I don’t even know how to start talking about this city without being a cliche, it is beautiful, it is the sky, it is life, it is one of the prettiest cities, if not the most, I have ever visited.
I remember walking these streets and literally taking pictures of almost everything, from every corner, alley, house, everything. Always thinking that when I became an adult I would want to live in a house like that.
As a being an adult, so far I haven’t become, but paying bills is already a reality 😳, and don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I love what I do and what it gives me, but sometimes I like to change a bit, and get a job in a hostel or restaurants is a wonderful way of doing that and especially to learn more about the culture of the place where I am, and that was my situation in Fez.
Working at a hostel there, one of my favorite activities was to go with the guests to Chefchaoen, the blue city, and that why I ended up visiting it a lot of times, so I will try to join these several times as if it were a single trip, disrespecting any notion of space, time and order, ok ?!
I’m going to start with my favorite place, a mosque on top of a mountain, the walk to the mosque is super easy and is at most about 20 minutes.
Do you know that I said in the first paragraph that the city is the sky? So when you get there and sit your beautiful butt on the wall and look at the city, you will understand what I’m talking about.
If you are lucky enough to see the city on a blue sky day, you will feel your heart stop a little when you see that the city converges with the sky. The blue city with the blue sky, it seems that one is the continuation of the other on earth and in the sky. I’m sure there is poetry about this view because it’s not possible that something so beautiful doesn’t have it. I would do it here, but I think Carlos Drummond would come back and kick me if I did, so I’ll leave it to the true writers.
And if you, like me, are a sunset fanatic, you have to go to that place. Although in fact, the sunset is in the opposite direction to the city and the best place to see is on one of the trails over there.
In one of them, probably in all of them, you will find some nice stones for you to go up and watch the sunset, and it is beautiful because it is as if everything there conspires in favor of beauty, but beware, in one of these treks I ended up for finding one of my best, but it could easily have turned into one of the worst, stories.
You see, as everyone knows, except those who don’t, Morocco is a country known worldwide for its Sahara desert, exotic spices, historic cities, and hashish. Yeap, hashish.
And while I was venturing down one of these trails, looking for a good place to see the city, I kind of accidentally came across one of these plantations. And like a good daughter that I am, I turned my back and went back to my hostel to rethink my life choices and meditate on them. I swear to you mom, that’s exactly what happened.
And if you want more details about this meditation, invite me a beer and I’ll tell you all about how not to find a pot plantation.
How not to meet and become friends with a family that works there.
How not to take the day to work with them.
How not have dinner with them in a wheel of … where is my beer?
Let’s go back to the city! With its beautiful blue streets that merge with the blue sky, in a very relaxing blue vibe. ✌
One thing I love to do everywhere I go is to get lost. There is nothing better than going somewhere and just starting to walk aimlessly, just enjoying the culture, the conversation between the sales people and their daily lives.
And getting lost in this blue maze is like a level above this wonderful experience, it’s getting lost in the sky. Man, I’m such a poet!
And my beautiful people, I have a talent for that, you know, it’s not that I don’t have a sense of direction, I actually do have it, but I don’t know, something happens in my brain when I’m walking around the cities that I get so busy with all these new things information about architecture, people, movements, colors, smells, I don’t know, I just get lost and suddenly I don’t know where I am.
For example, right at the beginning of the city, at the bottom of the mountain, there is one of the main squares where you can go to eat all your meals, and right in front of it, there is a church/mosque. One day, while I was waiting for my lunch, I decided that I would take a walk around this mosque.
Guys, I was just going to go around the building, 15 minutes later my friends were texting me asking where I was, and I answered them asking where I was, because I also didn’t know where I was!
I don’t know, sometimes I get lost inside my brain.
But coming back, in this main square, I had breakfast almost every day, almost every time I was in Chefchaoen. And on a quieter day that I had nothing to do, I decided that I wanted to do the most touristy thing there, paint my hands, make those mandalas that are very common in India, and in Muslim countries. Finding where to do it is super easy, but so easy that the opportunity literally comes to you. There, sitting in the restaurants, there will be several sellers offering.
And I went and decided to ask for a big one, I already had the ideas of making and sending a photo to my mom saying that I had a new tattoo closing my hand and part of my arm. You know to give the queen some heart attack.
What I didn’t count on is that for the drawing to look good, I would have to stay very still while the girl was doing it, and not only at that moment but also after it was done to dry properly.
You see, apart from some moments when I’m traveling inside my brain or meditating, standing still is practically humanly impossible for me. After finishing I already went out to eat and swearing I was being careful, but it ended up all blurred, and the worst part, that thing was going to stay around 5 days, all blurry and horrendous.😵 I believe it is a matter of karma. This always wins, especially when we are trying to make fun of those who gave birth to us.
Every time I looked at my hand it felt like it was dirty, it gave me an endless agony to wash my hand every 5 minutes. And worse, I tried to show my mother anyway, and she just laughed at my face!
SO INSOLENT!
But whatever, to close the story I will leave a piece of advice and a cat picture.
The cat:
The advice: Take photo of cats
Contribute to the environment
- Take your trash
- Collect rubbish if possible
- ALWAYS PRESERVE THE NATURE