My favourite colour is blue. By far. But it’s the fave colour of so many, so there’s nothing particularly interesting about that. But what is interesting is visiting a city fully painted in blue. One saturated in cobalt and azure and cerulean and indigo tones so much so that it’s like totally exhilarating and stunning at the same time.
We didn’t need to add another place to visit on our already packed Morocco itinerary, but my friend Ruby said I needed to visit Chefchaouen. I then looked it up on Insta and I immediately knew we had to fit “The Blue City” into our travels. So out went my Fes-to-Rabat-to-Marrakech AFCON itinerary and in came a Fes-to-Chefchaouen-to-Tangier-back-to-Fes one. I was a bit bummed we would no longer be hitting up Rabat, but I think the following photo essay will easily show why this was the right decision.
Plus, we got to watch Senegal (the eventual AFCON champs) play in Tangier and add another Nigeria game in Fes, so ultimately it was the best switch up for us. Next time, Rabat.
The Rif Mountains
So, on a foggy and rainy New Year’s Day, we left Fes with a private driver (very common in Morocco) and drove north through the Rif Mountain range to ultimately land in the city of Tangier.
The Mediterranean climate in the Rif Mountains makes it rife (see what I did there?) for agriculture. In every direction I looked something was being cultivated. Fields upon fields of olive trees, fig trees, almond trees, orange orchards… and kif (iykyk).
And that fog and rain? Replaced with sunshine and blue skies as soon as we departed Fes.
In the middle of our day-long journey, before getting to the historic city where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, we enjoyed a three-hour lunch stop in one of the prettiest places on earth…
Chefchaouen, a photo essay
I have no more words to say, I mean, we were only in Chefchaouen for a hot-minute. And that was to just walk around and snap as many cute photos as we could. This is just my way of saying the city left us completely speechless with a bold case of the blues. 💙💙💙
The teen boy who took these photos of us in front of the flower pots said I was taking terrible photos and he could take better. Cheeky little shit. So I handed him my phone and said, “Ok, kid, do your best.” And he did. 💙
Walking through this was a delight.
So very, very whimsical.
I drink your OJ! 😉 The best fresh orange juice we ever did have. Ever.
Chuck found the nicest Djellaba coat in Chefchaouen. And what a Godsend those coats are! We had packed for “Never not 30” Lagos and not, “I had no idea Morocco got this friggen cold” weather.
Dogs and cats out and about, as they do on this side of the world.
The sky was glowing as we headed out.
What a day, what a day. 💙💙💙
Nicely put, Lady Kirsten.
Morocco was a whimsical surprise to me and I am very proud of this Blue City in how deliberately beautiful and friendly they made it. AFRICA, you’re the bride and toast of the world!
Thank you, sir. 😉
And you’re right, Morocco (and Chefchaouen) was a whimsical surprise. I loved exploring it with you.