Saturday, June 30, 2007
Day Two; Aremd To Ouanskera
We had an 8am star this morning, and realised later that we were being broken in gently! We had porridge, bread, jam and cheese for breakfast and watched the local kids gather round the school for an 8am start. Most of the villages have schools, which all lok very similar- orange buildings with shutters. They have been provided by the government, and the children attend from 8am to 12pm, then 2pm til 5pm.
Our mules arrived, and we set off through Aremd. We descended on a rather rocky mule track by the river, and started out long, gradual ascent to Tizi 'n Tamertert (Tizi means pass). It was really hot, so a lot of us took advantage of a water stop to remove the zip off bottoms on our walking trousers.
Our route took us through a village, where we saw a lady weaving a traditional rug, and a young girl was carrying three black lambs into a field- they looked so young, they still had remnants of their unbilical cords dangling.
Our route to the pass was a long climb, but at a gentle, easy pace; I felt well able to keep up. We reached the top of the pass, to find a small brick and tin hut manned by a couple of young berbers selling bottles of coke and a selection of chocolate bars. Everything seems to be 10 Dirham (about 64p) and was very welcome! Although we only had day packs, it's amazing how much a fleece, set of water proofs, assorted medical stuff and 3 litres of water weighs- I'm going to have to get used to training with a much heavier pack for the MdS!
View From The Top Of Tizi 'n Tamertert
View Walking To Ouanskera
We climbed again and had a view of our village for the night- Ouanskera. Our Gite was basic but comfortable- me and Sandra's room had a patch where a large hole in the wall had obviously been made and hastily repaired, and when I tried the shower, the shower head promptly fell off and soaked my sandals. We had a colourful salad for lunch on the roof terrace looking out over the village.
There was the usual mosque with minaret tower and haunting call to prayer. We had an optional walk later up the valley to more villages. These seemed more primitive- small, squat cubic houses with no electricity. A kid followed us for ages, keeping up with us over the rocky paths effortlessly in his sandals, he couldn't have been more than five years old. Other children were playing games in the dust or driving livestock.
We passed through a larger village, with several 'shops'- hatches with bottles of coke, fanta and water displayed. The kids here were bolder, following us, saying "Bonjour" and the now familiar "Dirham? Un stylo? Bon Bon?"
We returned to Ouanskera and our gite for dinner and a read and relax as tomorrow was to be a longer walking day...
Ouanskera Village
Our mules arrived, and we set off through Aremd. We descended on a rather rocky mule track by the river, and started out long, gradual ascent to Tizi 'n Tamertert (Tizi means pass). It was really hot, so a lot of us took advantage of a water stop to remove the zip off bottoms on our walking trousers.
Our route took us through a village, where we saw a lady weaving a traditional rug, and a young girl was carrying three black lambs into a field- they looked so young, they still had remnants of their unbilical cords dangling.
Our route to the pass was a long climb, but at a gentle, easy pace; I felt well able to keep up. We reached the top of the pass, to find a small brick and tin hut manned by a couple of young berbers selling bottles of coke and a selection of chocolate bars. Everything seems to be 10 Dirham (about 64p) and was very welcome! Although we only had day packs, it's amazing how much a fleece, set of water proofs, assorted medical stuff and 3 litres of water weighs- I'm going to have to get used to training with a much heavier pack for the MdS!
View From The Top Of Tizi 'n TamertertAli provided mixed nuts and dates, and we sat for a while admiring the amazing view. We could see right down to the valley beyond, and the terraces used to grow crops, very similar to what I had seen in Peru.
We then had a long descent by road, before turning off on a rocky path through a village where women were washing their clothes in the river and drying them on large boulders.
View Walking To OuanskeraWe climbed again and had a view of our village for the night- Ouanskera. Our Gite was basic but comfortable- me and Sandra's room had a patch where a large hole in the wall had obviously been made and hastily repaired, and when I tried the shower, the shower head promptly fell off and soaked my sandals. We had a colourful salad for lunch on the roof terrace looking out over the village.
There was the usual mosque with minaret tower and haunting call to prayer. We had an optional walk later up the valley to more villages. These seemed more primitive- small, squat cubic houses with no electricity. A kid followed us for ages, keeping up with us over the rocky paths effortlessly in his sandals, he couldn't have been more than five years old. Other children were playing games in the dust or driving livestock.
We passed through a larger village, with several 'shops'- hatches with bottles of coke, fanta and water displayed. The kids here were bolder, following us, saying "Bonjour" and the now familiar "Dirham? Un stylo? Bon Bon?"
We returned to Ouanskera and our gite for dinner and a read and relax as tomorrow was to be a longer walking day...
Ouanskera VillageLabels: High Atlas, Morocco, Ouanskera
