Day 6 (June 3) in Morocco – Rif Mountains and Fes

When I awoke in this beautiful city of Chefchaouen on Day 6, I went for a run/walk up to the Mosque on the top of the hill overlooking the city. At that hour I only saw two old men walking and some stray dogs. When I got to the top
I realized that this spot had the best views of Chefchaouen below.

After breakfast, we left this magical blue city nestled in the Rif Mountains and took a 45 minute shuttle into a beautiful valley for some hiking. On the way to our car, we saw some Muslim women selling some mint and other fragrant plants outside of the cemetery. On Fridays, many Muslims will visit the tombs of the dead and bring mint or other plants to leave on the tombs. As we all know, many people do not like their photo taken, especially older Muslim women. However, Mohamed used his usual charm to convince these gracious older ladies to let us take a photo with them. They were a nice group.

On the way to the hiking spot, we stopped next to a marijuana field. Cannabis is called “Sensi” in Morocco, and evidently, a USA company may have already copyrighted the name in the United States.

Technically, It’s illegal to use, purchase or sell cannabis in Morocco. It’s also illegal to grow it, but despite this fact, the country is the world’s biggest cannabis exporter. Most of the crops grow around the Rif mountains, which is where we hiked today, and we definitely smelled it being smoked in Chefchaouen. Some politicians are fighting to make cannabis use legal in Morocco.

Morocco, compared to most other predominantly Muslim countries is fairly liberal and progressive. And Chefchaouen, which is where we were yesterday, is a very bohemian city compared to the rest of Morocco. Marrakech is also considered liberal compared to other Moroccan cities. Fez, which is where we would end up this evening, is considered one of the most conservative.

As I mentioned in my Day 5 post, I could tell that as we drove through the Rif Mountains towards Chefchaouen, I would love hiking here. Today’s hike did not disappoint. Not only was the scenery outstanding, but we also had the added bonus of watching Monkeys in the wild. They were a frolicking bunch. They were shy, but we did manage to watch a couple of them fairly close up as they sat on some nearby tree tops.

As I sat drinking mint tea in a beautiful pool of water fed by a gorgeous waterfall, I had a long conversation with our guide Bilal. He was so much fun to hang out with. He told me that Friday in Morocco is sometimes referred to as Cous Cous Day because families will gather after mid-day prayer on Friday, their holy day, to enjoy a big meal together, and Cous Cous is usually a main dish during those gatherings. It is similar to our Sunday Brunch after Church.

He also told me that a popular hike that he leads is a 7-day hike that takes groups from Chefchaouen to the Mediterranean Sea. Because it averages 12 miles a day through the mountains, not many Americans do the hike, but lots of Europeans do. Hmmm….. I have a group of friends that I hike with every other year. I wonder…..

After our hike we took a 4 hour shuttle South to Fes, our last destination in Morocco. We stopped on the side of the road to investigate a roadside clay oven that three women were using to make fresh bread. We bought a loaf (circular) and had it as a snack. It was coarse, but very warm and delicious.

Before we dropped Bilal off, he convinced us to stop at a local farmer’s cooperative where they make goat cheese and goat yogurt. I think Mohamed was a little skeptical, but we stopped anyway. I am so glad we did. The four cheeses we sampled were delicious. And the goat yogurt may have been the best yogurt I ever tasted. Mohamed, like me, loves plain yogurt. He loved it so much, he ate another serving. The goat cooperative is very similar to dairy cooperatives in Vermont, but on a much smaller scale.

After we arrived in Fes, we checked into our hotel. Before dinner, Pete and I had a drink at the hotel rooftop bar where we chatted with a wonderful family from Texas. Their youngest daughter had just graduated from Texas and the family was spending two weeks in Morocco to celebrate. Afterwards, we met Mohamed and his friend Hakim, who I think may have been a bodyguard as much as a guide, who navigated us through the maze of alleyways in Fes to our dinner spot. Without dropping names, both Mahammed and Hakim have worked with some very famous actors, celebrities and business people.

I will drop one name. Most recently, Hakim has worked with some folks who were part of the filming of the 5th Indiana Jones movie, which was filmed here. Until tomorrow…..