Chaouen - The Moroccan Rif in May 2009

[Tommy G]

Hi friends!

I just came back from the Moroccan Rif... Spent one week in Morocco, most of the time literaly around the Rif mountains, from where the very well know Moroccan haxixe comes from. In this city you can smoke everywhere. You'll be offered first quality hash from everyone. It is a very clean city, as you'll be able to see for yourself from the pictures, and it is also a very safe place. People are not dangerous, as many people think, they just sometimes make you tired of so many offerings... they can get you anything you want and won't let you go until you show interest in something they have to sell. But they didn't managed to get me bored, you just have to know how to deal with them, if you smile and are gentle they'll be fair and understand when it's time to leave you alone. The city is not crowded, so it gets very relaxing and peaceful, even more if get the weather I got this time. Well, May, June and September may be the best months to go there, or even July and August if like very very hot sun as much as I do.

Here are some of the pictures. If you want to see more go and check my album from this trip. Hope you enjoy.

Blue...

The Hash

The hash, as I said, is first quality. In the streets you'll listen to them offering "primera calidad" (first quality), "zerozero", caramel, pakistani (because in south europe pakistani hash has a very good reputation, althought it is generaly made in morocco) and they also offer marijuana, but I tried it and its poor quality cannabis. I guy from Ketama gave me a git and said it was the best quality I can get in Morocco, so I kept with my glass pipe and smoked only pure hash.

Zerozero:

Zerozero was 15 euro for 5 gram. Up in the mountain the price would go down at least 50%.
The pipe

In the mountains those pipes have a great value, because you can't find them in Morocco. I bought this one in Spain for 7 euros and a farmer in the Rif mountains offered me a 8gr piece of caramel for the pipe.


Caramel:

More from Chaouen:

Well, if you want to walk for 2 hours over those blue streets it's possible, they seem to never end...

Chaouen is no place for dogs, you won't see any dog there. But cats yes, they have lots of. Maybe that's one of the reasons it is a clean city...

You'll also find lots of stores with very good products, most of them handmade in the place and with very good prices...

To be continued...

 

[Tommy G]

The mountains in the back...

The view from the window of my hotel room...

My glasspipe overlooking the city from the mountains...

Food was very good and very cheap. Each plate in the photo costed 2,30eur, around 3 dolars. And restaurants were very clean and well decorated...

The view from the restaurant Alladin:

Inside the restaurant:

Other restaurant...

Almost all the restaurants looked as nice as those.

A couple of pictures to end the trip...

This is where they wash their clothes:

That's it.

Once you get to the port of Algeciras, with 150\200 euros you can buy everything included (ferry to morocco, taxi from tanger port to chaouen and 4 or 5 nights in this same hotel (hotel parador, 4 star).

If you don't smoke tobacco don't forget to take your pipes and bongs

-p_

 

[buddymate]

Excellent pics mate,I used to get the ferry over to Tangier from Algeciras when I was based on Gib,got the boat across to ceuta as well a few times.

 

[hanuman]

Great pics! I love the blue streets. Makes you want to visit even if there were no hash...



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[Satchifunkilus]

Terrific photos Psychotropic, would love to see more of them!
Is there much to do there besides sightseeing and shopping?

 

[stasis]

Thanks for the lovely armchair tour..>!!!!

 

[Tommy G]

Thanks... the pleasure of sharing the photos is mine

Satchifunkilus > In my gallery I have an album dedicated to this specific trip with some photos that I didn't post here. Besides sightseeing and shopping you can also, of course, smoke their hash, hehehe. And there's many other things to do... specially if you go with a big group of friends. I went with my girlfriend and 2 friends of her, so I was the only man and they didn't let me get in any adventure ...with a group of 5 or 6 male friends I would have accepted their offer to go visit their home, their family, try their own cannabis... In the mountains they asked me if I wanted to go see how their hash is made, so you can easily get a guide to take you to see cultivation camps and the whole process of making hash. I'm sure you'll also get the best of the best hash in those camps.

I forgot to say that I tooksome of my weed to Morocco. Took about 15 pre-rolled joints and a jar with a couple of buds. My weed was something very special to them because there is no such thing as cannabis indoor growing in Morocco. It is also very special when a guy up in the mountain who makes caramel and zerozero says that your weed is very good and offers to trade 1gr of your weed for 10gr of his hash.

You can smoke everywhere. They say that even if the police see you smoking they won't say anything because they know your not a dealer and they make their life out of tourism. I smoked in every restaurant, in and outdoor, before and after meals. The only place i didn't felt confortable smoking was the taxi, but just until the driver asked "You guys don't smoke hash?"... I said yes and asked if we could smoke in his taxi. Well, after that it was a very nice trip, hehehe. From Chaouen to Tangier it takes about 2 hours by car.

buddymate > I was in Gibraltar last summer and it is also a very nice place to visit. I would recommend a round trip starting in Tarifa, then Gibraltar, then Ceuta, then Tétouan and the big finishing in Chaouen. 5 amazing places to visit making only 250km. Well, and if you have more time and money... don't forget Sevilla Or maybe even here the Algarve (Portugal) where I live.

stasis and hanuman > thanks guys, it really is a great place.

 

[Bedouin]

Woooow! great raport. Greetings from Poland

 

[mriko]

Looks like you had a nice time there, thanks for sharing !

Irie !

 

[Satchifunkilus]

Thanks for your reply Psychotropic, I will be sure to check out your gallery.

 

[kro-magnon]

hi man, nice pics but the real name of this place is chefchaouen, it's a sacred city for muslim, at around 100km from Ketama. I went here about 10 years ago and spent a few months here and around in the mountain.

 

[Moldy Dreads]

Very cool Psycho, did you get there from Spain by Ferry? Sorry for my ignorance..never been to that part of the world..

 

[buddymate]

Yeah Dreads,you get the ferry over from Algeciras,just around the coast from Gib.

 

[Skip]

Chefchaouen is one of my favorite places in Morocco. All you said about it is true. The natives are very friendly - that is until you venture out to Ketama, which I don't recommend unless you are very adventurous.

I have an online travelguide of Morocco & Chaouen & the Rif with lots of tips for you.

Great pix btw, Psychotropic!

 

[Payaso]

Excellent photos! Thanks for sharing these memories...

My time in Chef Chaouen was perhaps the best part of Morocco...staying at the big hotel on the hill overlooking town was an unforgettable experience.

The food was very good for Morocco, and the locals were really great...except for a guide or two who would not give up pestering us...but we learned to deal with that. Some even invited us into their homes and treated us like royalty.

I see the town has had a recent blue wash, and is looking better than ever!

We scored the best hash there, black gold. It was yummy and I recall paying 20 bucks for a huge chunk that lasted weeks. Smoking in the sipsi was the thing to do, a long silver piece that we reluctantly left behind as customs would not smile upon such a stinking pipe and let us keep it anyway...

From Chaouen we traveled to Fez, then onto Marrakesh by train (the Marrakesh Express, smoking hash in first class!)... ah those were the days.

Glad you also had fun, Morocco is truly a treasure.

 

[love?]

What a nice place!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tommy G]

Thanks guys... and thanks to those who talked about their own experiencies in Morocco. I plan to visit Morocco again 2 times in the next 5 years. First will be Ceuta-Tétouan-Chefchouen and the second time I'll go south to Fez-Rabat-Marrakesh and a couple of places more.

As Payaso said they might have painted it all recently, maybe they do it every year in the spring. In the winter, with rain and snow, it is not that clean for sure. But it is always like being in paradise, like being in a weird scenario of a crazy movie...

Peace....

-p_

 

[bonecarver_OG]

thanks for posting those nice pics - brings me back to my own trip to Chef Chauen and morocco a bucnh of years ago - im glad its still looks as nice!

my tip for you is to explore further south on the coast - true un explored virgin beaches with breaks that dont end. jsut go to chauen and get ur gear first

sidi kauki u gotto see it to get my point

peace mate!

 

[limey]

Thanks guys... and thanks to those who talked about their own experiencies in Morocco. I plan to visit Morocco again 2 times in the next 5 years. First will be Ceuta-Tétouan-Chefchouen and the second time I'll go south to Fez-Rabat-Marrakesh and a couple of places more.

As Payaso said they might have painted it all recently, maybe they do it every year in the spring. In the winter, with rain and snow, it is not that clean for sure. But it is always like being in paradise, like being in a weird scenario of a crazy movie...

Peace....

-p_

Lovely pics mate and hope you had a great time in Chefchaoen... I always do!

They do paint the town every year, usually in April. Not everyone conforms but most do so that's why it was all looking so fresh for your visit.

Next time you go I thoroughly recommend you take a day or two up in the hills (if you didn't) as it's fairly safe and there's lots of interesting stuff to see, especially dope wise. There's actually a fair amount of growing going on just up from Chefchaoen itself, if you follow the road past the hotel Asma to the next village round you will see what I mean

I also commend a visit to Talembote, Akchour and Oued Laou, all places within 30miles of Chefchaoen. Talembote is above the most stunnning river gorge ; Akchour has a great waterfall, riverside picnic spot (they sometime have trance parties there) and is near to a strange natural rock bridge. Oued Laou is on the coast - long med beach and fishing village. The village is busy in July August but very quiet for the rest of the year. I usually find better smokes in Oued Laou than in Chefchaoen. If you go Ceuta-Tetouan you can get a bus or a taxi from Tetouan to Oued Laou and go from there to Talembote/Ackchour and then on to Chefchaoen (and sometimes from Fndiq, which is the first town into Morocco from Ceuta, bus station just back from the main road - you dont actually need to go to Tetouan for a bus or taxi to either Oued Laou or Chefchaoen though they are more frequent from Tetouan)

There are good shots of all these places on google earth

I posted a report and some photos here on IC last year that you can find by looking at the posts I have made here by clicking on my user name.

Maybe I'll see you in Morocco. PM me if you are going?

all the best mate

 

[Tommy G]

Thanks for your tips bonecarver_OG and limey.

Not going directly from Tétouan to Chefchouen is a very good |\idea limey. Nice you even suggested spots, I'll be back to this thread when I plan to get back to Morocco, however I can't go as soon as I would like to. I think the best months to go down there are May\June and September\October (harvest time), but I really doubt that I go there next Autumn... Maybe next year...

Gonna check your report now.

Good smokes to all you guys

-p_