Archives for April 2015

I’ve been back in America for three weeks and I regularly run into friends who read this blog. Many of them mention how struck they have been with my pictures of Chefchaouen. I get that. It’s an adhesive place, one seen as an after-image long after the brief exposure to it has occurred.

It seemed appropriate, then, to caption my last Chefchaouen post after the title of a Travis McGee book by the late great John D. MacDonald. In that story, the “deep blue goodbye” was something permanent and fatal. I hope my reluctant departure from this town will be neither

It’s a town where one can find the unexpected animal. . .

. . . the charming detail . . .

. . . the commercial . . .

. . . and the meditative.

I was curious about how the Chefchaouen shade of blue is achieved. Apparently it’s purchased as a powder, which is then mixed with water and scrubbed into the sides of the stucco and rock walls of the houses. During our stay, we saw many people doing just that.

This outdoor stairway has been frequently photographed; it showed up in nearly every guidebook I consulted.

This fixer-upper was one of my favorite spots. The textures and colors of the ruins were incredible.

The rest, remainder and residue of these photos are corners of town that caught my eye. Maybe they’ll catch yours, too.

The town of Chefchaouen has spread beyond its walls. Just outside the medina is the kasbah. It bolstered my faith in human progress to consider that his ancient building is no longer a fort, but is instead the backdrop for a children’s play area.

A stream runs down the mountain by the high side of the medina. There are a few small but pretty waterfalls. Excess water is captured in spillways, one of which goes right through the first floor of a house.

Climbing a little more by the stream leads to this vantage point, where you can see the medina from the outside looking in. It’s not much to look at from there; the beauty can only be seen from within.

The newer part of town continues on the other side of the stream. Even though this area doesn’t have the same deep blue byways as the medina, has charms of its own.