Next up, we caught the train for a direct seven-hour journey from Morocco’s fourth-largest city to its second-largest in a charmingly Wes Anderson six-seat compartment.
Greeting us at Fès station were Moroccan-Canadian twins, Omar and Othmane, ready to escort us to family-owned Le Grand Alcazar – a gallery of the craftsmanship of this historic cultural hub’s world-famous traditional zellige tiling, painstakingly restored stucco and hand-carved cedar panelling. Now, they are opening a new wing where the restoration takes the fantastically ornate artisan-decorated interiors to a next-level museum-quality feel.
Winding our way through the city’s mediaeval labyrinth, I was privileged to eat just-made pastilla for dinner at a private home in the heart of the Medina. Our girls’ night in was a taste of Intrepid’s special sustainable-travel experiences thanks to their having such respectful and meaningful connections with communities they take you to. Our henna ceremony, including singing, dancing and a female band, befitting of the celebrations laid on for a bride on the eve of her wedding night.
Day 3: A day in Fès
Staying put in the city for a day, we explored on foot the mosques, Quranic schools, a leather tannery and the university and stories of the culture and cuisine, all brought to life by expert guide Hakima. The best fact I learned from a day being showered with fascinating stories? The first ever university in the world was here – and Al Quaraouiyineand was founded by a woman in 895, keeping the girl-power vibes alive.
Day 4: Fès to Chefchaouen
By sunrise, we were hopping on a comfortable local bus to drive a few hours through the Rif mountains to the famous Blue City of Chefchaouen. Chaouen, as this city is known to its pals, has the cutest cobbled paths winding through preposterously photogenic cyan scenes. My rooftop suite at the cutest stay Dar Echchaouen overlooking this picture-perfect city will go down as one of my favourite ever lookouts.
