Chefchaouen, Morocco
Thé à la menthe, with Orange Blossom
The best mint tea we’ve had in Morocco.
Café SW of the Chefchaouen Medina Main Square
Before our bus journey to Chefchaouen, we decided on one more trip to the Kasbah for breakfast at El Morocco Club: Yennie had more jben, honey, and bread and Bryan had some prosciutto, honey, and bread. We should’ve gotten some eggs.
After this we hurried back down to catch a petit taxi to get to the gare routière du bus in time for our journey. Shortly after we began, the bus driver made a quick stop to buy some suspicious substances from a covert street vendor. We took CTM, which seemed to be one of a few companies – the bus itself was comfortable with only one stop along the way in Tétouan, and for only 45 dirhams a seat for a 3-hour ride.
We arrived in Chefchaouen early afternoon and decided to explore. Chefchaouen is an ancient city, most recently owned by the Spanish before Morocco became independent in the fifties. As such, it is divided into the “new town” and the medina. It seems that unlike some other cities (Marrakech, Tangier), the medina is still where a good number of people live.
Our hotel, Casa Sabila, was recommended by a friend. It’s located in the northeast corner of the Medina.
It is true that Chefchaouen is amazingly blue – we were speculating on the reasons why, but suffice to say it’s a self-fulfilling tradition at this point. It was overall much quieter than the other medinas we’ve visited. As we walked through, saw some fashion models posing in front of the many façades, met a few local merchants, and tried to snap a few obligatory blue entryways.
Dinner was recommended to us by the hotel: Bab Ssour, which served us on their rooftop patio near sunset. We had kefta w/ eggs in sauce, wild mushrooms, cream of fava bean (not a favorite of Yennie’s), sautéed zucchini, green peppers and tomatoes, and a stewed spinach-like dish. All was nicely seasoned and served as a pleasant welcome to the city. The presumed owner of the restaurant spoke English quite well and had a flair for entertainment.
We retreated early to book additional travel and prepare for tomorrow’s excursions.
N/A, “No/Alcohol”
