Chefchaouen, The Blue Pearl



When it comes to color theory, nothing beats the blue everything of Chefchaouen.

Panoramic of The Blue Pearl

Annie and I rented a car in Tangier so after our favorite taxi driver drove us from Asilah to the Tangier airport, we were ready for the next adventure.

I'll admit, I was a little nervous about renting a car and driving in Morocco again (full disclosure: Annie did ALL of the driving because she loves driving on vacation and I was an A+ navigator) but Avis hooked us up with a diesel Volkswagon Jetta, stylish and practical, and we were headed out on the about 2.5 hour drive to the mountains.  

Note: Moroccans drive on the right and the roads were in excellent condition.


One of the most famous (and most photographed) blue cities in the world, Chefchaouen lived up to its hype not only because of the endless shades of blue, but also because of its hospitality and wonderful people we encountered during our stay.

alley views from our roof

Our AirBnb was more traditional compared to our palace in Asilah.  And our host, Marlies, was incredible.  Do you ever meet people that you could just chat with for days?  That was Marlies. 

Loved this tile in the sitting room between the bedrooms

If you're considering making the trek to Chefchaouen, I'd definitely recommend you book with Marleis & Emmanuelle.  Here is the link to the Airbnb: Dar Tsuli

Rooftop Mountain View

One note about reaching the AirBnb (most likely true for most accommodations) - be prepared to climb quite a few stairs to reach your dwelling, pack light, you will not want to drag your luggage uphill!!!

rooftop deck, perfect nap spot

Merchandised walkways

Obviously, wandering around all this blue was the favorite.  There seemed to no end to the alleyways, little shops, tucked away bakeries, and all the calming shades of sky and turquoise.  While we were exploring, a local started chatting with us telling us things to see.  He then gave us an impromptu tour, pointing out spots and landmarks not to miss, and recommended a delicious restaurant for dinner.  We thanked him and when we went to tip him, he was gone!  

The Spanish Mosque, Chefchaouen

Our host recommended hiking up to an old Spanish Mosque, the trailhead was right out our door.  It was about a 25 minute walk uphill to reach the top - the trail did keep going but we got a late start to our hike and decided to head back down the mountain and find a fun place for dinner.

goats on the way to the Spanish Mosque
Annie and I taking in the views on the hike to the Spanish Mosque

Enjoying a bowl of harira at Casa Hassan, a gorgeous hotel/restaurant.  Harira is a traditional Moroccan tomato based soup made with lentils, chickpeas, and herbs.  There are many variations but it is always delicious!

That time the owner walked up and caught us admiring his door!!!

can't forget about all of the adorable kitties

These two not so much, their constant fighting kept me awake at night!

Inspiration around every corner - I can't wait to have my own house to cover in tile

There are many different theories on why Chefchaouen is painted blue.  These theories range from the Jewish tradition of blue representing the sky, to keeping mosquitoes away, to have a cooling effect, to representing the color of water.  

a quiet, crooked alley
Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 and it is believed the painting began back then.  Whatever the reason(s), this picturesque city situated in the Rif Mountains is one not to miss.  

Thank you for following along!

Up Next: Essaouira and why I'm an AVIS customer for life

Natalie 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sweet Shanghai

Image
Things always seem to come full circle and that was certainly the case in this latest adventure in China. It seemed like ages ago that we were in a taxi with Professor Rhea headed from the Shanghai Pudong Airport over to Hongqiao Airport to catch our flight to Guiyang and it was decided that the driver would cruise through downtown to show us the Bund. First glimpse of The Bund A little taste of Shanghai and a glimpse of what was yet to come, I was hooked and looked forward to our last days in China simply because they involved exploring one of the world's largest cities that I knew was full of art and wonder. Shanghai's famous skyline  Lizzy's friend, Melissa, graciously invited us to stay in her apartment and I looked forward to reuniting to rehash our weekend at the Miao Village as well as commiserate with teaching stories as Melissa was an English Teacher at a private school.   We landed in Shanghai and had no trouble finding a taxi to Melissa&#
Read more

For Ms. Mahoney & 5M at Hawthorne Elementary in Missoula, Montana

Image
Greetings 5M! How are you all doing?  It's been a while!  After my time in your classroom, I spent the holidays in Ohio with my family, student taught in a second grade class in Browning, MT and I'm currently in my 6th week student teaching at Guiyang No. 4 Experimental Primary School in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Map of China showing Guiyang.  China is huge! Here's a close-up of our neighborhood.  Notice we are very close to a park.  Qianling Park is famous for its monkeys!   Monkey monkeying around at Qianling Park Things are really different here, as you can imagine.  I thought you'd be interested to know what the typical school day is like for a student in a Chinese public school.  I've been teaching 2nd, 3rd and sometimes 6th grade.  The 6th graders are preparing for a standardized test so I am not permitted to teach them every week.  At No. 4, there are over 1,000 students in grades 1-6.  There are four classes of about 50 students in each
Read more

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Image
Lizzy and I had many things to celebrate today, our first day completely on our own and we did awesome!!! First, we had a leisurely morning at our hotel.  I made us coffee and we spent some time updating our blog and making a game plan for the day.  Our main goal was to find the grocery store nearest to our hotel.  We had lunch on the way at a spot where we will become regulars.  The menu was in Chinese and we started to panic.  How on earth would we order?  There was only one other couple in the restaurant and the gal happened to be an English teacher at the High School.  Boy, were we lucky.  Her  English name was Elaine and we told her to order what was best at this particular restaurant.  We had sweet fish, rice, cucumber soup and a vegetable that translates to "good bitter."  It was no corned beef and cabbage but it was one of the best we've had yet! As we strolled around, we noticed another cozy coffee shop and finally arrived at the grocery store.  At this p
Read more