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Saved: November 30th 2021
Snapped from a moving bus
Moving from the coast into the hills as we head for the mountains.Taking the bus through the mountains was wonderful, if not a little hairy as the driver passed every other vehicle on the road. We arrived into Chefchaouen around 3:30 pm and mercifully took a petit taxi up the steep hills to our hotel/hostel. The town is built right into the side of a mountain, so every road is either up or down, and some of them very steep! It is a beautiful setting, and a lovely little town. The people who live here have very strong legs from going up and down the streets all day!
We are staying at Hotel Yasmina, which is more like a hostel, but it is nice and clean and right in the heart of the medina. We have a chicken on the roof across from us who starts clucking at around 2:30 am and doesn't stop! The hotel has a roof top terrace which has been great for drying clothes and eating lunch and dinner. The views are fantastic and it's nice to be above the bustle of the medina.
Yesterday we trekked up toward Jebel El Kelaa, a mountain right behind Chefchaouen. Ironically, we were looking for fresh mountain air, but ended up
View from the Hotel Yasmina
This is from the hallway window looking out over the town and the valley. starting our trek by walking through the toxic air of the garbage dump burning. YUCK! Needless to say, we got off that trail and started up the mountain. The air got considerably fresher as we got away from the garbage dump. The views over the valley and surrounding mountains are spectacular, I hope our pictures do it justice. We met lots of sheep and shepards along the way, and lots of goats too. It is amazing how high the sheep and goats graze here, and how steep some of the land is. There are also people living quite high up the mountain, it never ceases to amaze us how high up people live.
We also had a couple of fellows keeping a close eye on us as we trekked along. Not sure if they were protecting a kif plantation, or just wanting company. Either way, we avoided them as best we could.
We also passed a large group of men who were tree planting. Small pine trees were being planted on very steep slopes. These fellows would grab a flat of trees and run up the slope like they were running on flat ground. We got tired just watching them!
The start of our trek
It is winter, but some trees are in blossom like this one. Today we wandered around Chefchaouen the town. Okay, we wandered up and down the town, not so much around! We both really like the town, once we got settled, the people were more laid back and have been very friendly to us. In the medina we have befriended the nut man and his yummy wares - the other day he gave us samples of hot, candied peanuts - it's hard to refuse something like that! This morning we went next door to a small cafe and sat down. The only thing on offer was soup and bread, so of course we said yes. The soup was the consistency of a split pea soup, but made with chick peas. The bread was warm so we followed the lead of the men next to us and tore the bread up and dipped it in the soup. It was a very different breakfast for us, but it was really tasty.
This afternoon we bought fresh bread (a small flat bread), some cheese, and a ripe avocado. Peter bought some olives and claims they are divine! (He's in Olive Heaven here!). It is certainly more interesting buying your food from a market
View from our trek
The town of Chefchaouen is below. at each individual vendor, rather than from a large super store. We took our lunch fixin's and went up to the roof terrace of Hotel Yasmina and enjoyed a yummy lunch in the sun! All we needed was a cold beer to go with it! 😊
Tomorrow we will head off on the bus to Fes, so back to a big city, although we have really enjoyed this small town.
Lots of love,
Laini and Peter
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Lori
non-member comment
Beautiful
That looks amazing! Not what I picuture at all of Africa. Pine trees? wow. I love how all of the village is so white in comparison to the valley. love you and miss you