1/12/15

maroc1(1)Hello again! I know it's been awhile since I last posted, but I'll just pick up where I left off. After Pamukkale, we flew to Morocco!

Morocco was so incredibly different than anywhere else we've been. Many other places we've been to (especially in South East Asia) are extremely set up for tourism and it's just so darn easy to get around. In Morocco, even though we definitely went to some touristy spots, things were a lot more difficult. There were also a lot of cultural differences to figure out and then on top of all that, we were traveling during Ramadan. I wouldn't recommend doing so if you were able to choose when to go, but it's just what worked out with our holiday time. Some of my favourite travel memories are from this trip, but I also came away with some tough, uneasy travel experiences. However, we learned a lot, got out of our comfort zones, and navigated through some crazy medinas!

When I started researching our trip to Morocco, Chefchaouen jumped out at me right away. And it turned out to be the perfect introduction to Morocco. The medina was much smaller than the ones we later encountered in Fez and Marrakech (which were... overwhelming to say the least!). Also, even though it was Ramadan, most restaurants were still open during the day. It was still a sensory overload, but totally manageable and enjoyable!

In Chefchaouen, we wandered the blue medina for hours, hung out in the main square, visited the kasbah, got some black henna (we later found out that there are some potential health risks involved, but we thankfully didn't have any problems with it!), and hiked up to the lookout to see the sunset over Chefchaouen.

We stayed at Casa Amina. It was a bit tricky to find but overall it was pretty nice and reasonably priced.

*Someone kindly pointed out on instagram that the Arabic was backwards. When Mike copied it, I guess it pasted backwards in photoshop. Strange! I think we fixed the problem, but let me know??

14 comments:

  1. so beautiful! this (and morocco!) is definitely on my list of places i hope to see soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was on the top of my list for a long time too!! :)

      Delete
  2. You always have the most gorgeous photos! I keep seeing Morocco on my travel radar, and I die each time I see this gorgeous blue city! So pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This place is beautiful and so are your pictures! Always love hearing your travel adventures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Hoping to post more in the new year! :)

      Delete
  4. The shades of blue are just amazing! I've missed your posts Janis!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss posting too! :) Hopefully will be posting more!

      Delete
  5. such a beautiful place and pictures. love love love.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely beautiful.

    I went to Marrakech with a friend a few years ago and--even though I'm well traveled--found the experience to be a bit overwhelming, as well. It was a tremendously beautiful place, but I don't think I was quite prepared for the experience of visiting as a young woman. That being said, I would also love to go back; Chefchaouen looks lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, exactly. Mike and I have also traveled quite a bit and still found it surprising and overwhelming. But ultimately so worth it!

      Delete
  7. Thanks for your sweet comment, Janis. You've always been really kind over all these years of following each other's adventures. I hope we cross paths someday.

    Your Morocco posts are making me so nostalgic for our time there. Sad to hear that you found it overwhelming. I went into our trip expecting it to be worse than Cairo (which I wasn't fond of) and so perhaps my low expectations saved me the emotional strife.

    Looking forward to your Sahara photos! Hope you and Mike are doing well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. P.S. We had to choose between Chefchaouen & the Sahara because of time. I hope we get to go back to see this in person. Your pictures are beautiful!

      Delete

thanks so much for writing! i love hearing from you!

xo