Morocco: Chefchaouen - The Blue City

DAY 7 (continued...)

The night...

Chefchaouen -- also known as the Blue City -- completely lived up to everything I had heard about it. Beautiful, safe and quiet, Chefchaouen was enchanting. That first night we checked in at night to the hotel. We were in a separate building from the hotel and a cute, nice room on the top floor. We basically had the whole floor to ourselves because there was only one room on the top floor and no one really took advantage of the breakfast room up there, opting to go to the main hotel for the SAME breakfast. That night, we looked up a nice place to eat and got our last dinner in Morocco. It has a nice view and good food we hadn't eaten yet. Although it was meat heavy and not my thing since I'm not a meat person, Brad loved it. We got lamb kefta tajine, again, but it was different, with more chunks of meat (soft though) and no egg. We also had the house special, when translated, meant "meat in salsa". We had pastilla one more time as well - it was more meaty than the first one. We also has this triangle shaped, fried pastry with meat call Briouats -- not too impressed. It was too meaty for me. Afterwards, we wondered the dark streets looking for the Lina Ryad and Spa. As a high end Ryad, it's really expensive to stay there, but just for the spa it was a good deal. It was expensive for Morocco, but for the security of our items and hygiene, $30 a person for a traditional hammam was worth it. I really wanted to experience a traditional hammam in Morocco and see if it would be any different than the hammam I experienced in Turkey. We made an appointment for the afternoon the next day before our departure time. On the way home, we discovered a square and an original piece of the old fortified wall of the city. We were told Chefchaouen was safe, and it really felt safe as we leisurely walked back to our room so we could get a good nights sleep for a full day of exploring.

DAY 8

^(amazing breakfast view)

On our last day in Morocco, we got to sleep in (aka -- not wake up at 6:30am). Instead, we woke up around 8:30am and had a nice breakfast right outside the room with a beautiful view of the valley. It was such a wonderful surprise since we couldn't see the view when we came in the night before as it was dark by then. We had the same types of food as we had been having the whole week -- jam, cheese and bread. But it was nice because we got the whole space to ourselves and we were served breakfast instead of going through a line buffet style. We also had my favorite breakfast item: Moroccan Msemen. It is kind of like a crepe but square and more flaky, but still moist and delicious. I ate it plain or with goat cheese and jam.

Unfortunately, my stomach started feeling weird around this time, but I wasn't too concerned because often my stomach hurts in the morning, especially if I eat right after waking up. Before exploring the city, we stopped for breakfast at a random place in the heart of the medina -- Plaza Uta el-Hamman. It was right across from the Alcazaba. We stopped because Brad really wanted to try Khlea/Khlii. We had been told the previous night that it was a breakfast food so this was our last opportunity to get it. It's basically dried meat/jerky in eggs. The meat is stripped like in pulled pork and mixed with the eggs and other spices. Brad really liked it, but I didn't as much because of the chewiness of the meat -- however the flavor was really good.

At that point, my stomach was really beginning to hurt. Nevertheless, we then made our way into the old city where all the blue walls are. We explored around, took pictures, and I made Brad pose so he could send some nice pictures to his mom.

We climbed higher up and actually ran into the upper part of the medina wall. It was really cool as we didn't expect to find it!

We also saw lots of cats and one especially liked Brad and kept purring and rubbing against his legs. I wanted to take it with me.

We went back to the main plaza to meet for the tour of Chefchaouen, along the way keeping an eye out for souvenirs for our families. We ended up only staying with the tour for a little while. We were guided through the Jewish part of town and then up this pathway where we were able to view the city from afar.

At this point, I felt pretty ill -- I felt weak and my head was hurting. I wanted to continue the tour since what we'd seen so far was new to us, including a traditional oven that people would take their bread to in order to have it baked (a communal oven).

However, figuring I was dehydrated, Brad insisted we go back to the hotel and get more water, which was the right call. There, I chucked a solid 1.5 liters of water and experienced chills and sweats. Brad thinks I also had a slight fever. So, we rested for awhile. One of the guys in our van, Jay, gave me some eucalyptus oil after noting that I looked terrible. Apparently, a nice whiff of it takes away headaches. I was skeptical, but it really did work! Temporarily of course, but it was still something.

^(Ryad we had our Hammam at)

I really still wanted to go to the Hammam appointment. We were divided about whether it was a good idea or a bad idea. Would it make me more dehydrated and ill? Or would it get all the yucky stuff out because it would be sweat out? The internet results were divided, but by the time 2:30 rolled around, I was feeling better and wanted to give it a go. On the way over, we bought a handbag made out of goat leather. I had been divided about buying one...but since they eat goat in Morocco, unlike camel, I felt okay about purchasing it. And we bargained for it (although Brad thinks we could have done better. Too bad I had to pee after drinking 1.5 liters of water!). I don't regret the purchase, as I really like it and use it all the time in Madrid!

I am so glad we went. It was different than in Turkey for three main reasons: 1) we were allowed in the same room together. Perhaps it's because we made the appointment together and were obviously a couple, but in Turkey the men and women were separated for the wash. 2) The woman who washed us was NOT naked, unlike in Turkey where she just wore a cloth to cover her nether regions. It was really nice that the wore clothes this time 3) I was prepared for this experience. In Turkey I had no idea that a Hammam meant getting a full on scrub down.

The woman who did our Hamman was so nice, funny and sassy. She taught us that "Leh" means "no" and "Wahahg" means "yes" (I am not sure about this spelling, it's just phonetically what it sounded like to me). She taught us those words because she was teasing and pretending like Brad wasn't going to get the Hammam, and I was the one who determined whether or not he got it. After much begging, he finally got a "yes" or "Wahahg" from me. Our Hamman experience was really nice since we got our own steam room. We got a scrub and wash, including hair. There was so much skin scrubbed off me -- it was so gross but also so satisfying. And afterwards my skin felt so soft and clean! It was a much nicer experience compared to the one I had in Turkey with my friend Erika. I also felt much better after the Hammam. It was like...magic. We sat and ate some cookies and tea at the Ryad before heading to our meeting point to leave. We picked up some more souvenirs on the way back. As we were loading ourselves into the vans, my headache started coming back. Thankfully, I passed out in the van until we made it to the ferry that would take us back across the Straight of Gibraltar.

Chefchaouen is a city I would highly, highly recommend for anyone to go see. I'm so happy we ended our trip with this city.

^didn't mean to match the jeans to the walls

^so many cats!

^cool mural we found

^powder used to paint the city it's traditional blue

^single men's washing area. Separate from the women's area. Once a man gets married, the woman is expected to do the laundry which is why it's a "single" area for men.