morocco,the rif mountains 2009

[THC Angel]

Hey Resin, nice to see your report, it's very interesting. I also went to morocco a few years ago (2004) and the hash we bought was really impressive.

We have friends living in Fes so they provided us very excellent stuff to smoke. We also went to chefchaouen in the rif mountains and the atmosphere is better than marrakesh as the weather is cooler.

The town I really loved was Essaouira on the sea side, the medina was really beautiful there, maybe not as authentic as Marrakesh or Fes but I really enjoyed it.

Something really cool is that they speak french or at least they can speak few words so it's easier to negotiate when you have a common language. Remember, prices are NEVER shown except for food or in supermarkets so negotiation is the way to go.

 

[BuddingZennist]

Could somebody give me a general estimate of how much I would expect to spend hanging out in somewhere like Chefchaouen for a month? I do not live extravagantly and would basically only be spending money on food, lodging, travel costs, hash and tea. I'm also not looking to harass any growers or otherwise cause trouble; just have a good time and experience the atmosphere. I was thinking of going sometime between July-October, but I'm not sure yet.

 

[THC Angel]

Life is very cheap in Morocco....everything...from food to hash

Remember, summer is very very hot, a little less in mountains

 

[resin seeker]

buddingzennist staying in chef for a month cost wise will depend on ur comfort level and haggling skills.i know backpackers who come stay in a cheap room and eat fruit and drink water and spend the rest on hash an live on about 20 euros a day.then there are people who go an spend 40-45 euro a day staying in a nice place,having three gd meals a day plus LOTS of mint tea an hash an snacks.chef is a place for all budgets it really up to you its a VERY nice place to chill for a month all the best.RESINSEEKER

 

[limey]

Could somebody give me a general estimate of how much I would expect to spend hanging out in somewhere like Chefchaouen for a month? I do not live extravagantly and would basically only be spending money on food, lodging, travel costs, hash and tea. I'm also not looking to harass any growers or otherwise cause trouble; just have a good time and experience the atmosphere. I was thinking of going sometime between July-October, but I'm not sure yet.

No worries mate. Prices in dirhams - the prices are stable, the exchange rates less so. Rule of thumb is that 11Dh is about 1Euro

Place to stay - I'd budget for about 70Dh per night for a room. If you stay for a month, you might get them to bring this down a bit or you might find somewhere nicer that'll do you the room for 70DH. I can PM you a guest house recommendation if you like.

Food - is much more expensive than it once was in Chefchaoen. Reckon main dishes in tourist restaurants now pushing 50Dh. Drinks etc on top. You can eat much more cheaply if you go to, for example, the kebab shop just outside the main gate into the medina. The big patisserie outside the medina does inexpensive munchies. Raw ingredients and bread still very cheap so you can get by on, let's say 100-120Dh per day and eat heartily, provided you dont spend all your time drinking overpriced cups of tea on Alladin's roof terrace.

Drinks - no booze in Chefchaoen (ok there are a couple of bars outside the medina) but if you want to live cheaply, lay off the beers. Tea/coffee costs only few dirhams a cup but if you can take a stove with you, you'll end up saving a fortune over a month as mint, sugar, tea, coffee all very cheap to buy. A good hotel will provide you with a stove if you ask very nicely. Bottled water - dpend when you go (see below), you may end up drinking alot. Consider taking water purification drops as they are more environmentally friendly and cost nothing in the long run. A litre of bottled water 10-15Dh

Hash - depends how much you smoke. if you get through more than 30Dhs of hash a day, you are paying tooo much for your hash! or you smoke too much!

Transport - no cost. No transport necessary in town. Buses to from other towns very very cheap.

if you go in July, August, it will be fiercely hot. Honestly, i wouldnt go then. the very end of August, early September are ideal. Will still be hot but the edge is off the sun. And it's harvest time so you can get the fresh harvest, especially in September. October nice but risk of rain - not a problem if you are there for a month thoguh, it wont rain all the time.

So, all in, I reckon 220-230Dh per day. That's about 20Euros a day and you'll live comfortably if not exactly in luxury. If you cook for yourself and haggle hard for a good room rate, you could nearly halve that amount, but I wouldn't budget for that unless you can travel with someone and share accommodation and so get a place with a kitchen for a reasonable amount (which is possible but will take a bit of finding).

 

[resin seeker]

hi all due to some personal issues i wont go into on the forum i had to cancel my trip to kerala.so in need of a break i booked flights to malaga an plan to head back into the riff mountains.i leave on the 12th of april till the second of june so i will be away for 7 weeks.i will do another report on the hash i find and hopefully some plantations of kif i will be visiting.all the best.RESINSEEKER

 

[JamieShoes]

best of luck with everything mate, hope everything works out for you


I look forward to hearing about your continuing "Riff Adventures"

 

[resin seeker]

thanks for the kind words jamie ill be starting a new thread on my adventures in morocco.all the best.RESINSEEKER

 

[resin seeker]

hi all i have been talking to my friend in morocco about my next trip.he has told me the goverment is dropping a white powder on kif plantations in the chefchaouen region from helicopters.so i asked is it still safe to go to the mountains and he said "no problem amigo"i asked is there some sort of crackdown on kif production and all he kept saying was "AMERICA SPEAK".so after a little more talking i found out that the goverment every year try to make it look like there cracking down on kif production for the american and europe goverments but really they just bust the small farmers and,bust a few ton here an there,get plenty of media coverage,then thats it till next year an the same shit start all over again.according to my friend they only go as far as chefchaouen region an no more.i asked why is this he said if the goverment did a full scale crackdown on kif in the mountains there would be a war with the berbers because a lot of familys depend on kif for a living its there only source of income.thats it for now folks the next report will be live from morocco with hopefully plenty of pics and storys all the best.RESINSEEKER

 

[Cry Tuff]

Have just spent a very enjoyable hour or so trawling through this thread . Look forward to the ' live ' reports . Great stuff , ResinSeeker.

 

[resin seeker]

cry tuff glad u enjoyed it mate stay tuned for part 2 lol.RESINSEEKER

 

[resin seeker]

if anyone is in chefchaouen when am there 12 april-2 june send me a pm and we can meet up for a toke n talk all the best.RESINSEEKER

 

[JamieShoes]

hey resin

I was reading with interest that the local authorities are just "playing along" with their attempts to control the production scene... I wondered do you know whats in the powder the dump on the fields? is it even "active"...lol could just be flour or something cheap just for show

 

[resin seeker]

hi jamie i dont no what the powder is mate but it not flour lol.the powder does real damage after a few days the plants turn brown and die.plus it kills all the crops not just the kif and the locals say it has bad effects on there health but what can they do?there just poor farmers up against the goverment with big money.all the best mate.RESINSEEKER

 

[JamieShoes]

ahh ok mate... I just wondered if it was actually something toxic... thats a shame...

good luck
j

 

[Sungazer]

....so in need of a break i booked flights to malaga an plan to head back into the riff mountains.i leave on the 12th of april till the second of june so i will be away for 7 weeks..RESINSEEKER

Great thread!All tha best on your adventures in Rif...Take care!

Namaste!

 

[resin seeker]

hi all have arrived in morocco.chilling in chef smoking some lovely first grade more updates soon.RESINSEEKER

 

[apachen]

more photos resin seeker please

 

[txuck]

Somo pictures from winter travel , i have friends livin there and i used to visit them during december and eastern all the years,,,, marroco with the two atlas, fez , mequinez, merzuoga ,, todra.... i like to drive with that roads and stop where you want....
Nice big mountains .... nice valleys, deserts... canyons...,,,beaches and waves..... a paradise for sports and relaxing

 

[resin seeker]

hi all i have been trekking in the mountains and have found some very nice carmellos the bad news is i have left my lead for the carmara at home so cant post pics till i am home i have been to some kif plantions but the kif is very small this time of year so not much to see really but i have met a lot of farmers which is good there is still kif from last year but its more expensive than when u come in the season now they want 200 dirham compared to 70-100 dirhams other than that i have been having a blast trekking+smoking+drinking mint tea RESINSEEKER