Chefchouen

There are many ways to spell Chefchouan. Add an 'e', or a combination of other letters, miss out the chef part altogether and just go with Choan, this is what the bus companys do. All part of the slightly confusing side of Morocco.

Along with constantly changing street names it makes dry land navigation a constant challenge. However once you are ensconsed on a comfortable bus you may just sit and watch the world go by. This is particularly interesting in the rural Rif Mountains.

We arrived at the bus station and as Chefchoan is on a fairly steep hill with the bus station at the bottom we elected to get a ' petit taxi'. He dropped us at a small dusty track leading into some trees and after overcharging us somewhat, only by about £2, but it was an introduction to the prevailing state of play at this very touristy place.

The Auberge however was delightful, and our room, tastefully decorated in a craft style had a fabulous view over the Blue medina.

The house was built as a villa by a rich man and has recently been converted to an hotel or Auberge. Lynnes new hobby of ' looking out of the window' was well served by this one!

The view showed the Casbah, the brown castle like building in the centre of the blue medina, nestling in the high valley between the two mountains or ' horns' from which Chefchoan gets its name. It also showed the terrace 

With swimming pool and the lovely gardens around the Auberge.

If anything the view improved at night when the town below was lit up.

With the addition of spectacular sunsets over the mountains. Well, what can I say...........

 In the morning we breakfasted al fresco and were introduced to some very cute irritations, a litter of kittens who provided a deal of distraction while brothers and sisters mounted raids on our breakfast table!

We had decided to walk into town which meant taking a rather rough and indistinct path down the valley and through the smallholdings and houses perched on the hill.

At times this could almost be described as a track, at others we were directed by gestures from friendly locals as to which direction to take. Very often this was a rubble filled path behind a house maybe three feet wide.

The distinct brown castle like Casbah provided a good aiming point as we walked around the hill, importantly avoiding "down", because that would have meant coming back up at some point. Inevitably later in the day that was exactly the mistake we made!

We did wish we had brought hiking boots. However this was not an occasional path this was the everyday access to peoples homes. Made us think......

Eventually we emerged onto a metalled road by a small graveyard and had a good view of the two 'horns' with the valley running down to the spring of Ras el Maa, now enclosed by a building but is still the location of baths and wash houses built into the steep sides.

There are also water mills built into the side of the valley. The underground stream was the main reason for siting the town here as well as its defensive position.

Of course the main reason for the towns existence in the present day became apparent as soon as we crossed the bridge to Bab Onsar, the northern entrance gate to the medina. A local on the bridge tried to charge me 5 dirhams to take a photo. As we wandered around the famous and undeniably attractive streets the hassle level was a fairly constant, " irritating". We had fallen into the " tourist trap"

It was virtually impossible to stop and look at anything without being dragged into a shop or charged to photograph a blue wall.

Some were very blue indeed. It was a great pity and we found ourselves rushing from quiet spot to quiet spot and hurrying past the shops and stalls in the Souk smiling and constantly saying " non merci".

As we emerged onto the main square by the Casbah again we were assaulted by voices saying " hello, how are you? Where are you from?" Which is the unofficial " guides" opening gambit.

We had about an hour before the museum in the Casbah closed but were disapointed yet again to discover that the entrance fee for " estrangers "  was five times what it was for a Moroccan citizen. In fact the family in front of us were let in for free as it was close to closing. We decided enough was enough, and we left the medina without visiting the Casbah.

The " new town "proved interesting enough in its own way. It had some street art and we only got propositioned every thirty minutes or so.

After walking down towards the bus station a bit,  we decided ( foolishly) to walk back to the Auberge. We used the Spanish mosque ( visible on the hill ) as a  landmark and stopped half way for a refreshing orange juice in a local cafe. But it was a punishing climb in the heat and were glad indeed to see the welcoming Auberge and couldn't wait to dive into the pool.

After experiencing what we consider to be " tourist hell" in the medina the poolside was a very attractive proposition.

We were getting a little tired anyway so did very little for the next two days but swim, read, write blogs! eat and play with the kittens.

, well watch them climb trees and wrestle mainly!

We needed some time to recharge our batteries before the long bus ride back to Tangiers.

That evening clouds rolled up the valley and although we missed it, rain fell briefly overnight......the first since June, maybe it was an omen? Maybe it was time to return to Spain?

Our bus to Tangiers was not until 3 oclock the following day so after breakfast on the terrace followed by a mornings packing and showering we waited on the shady terrace in front of the Auberge for a taxi booked for 2 pm.

A delightful spot and even the kittens failed to hassle us as they are feral and we didnt have any obvious food.

We sat and read our Kindles. I thought about our trip and considered the similaritys with the sea. We navigate from safe haven to safe haven attempting to avoid hazards and perils. In the month and a half we have spent in Morocco we have done much the same. Sometimes feeling like a fish out of water, for me it has been an invaluable education and a great experience even if at times I have felt a little out of my depth!