue) streets are scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and saffron.
Chefchaouen was a perfect dip into the culture of Morocco and we looked forward to sailing under a blue moon to Tangier.
