Tangier, Chefchaouen and Volubilis

“Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.” Anonymous

TANGIER

Where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, sits the bustling port of Tangier. The cross-cultural influences in food and architecture from North Africa, Spain, Portugal and France converse in this fascinating city. During World War Two, spies, businessmen, writers, and artists arrived in Tangier seeking opportunities and adding even more to its diversity.

We had an excellent tour guide on this portion of our trip. He took us to the Kasbah where he explained what a Kasbah is (walled city) and how it has changed over the years. An example of such change is the homes within the walled city.  People have started buying homes and apartments and have turned them into BnB’s and vacation rentals. Families who used to live inside its walls have left for life and opportunities outside the Kasbah.

Our local guide

I love doors and there were so many that were very unique.

We also toured the Medina where there many goods for sale from handcrafted Moroccan artisan ware to typical Moroccan food. One place we stopped was the Café Baba where the Rolling Stones were customers when they were holed up in Tangier while awaiting a verdict from their drug charges in the UK.

photo credit Mat McKeever

CHEFCHAOUEN

I really liked Chefchaouen. It is a quiet and relaxed town. You can wander aimlessly and come across many fascinating sights. There were cats everywhere. In stores, restaurants, and in the streets. However, the first thing that you see is BLUE on every building. All different shades of blue. There are a few theories as to why: one popular opinion is that it keeps mosquitos away; another is that the walls are painted blue to attract tourists. Perhaps, it is a combination of the two?

Our Hotel

Photo credit Mat McKeever

Photo credit Mat McKeever

Photo credit Mat McKeever

Photo credit Mat McKeever

Our group was given a choice to climb up to the Spanish Mosque which is a mile long hike up the hill. I decided that I was not going to attempt it. Instead, I chose to sit and watch locals and tourists alike wander along the river. I loved watching all the people, one of my favourite things to do.

There are plenty of excellent restaurants from which to choose. You could easily spend a pleasant couple of days in this relaxing place.

You will also see cats everywhere. Just like this little cutie.

Photo credit Mat McKeever

VOLUBILIS

Volubilis is a well best-preserved Roman ruin. The walled city was once home to 20,000 people. The buildings were destroyed when an earthquake hit Lisbon in the 18^th century which flattened Lisbon. It is incredible that anything survived, but you can still see detailed mosaics with themes of Greek myths on the floors of some of the destroyed buildings.

Entrance

It was an incredibly hot day when we toured Volubilis. I would have loved to have taken in more, but quickly realized that my priority more was finding relief from the hot sun than sightseeing. I believe the temperature was in the 40’s Celsius range.

It was time to travel to our next destination