A Travel Photography Reflection from Morocco’s Blue City

I arrived in Chefchaouen, Morocco’s legendary Blue City, at the beginning of March—right at the start of Ramadan. I had dreamed of this place since I was a child: blue-washed alleyways glowing in sunlight, cats lounging on staircases, and vivid skies above the Rif Mountains.

But dreams, like skies, have their own plans.

Instead of the postcard-perfect vision I had imagined, the city welcomed me with over 64mm of rain in a single day. The streets were nearly empty. Even the famous cats of Chefchaouen had vanished into hiding. We saw only a few friendly dogs wandering through the mist—as if they, too, were surprised by the silence.

The Wettest Place in Morocco

The clouds hung low, almost within reach. The mountains disappeared into fog, and for a moment, it felt like the sky was resting on the rooftops. Locals told us it hadn’t rained like this in years.

They were right. That March, Chefchaouen received over 403mm of rainfall—more than four times the seasonal average, making it the wettest place in Morocco.

As a photographer, the weather changed everything. My plan to capture the city in bright blue tones dissolved into a study of atmosphere—shadows, raindrops, washed-out color, and stillness.

Finding Shelter, and Something More

After walking for hours through the rain, soaked and shivering, I found refuge in a tiled bathroom, drying my clothes with a hairdryer and doing everything I could to save my camera. And yet, I felt strangely calm. Content, even.

I had lived my dream.

Just not the way I imagined.

Sometimes, the version of a dream that gets washed in rain is the one that stays with you forever.