The city between two horns

Chefchaouen is a relatively small village (compared to Casablanca) nestled in the side of two mountains. It is located in the central part of northern Morocco and about 2 hours away from the Strait of Gibraltar.

 For a 5 day holiday, some friends (CAS teachers and other Americans) and I booked a getaway to this paradise within the Riff mountains. We were transported from Casa on a bus that took 5 hours to reach our destination. The long, winding roads and crying babies were totally worth it. Unfortunately, we arrived in the evening so we had to wait for Chefchaouen to reveal its beauty until the morning. We did however wander the streets of the famous blue-walled Kasbah and Medina within it. 

The blue walls reminded me of the Kasbah in Rabat. Such a beautiful color that surrounds the walls, floors and doors of the houses and shops. 

After walking up steep streets and flights of stairs (luggage included), we finally found our Hotel Molino tucked away deep inside the Kasbah. This was not set up like a Riad that I had been used to, but rather a mid-sized home with multiple rooms, small sitting areas and an oasis in the backyard. I was breath taken when we saw the beautiful garden out back. Large trees, flowers, stone pathways, fountains, small and secret nooks to sit in and ambiance lighting. Below is a picture that I took the next morning.

 

Since Chefchaouen is a dry town, we were left to drinking a different type of cocktail. Fruit smoothies are a hit here and we found a popular place to relax and order some. I had an avocado and fruit (Apple, banana, pineapple) smoothie and it was truly delicious and left me craving for more throughout the trip. 

We finished our evening with a typical Moroccan meal: tagine, pastille, and couscous.

   Dinner at La Lampe Magique (Magic Lamp)

After a good nights sleep and stretching, we were on our way to trek the outskirts of Chefchaouen in search for the Cascades d'Akchour (grand waterfall). We took a taxi to a small village of Akchour where we began our 2 1/2 hour semi-intense hike to the waterfall. The landscape was one that I've never witnessed before. We walked alongside the creek and in between high cliffs that almost reach the sky. It was very lush, green and reminded of landscape pictures of Southeast Asia. After walking a few miles, we stopped and admired the beauty. We all had to remind ourselves that we were in still in Morocco. 

Path of Lost Soles

Along the trails there was evidence of once-habituated campsites. I was repulsed by the amount of trash at these campsites as well as along the trail. I couldn't believe how people could destroy such a breathtaking environment. This saddened me greatly. Of the filthy trash along the trail, I was most curious as to how people would lose the soles of their shoes. Entire shoes, pairs, parts of soles, and entire soles were scattered about the trail. To make time pass quickly on our way back, we decided to count all the soles. Within the first 45 minutes we all exceeded our guesses, with the highest bid being 50. With an hour and half to go, it was going to be high-stakes bidding. I was the middle bidder at 145 soles. Needless to say our hike was much faster coming back as we were busying search in and counting. As we were approaching our agreed-upon finish line we were at 142. Kaitlin guessed 140 and I was so close to winning. However, I had no such luck and we all pitched in for Kaitlin's dinner that night.
<-- A video of our hike!
 

 

Kaitlin, Carly & Chad at the top of a mini cascade. 

                   

Stepping stones to cross the creek

 

 At the end of our strenuous and long hike to the Grand Cascade, I literally shrieked with joy  upon seeing such a tall and magnificent waterfall. This area was packed with other hikers. Some locals were swimming, dancing and making music with Moroccan drums (Darbuka). We climbed on some slippery slopes in order to get behind the waterfall. It was so beautiful and breathtaking to be standing underneath such a large waterfall!



The hike back went much quicker probably because we were searching for the lost "soles" that littered the path. We were exhausted after the hike and in need of a shower! We met up with some other teachers who visited Chefchaouen and had a typically long Moroccan dinner (began at 8 and ended near 11). However it was complete with wine and good friends. We had a good sleep that night, until we were abruptly awaken by the loud call to prayer at 5am. When it was light outside, we discovered that our hotel was directly next to a mosque. #neveragain

Islam's Call to Prayer:
I haven't talked much about the call to prayer yet which is surprising, because it is a daily occurrence in my life. I live in an area (Gauthier) that doesn't have a mosque close by, so I don't hear it at home. However, there is a mosque near the school and when my windows are open at noon, we hear it loud and clear. My friends who live in a different neighborhood (Maarif) hear it quite frequently throughout the day and evening because there are many mosques in the area.

The gist: The Islamic call to worship, or adhan, is recited 5 times throughout the day. The Muezzin, Muslim reciting the prayer, speaks through a loud speaker at the Mosque that can be heard from far away. All Muslims are mandated to pray at this time.(times for prayers)  The times for praying are different each day because it goes my the positioning of the sun. They pray just before sunrise, late afternoon (sun's zenith),  before sunset, before twilight (when sky gets completely dark), and between twilight and dawn.

The next day was a shopping day in the medina. Chefchaouen is known for its inexpensive crafts and goods. I bought myself a large throw blanket, argan soap (which is abundant and very cheap here!)  and a few other souvenirs. I also did a lot of Christmas shopping...so I can't give any specifics :) 

It was an easy-going day with a lot of walking in the medina and rest stops (remember, this city built on a mountain side!). One of our rest stops was at Hotel Atlas Chefchaouen which looks over the entire city. While there and enjoying our warm mint tea, we met an American man who actually was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas! We talked a little bit and he said that his father was a professor at the U of A and his family lived near St. Joseph cemetery off of  Mission (Highway 45).  Apparently he has visited 80 countries in his lifetime and tries to visit 2 countries a year. He's been visiting Morocco for a 2 weeks and was finishing his trek in Chefchaouen. It was so good to reminisce about Arkansas and talk about the Hogs with a native!

The bus ride home wasn't a good way to end our fun weekend. Scenario: very early in the morning, seated between 2 toddlers with no other seats available, winding roads through the mountains, mothers and their toddlers puking throughout the trip, no windows or air circulation and the rest rooms at the rest stops looking as they do below. Wow, that was a culture shock for me. Thankfully, none of us got sick, but we were miserable. Next time we will for sure be renting a car!