March 2020 - ResponsiBo Travel

What to do in Chefchaouen, Morocco

Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl, the Blue City, we probably all heard of this place before, known by its beautiful blue coloured medina. I had the privilege to visit this city in the north of Morocco twice and now I would like to share my tips for a weekend in Chefchaouen!

Discover your inner photographer

First things first: make sure to bring a camera! This city is so crazy beautiful that you will regret it if you do not bring one. Every. Single. Street. Is beautiful in its own way and has a different shade of blue. Everywhere you look you will see picture perfect spots. Add beautiful Arabic writings, doors and colourful fruits and bags full of paint to this and trust me, your camera will be full with Blue Pearl photos. It will be difficult to create ugly pictures in this special place!

Doors of Chefchaouen

While walking around in the blue medina, make sure to pay attention to the beautiful diversity of doors in this city. I know.. I am talking about doors, but come on, look at the pictures.. Do I need to say more?…

Meet the local inhabitants

Now that we are talking about photography anyway, the local (furry) inhabitants of Chefchaouen are also worth meeting and taking pictures of. Morocco as a country has many many cute cats walking around in the streets, but Chefchaouen is like the cats kingdom as there are so many! I loved to meet all these furry friends and they love to pose for beautiful pictures with different shades of blue in the background!

Get a view on the city

As beautiful the city is inside the medina, I can also recommend to walk a bit up the hill and leave the medina. From a distance you can have a beautiful view on the city and the mountains. From here you will see blue, but also white coloured houses built against the beautiful Rif mountains. You can choose to go all the way to the Spanish Mosque and watch the sunset from here. I cannot tell you if it is good, as I did not have the chance to do this!

Visit Place El Haouta

One of the squares that you should not miss while you are in Chefchaouen is Place El Haouta. This cute little square has a blue centrepiece surrounded by little cafes where locals are drinking their daily coffee or Moroccan tea. With the beautiful Rif mountains in the back, this scenic place is worth a stop.

Drink tea at Place Outa El Hamam

Did you know that the northern way of making Moroccan tea is different from how they do it in the south? Where you will most likely get a small pot of tea with the mint inside the pot and a small glass to pour it in in the south of the country, you will get a big glass of tea in the north. Here, the mint will be inside the glass instead of in the pot.

Place Outa El Hamam is the perfect place to try out a glass like this as you will have a nice view on the busiest square of Chefchaouen.

Eat street food

Chefchaouen is home to some nice food stalls, juice stands, pastry stands and some rather hidden street food places. I really loved the fresh orange juice and some cinnamon like cookies. What I also loved was a small window with a man inside preparing some kind of potato dish which was a typical snack from Chefchaouen. Try street food where the locals eat it and I can assure you that you will get a whole new experience, it is definitely worth it!

Eat at Chez Hicham

This riad offers a wide selection of Moroccan kitchen and it all tastes so good! Located in the middle of the centre, this restaurant has something for everyone. Even for a veggie like me there were some interesting options. I chose to go for a typical soup from the north called ‘Bissara’ which is made of a particular kind of beans. It is quite thick and together with saffron, the taste is something I never had before in my life. The second dish I had was a vegetarian pastilla, which I can also highly recommend. Even though pastilla (or bastilla) is not typical from the north, I never had a good opportunity to try one as it normally prepared with chicken, pigeon or seafood.

Drink a smoothie at Café Clock

With a relaxed atmosphere and a beautiful view from the rooftop, Café Clock is a must visit when you are in need of a break. Either choose one of their smoothies, drink a cup of tea or enjoy one of their (veggie & vegan) food options!

Stay and eat at La Petite Chefchaouen

My last tip for Chefchaouen is to stay at ‘La Petite Chefchaouen’ and most importantly EAT there. The cook prepared a full Moroccan meal for us with salads, Moroccan spinach, zucchini, soup, tajine and a delicious dessert. I am not exaggerating when I say that this was the best meal I had so far during my stay in Morocco.

The rooms itself are very modern and beautiful but still have that Moroccan touch. It is located in the middle of the medina and thus has an amazing location. Breakfast is served at the rooftop from where you have a beautiful morning view over the city.

Extra tips

I do have some other tips that I unfortunately not yet have experienced myself. So I cannot share my experience but I still think they are worth mentioning.

Visit the kasbah

This kasbah is located at the main square in the city and even though I did not have time to visit it, I think it is worth a stop!

Hike to the Akchour waterfalls

For those feeling active and in the mood for some nature, the hike to Akchour waterfalls is said to be amazing. With multiple waterfalls along the way and a trail that’s not too tough, this hike is definitely recommended!

Watch the sunset from the Spanish Mosque

As I was lucky having beautiful rooftop terraces I never had the urge (and time) to go up to the Spanish Mosque to watch the sunset. But from what I have been told, this should be the best spot to experience a magical sundown!

If you have some questions or other remarks, please leave a comment or contact me!

An overnight in Legzira, Morocco

This beach was already on my Morocco bucket list for a very long time. In the beginning of March 2020 I finally had to chance to go and all my (high) expectations were met! Legzira is a small town famous for its beach and is located south of Agadir, close to the town of Sidi Ifni. In this blog I will tell you everything you need to know for an overnight stay in Legzira.

The arch

The Atlantic coastline of Morocco is very long and impressive, but this is definitely one of my favourite spots of this coastline. What makes Legzira so special is the huge, natural stone arch that is crossing the beach. Until the year of 2016 there was another arch next to it, but unfortunately this one collapsed. Still, it is definitely worth a visit as the colour, consistency of the rocks and the whole setting are very unique.

During the ‘Golden hour’ the arch turns golden orange and with sunset you will be able to get a magical view through the hole. Do make sure to take the tides into account, as with high tide the water blocks the arch and you will not be able to get to the other side again. At the beach, there are some little houses and restaurants where you can enjoy a nice Moroccan meal like a tajine.

Where to stay

During a clear night, you will be able to see the sky getting filled with stars. This is one of the reasons why you should spend the night in Legzira. Other reasons are the beautiful sunset, diner next to the ocean and the fact that (if you do not have a car) public transport is not the best!

My tip for accommodation would be Complexe Kasbah Lagzira. Which is located on top of the cliffs in front of the beach. With a stairs you can get to the bottom of the cliffs and from here you can walk in a few minutes to the arch. The complex consists of many apartments, suitable for multiple persons. With a living room, two bed rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and an extra toilet, these apartments are very spacious but also still very affordable. However, the entire property could use a fresh touch as it looks quite old and a bit forgotten. The peace, quietness and location however do again make up for this and we had a lovely stay here!

Sidi Ifni

I would also like to suggest to have lunch at the nearby town called ‘Sidi Ifni’ and especially at the little restaurant called ‘Nomad’. This colourful restaurant serves a nice amount of Moroccan dishes for a descent price and is located in a cute street. Sidi Ifni is a quiet town too but it is nice to spend some time here. As we visited in low season, I do not have any experience with how busy it can get in high season!

Paragliding Legzira

Another AMAZING activity that you can do in Legzira is Paragliding. Together with Parapente Legzira and a 4WD you will go up the highest mountain in the area for take-off. The paragliding gives you an amazing feeling of flying and the area is crazy beautiful. From the dry mountains, you will fly over the small village of Legzira towards the sea. From here you have a great view on the arch and the entire coastline.

After +- 10 minutes flying, you will safely land again on the beach. This was an once in a lifetime bucket list experience to me and I would recommend it to everyone! The price of this flight is 500 Moroccan Dirhams which is a bit less than 50 euros.

How to get there

Legzira is located around 3 hours driving south of Agadir. Unfortunately, public transport to this beautiful place is not ideal. You can take the CTM bus to the closest city: Tiznit. From here you will need to find a shared taxi (taxis that fit 6 passengers) that will take you to either Mirleft or Sidi Ifni. From here you will need to take another taxi to Plage Legzira. However, once you get there, it will be difficult to find transportation back.

This is why I would recommend getting either a private transfer (expensive) or to rent a car. In this way you can drive in a relaxed pace and stop whenever you want. We rented the car for two full days and left on a Saturday morning. We arrived in the early afternoon and went to Sidi Ifni by car for lunch. On the way back we stopped for lunch and a walk in Tiznit.

Place Outa El Hamam is the perfect place to try out a glass like this as you will have a nice view on the busiest square of Chefchaouen.

Tiznit

Tiznit is a city on the way from Agadir to Legzira and is known for its silver jewellery. It is not big, but it is nice for a stroll through the medina and to have lunch on your way. I love it that every Moroccan city has its own unique medina, so it keeps amazing me every time. Men preparing their herbs in big bags, chickens in cages ready to be sold, butcheries and in Tiznit also a lot of jewellery places of course. I would recommend to include Tiznit in either your way to Legzira or your way back as it is definitely worth a look.

If you have some questions or other remarks, please leave a comment or contact me!

10 beautiful places in Sri Lanka

In 2017 we travelled to Sri Lanka. I was very excited as I always wanted to go to India and I felt this would be a little bit like ‘Little India’. In some way this was right and it reminded me of the image I had of India, but Sri Lanka is an independent country with lots of unique places to offer itself. In this blog I will share my favourite places in Sri Lanka, but of course, the country has many more great places!

1. Kandy

Let me start with probably my favourite place in Sri Lanka: Kandy. This cultural capital is located in the middle of the country and is home to one of the most interesting festivals I have ever been to: Esala Perharera. During the time of the festival, Kandy is transformed into a bustling city with big crowds of people. This is why we did not go to the famous Relic of the tooth of Buddha in the Tooth temple. But, if you are in Kandy in the low season (away from the big festival) then you should stop here as it is part of their cultural beliefs. What I like about Kandy is its relaxed atmosphere, with small coffee bars in the streets and the characteristic street views of normal daily life in Kandy.

If you are planning your trip close to the dates of the Esala Perahera, I would definitely suggest to plan your way through Sri Lanka around this festival. It is very worth it to stop in Kandy during this festival. However, you do need to take into account that to have a spot in the streets to see the festival, you need to ‘buy’ a chair. As more and more tourists want to experience this festival, organisations sell these chairs for crazy high prices so you got to make sure to make a good deal. We were able to last minute buy four chairs at a corner spot which gave us an amazing view on the dancers, musicians and elephants (you can question the use of elephants for a festival like this…)

2. Ella

And mostly the way to Ella is why this place deserves a spot in this list. The train ride to Ella is named as one of the most beautiful train rides in the world and I can understand why. Trains in Sri Lanka are full when they are really FULL. We often saw people hanging out of the trains, or jumping in when the train was already leaving. The train ride to Ella is a popular one, so make sure to be on time or sit like us on the ground near the doors. To be honest, this gave us a real local experience, instead of traveling the more expensive and comfortable first class. During this ride, you will encounter beautiful mountains, nature and people on other trains.

Ella itself is a nice and relaxed backpackers town with a lot of nice restaurant options and also a few day trekking’s. I still regret not going to the 9 arches bridge, but we did do the ‘Little Adams Peak’ trekking. As the real Adams Peak is very wet during our summer months, we decided to skip this hike and do the little one in Ella instead.

3. Trincomalee

Because of the civil war between the military of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam, the north of the country was a no go area for a long period of time. Now, Trincomalee is one of the places in the north that are less discovered than the other places in the country. Think of beautiful beaches and Hindu temples where there are mostly local people and the hospitality of the local people who are happy there are finally tourists coming again!

A must-see in Trincomalee is the Koneswaram Temple where you can see Hindu architecture and its worshippers. Of course my sister and I (both tall and blonde) were asked for pictures, and we decided to make use of this opportunity to get a picture with the locals ourselves. It turned out to be a beautiful and colourful picture! (See photo at the top of this blog).

Another activity, besides going to the beach, that is popular in Trincomalee is to go dolphin / whale watching. Unfortunately, we were unlucky as we did not see a blue whale (the people after us saw one..) but we still enjoyed all the dolphins playing with the waves! Taking a boat is also a nice way of experiencing the country from a different angle.

4. Sigirya or “the Lions Rock”

One of the famous places of Sri Lanka is the Lions Rock, or its real name: Sigirya. Sad thing is that this is probably the most touristy spot of the country. Think of climbing the rock in a queue.. However, think about the beauty of this rock and the landscape in which it is located then you will understand why it is so famous by the masses. You can climb the rock all the way to the top where there used to be a fortress, now it only functions as a viewpoint.

If you want to have a more quiet experience, you can choose to climb the Pidurangala Rock which will have a view on the Lions Rock. Or if you have plenty of time, you can choose to climb both and then decide which one you liked best. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to do both but it is definitely on my list!

5. Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura once was the capital of Sri Lanka. This is why the Buddhists build a lot of temples, stupas, elephant statues, etc. in this city. Some of which are nicely restored and show the culture of Buddhism. Do not forget to bring socks as you will have to take off your shoes and the ground is crazy hot because of the sun! For history lovers, Anuradhapura is the place to be and learn about Buddhism.

6. Mihintale

I would recommend to combine Anuradhapura with a visit to Mihintale, which is seen as the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Here you can climb to the top of a holy rock and see some more Buddha statues and stupas. But be aware of the monkeys! They can get a bit too interested in your food and try to steal it..

7. Galle

This little sea side town is known for its VOC influences. Sri Lanka once was a colony of the Netherlands, which is why you can still find old VOC signs and other old buildings. As it is UNESCO heritage, it gets preserved in its original state. I loved the relaxed and nice atmosphere in this little town, that is surrounded by water! Discover all the monuments and take a walk on the city walls.

8. Tangalle

Looking for a destination where you will have the beach to yourself? Tangalle is your place to be! Tangalle is a very, very small town in the south of the country and is the perfect place to unwind from all the impressions of the cities.

9. Dambulla

This place is famous for its caves. Inside these caves you can see a lot of beautiful Buddha statues and paintings. The whole atmosphere feels very spiritual and special and is perfect to combine with one of the national parks like Minneriya and the Sigirya rock.

10. National Parks

Sri Lanka is also home to many different national parks. It has a great variety of animals like elephants, deers, crocodiles, leopards etc. As there are lots of different parks spread over the country, it can be difficult to choose. We decided to go elephant watching at the lesser known Giritale national park and look for leopards at Yala national park. Unfortunately, no leopards for us, but still a lot of other beautiful animals!

If you have some questions or other remarks, please leave a comment or contact me!