The Blue City

Most people who know me wouldn't really describe me as a religious person. And I'm really not, going along with most of the definitions of the word. But when I first saw Chefchaouen nestled on the side of the mountain, I felt that no person could build a place this perfect.

A Mosque on top of a near-by mountain

We left for Chefchaouen Sunday, after spending all day at the American School in Rabat celebrating our nation's birthday. Being at a true American style party was a blessing...I swear they even imported the grass, because none of us had seen anything else like it in Rabat! After this, around 4:00 we all got on a bus and headed off through the mountains to Chefchaouen. During our ride, we had a lot of interesting experiences, such as someone trying to buy our girls for 10 dirham, someone trying to trade me pink flip flops for my shoes, and wonderful tea! 

Soon, we finally drove into view of the small blue city creeping up the side of the mountain in front of us. All of us were awed, I truly thing that if I was not on a bus I would have fallen to my knees. In Chefchaouen was the single time I did not miss home at all, and I could have lived there forever. 

The view from our hotel

In the city we arrived at our hotel, which, live everything else, seemed to be taken out of our best dreams! We all checked in, took a swim in this beautiful pool, then ended up staying awake until 4 the next morning receiving a Jinn lesson from Mobasshir. Jinn are basically Jeni, plus the root of all black magic. They are mentioned in the Quran as spirits of another world who are not supposed to interact with humans but sometimes do in special cases. After a few stories and some interesting encounters (there was a Jinn at the door!) some of them were too shaken up to go back to their room, so Mobasshir, Michael and I let everyone sleep in our room. This turned out to be not so great for Mobasshir, who didn't get a wink of sleep!

The next morning we all woke up and ate breakfast, with the traditional tea. Tea is very important in Moroccan culture, and is prepared a certain way. Everyone drinks this tea throughout the day, and it is one thing specifically that I love about Morocco!  After breakfast, all of us again piled on the bus and traveled farther into the mountains to go on a hike. This drive was very stressful because of three very important facts: 

1. I don't like heights at all. 
2. The road was very high and on the side of a mountain. 
3. There was really only room for one car to pass at a time. 

I exaggerate a little bit, but basically this means that I was pleased when we were able to get off the bus! 

The hike was along a beautiful river that was freezing but had a slight resemblance to the Fountain of Youth. We were able to swim and jump into the water, there were pools of water that were very deep (20-30 feet) and very high ledges to jump from (20 or so feet). Mobasshir, CJ and I jumped from these into the water, and we had the time of our life! In total there were 3 high ledges to jump off of. All of us jumped off of the first one, which was around 20 feet high. The other two were borderline insane however, and neither CJ nor I jumped from them. Credit goes to Mobasshir, however,  who is such a man... after hurting himself in Ultimate Frisbee he jumped off all 3 ledges! The water was so cold and refreshing, Mobasshir and I even drank from it, and we both swear that it was the sweetest water we have ever tasted. Finally at the end of our hike we reached God's Bridge, a natural bridge spanning the canyon that was absolutely beautiful. 

The environment was at peace with itself, and everything was so relaxing. Swimming under this bridge will be one of the fondest memories of the trip, and I know that I will remember it for as long as I live. 

Our Rabat family!

I'm sorry for how late this post was, I wanted to be able to describe this place and give it justice but there truly is no way. I hope that you all get a chance to visit this magical place!