The Carolyn Diaries : Blues and Bollywood

Hi Everyone!!

As promised here’s a few pictures of our bed and breakfast. They had the cutest terrace that we had a mini photoshoot on and the photo on the steps is the entrance!

While we didn’t get up early, we did wake up before the rest of the town which was super nice because this town is kind of one big tourist trap and there’s quite a bit of hustling that can get overwhelming at times. Since the majority of locals are Muslim and fasting, they slept in. This made the perfect opportunity for us to tiptoe around in the quiet morning and have a photoshoot around the city.

It seems that no one can really decide on one story for why the city is blue. If you ask locals they’ll say that it’s because indigo repels mosquitos and keeps the buildings cool. However others say that during the Spanish Inquisition, Jews brought this tradition during their flee and settlement here in Morocco. Either way, the effect is very cool! No pun intended lol.

We also came at the perfect date because the locals of Chefchaouen paint their houses and buildings a few times a year, one of them being right before the end of Ramadan! There were multiple times during our exploring when we had to dodge wet paint! In my head I couldn’t stop hearing the queen of hearts saying “painting the city blue!” instead of “painting the roses red!” which was way better than poor Susan and Auntie Sureia who couldn’t stop singing Blue by Eiffel 65.

We took the time to amble around and really get lost in the town, which is by far one of my favorite parts of traveling. Well, so long as you don’t get too lost and end up in some deserted place of course. I think the locals were very confused when we walked past their houses well outside the main tourist attractions. Hilariously, we ran into one of the workers from our hotel bringing eggs home after his shift, he looked so shocked to see us!

After a few hours, and lots of steps, we bid the blue city goodbye and made our way to Fes. This time we went through a different set of mountains. The farmers were primarily raising livestock or growing olives, oranges, and some unknown herbs. About two hours into our drive, the gps told us to go one way but the road signage told us to go another. Susan literally drove in a circle twice before we decided to listen to the gps because the road looked quicker.

Big mistake. We drove through the most rural towns with the worst roads (when there were paved roads) ever!! I mean, as a passenger it was exciting. But poor Auntie Sureia and Susan had to drive a stick shift through these crazy hills and blind curves, all while dodging potholes, cars, and even animals!! These sheep literally did not care we were behind them and honking. It was so funny, one of them even looked back and bleated at us. Such attitude for such a small animal!

The poor shepherd boy, who honestly couldn’t have been more than 7 years old, was struggling to keep his animals in control until a tractor came plowing through the opposite side and even hit one of the sheep! Poor sheep seemed startled but walked it off? We decided to wait for the animals to move completely before continuing along our merry way. By far driving with the animals was my favorite part of this particular road trip!

I’m happy to report we made it to Fes with a zero animal mortality rate. And we even stopped to give Moroccans directions to the city we came from! How’s ironic is that!

In Fes the hotel we are staying is literally a mansion once owned by a rich family. All the work was done by hand in traditional Fes styles. There’s so much to look at everywhere that the entire place can almost be overwhelming at times, especially with so many different patterns and materials. Also I have to say, my room is a total princess room fully equipped with a Romeo and Juliet windows that open to look down in the salon below and I absolutely love it!!!

Susan, Auntie Sureia, and I spent quite a bit of time just wandering and enjoying the rooms below before we realized we needed to find a dinner place asap so we could finally be on time for iftar. Auntie Sureia’s friend from Fes joined us and lead us through the streets until we found a cute cafe which was serving iftar. However, the buffet was below, and all the guests were seated on the third floor on the terrace. We were seated above like everyone else but by the time we walked back down to get food, Auntie Sureia had had it with the narrow, winding staircase and suggested we eat right by the buffet tables with the restaurant employees. That ended up being the best decision of the night!

Oh my goodness we had so much fun. It was a group of younger folks who happened to be playing Bollywood music after they had eaten iftar and were still on break. I couldn’t believe it! So I asked the guy if he liked Bollywood. Before I knew it multiple other employees had joined the conversation asking me about my favorite actors, movies, and songs. Who knew the international language here would actually be Devdas, Shah Rukh Khan, and tujh mein rab dikhta hai? Apparently Moroccans are crazy for Bollywood. Before long we were trading songs, singing along, and I may or may not have started a dance party downstairs….which probably isn’t surprising to anyone here. One of the girls Mariam even taught me Moroccan dancing!

It was getting late, so we left our new friends to wander home through the markets. Generally when I travel I have a good sense of direction, but here these market roads are so confusing I have no clue where I am after a few turns! There’s no definitive markers and honestly all the streets start looking the same. We just guessed the general direction and enjoyed the markets before finally giving up and using google maps to get us back. Thank goodness for modern technology and gps!! Here’s a few photos of ransoms things we found along the way. Don’t those desserts and date look delicious? Something about these markets and the presentation make you want to try everything, even when you’re already stuffed full.