After 8 adventurous days in Fes, we collected our things and hopped on a slow, painful, hot, long train ride to northern Morocco. The journey was hot and hideous but irreplaceable. The scenery was straight out of a painting- from barren desert to rolling hills to cities built on mountains. The Rif Mountain range is so beautiful- Wassim started a hiking club that used to hike through the mountains from Tétouan to Chefchaouen, but has yet to find a group that was able to complete the journey with him. After seeing the treacherous terrain, I now understand why!
A Piece of the Rif Mountains, Northern Morocco
Unfortunately, after such an exhausting journey, we arrived in Tangier to find that our accommodations would not work for the 7 of us, so the rest of the group headed out to find a place to stay. We ended up at Ibis Hotel in the city center. It was in walking distance to the train station and medina…but everyone was ready for a change of pace. We spent the week checking out the scenery, hanging out at the beach and exploring the north of Morocco.
The beaches are just gorgeous. You can rent chairs & umbrellas for about 30 durham or just throw your towel on the hot sand and jump in the ocean! We spent the majority of the days there in the water. It was so refreshing and relaxing- I never wanted to leave. There are horses and camels available for riding … which was A BLAST! I still can’t believe we got to ride camels. What a wonderful animal… the ones we rode had amazing temperaments and were very kind and friendly.
Riding Camels in Tangier
While in the north, we also visited Chefchaouen… an old medina built on a the Rif Mountainside where all the buildings are painted blue. It felt like Greece without the ocean (from what I imagine Greece would feel like). The people of this city are laid back, calm, and almost hippie like. Not a stretch, since the weed of Morocco is grown in this mountain range. The items for sale here were just my style! We definitely got lost a few times in the winding medina but were all able to take some stunning photographs. It’s the kind of place you can only dream of- I can’t wait to go back, I’d definitely like to stay for a few days there and absolutely visit with Wassim, as he stayed back in a different city. The best part of Chefchaouen are the classic Moroccan-shaped doorways, architecture, and of course I have to give props to the magnificent fountains that seemed to be strategically placed for cleaning donkey shit off feet & sandals 🙂 After a beautiful day in Chefchaouen, we drove back toward Tangier along the coastline and stopped at a lovely beach on the Mediterranean off the coast of Tetouan. We ran around the sand, dipped our feet in the ocean and had an amazing view of Spain. Around sunset, we finished the journey back to Tangier city center.
Walking Around Chefchaouen
Beautiful Fountain
Beach in Tétouan
Sunset Along Northern Morocco Coast
Communication is something we take for granted here in the US. When visiting Morocco, it is absolutely necessary to release yourself of all planning and just go with the flow. When booking the tickets for this trip, we decided to take a ferry from Tangier to Spain and fly home from Madrid, rather than backtracking 12+ hours back down to Casablanca on a train. There are 3 ports in Tangier- the one we had to get to was about an hour away from city center- you have to pay for a bus to bring you there (about 25 durhams). Regardless of what anyone tells you, you cannot show your passport for a free ride. We were told this by the ferry ticket booth in the medina AND at the front desk of our hotel- not true so plan accordingly! The port you leave from depends on where you are heading to. We took the ferry to Algeciras and from there took a train to Madrid- about a 7 hour ride.
On the Ferry to Algeciras
Rock of Gibraltar
Once we arrived in Spain, reality set in- our journey through Morocco had come to an end and the rest of our group was getting ready to fly home. I can’t believe how sad I felt to leave Morocco. Aside from the blazing heat and diarrhea I had the whole time, I really love it there. I find it very interesting and exciting. We saw so much and yet so little. There are so many places I can’t wait to explore- especially Casablanca, Marrakesh, Rabat and the other little cities like Chefchaouen. I just can’t wait!
After a night with everyone in Madrid, they left early the next morning to head home. Wassim & I spent the day in the Madrid city center. I wish I could slow down time and have stayed forever…even though everyone else we were with were totally ready to go home!
i Hola Madrid !
Relaxing Poolside in Madrid
Wassim’s First European Metro Experience
After a couple days in Spain, we headed to the airport at 4am to catch our flight to Roma!
into the mystic 