Nov 1

Mussafa met us at our hotel and took the 5 of us who wanted to go on a hike into the mountains. We passed a Spanish mosque, lots of sheep and goats, olive trees, cork trees and local agriculture which had recently been harvested. Passing through small villages we heard what we thought was drumming. It was actually the pounding of the local crop, marijuana, for processing.

We climbed over 1,000 metres before starting the descent into the village where we were to have lunch. It was only just noon so we were surprised to be already at our destination as we were told it was a 5 hour hike. I guess we’re super hikers. I found that amusing as we’re the oldest members of our group of 14. Lunch was Moroccan tea, bean soup, a shared chicken tajine, and orange slices for dessert. It was the best tajine we’ve had so far. A land rover took us back to town. A few of us would have preferred to walk as the “road” made for a very bumpy ride.

After a quick stop at the hotel we set off to discover the back streets of Chefchaouen, a beautiful, friendly blue city. We met the rest of the group for dinner and discovered a place recommended on trip advisor. It was full so he put us all in a room near the kitchen. He brought us an assortment of starters like salad, eggplant, bread, olives, roasted zucchini, goat cheese and a tomato red pepper dish. Each of us chose a meat which was served in a clay dish that kept it very hot. Pastries and Moroccan tea were served for dessert.

Another great day!