Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Day Four; Iabessene To Oukaimeden
We set off on yet another glorious day- it was getting to be a bit boring!! We ascended to Tizi Mzlee, up a strangely red coloured ridge. We found ourselves walking through red dust, almost like gritty sand... good practise for the MdS maybe...
I was worrying about the descents, but it was actually quite gentle. We could see villages farther up the valley, clinging to the hillsides, then we passed over a smaller ridge towards the head of a valley.
Looking Back On Our Route
We descended through some small juniper trees, bypassing the village of Agounss, which Ali informed us meant 'head of the valley'. There was the usual tall minaret tower, and as we drank water we heard the call to prayer echoeing across the valley.
There were a couple of small boys herding little black and white goats, with their dog. Funnily enough, we didn't see many dogs throughout the villages.
After a break, we had another long, slow, zigzagging climb up to the pass of Tizi n' Ouatter. It was quite a climb, but more gentle than I expected. The retrospective views were amazing, so I kept stopping to take photos and catching up again! We had several rest stops, and spend a few minutes trying to photograph a little black lizard on a rock.
We had a surprise at the top of the pass. We could see the village of Oukaimeden far in the valley below- out night's stop- but it was suddenly very cloudy. One side of the pass- the way we'd come- reamined perfectly clear and sunny. But the other side- where we were going- was quite cloudy. The cloud crept along the ridge, but could not seem to pass over to the other side. Weird!
Ascending Tizi n' Ouatter
Clouds On The Other Side Of The Pass
I was worrying about the descents, but it was actually quite gentle. We could see villages farther up the valley, clinging to the hillsides, then we passed over a smaller ridge towards the head of a valley.
Looking Back On Our RouteWe descended through some small juniper trees, bypassing the village of Agounss, which Ali informed us meant 'head of the valley'. There was the usual tall minaret tower, and as we drank water we heard the call to prayer echoeing across the valley.
There were a couple of small boys herding little black and white goats, with their dog. Funnily enough, we didn't see many dogs throughout the villages.
After a break, we had another long, slow, zigzagging climb up to the pass of Tizi n' Ouatter. It was quite a climb, but more gentle than I expected. The retrospective views were amazing, so I kept stopping to take photos and catching up again! We had several rest stops, and spend a few minutes trying to photograph a little black lizard on a rock.
We had a surprise at the top of the pass. We could see the village of Oukaimeden far in the valley below- out night's stop- but it was suddenly very cloudy. One side of the pass- the way we'd come- reamined perfectly clear and sunny. But the other side- where we were going- was quite cloudy. The cloud crept along the ridge, but could not seem to pass over to the other side. Weird!
Ascending Tizi n' Ouatter
Clouds On The Other Side Of The PassOur intrepid cook, Omar, was waiting for us at the top of the pass, with a colourful salad lunch. There was the usual pop seller there too, with his donkey. Sandra wanted to take his photo, but he was going to charge her 15 Dirham. Sadly, the top of the pass wasn't very clean; there were toilet paper and turds strewn around, which is a great shame.
Another surprisingly gentle ascent took us through a deserted village which is only used in summer, to a road. The road gently wound round to Oukaimeden, and our night stop for two nights.
Oukaimeden is a ski resort, and is a larger, more modern village, with a couple of hotels, one of which looks very out of place. There are a few 'shops'- hatches in the wall, through which are sold a whole variety of goods. We all agreed, though, that we weren't keen on Oukaimeden- it lacked the feel of the High Atlas and felt very commercialised.
Our gite was run by a french lady who was quickly named Mrs Happy (yes, that is sarcasm!) It was more upmarket than we had been used to, with proper rooms, bunk beds, lovely showers and proper toilets! We could even get coffee... me and Sandra wrote our diaries drinking milky coffee and eating chocolate- bliss!
Labels: Iabessene, Morocco, Oukaimeden, trekking
Day Three; Ouanskera to Iabessene
Today was yet another scorching hot, clear sunny day, as we set off from our gite at 7:30am. It was going to be a longer day's walking; yesterday's was a shorter day to break us in.
We climbed slowly up the valley, and passed through the village of Tachedirt, the highest of the villages in the area. Already people were up and herding livestock to the fields. The children were congregating outside the school- the orange building in the photo below.
Tachedirt Village
We had a long slog up to the pass- Tizi n' Tachedirt. Our route was an interminable zig zag up to the top of the pass at 3,200 metres. We had a few drinks stops, and one enterprising local had set himself up selling bottles of pop in the shade of a large rock. I bought a bottle, which was most welcome at the top of the pass! The hill sides were very rocky, with splashes of yellow gorse. We watched three women from the village wander back down the track laden with long grasses.
We reached the top of the pass, and stopped for dates, nuts and the loo- (men go that way, women go that way) there were most spectacular views.
View from Tizi n' Tachedirt
After this, we had a long slog of a descent- I stayed at the back; descending over steep, loose stones is definately not my forte! We stopped for a lunch break by a stream and chilled for a bit. Fortunately, the gradient of the descent evened out after this, and as the path curved around the mountainside, we could see our night stop- Iabessene.
Iabessene Village 
Iabessene and Crop Terraces
We climbed slowly up the valley, and passed through the village of Tachedirt, the highest of the villages in the area. Already people were up and herding livestock to the fields. The children were congregating outside the school- the orange building in the photo below.
Tachedirt VillageWe had a long slog up to the pass- Tizi n' Tachedirt. Our route was an interminable zig zag up to the top of the pass at 3,200 metres. We had a few drinks stops, and one enterprising local had set himself up selling bottles of pop in the shade of a large rock. I bought a bottle, which was most welcome at the top of the pass! The hill sides were very rocky, with splashes of yellow gorse. We watched three women from the village wander back down the track laden with long grasses.
We reached the top of the pass, and stopped for dates, nuts and the loo- (men go that way, women go that way) there were most spectacular views.
View from Tizi n' TachedirtAfter this, we had a long slog of a descent- I stayed at the back; descending over steep, loose stones is definately not my forte! We stopped for a lunch break by a stream and chilled for a bit. Fortunately, the gradient of the descent evened out after this, and as the path curved around the mountainside, we could see our night stop- Iabessene.
Iabessene VillageI liked Iabessene. It had a really nice, relaxed feel to it, although Ali told us we were 4 hours by mule from the nearest medical facilities. There was no electricity, but a surprisingly good shower.
The houses were built up into the hillside, in such a way as the roof of somebodies house formed a terrace for somebody else. Mine and Sandra's room opened up onto such a roof terrace. I nearly sent one of our party, an American lady, over it- she wanted a photo, and I was doing the usual British joke of saying 'back a bit...back a bit' when there is a large drop. Only she hadn't heard of the joke, and took me literally!
Today's mint tea was accompanied by gorgeous pastries, which we filled with honey and jam, and made a complete pig of ourselves, well, we had burnt it off!
Iabessene and Crop TerracesLabels: Iabessene, Morocco, Tachedirt, trekking
