Chefchaouen, July 15

Today’s post written by Naomi

"It's a beautiful morning

I think I'll go outside for a while…."

-The Rascals 

From Chefchaouen's city center, a thirty minute drive up the mountainous countryside to Cascades d'Akchour, was stunning today. Once we arrived we hiked the tourist's trail that led to a refreshing waterfall. The path meandered past souvenir shops, ice cream stands, and Moroccan tangin concoctions cooking away on firewood-stoves. What distractions! Spicy aromas and kitschy knick knacks calling to tourists whose main aim was to find cascading streams and natural pools. 

As we hiked along, there was no shortage of beauty to gaze at. Small trees with blooming flowers, a gecko running to safety under a nearby log, even miniature springs of cascading waters hosting a preview of what was to come further ahead. Kenzie attempted to find that geico, but sadly he was too versed at "seek and hide from foreigners!" 

Any time someone in our group was distracted by shiny things, magnetized by those brooks, I took to the nearest water feature to touch or stick in my feet. I couldn't resist! Fantasy would whisper, "Naomi, how enchanting it will feel if you resist no longer and have just one touch." Emerging from this daydream, I realized that my footsteps had followed the rest of the group to a host of young boys diving from a small structure into the pool. "Can we jump too!" One of us exclaimed. "We promise not to hold Kirkwood responsible if we die." Ha! How silly, right? But imagine. What kind of exuberant beauty would rob adults of all sense and leave us taken with silliness? It was only but a symptom of the jubilation we all felt to be in such a heavenly place, that is Achkor! Simply, and unequivocally heaven! 

Disappointed that we had to face the reality that Kirkwood and Shelby WOULD in fact be responsible for a student plummeting to her death off of that makeshift diving platform and into an unknown depth of water, we sojourned further. Aicha, and Mohamed kept us focused and we found our way to a lovely waterfall that emptied into a pool. It was not very large, but it was enjoyable just the same. The drought that is widespread right now has had an effect in this country, so this was to be expected. Some chose to continue hiking up much further. While others of us went for a swim right then and there in our hiking clothes. The pool was jarringly ice cold but also adaptable after plunging under. The waterfalls were violent enough to relieve aches, leant a beautiful backdrop to the hustle of various aged swimmers splashing and  splashing away. 

I think I speak for us all when I say that today's reunion with nature was a sort of spiritual cleanse. Jubilee could be witnessed by anyone who dared to lock gaze with another. Men, women, children, a variety of ethnicities- swimming and singing together. Yes, singing! The sun, the trees, the waters each too sang their songs, and we left that reserve today anew! We did not traverse the famous overpass there called "God's Bridge," but what we experienced today inspired me to surmize that a Divine Being has blown favored kisses throughout Akchour.

A precious gem of nature tucked away in Chefchaouen!