After finally making it to Fes, we had an all-day tour to Chefchaoun. Started early and it was 4 hours there and 4 hours back, with about 3-4 hours in the town. A friend of my daughter’s (a pretty serious person – not an Instafamous type) had recommended going and glad that we did. Really glad we had someone else drive – it is about 120 miles but was a slow ride. It is actually closer to Tangiers and to Spain than it is to Fes. In Fes and Marrakesh, people are fluent in French and Arabic (and sometimes Berber) but in Chefchaouen people speak Spanish as the third language.
Chefchaouen is known as the “Blue City” because it is painted blue and although the history goes back to the 14th century when the Moors (or Moops) occupied Northern Africa, Portugal, and Spain, the “Blue” wasn’t mandated until the 1970s. The blue originated with Jewish settlers who wanted a feeling of heaven – thus houses were painted blue and white.
Chefchaouen is also the center of the hash trade – our tour guide warned that we may be approached. And we were – several times. One guy promised “it make you so high you will be crazy” – great sales pitch. But it is highly illegal so don’t load up for the trip home.
And although a lot of colors go well with blue, I was thinking Orange was the way to go. Sharon wore blue and blended in.
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