Day trekking in the M’Goun Massif

We started early after breakfast of hot bread, honey, ham, fresh butter, coffee. The morning was cool and it was pleasant walking through the village and then up into the dry, rocky mountains, the red a contrast to the green oasis of the valley floor where the women work weeding the fields of poppies and maize and alfalfa. The Dades oued (=river), with its source in the High Atlas, has dug out some spectacular canyons; there are almond, argan, palm, poplar and walnut trees.  

The architecture is distinctively Berber in style: ighremt (houses hand-built from stone and clay; it reminded me of Afghanistan when we were there back in the 1970s: dry, remote, barren, basic). These houses blend in so well with the landscape that sometimes they are identifiable only by the contrasting window frames and doors and the thatching poking out of the flat roofs. 

The plants up in the high crags are thorny and intricate - quite beautiful. 

After descending, we walked down to the valley floor and followed dirt tracks criss-crossing the stream and then up into a small village where Khalid arranged a cup of tea for us in a private house - two young girls there about 20 were weaving and were the only ones at home. It was a tranquil stop and Ruth one of the Canadians really hit it off with the girls - no photos though!! 

Walid our driver turned up with the mini-bus a few kms later and we took the option to have the offered ride back to the gite/BnB. We are planning a restful afternoon. We had lunch on the terrasse and then a nap of at least an hour! MF has spread his germs to everyone and several of us are suffering from the dreaded lurgy. 

At 4:30 p.m. we left for a walk up through the village to a tea-making ceremony in a private home, then the cows being milked and finally to the kitchen to see the tagines being prepared for dinner. We were offered a sample of delicious coffee with thyme and ginger - like a chai latte. Delicious. Very therapeutic.