Berber Villages with a Rooftop View

Both Stu and I still aren't feeling well this morning :-(

The guide was concerned and asked if we'd brushed our teeth with the water in the desert as that can cause upset tummies. He apologised for forgetting to tell us but judging by all the other guests who were doing the same,  he wasn't the only guide to forget.

Hoping the bug would pass we both ate some breakfast. This made me feel much better and the nausea completely stopped. Stu on the other hand didn't feel much better :-(

Leaving a little later than planned and Stu now feeling well enough to go on the walk we headed up through several of the neighbouring villages, ascending to around 2100m.

The first thing we encountered on our walk was a misbehaving mule; it didn't want to go anywhere. It stubbornly stood there resisting all encouragement to move forward, frequently taking a few steps backward instead. Our guide assisted by making noise behind the mule with some grass, but not actually hitting it. It didn't work. The local shop keeper then came over with a long thin, hard hose and started hitting the mule. It still refused to move but now had marks on it's legs from the shattered tube :-( We then moved on and a few minutes later the mule came trotting by us. We asked why it wasn't moving (wondering if it was tired) but our guide confidently told us it had just had 20 days rest.

The mules and donkeys here seem in much better condition than in Marrakech. We were told the life of a mile is around 30 years. They spend the first 15-16 years doing hard work then they are sold to farmers where they do lighter work and if they're lucky they end up in a sanctuary for their few last remaining years. However most are worked until they drop.

The first mountain village we walked through was different to all the others we've seen so far in all of Morocco. It's built on a rocky part of the mountain so all their houses are made of rocks instead of mud bricks (or cement). As it was Sunday all the kids were out playing in the streets although there seemed to be a distinct lack of girls.

About halfway through the village, nature called and the locals were kind enough to let me use the toilet in the public steam baths. Luckily from 10am to 5pm each day it's open to women, before/after then it's open for men only! As I went inside I could hear the chatter of kids and women. So this is where all the girls were!

As we continued to ascend upwards we could see the valley down below clearly. It was completely full of the silvered walnut trees. Each family marks their trees with a specific number and colour so that ownership doesn't get confused. An issue since sometimes one family owns the land and another owns the tree.

We continued around the valley to a road where we encountered a few cars. There was an odd looking red car with a couple of visitors. The man's wife is "spiritually ill" and every year they make a pilgrimage to the local shrine which is meant to help matters. The couple don't actually live in the mountains as is obvious by their choice of car!

Having been walking for a couple of hours we entered our third and final village; this was our lunch stop.

We were invited into a little local house. A cow and some chickens lived on the ground floor. The family on the first floor and the roof hosted the odd passing tourist. Our host put out some mattresses, cushions and two little tables (with tableclothes!) on the rooftop facing the mountains then made us some traditional fresh mint and green tea. Up until now I've found the tea too bitter or sweet, however this time I was able to ask for it without sugar and to taste it freshly brewed. To my surprise, without sugar it was lovely!

For lunch they made us couscous. The bowl they brought out was enough to generously serve at least six people but we were to share it between just three of us!

The couscous was absolutely delicious - the best couscous I've ever tasted! Rashid told us that to prepare couscous properly it had to be gently cooked for over two hours, nothing like the 'just add water' stuff we get in the supermarkets in the UK. During lunch the call to prayer started, echoing through the valley. One call particularly stood out; it was being sung by young boy, probably a student of of the mosque.

After lunch we moved into a more sheltered area of the roof as a chilly wind had started to blow. Our guide promptly took a nap whilst Stu and I enjoyed our surroundings and were serenaded by the mooing of the ground floor cow and it's neighbour.

Now feeling well rested and ready to continue our walk we took a different route back to our Riad through fields and over scree paths.

Our final challenge of the day was to cross a river using a precarious looking bridge. With my legs aching from all the uphill climbing in the morning and the scree paths in the afternoon it was difficult to balance on the the round logs. all at slightly different heights. Fortunately our guide was there to provide a helping hand and Stu and I made it across safely!