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Published: March 20th 2012
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Chefchaouen
looking down from the campsite Tuesday
Day three
This morning most of us were woken by the first call to prayer. At 5am. I awoke in surprise but was content in my sleeping bag listening to the closest call, the mosque being just behind the camping grounds, and could also hear another call from further away, both combining to make a lovely melodious tune. It was a less hurried morning as we weren’t leaving until 9am which gave us plenty of time.
The conversation was lively in the truck as we made our way to Chefchaouen which I hadn’t been to on the previous visit to Morocco and was very much looking forward to. Eventually I drifted off to sleep and awoke to winding roads which took us high into the hills to a campsite that overlooked the valley below. Tents were set up on the tiered grounds and then people started to wander down to the town via a rather steep path that my knees weren’t too happy with. The rest of me enjoyed the ten minute walk in the sun though! Denise and I wandered along the street before veering off down a set of steep stairs and winding our
Us!
well, some of us way back towards what looked like a busy area. Before long, we were stopped by a local who spoke English well who told us where the medina was. And, as expected, we were also asked if we were interested in purchasing a carpet! I told him we were looking for food and he walked us to a local restaurant where we ate a delicious salad, lamb tagine and fresh fruit (heavenly strawberries). While we ate, he loitered around outside waiting for us and although I couldn’t understand the restaurant owner, it seemed like he was telling him to leave us alone! You can tell a lot by tone of voice, I think. Anyway once we were done, we wandered off with Mohammed who pointed out various side streets that were particularly pretty and the local mosque and other interesting sights as we made our way to the carpet shop.
Once there, we shared mint tea with Aziz and his son and friends before the business side of things began. It's virtually impossible to browse without being shadowed and hearing it's 'excellent quality', 'we make good price', 'we ship all over the world'. Aaaaaahhhhhh. We weren't interested in rugs but
Serene
I found the colours of the buildings to be so peaceful and calming I did like the look of the djellabas, the traditional hooded robe worn by both the men and women. After trying on cotton, silk and cashmere ones, I settled on a burgundy cashmere one. Having had to haggle prices before, you'd think I'd have some idea of how to go about it. Instead, we got fleeced. But, like Suse said, you pay what you think it's worth or you walk away. We just forgot to walk away! No, I'm happy - and it's been worth its weight in gold when the cool winds arrive each evening.
After writing down some basic words in Arabic that I could use, we thanked Mohammed and left, wandering into the square to watch the world go by. Denise and I then took off in a new direction, playing left and right (first left, next right, then left, etc) through the picturesque streets. Many of the buildings are painted in calming shades of blues, lilacs or white. A simple smile and 'salaam' was met with a similar greeting which made for a pleasant afternoon. Two young school boys shouted random English words and in return, I pulled out my piece of scrap paper and recited
Hot water, the old fashioned way
Burning wood to heat water for the surrounding homes one to ten in Arabic, much to their amusement. We found our way back to the campsite via a paved road with boys playing soccer off to our left in a dusty carpark. We also passed a driving school where both men and women were practising parallel parking, reversing and handbrake starts on the slight incline. After putting our djellabas on, we went to the lookout point to watch the sun set behind the mountains, bringing with it much cooler temperatures. Dinner was a goat curry, made with items purchased in the local marketplace.
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Dad
non-member comment
Your djebella
Val and i think you look cute.!!