After almost a month in Morocco, we reached Chefchaouen, a village so close to the northern border that the most commonly spoken language is Spanish. It was the last destination on the itinerary and by far, the prettiest. Everywhere you look in Chaouen, there's an explosion of colour; the houses are painted every shade of blue you can think of, more than I could ever name. It's nice to finish the trip with a sleepy little town in the mountains. To be honest, there isn't much to do there; it's beautifully, wonderfully monotonous.
We needn't worry about boredom though, discovering the ways of the people is often enough when visiting another country. We find out the frustrating and charming quirks that make each country different from the other and that renders traveling so inspiring and exciting. Chaouen is full of those.
Just like everywhere else in Morocco, street names are futile; the locals don't even know them. Boutiques and restaurants open at the oddest of times (whenever they feel like being open essentially); a store is likely to be open three to four hours a day, at different times, usually revolving around a long lunch break and several pauses for prayer. One restaurant in particular was recommended to us during our stay, but we were advised to wait outside if the front gate was open, which signified that the owner was in and would eventually open the doors for business. We waited on three different occasions, past 9pm and no one ever came so we gave up and never got to try the best restaurant in town.
There was also a time change on our last day
in Morocco. However, the people of Chefchaouen choose not to observe time changes like the rest of the country. Most years that is. Needless to say, finding out when our bus was leaving was a
nightmare.
To us, visitors on vacation with
very little commitments and schedules, it's amusing to see how a town can
function like this but obviously it works for them. It's these habits that appear odd to us at first that make exploring new parts of the world so fascinating. The more I travel, the more I appreciate the charms of small villages like Chefchaouen. I can't wait to get another stamp in my passport.
