An afternoon with no destination, surrounded by cats on a blue street corner.

I took a bus and a ferry to cross over to Morocco on the African continent. I decided I would think about what to do next once I got there.
They say Chefchaouen is a world out of a picture book, with the entire city painted in deep, vivid blue.

When I arrived in the city, the cool air wrapped around my skin. Narrow alleys wound on and on, and my heart raced with excitement in this maze-like space. I love just wandering aimlessly down streets like these. It gets cold in the mornings and evenings, and I feel like I might get lost and be unable to find my way back to my lodging once it gets dark.

Dinner that night was a Moroccan specialty: tagine.
The piping hot, spiced soup soaked gently into my tired body. With the first bite, the scent of cumin and coriander wafted through my nose, and the taste of "Ah, I've really come to the Arab world!" filled me up.

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The next day, when I headed out to explore the alleys again under the bright sunlight, I found cats, cats, and more cats everywhere on the cobblestones!
Like guardian deities of the city, the cats were free and laid-back. Without any fear of humans, they were lounging around on the roadside. Cats of all different patterns added color to the picture-book blue city. I became absorbed in snapping photos, capturing their figures.

As I walked through the alleys, I heard the clanging of metal coming from a small workshop. When I peeked inside, a man in an apron was hammering away with a serious look on his face, crafting some kind of intricate metalwork.
A cat that seemed to want some attention was getting in his way, but the man was so focused he didn't seem to notice at all. I was so captivated by his serious demeanor that I couldn't move from the spot for a while.

The lodging here is cheap, the food is delicious, and above all, the cats are adorable.
Thoughts of my next destination had completely vanished from my mind. I immersed myself in the blue city of Chefchaouen and the warm things I encountered there, and before I knew it, I had stayed for three weeks.

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—Ah, once again, a soliloquy in a strange foreign land.