~ Chefchaouen to Fes ~

This morning we had free time to explore the beautiful Chefchaouen. We thought it would be in to try to trek up to the small waterfalls that we had head so much about – “The Cascades d’Akchour” consisting of a lower waterfall and a much taller upper waterfall as well as a handful of cascades sharing the same stream as the main waterfalls. Our plan was to go to the lower waterfall, as this was supposed to be about a 3-hour round trip. The bigger falls looked beautiful but that is more like a 6-hour round trip and we didn’t quite have that much time. We were surprised to find very little information online about how to get to the walk/where it started and which track to take (this should have been our first clue that something wasn’t right). Mohamed had pointed out a rough way yesterday, and we found one description that sounded good, so off we went! Once we reached the point where we were no longer sure where to go, we started trying some different paths that seemed to lead up towards the mountains (this should have been our second clue). After trying 3 different paths and getting nowhere we decided it was time to ask someone. We tried asking a few different people for directions and most of them looked very confused despite the fact that we showed them the pictures of the waters falls and the name (this should have been our third clue). Finally we asked this lovely man in French and he looked very concerned! He told us “No, no, you can’t walk there! It’s a 25km car ride to get to the start of the waterfall!!”. Oh dear. That was not what we had planned at all!! We were so confused! 

We decided to make use of the quite morning and explore the city to take the typical tourist photos. It was so peaceful exploring this beautiful blue city and all the locals were very friendly! We only got told off once for giggling too loudly! Oops. 

On our way back to the hotel the girls took the opportunity to swim in one of the basins of the smaller waterfalls. The girls described the waters as solidly fresh or chilly respectively and Max did not quite make it all the way into the water! 

We met up with the rest of our tour and headed off for lunch in the main square. We had one destination in mind – Aladdin’s restaurant!! Firstly we went all the way to the rooftop terrace to admire the stunning panoramic views of Chefchaouen. We headed down a few levels to escape some of the sun and heat for our actual meal. Suited to its name, the restaurant had a romantic and enchanting feel, dimly lit with romantic red lights and littered with cushions. The food was delicious and we enjoyed a wide range of Moroccan favourites, from kefta to tajine and couscous and caught up on each other’s morning antics. 

Back at the hotel, we asked Mohamed why the city of Chefchaouen was painted blue. He informed us that the Jewish refugees of the 30’s painted it to cool down the heat of the summer months and also to help repel mosquitos. 

After our lovely morning exploring we headed to the bustling, imperial and ancient city of Fes (3h 16min or 198.4 km). We arrived late in the afternoon and as such decided to leave all of our exploring until tomorrow! However, we were super excited that this hotel had a pool! So we took full advantage of this and decided to jump on in! After lounging around it was time for dinner – we decided to go for a small walk and explore, to see if we could find a restaurant. We walked a few blocks but decided to return to the hotel to eat because we felt a bit uncomfortable as there wasn’t a woman in sight and we had left our scarves at the hotel. Unfortunately the weird hotel worker who had been closely following Max around earlier in the day was also their at night in the restaurant. It is fair to say it was a weird/not super enjoyable dinner, and we had loved our morning so much, so we decided to pack it in, have an early night and start again tomorrow!