March 12, 2022: afternoon arrival in Chefchaouen

We learned that industries worldwide look to the entity “Pantone” that standardizes color and identifies a “Color of the Year”. In 2022, the color is “Very Peri” a periwinkle blue described by Pantone as “creating a spritely, joyous attitude”. That is exactly what we experienced when we crept our way from a narrow mountain road into the “Very Peri” village of Chefchaouen, located in the Rif Mountains. It is typical for Moroccan cities and villages to paint their buildings using the same color palate. In this instance, despite the overcast appearance in the late afternoon, the village shone! Gorgeous! 

It looked like rain might make an appearance so, after climbing 120+ steps to the Dar Jasmine Hotel and settling into our room named “the Hanoi”, we explored the delightful Medina. It was mostly surrounded by a centuries old wall and had the prerequisite narrow, winding alleyways with accompanying vendors, patrons and peacocks.

We seemed to descend into more vibrant periwinkle tunnels, noticing decorative doors vying for our attention. We finally reached a large square filled with people of all ages, gathering together to share a meal and companionship. 

Mary Margaret immediately found a cape in an untraditional shop and, with Rhonda’s help, managed to pay a fair price. Purchases made it was now time to find our recommended restaurant located in the labyrinth of the Mediana.

We walked back into the alleyways using iPhones to locate the restaurant, tucked away in the periwinkle maze. Rounding a corner, we were nearly run over by goats!

Restaurant Bab Ssour was eventually located and definitely worth the effort. We were rewarded with an amazingly delicious traditional Moroccan meal consisting of 3 different Tagines, Khobz (bread) and Pastilla (a phyllo-like dough stuffed with savory meat, spices and ground almonds). Finding this gem was worth the time required, making this a memorable evening. 

Before we left this beautiful village on Sunday morning, we had a breakfast feast with a view. We couldn’t return to the Medina as we were about 4 hours from Rabat and had to prepare ourselves prior to joining our “official” tour.

On our way back to Rabat, Stephen took the road less traveled, through the Rif Mountains, heading towards the coast, where we could view more than the 4 lane highway. As we made our way through the lush mountain valleys and over to Sidi Allal Tazi, we passed wagon after wagon pulled by mules or horses, filled with fodder for farm animals.

Each village seemed to have something unique to offer as we drove by. Soon we were back in Rabat, repacking to join our tour group. Our official start to the Tauck Tour would begin with a ”Meet and Greet” and end with another delicious meal. 

It was difficult to say goodbye to Stephen and Rhonda as they were terrific hosts. We had the opportunity to see them once more before our tour started as we left a load of laundry in their dryer! Fortunately, their apartment is only a 20 minute drive from the La Tour Hassan Hotel. Once our laundry was delivered, it was a quick hug and wave to begin our 9-day adventure. We could only hope it would be as fascinating!

We had signed up for the “Magic of Morocco” tour with a regular-sized tour group and were delighted to find our group numbered 11 hardy travelers instead of 30! People are still hesitant to travel and this gave us a huge advantage. After introductions were made, our delightful tour guide, Gina Pillsbury, gave us a packet outlining our tour schedule as well as helpful hints (language, food, souvenirs) and expectations on what to do and in what city. We’re on our way!