Morocco: Chefchaouen Guide, Chefchaouen, Morocco

My original travel journals were split across August Phoenix Hats and a few other websites. February 2021 marked the 12th anniversary of the beginning of my travels. To keep myself sane during the pandemic lockdown, I started reissuing my journals as Director’s Cuts, with the complete text and additional photos.

My travels have taken me through Italy, Turkey and Spain. In 2017 I hit the top of my bucket list with a belated birthday gift to myself - a guided trip to Morocco. Today we visit a blue city high up in the mountains, and I buy more clothes!

After roaming around the Kasbah of the Oadaias and inspecting nearly every inch of the fortress in Rabat, we climb into the car and head towards the Blue City of Chefchaouen.

We drive by groves of trees that have had their bark stripped to about 8 feet up. They are cork oa ks, freshly harvested. Cork can be harvested a dozen times during a tree’s lifetime; after a tree reaches 25 years old, it can be harvested by hand every 9-12 years. The harvest does not harm the tree, and because trees regenerate their bark, cork is considered a renewable resource.

We pass hothouses where bananas are being grown, the structures are not as tall as I would expect but stretch back from the road for several acres. I see smaller quonset shaped hothouses where strawberries are being grown. Flocks of sheep graze right along side the road while their shepherds stand nearby, almost always in traditional dress. We see cattle, but are told that these are dairy cows. Beef cows are raised in feed lots, but Morocco does not have an industrialized beef industry. Mohamed, our driver, owns a restaurant, and explains that restaurants work directly with butchers, who buy cows directly from local ranchers. Much of local commerce is based on personal relationships here. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).