Morocco 2/16/2024 - 3/2/2024 |
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Wed 2/28/2024 - Hiking in the High Atlas MountainsThis morning we woke up at 6:45 a.m. and ate breakfast at 7:30 in the Pixel room. Though the Library had been nice yesterday, we still preferred the coziness of the Pixel room. It was still dark when we went to the restaurant. We had yogurt, msemen, fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee. Craig had a veggie omelette and I had a cheese omelette. Unlike other days, when the fruit was artfully aligned on the plates, today it was just sliced and placed there haphazardly. We were earlier than most people usually eat breakfast, and it seemed that the staff were just getting going this morning. This was fine with us, but it gave us a laugh.Jamal and Majid picked us up at 9 o'clock. This morning they took us 90 minutes outside of Marrakech to the High Atlas Mountains for a hike to a Berber village. As we approached the town of Imlil, we could see the damage that had been caused by last year's catastrophic earthquake. Some homes had partially collapsed, and you could see inside them through giant cracks and holes. There were temporary tent villages where people who were displaced from their homes were staying. Richard Branson owns a property here and we passed by, seeing damage that it had sustained as well. In the town of Imlil, we met up with our day guide Hassan. He took us on a beautiful hike up to his home village of Armed. The hike was on a well-maintained ancient trail which wound through groves of walnut trees, terraced gardens, and past picturesque mountain villages. The air was crisp and cool, and was so fresh. You could feel it entering your lungs and refreshing you. A man loaded up his donkey with cinderblocks and the donkey transported them along the trail. We didn't see any other tourists. We passed a small mosque where all of the carpets had been washed and were hanging out to dry. There was not a cloud to be seen in the clear, bright, blue sky. The landscape was gorgeous. The gnarled trees and snow-capped rocky mountain peaks made it look like something from out of a fairy tale. Craig had been a bit worried about what this hike might entail, but it was not strenuous. Hassan let us take it at a very liesurely pace, with lots of stops to rest and take photos. Craig used his cane as a hiking pole. Much of the trail was not exposed to direct sun, which made it more comfortable. At that pace, it took us around an hour and forty minutes to arrive in Armed. Armed has an elevation of around 1900 meters. We stopped in at Hassan’s home for tea. We met his daughter Kaltoum, and they taught us the proper way to make "Berber whiskey" (mint tea). This includes putting boiling water into a teapot, adding tea, pouring a cup, using the rest of the water to wash the tea leaves, and pouring it out and disposing of it. Then add that first cup that was poured out back into the pot. Then add more water and reboil. Then add sugar and mint to the teapot and serve. We had the tea with a snack mix of peanuts, chickpeas, and Berber crackers. After that it was time for lunch. We walked 5 minutes to a restaurant with a gorgeous rooftop terrace view of Jebel Toubcal, the highest peak in North Africa at 4,167 meters. The mountain had snow on it, but apparently not as much as is usual at this time of year. They served us a lovely lunch of salad, lamb tajine with figs, vegetable tajine, and fresh fruit. After lunch, we walked back down from Armed to Imlil, this time using a dirt road instead of the trail. More tourists seemed to have arrived in the area, and were now hiking up to Armed via the dirt road. We were glad that we had started our hike in the coolness of the morning. Now that it was the warm afternoon, we were descending. We passed a waterfall which didn’t have as much water as it usually does due to the 6 year drought Morocco has undergone. Jamal and Majid met us in the van. We thanked Hassan for a wonderful day; he had been a great day guide and we really enjoyed our time together. As we drove out of Imlil, we once again passed the devastation of the earthquake, and the temporary tent city limbos where people await regaining some kind of normalcy in their lives. We drove back to Marrakech, arriving at the riad at 4:30. We relaxed in the room, writing up Facebook and Instagram posts, until 6:30, when we decided to head up to the Bidaya Sunset Bar to watch sunset and have a drink. I had a Moscow Mule and Craig had a Casablanca beer. We watched the sun set and played with resident cat Shakar. After a while, when we had worked up an appetite, we ordered chicken club sandwiches with fries again. It was a perfect light meal after having had a big lunch. It was hard to believe that this was our final night at the lovely Riad Almaha. Our time here has passed so quickly! The riad is so comfortable and the staff is so attentive that we really enjoyed our stay. Tomorrow we will be off to Essaouira, the final stop on our itinerary. Imlil Armed Jebel Toubkal |
 Hiking from Imlil to Armed  Hassan and Craig  Arriving in Armed  Kaltoum and Hassan prepare tea  Rooftop lunch in Armed  Rooftop sunset dinner at the riad See all photos from February 28 |
 Hiking from Imlil to Armed |
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