Unexpected Encounter In Chefchaouen

During the night of my visit to Chefchaouen, I ended up meeting an intriguing man standing in front of his shop. He had a face that was worn from experience. He was a bit dull in the eyes, giving off that feeling that this man has already seen everything that there is to witness.

He gave me the nod as I walked into his shop, which turned out to be an art gallery of vivid impressionism. He asked me where I was coming from (I had my backpack on) and I hesitantly responded. I had my precautions after my experiences in Tanger of forced drug deals and harassing hustlers. He followed my response with an offering of mint tea which is an opening sign of hospitality for the country.

Little did I know, this stuff was more addicting than CRACK!

I asked him if it was for money, knowing to avoid that scheme. He recognized exactly what I was thinking and fittingly responded with the saying "Don't put all your eggs in the same basket." He didn't wait for a reply as he walked into the other room. I followed him and was greeted by another man who turned out to be his understudy. They both said their names, Mohammed was the painter and Ahmed was the understudy.

We began talking about my travels, his own experiences, and his paintings as we sipped down this smooth nectar. Mohammed had actually been married to an American woman for 7 years where spent a bit time of Ohio. This explained his perfect English.

 After half an hour of conversation, he mentioned that they would be cooking me a trademark Moroccan dish, Tajine.

Pictures don't do the flavor justice.

My preconceptions about Morocco were completely shattered by their welcoming behavior. During the preparation of the food, Mohammed invited his friend Nordine over. Once Nordine got there, we wolfed the food down and sunk into our chairs. Nordine and I started talking about this hotel he ran up in the mountains close to Chefchaouen in Parc National Telassemtane. We began discussing the place, the sights, and where I could go after. The price fir comfortably and I decided the next night I would go there.



My stay in the moutanins and resulting three day hike will be covered in the next post!


Stay Traveling My Friends