I know it was a successful weekend when my butt is still burning and my shoulders are sunburned.
Finally! We made it to the waterfall! It was gorgeous, and everyone else had already left, so we had it all to ourselves. It was pretty cold, but after hiking all day, the water temperature was perfect!
We hiked for over 9 hours on Saturday to a waterfall close to Chefchowen, a city that is know for blue walls and beautiful mountainous scenery. The normal hike is a solid two hours from the city of Ashcour, and Ashcour is a 40 minute drive from Chefchowen. We decided to hike through the small mountainous towns to Ashcour and then hike to the waterfall from there. It took all day, and when we got back from the water fall it was already beginning to get dark... needless to say, we were forced to take a taxi back to our hostel in Chefchowen. Here is a picture of the narrow alley ways of the old Medina... no cars are allowed or can fit in the old Medina.
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| The walls were all painted blue... It was perfect for the hot days. |
We hiked through fields of weed. Their emerald green color of the plants stood out among the dry shrubs and bushes that inhabited the majority of the land. We were told we would have no problems from the locals because it is not picking time... otherwise we may not have been so kindly treated. We walked through about three small villages where little kids would come running out and walk with us a little until the edges of their villages. It was always difficult to know which language to use with them... even my Spanish came in handy while other times, French could be used. Most of the towns spoke berber, which is not close enough to Arabic to make our formal Arabic vocabulary useful. There was no marked path, and thankfully the little kids recognized the town we were were trying to get too and would led up through their town, and through the fields of weed to the main footpath at the edge of the village.
Here is the picture of our group... all kids from my Arabic school. It was a great group of kids, and most of us will probably be traveling together again this weekend to Rabat!
When we finally made it to the town and began the walk to the waterfall, everyone was passing us... already heading back. We set a fast pace so that we could get back before nightfall, and just as we were about to make it to the waterfall a group of berbers who were camping out and eating dinner, called us over. They offered us food and drink, and we some of them spoke the formal Arabic that we are learning! We talked to them for a little bit, and then they got up and played their instruments for us, and included us in their traditional dance. It was sooo much fun and although we were anxious to cool off in the freezing water of the waterfall, we were completely absorbed in the generosity, kindness, and pride of these berber people. We found out later that some of them are in a traditional berber music group in Rabat, and we were invited to see their performance if we were to ever visit.
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| They were so excited to dress me up with a sword and flag! |
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| They loved taking pictures with us! lol |
We took a few pictures and jumped in...
After we got back to Chefchowan, we found the one place that sells beers, and celebrated a successful day!
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We learned the berber symbol of three fingers...
I think it stands for the earth, the sky and the person/soul.
A street vender/homeless guy joined us for a little while and
he managed to make us pay for his coke.
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On Sunday, before our bus ride back, we hiked up a short distance to see the whole city and enjoyed a leisurely morning sipping orange juice, and browsing through the stores.
As the weekend drew to a close, we decided to make our motto the phrase we had continuously been joking with all weekend when we couldn't believe the beauty and kindness around us... "Just Living the Dream".
