Xmas in Morocco

Feeling more human, we got ourselves packed, consumed another delicious brekky, booked our accommodation for the next town and raced to the blue gate to catch a taxi to the bus station. With 30 minutes to spare we purchased our tickets and had our bags weighed... This is when we discovered how heavy our carpets were! 😱
The next 4 hours were spent enjoying heavy winter rain, so heavy the interior of the bus rained. We enjoyed a quick pitstop at a local roadhouse. Whilst I tipped the cleaner a few larger coins then expected,
in my distracted state, I came close to knocking myself out with a goat carcass hanging from a pylon. Eyes up! For the remainder of the drive we moved further into the mountainous ranges, saying goodbye to the eucalyptus trees that riddled the road side and green fields. It was such a nice change admiring the green landscape and puffs of crisp, white clouds that littered the vibrant, blue sky. By mid afternoon we reached the peak that looked down onto Chefchaouen aka the Blue town. Once we collected our luggage we headed to the entrance but there was no taxi to greet us. With our recently bursting at the seams backpacks, we ventured up the steepest hill we'd both seen in awhile. Conveniently, when we reached the top, who was there... Yes, our new BFF, Mr taxi man. Better late than never! He kindly dropped us at the northwest entrance of the medina, where we were instantly greeted by locals. At this point we were not in the mood for assistance and defiantly marched on, in what we hoped, was the right direction... Thankfully we made it to Hotel Yasmina unaided and with no obligation to tip anyone. Here we met Wendy the walker. This lovely lady from England has been traveling for the last 4 decades all over the globe, completing some of the most challenging hiking trails. We spent the next hour chatting about all sorts of interesting things. We certainly let Wendy know that when he wrote her memoirs we'd be sure to read them. ☺ After roaming around the quaint little medina, we couldn't wait sny longer to eat dinner, no matter how early it was! Since it was Christmas and all, we thought we'd have a little feast. This entailed eating the last couple of Moroccan dishes we hadn't tasted. Firstly we munched on a delicious chicken pastella. The sugary, cinnamon pastry with the savory meat stuffing complimented each other quite nicely. Then we ordered the rabbit with figs... Now I'm not the most savviest connoisseur but I know what a fig taste like. Cutting an apricot in half and sprinkling the middle with sesame seeds, ain't fooling nobody. Unfortunately there was no Xmas pudding on the menu, do we headed down the piazza to a local bakery stall who served mouthwatering pastries. It was here we met our Aussie loving, Moroccan hippy stall owner. This guy spent a quarter of his year in Australia trying to make it on the market scene. As soon as he knew we were Aussies, we chatted away about anything and everything - he even offered to serve us tea made with 46 different herbs... Hmmm seems like we'd be flying high after that tea. Instead, we politely declined and enjoyed some mint tea or 'Moroccan whiskey' as the locals like to call it. Merry Christmas!!