The Blue City - Chefchaouen

No one is really sure why a lot of the buildings in Chefchaouen are painted blue - some say to keep away mosquitoes, some say it was Jewish and Muslim refugees chased out of Spain symbolising freedom, others say it was done to attract tourists - whatever the reason it is quite a stunning town.

We spent today walking around the Medina in the old part of town. It was no where near as big as the one in Fez but still big enough to get lost in and offered a huge range of stuff for sale. We took a heap of photos before taking a break about lunchtime to sit in the air conditioning at the hotel.

After a short break a small group of us walked up to the mosque on top of a hill overlooking the town. A tough slog on a warm day (low thirty degrees) but the views from the top were worth it!

Up on the hills you could see shacks (which is probably a generous description) where people lived and looked after their herd of goats. Not an easy climb up from the village, the mountains are very steep.

The walk down was a lot easier and crossed the city’s traditional water source which was a stream running down from the hills. Today people hang out and splash about in the cool water. We had a very refreshing freshly squeezed orange juice at the bottom.

Chefchaouen was a walled city originally and you can still see sections of the walls and a number of old gates. Overlooking the main square in town is the small fort or Kasbah built in the 1400s to defend against the frequent attacks from Europeans.

Dinner was a tagine of chicken and veggies for Tracey and minced beef with veggies for me. Really good, very filling and we both ate plus had a couple of soft drinks for less than $15 Aussie! The food here is very cheap but alcohol is about what you would pay at home.

Tonight is our last night in Morocco as tomorrow we head to the city of Tangier at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea to cross over to continue our holiday in Spain.Read more