Falling for Morocco in Chefchaouen

chefchaouen morocco

“Ohmigod, Madam, What is the problem?! Three times I ask you [to come smoke hash] and three times you say ‘no thank you!’”

“I said, ‘no thank you!’”

“Ah, okay, I see you tomorrow morning.”

chefchaouen morocco

I knew two things before I went to Chefchaouen: the first—that hash was readily available; the second—that it was blue-walled.

chefchaouen morocco

A few weeks before I left for my trip, a friend of mine told me a story about his time in Morocco. He showed up in Chefchaouen with his friends and a ball of hash strung around his neck, and a pack of Ewoks descended upon him. Of course, he was ridiculously high, and the “Ewoks” were really just the men in the typical brown jellabas that men wear in that region. But in any case, by mid-afternoon on my second day in Chefchaouen, I was a bit offended that I hadn’t been offered hash even once! Not that I wanted to buy and/or smoke any, but I just thought, do I look like such a prude that people won’t even offer it to me? And then it happened—three times, in one day, by one guy. Sadly for him, he never made a sale off of me.

chefchaouen morocco

Chefchaouen was a welcome break from the chaos that was Tangier. It was so lazy and lovely, and teeming with kind people (even the hash peddler)—people who wanted to teach me about Morocco and Islam, and how to say things in Arabic. I was excited to be there—to slow down and really see the Morocco I’d dreamed of before landing in the country. And dreamland it was. The blue-washed buildings and staircases were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The medina was mazelike, but small enough that even when I was lost, I could still catch my bearings. Two days there was probably enough time to have seen everything in the town (certainly not enough to do some of the hikes in the mountains though), but I wished I’d stayed for longer. I felt such inspiration there, and didn’t want to put my camera down for even a second for fear of missing something spectacular.

chefchaouen morocco

This blue town in the mountains was exactly the place that I needed to change my feelings about Morocco, and thankfully so early on in the trip. When I left Tangier, I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to make it for the next two weeks traveling around the country. But Chefchaouen gave me a quick reprieve and the opportunity to regroup so that I was ready to move on and tackle more of the elusive country. Of all the cities I visited, this ranked second highest for me (Marrakech being one), and I look forward to the day I return and get to spend a more lengthy stay there.

chefchaouen morocco

Author: Megan

Megan is an ordinary girl who outgrew her small town and decided to try the world on for size. She's on a mission to travel, photograph, and write about the world.

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