White Plazas, Blue Medinas

Today you'll roam through the narrow blue streets of the medina with a local guide. You'll come across fruit markets, spice stands and colourful shops. The Spanish street names are reminiscent of the days of the Spanish occupation. To this day, any Spanish words you may know can help you communicate with locals here. The village's narrow streets all come together at a large square with a lovely view of the stunning mountain range. From here you'll continue following the river until you walk right past the city walls. Women doing their laundry in the river is a common sight here and this is also a favourite spot to catch up with someone while enjoying a picnic.

Then it's time to hike further into the mountains. Along the way you'll pass by small farms and rivers. There's a remarkable sense of calm and quiet here since the area is not easy to reach by car. The Berbers live in small villages with flat roof houses built from boulders. This afternoon you'll have a picnic in a mountain pasture as you look down upon the wide valley. The walk ends in a small Berber village. You'll see men sitting together in the shade, sipping on mint tea as children play on the streets nearby. The village's women come outside, curious to see any visitors in the village. A jeep will be waiting here to take you back to your riad. In the evening you may want to indulge in the area's specialty Bissara, a puree of dried beans, in one of the village's friendly restaurants.

This morning you'll travel to Asilah. After driving for about 3 hours you'll feel as if you've suddenly arrived in a Greek fishing village. As soon as you drive into town you'll notice how remarkably clean it is. A fun fact: the mayor of Asilah strives to keep this town as clean as Switzerland, a rarity in Morocco. Broad boulevards lined with palm trees on both sides of the street give this popular seaside town a very airy, Mediterranean feel.

Asilah is also known as the 'white town'. It almost looks as if the Moroccan inhabitants of this town take out their white paint and paint brush each year to keep everything looking so brilliantly white. Asilah has both Spanish and Portuguese influences. This can be traced back to menus at the town's small fish restaurants where you can order Spanish dishes such as Paella.