Tangier to Chefchaouen

April 10, 2024

Coastal ride after a delay due to stolen bikes (!)

Our Tangier hotel is looking quite worn, but it was the best sleep yet. We were up for breakfast at 7:30 for another coastal ride.

We met in the lobby to depart at 8:30, only to learn that two of the spare bikes, plus one wheel, had been stolen overnight. Apparently they've been found, thanks to locals observing and reporting the theft. The thieves were apprehended near Fes, a long way from Tangier.

Our departure was delayed until 10 am because our guides had to make a police report. And then we made a seemingly pointless trip out to find the support vehicle and bikes, then went right back to the hotel to pick up the two electric bikes, using up another 45 minutes or so. Were the e-bikes forgotten? Maybe. The support SUV clearly got damaged by the thieves - a window is broken and a door handle ripped off. In the end, Youssef got left in Tangier to finish dealing with the police, and we carried on.

Exiting Tangier, we drove past Tetouan, a all-white city, then along the Med. We skipped 14 km of biking, including two big hills, due to time constraints caused by our delayed start. Hicham promises to add 14 km to our next ride to make up for it. Despite the missed section, we still had to ride some hills before lunch. Traffic was light and the road was in great condition.

Back on the bikes, it was fascinating to see people out enjoying the holiday and dressed up for Eid. Many men were wearing a hooded robe called a djellaba/jillaba. And Hicham reports that men kiss four times on the cheek as a greeting - he says it’s time very consuming. Haha. And that Eid requires a big change for young people because they can’t sleep all day like they do during Ramadan.

People here are very friendly. We had lots of opportunities to wish people Eid Mubarek, or 'have a blessed Eid'. We were stopped at an overlook to take some photos and a women and her cute daughter shared delicious homemade Eid treats with us.

This kind woman shared her homemade Eid treats with us.

Stunning views. And not much traffic on the road.

We had beautiful views of the Mediterranean, then descended to a beach town that was pretty quiet this time of year. We enjoyed very good fish and chicken tagines for lunch at a beachside restaurant, along with a delicious chopped salad. While we ate, there were loads of cats looking for free handouts.

This is our last opportunity for a salt water swim. We stuck our toes in the sea after lunch, but the big waves were churning up sand and we weren’t tempted to dive in.

We descended to the town of Oued Laou for lunch.

We all enjoyed the meal, including the great bread that was always provided to sop up the juices. Moroccans use bread rather than utensils to eat.

Getting our feet wet after lunch was enough. No need for a swim.

Mind the kitties hiding behind the bike.

We turned inland after lunch and biked through villages, and then along a river that is used for power generation. We also passed by some olive groves. The terrain would be no doubt be full of vineyards if this were nearby Spain. We ended our ride at a bridge across the Wadi Laou - it's just a small river at this time of year, but apparently can rage in the summer after storms.

There was a group of boys waiting patiently for our vehicles to leave so they could play soccer on the gravel. For them, it probably felt like it took forever to pack up the bikes. It’s not the best transport system here - they need to remove the front wheel and loosen/twist the handlebars on each bike. And they’re down one crew member today because of Youssef dealing with the police report.

After lunch, we were no longer on the coast, but it was still great biking

Our ending point was at a river bed that was at a low water level.

We crossed some deep gorges on our driving route to drove towards Chefchaouen.

There were a few mechanicals in the group today, but no flats. The gears on all the bikes are a bit clunky - cheap derailleurs, I think. And Tricia’s pedal fell off at one point, so she did part of the ride on Hicham’s e-bike.

Fun fact: as we enter the Rif Mountains, we are in a pot growing/hashish production area. Apparently it’s not legal to consume for recreational purposes, but production is legal, although there is lots of illegal production too.

We arrived in Chefchaouen at 6 pm. Youssef had arrived before us, having sorted things out in Tangier. Chefchaouen means ‘view of the horns’, and indeed, there are lovely mountain views. Like my home province of BC, Morocco has serious issues with forest fires - fire breaks are visible across the valley.

Chefchaouen is known for being the blue city. There are controls on what colour homes can be. There are multiple stories pitched about why Chefchauen is blue. Hicham reports that we can believe what we want, but that it’s a relatively new tourism-driven thing, it's ramped up in the past 30 years or so. It is a very attractive city of 70,000 set on a hillside. It was founded by Moors who left Spain in the 15th century after the fall of Granada.

Our accommodation is in a fascinating hotel - Hotel Madrid. The rooms are funky, with decorated ceilings and headboards. It’s obviously pretty popular with tour companies. It has good internet in the lobby, but none in the rooms. That’s not the end of the world., There’s beeen very good cell coverage everywhere so far. Most of us have e-SIMs, except Betty who got a physical SIM and has more GB than the rest of us combined, I think.

It was a handwash day since we’re here for two nights. Our room ended up looking like a laundry facility, with wet clothes hanging everywhere.

Each room has ornate woodwork and a different color scheme.

Hicham showed us how to get to the old town. It was an honour to be here for the evening of Eid. There were lots of people walking around the square in their finery. Also lots of men watching Champions League soccer just like last night.

This gentleman had just left the mosque.

Most restaurants were closed. And the only bar in town is shut for Eid and the next three days. We thought we could get a drink at one lovely rooftop restaurant, but it turned out just to be a drink, not a Drink. We shall wait a few more days, at least.

Dinner was shawarma from an exceptionally busy fast food place offering pizza, ‘tacos’, and shawarma, as well as fresh juices. It was super crowded and we waited a while, then had no seats. I failed to order takeout like everyone else, so I took my dishes back to our nearby hotel. Youssef said he’d return them tomorrow.

Today's ride: 29 km (18 miles)
Total: 78 km (48 miles)

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