Saturday, February 15 – Day Trip to Chefchaouen and Tetouan
Today I’ve booked a tour to visit two nearby cities – Chefchaouen and Tetouan. Chefchaouen will be the main focus of the trip. It is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the “Blue City”. (clever!)
Nice view of the sunrise from my hotel room this morning! And no, I wasn’t up super early; sunrise was around 8am.
My mode of transport for the day. There were 14 of us on the tour. It was about a 2 hour drive to Chefchaouen. Pickup at my hotel was at 9am.
Our first stop was on a bridge with this view of the Medina. Pretty, right? But man, the bridge was packed with tourists from other tour companies. It’s like they all converged here at the same time! I wasn’t happy… (the day will get better though)
Travel Note: There was an Italian gentleman on the tour with me. Probably around my age. He noticed my displeasure, and started a conversation. He called the mass of tourists here the “Instagram Effect”. Sadly, I can see that. (But maybe I’m contributing to it too with this Journal?) He mentioned that he was here in Chefchaouen 7 years ago, and it was very different. Few tourists, and the Medina had less shops.
Following the photo op on the bridge, the English speaking members of our group then combined with folks from some other groups to take a guided walking tour of the old town. There were around two dozen in this new group. The walking tour was interesting, with a very good guide, and lasted about 2 hours.
We then were given 2 hours of free time. This was my favorite part. Most people chose to get something to eat, but I took the opportunity to go back and roam around the Medina. And by this time, most of the tour groups had left the city, so it wasn’t crowded at all. Perfect! (fortunately I had booked a full-day tour)
Here are some scenes from the “Blue City”…
This is a view from the old town, looking at the main entrance (bridge at lower left). Also, notice a trail angling up the side of the hill. Of course I had to check it out!
It provided this nice view of the Medina, and the medieval wall surrounding it (upper right).
And now for some of the more touristy views…
Touristy? Yes. But I’m still happy I visited Chefchaouen!
Sidenote: I was wearing this Badger hat throughout the day, and on our walking tour a couple of Hoosiers gave me a shout out. Nice! And it turns out that a brother of one of the girls is currently attending grad school in Madison. Cool!
Okay, we’re now off to Tetouan. The city is more than 2,000 years old. The first settlements belonged to the ancient Mauritanians, and date back to the 3rd century BC. A century later, Phoenicians traded there and after them the site, then known as the ancient town of Tamuda, became a Roman colony under Emperor Augustus.
This part of the tour included just the 14 people in our minivan. We broke up into English and non-English speaking groups for a 2 hour walking tour. There were 5 in our group, with a very good guide.
Happened upon this musical performance (not part of the tour!).
And, of course, any self-respecting walking tour would include a visit to local shop. This one was pretty colorful. I would describe what they were selling as “potions”. (no, I didn’t buy anything) However, as a bonus, we were able to access their roof for a view of the city.
Well, this was a full day! Hotel pickup at 9am, drop off at 9pm. (although, about half that time was spent on the road). Very enjoyable! (the cost of the tour was $54)
I liked the photos of this tour. Now I see there were with you some tourist at this time of the year. I liked the contrast in the blue city of the people making orange juice. The buildings on Tetouan look very nice. Thanks for sharing.