Africa, Baby!

The ferry crossing to Tangier Med is quick and the port not nearly as daunting as we imagined it would be. No problems, no one trying to ‘help‘. Life looked more difficult for those in overloaded cars and vans trying to import everything and anything into the country. Buying insurance for the van is a breeze and with some Dirhams from an ATM we are out of the port and heading towards Chefchaouen in a couple of hours.

The dusty roads are busy with people, vehicles and animals. In addition to the usual obstacles there are now donkeys and funky three wheelers to contend with. Behind the market traders, small shops line the streets. I don’t have time to look at what’s on offer, my full concentration is on the myriad of people and vehicles that I’m sharing the potholed road with.

Rosana is busy trying to navigate. The maps I loaded onto the satnav aren’t working, the SIM we bought before the crossing isn’t working and we’re reliant on our offline maps which can be a little slow to react. I’m wondering if we should have taken the toll road, but no, we’re here to experience Morocco and the toll road would just bypass the real world.

We settle into the campsite that sits high above Chefchaouen for Christmas, not that Christmas is a thing here. The campsite is busy and is a popular first stop for visitors. Walking down a steep path through an old wooded cemetery we see a herd of goats and have our first ‘goat in a tree’ experience. They really are remarkably good climbers.

Chefchaouen’s medina is simply beautiful. Blue buildings, narrow thoroughfares, colourful decorations and the kasbah on the square. Yes, it’s touristy, but despite not being that busy it’s pretty laid back and nobody is hassling us into their shops. A few restauranteurs try their luck but they take a warm no, merci for an answer without argument. We see genuine artisans at work, along with people selling the usual mass produced tat.

Moving further towards Fez we take a gravel track and camp on the banks of a reservoir and it’s just after nightfall when the police arrive. More memories of Türkiye, I gather our documents but before I can slide open the door they leave again. I guess we don’t present a threat. It’s a beautiful spot, surrounded by nature but also strewn with litter. It’s sad that such a beautiful place is treated with such disdain but we will discover this is a widespread issue throughout Morocco.

The road deteriorates quickly as we get more rural. Landslides, giant potholes and wide cracks try their best to prevent progress. Old Mercedes vans bounce along the road, transporting people and goods. People congregate around water fountains and donkeys carry the water back home. Donkeys are put to further use in the fields, pulling ploughs and carrying produce. The minor roads are single lane with gravel to either side for use when passing oncoming traffic. Often the gravel is the best road surface and we keep to it.

The northern outskirts of Fes seem poor and run down. People are rooting through bins, distributing litter everywhere. Scrawny dogs eat from piles of stale bread and the traffic increases massively. We navigate through the madness to a shopping centre that could be anywhere in western Europe; the contrast to what we have seen today is shocking. There are even Christmas decorations up.

We do some grocery shopping at a well stocked Carrefour and head to a parking area on the outskirts of the old medina, under the shadow of the necropolis. It’s a popular park up for travellers and we are not alone.

A short walk throws us into the mayhem of Fes. The medina is an assault on the senses.

Dark, narrow streets, extremely busy with people, locals and tourists, snaking in all directions. Tiny shops, everything and anything seems to be on sale. Those overload vehicles at the port? I think I know where they were heading.

Despite the crush, it’s obvious that Fes is incredibly beautiful.

The Moorish architecture, which in truth we’ve been surrounded by since Andalusia, looms all around us. Mosques and Madrases are numerous, we (along with everyone else) visit the magnificent Bou Inana Madrasa.

The architecture is astounding. It’s difficult to comprehend, everywhere your eyes settle overwhelms the brain with intricate design and incredible detail. People just sit and marvel and we join them.

We spend two days wandering the medina, taking in the gates, the fortifications and of course, Fes’s famous tanneries, the sights, the sounds and smells. Fes’s medina is the largest pedestrianised area in the world and there is so much energy here, it’s exhausting and we’re frazzled.

We move on to a campsite on the outskirts of the city for new year, not to party, but to rest. We see in the new year quietly, a marked difference to last year’s celebrations in Otranto but we experience a Dutch custom on new year’s day, receiving sugared doughnuts from a nearby camper.