Chasing Summer –

We arrived in Morocco dark and early, with the pilot boat joining us at 7 am. A group of nine of us had decided to book a day trip to Chefchouen from Tangier that was picking us up from the port at 9am, so we needed the ship to be ready to disembark by 8:30.

I was at breakfast early enough to watch us pull up to our berth. By 8:30, the entire group was on our way down the pier to our pick-up point. Thank goodness we left with plenty of time because it was far away.

The group was split into 7 and 2, with Angela and Steve in a car with two others not from our boat and the rest of us in a van. It is a 2 hour 2 1/2 hour drive to the town up in the mountains.

We had one stop on our way about two hours in for tea and bathroom breaks. The restaurant had panoramic views of the countryside.

Once we arrived in Chefchouen, our driver handed us off to our tour guide who took us through the city. The blue color that the buildings are painted began with the Jewish refugees.

600 years ago, people who would not convert to Christianity, Jews and Muslims, were exiled from Spain. A large group took refuge in Chefchouen. The Jewish corner began painting their homes blue as homage to their faith.

Eventually, others noticed that the homes stayed cooler, with no mosquitoes in the neighborhood. Others began to imitate the Jewish district and paint their homes blue.

Now, there aren’t Jews living there, but the homes continue to be painted blue. Tourism is the main industry of the city, so vendors and sellers are everywhere, and restaurants are plentiful and delicious. For a late lunch I bought two dishes to try and they both were amazing.

As with many other Muslim communities, there are plenty of cats to be found in the community. In the Islamic faith, cats are not unclean animals and so are preferred over dogs.

After a day of walking up and down the mountain city, we drove back to Tangier to unwind. For dinner, the cruise brought two types of local beer on board; Flag Special (pilsner) and Stork (a light lager).

The next morning, I stayed in the city and bought City Hop on Hop Off tickets for 130 dirhams. That is the equivalent of about 13 euros. There are 2 routes. One takes you through the city and the other along the coast.

There is not much from a tourist standpoint to do in Tangier, so riding the buses is a good way to get around.

I started by taking the city bus past the fortress and getting off at the tombs of Necropoles Punicoromaines.

From the tombs, I walked downhill past several shops and restaurants to the Medina. It is Friday, the holy day, so many shops were not open, but I was able to visit a few shops and the food market Grand Socco.

The entrance to the Medina is Place du 9 Avril 1947. This is about the Tangier Speech or a call for independence given on April 9, 1947, by Sultan Muhammad V of Morocco.

From the square, I walked up to Place Faro where there are several Portuguese cannons, stopping to buy argan oil and lip dye.

At this point, I got back on the bus and rode it around the rest of the city route along the promenade. At the port stop, I got off the city route and began the coastal route.

The main attraction of the second route is Cape Spartel and the Hercules Cave. I didn’t get off the bus at any stops this time.

One thing I did notice was how clean and well-maintained the green areas were.

A popular activity here is riding the camels. When I asked some people who did this what they paid, the general consensus was 100 dirhams for 30 minutes per person.

By 6:30, everyone was back on board, and the ship departed from Morocco at 7:30, heading towards Port of Ceuta.