I think it’s fair to say that we all loved Chefchauen.  Lovely gentle people, good shopping, stunning mountain scenery and well, you can’t get over the blue, no matter how many times you walk down the side streets to discover yet another photo op.

But it was time to head to our bus for the trip through the Rif mountains to Fès via some dramatic scenery, including a lake lookout where, of course, Majid had to show off his latest turban:

After a really rapid lunch at a dodgy looking restaurant, we were dropped at the blue gate entrance to the Fès medina for a three+ hour 7 km walk through some of the 35,000 alleys and 9000 derbs (dead ends) that comprise this thousand year old World Heritage wonder.

It is almost impossible to describe the sensual overload of this incredible gob-smacking jaw-dropping place, which is home to over 200,000 Fassis and thousands of tiny businesses and souks of every colour and offering you can imagine.  Plus 450 mosques.  And a wonderful medrassa (Koranic school) from the 14th century (Bou Inania), which is just so beautiful:

And a nearby mosque, not open to non-Muslims, but viewable from the alley outside:

Further on, it’s surprising who you might bump into:

Our riad for the next three nights is the El Amine on the edge of the medina — really not too shabby…

…although the steep steps to the top level were a bit of a challenge.  A wonderful dinner with a spectacular local desert before retiring for a well-earned rest. (As you may have surmised, it was a non-paining day today, but just wait until tomorrow!)