THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE CITY OF MOROCCO, CHEFCHAOUEN: Guest Post by Lucas Gutierrez-Arnold

Chefchaouen, Morocco.

My grandson Lucas, a student at Skidmore College, spent a semester abroad last spring in Madrid, Spain. While there, he and some other students went on a weekend trip to Morocco, flying on RyanAir to Tangiers. (It is easy to forget that Spain is just across the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa!) While in Tangiers, Lucas did a day-trip to Chefchaouen, the famous blue city where the cobblestone streets are lined with houses painted a bright shade of blue. Accounts vary as to why this tradition began. Chefchaouen, in the mountainous region in northern Morocco, is a two-hour bus ride from Tangiers. Many thanks to Lucas for sharing his photos. Here are some that he took as he walked around the city.

For more about traveling in Morocco, see this post from Susan Kean about her garden tour of Morocco, which included a visit to Chefchaouen. 

TANGIER, HISTORIC PORT AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN: Guest Post by Lucas Gutierrez-Arnold

Tangier, Morocco.

My grandson Lucas, a student at Skidmore College, spent a semester abroad last spring in Madrid, Spain. While there, he and some other students went on a weekend trip to Morocco, flying on RyanAir to Tangier. (It is easy to forget that Spain is just across the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa!) Tangier is a port city, bordering both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. It has an ancient history dating from Phoenician times in the 10th century BCE. 

Typical white-washed buildings in Tangier.

While in Tangier, Lucas did a day-trip to Chefchaouen, the famous blue city where the cobblestone streets are lined with houses painted a bright shade of blue. (Look for his post about Chefchaouen next week.) Many thanks to Lucas for sharing his photos. Here are his pictures of Tangier.

Map of the Medina (historical center) of Tangier.

View of Tangier at night from the beach.

GREECE: Pelion and Thessaloniki, Guest Post by Lucas Gutierrez-Arnold

We rented a four-person bike to pedal along the waterfront in Thessaloniki.

In May, my grandson Lucas spent two weeks in Greece and Turkey with his family—my daughter Jennifer, her husband Humberto, and my granddaughter Alessandra. During the trip Lucas kept a log of some of their activities as part of his school assignment. I am delighted that he has agreed to share some of his posts with The Intrepid Tourist. Lucas just finished fifth grade. The trip was organized around a professional conference Jennifer was attending in Thessaloniki.

Kayak trip in Pelion, from Damouchari beach to Fakistra beach.

Day 4: Pelion

I woke up, had breakfast, and went for what was meant to end up as a walk.  But later on in the walk we passed by a place that gave kayak tours, and so we went on one. Our first stop was in a cove where Greek women and children hid during WW II while their husbands and fathers were in the Resistance. We saw engravings in the limestone, the latest from 1936 when the war started. Next we went to see a couple of sea caves.  One of them was the biggest sea cave on that side of Pelion. In that cave I saw some stalactites almost 70 cm long. Later, after we got home from kayaking, we went to see a 1000 year old tree that was pretty short and stubby but very wide!

The White Tower in Thessaloniki.

Day 6 : Thessaloniki

I woke up very early so my mom could get bright and early to her conference. After my mom left, my dad and my sister and I went to see the White Tower. There was a very interesting little red panel outside. It said that the White Tower used to be called the Red Tower because executions took place on the White Tower’s top and the executioners let the blood run down the sides. The reason it is called the White Tower now is because  a convict white-washed the whole entire tower in exchange for his freedom.  Once we got inside the tower you had to go up a winding tunnel to get to the top. At the top of the tower you had a great view of the port, which  gave the Thessalonians  control over the port because of the high vantage point.

View of Thessaloniki at night.