Chefchaoune: "Look at the Peaks"

Chefchaoune is an interesting little town up in the Rif mountains--originally founded by Berber tribes to launch attacks on the Portuguese in Ceuta in the 1400s, it soon became an enclave for Muslim and Jewish refugees who were kicked out by Izzy and Ferd in 1494. As a result, Christians were not allowed to enter until 1920 when Spanish troops occupied the town. Currently, the town is known for its laidback ambiance and picturesque blue walls (as well as its lax policies on hashish). Avoiding the latter is quite easy and it has been a nice break from our fast pace in Spain.

On our second day in Che (Thursday), we went on a short hike to the ruins of the Spanish mosque which was abandoned by the Spanish after they left in the 1920s. The hike took us past the Ras El-Maa falls where all the local women were washing their clothes in the cool of the morning. The hike was fairly easy and only required stepping over mounds of donkey poo to get to the top. The final view of the town was definitely worth while and we also got to see some of the Berbers who live in the mountains, walking down into the town for market day.

Source of the poo

Town close-up

Town against the mountain

Minaret of the ruined Spanish mosque

Women walking to market

Shepherd

Staying in a small town for two days, you become familiar with the rhythms of the town (and some of its inhabitants). There is the first call to prayer at 4:20 am (which sounds a bit like an air raid drill), followed by several more throughout the day. There is also my favorite hour, which I call "walking hour" where everyone strolls around in the evening when it is much cooler out.

We just arrived in Fez this afternoon after a four hour drive from Chef. Thankfully, the mountains were not as steep as they were from Tangier so it was a relaxing ride with lots of sheep, goats, donkeys, and hay to observe. Fez is currently a bit dead since it is Friday (the day of in Muslim countries). The "faux guides," however, do not take the day off. They are the touts that follow you around trying to woo you to a specific hotel or restaurant to get commission. Courtney and I, however, did a great job navigating the very confusing medina (9500 lanes!) to get to our hotel so we did not need to resort to one. Not getting lost and fending off the "faux guides" is the goal for the next few days...