Tangier and the Horns of the Mountains

From Rabat, I took the train (or rather two trains) back to Tangier. The city was not originally on my itinerary, but I had heard good things about it and decided to make a little detour. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed, so I continued my journey to Chefchaouen after just one day.

The train ride to Tangier went smoothly again, but as soon as I arrived, I got a bad impression of the city. I had decided to take a taxi to my hostel and as soon as I approached the taxi stand, I was besieged by at least ten men who wanted to drive me. When I finally picked a driver, he demanded a way too high price, which he revised when I said it was too much and turned to leave. In the end, he dropped me off at the wrong end of the Medina, so I had a longer walk to the hostel.

In the Medina, it continued in the same way. I was constantly besieged by men who wanted to show me the way to my hostel or help me in some other way. I ignored them all and luckily found my hostel right away. Later, I wanted to explore the city on my own. After a while, I ran into an older Moroccan man who looked quite trustworthy. In the end, he gave me a short city tour (which I did not ask for) and asked for money afterwards. But I was lucky and he quickly settled for the small change I handed him. However, I took an honorary round to my hostel to make sure he didn't follow me.

Since I had no intention of spending much more time in the Medina (which, by the way, is already quite pretty and offers a nice view of the Strait of Gibraltar from its fortress), I was glad to be able to join my roommate the next day. She is Canadian and wanted to go to a park and caves outside the city. First, we treated ourselves to a great breakfast at the 'Cremerie Hollanda' (which has nothing to do with Holland, but is named after the street). I had a Moroccan pancake with almond butter and fruit - super delicious! Then we set off. We didn't do everything we had planned, but we enjoyed the nature in Perdicaris Park, great views, and interesting conversations. We also met a very nice group of young Moroccans who kindly showed us the way and offered to join them. At the end of the day, we took a walk with our Chinese roommate, who spoke only broken English, but had a very cheerful disposition.

The next morning, I took the bus to Chefchaouen. By the way, Chefchaouen does not actually mean 'blue city', as you might assume after reading some travel reports, but 'Horns of the Mountains'. I had never heard of this city in the mountains before arriving in Morocco, but almost everyone I met there talked about it.

The city has only been really known among travelers for a few years, but now it is flooded with tourists (there are even several Chinese restaurants, which is never a good sign). But no wonder! The city, which looks like it was dipped in a blue paint pot, is simply beautiful and you want to take a photo at every corner.

I spent my two days drifting through the narrow streets and discovering new corners. Or I hiked to the hills around the city to admire it from above. I also drank a lot of Moroccan tea, ate sweet pastries and tajine in a tiny restaurant in the marketplace, and watched the colorful hustle and bustle. The days in Chefchaouen were definitely among the highlights of my trip!