Just about every source we consulted warned us to expect an onslaught upon our arrival in Tangier, Morocco. From the guidebooks we read, to the traveler friends we consulted, to blog posts we came across online, the common advice we received was to be ready to be bombarded by faux guides, taxi drivers and opportunistic children from the moment we set foot in Morocco. When people recounted tales of their own experiences, their recollections were that they were at best uncomfortable and at worst, traumatized. Needless to say, when the day arrived for us leave our departure point in Spain, we hesitantly boarded the "slow" ferry we had booked our passage on and braced for the worst.
Gladly, thanks to a 'mistake' we made we seem to have managed to avoid the majority of the difficulties we had expected. Firstly, we erroneously booked tickets on the ferry to Tangier Med - a port about 40km away from Tangier - instead of Tangier proper. This meant we arrived at a pretty quiet port. Upon landing, we were escorted by ferry staff to a bus that took us to the Tangier Med ferry terminal where we caught a another bus to Tangier. Everything was straightforward and easy to figure out. While we waited for the hourly bus, there were plenty of port officers around who carefully watched the one taxi driver who approached us. Likewise he kept his spiel brief and left us alone when we responded with a polite, 'no, mercl'.
Arriving at the bus station was a bit different, it was pretty chaotic, but not in the way we had expected. There were tonnes of people around, but we actually had difficulty finding a taxi driver. When we did locate one, he offered us the expected price for a ride to Chefchaouen (about 50 euros) - due to logistics we had arrived in Tangier too late to take a bus to Chefchaouen and were left with the options of either taking a taxi or staying the night in Tangier. We decided in advance that the former option would work best for us. Our taxi driver took us to a restaurant to grab some food for the journey and then drove us to Chefchaouen.
Chefchaouen, known as the Blue City, was recommended to us by a super-friendly waiter, Brendan, whom we had crossed paths with in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba earlier this year. He had suggested it might be a nice, quiet spot to begin our journey and a great way to ease into traveling in Morocco. Laid-back Chefchaouen is a comfortable size (population 50,000), has a lovely medina that is comparatively easy to navigate and is very backpacker friendly. There's also lots of trekking to be enjoyed in the surrounding mountains. In short, it's a place that's right up our alley!
As if that's not enough, we learned from a traveler coming from Marrakech that costs are also less expensive in Chefchaouen. We're staying at a homey little spot called the Hostal Aline, close to the medina for the equivalent of $10/per night and have a room to our own on the terrace, which we also have to ourselves most of the time. Our room includes breakfast and hot showers. Meals are inexpensive - we can easily get lunch for under $10 for the both of us and dinner for under $20. Last night we splashed out on a special 3-course meal in a recommended restaurant on a lovely terrace overlooking the medina for the exorbitant cost of $25.
Chefchaouen is a beautiful town and has been the perfect starting point for us in Morocco. I'd recommend it to anyone who might be heading to this part of the world for the first time. Hope you'll pay it a visit, I expect you won't be disappointed.
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| Chefchaouen's medina |
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| Chicken Tagine |
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| Hostal Aline |
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| Chefchaouen, the Blue City |
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