Morocco

I am back on the ship from Morocco, after one of the coolest things I have ever done. My trip to the Berber villages of the High Atlas Mountains did not get cancelled, we just lost our day in Marrakech. Also, our time got changed, so that we had to leave at 6 a.m. So, on Tuesday the 3rd, I got up at 5, ate a quick breakfast of cereal that they have out, and we met up on the pier. Our group was only eighteen people, which turned out to be an excellent size. The trip leader was Kate, from the field office. She’s a grad student, so it was cool having another young person as the leader. Jerry, the trip cameraman also came with us. So the final video’s section on Morocco will have lots of footage of our trip. We met one of our tour guides, Mohamed, and got on a bus to the train station. We arrived with seconds to spare, the train started moving before we had gotten to our seats. Unlike the trains in Spain, these in Morocco have the small compartments with the sliding doors that up to eight people sit in. Ours turned out to be four of us from the ship, with two Moroccans. While on the train, I got an excellent view of the Moroccan countryside. It is far greener than I expected. I was picturing desert, which they have, but on the other side of the Atlas Mountains. Right around Casablanca, it was mostly rolling hills and green fields. Our guide later explained that most of the crops we would see were barley. While on the train, I began to see things, so that I truly knew I was far from the states. The thing that first hit me was the image of a boy herding sheep down a dirt road with a stick. I was in Africa. After about three and a half hours, we arrived in Marrakech. You could see the Atlas Mountains as soon as we got outside. They dominate the horizon in one direction. Outside of the train station, we met our second guide, also named Mohamed. We all got into two small buses and began driving away from the city, towards the mountains. The ship provided us box lunches for this part of the trip. After a while, we stopped at a small town near a dam that formed a large reservoir. There, we got our first taste of Moroccan mint tea. I am normally not a tea drinker, but it was really good. The place we stopped at was a sort of butcher shop and restaurant all in one. To get to the tables, you had to walk through large hanging pieces of meat. There was also a cow’s head just sitting on the counter. We got back in the vans and drove to Tachbibt, a Berber village that was right on the highway. When we got out, there were several men and boys who would be going with us. They took everyone’s backpacks and loaded them onto donkeys. While this was going on, the two Mohameds took us for a walk around the village. We came back to the vans, to find our first Moroccan meal waiting for us. They had spread some blankets out on the ground, and we sat around the edges with the food in the middle. Lunch consisted of more mint tea, large loafs of round bread, mackerel, tuna, cheese, a salad, and lots of oranges. The food was excellent, and the view was even more beautiful. It was in the early afternoon when we set out, down through the village and out into the countryside. The mountains were ahead of us as we entered rolling foothills. Behind us was a nearly flat plain, where the large cities of Morocco lay. Not far from the village, we had to cross our first stream. The streams here are twisted and braided through their channels. There are always several paths of water, mixed in with islands of rocks and sediment. Some of us picked a way across by jumping in some places. Meanwhile, a man came down from the village on the other side of the stream on a donkey. After some talking, our guides got him to let everyone use the donkey. At this time I was already across the river, so some of us waited while the rest came across the river two at a time. I doubt our guides paid this man, this was just one of many incredibly hospitable acts performed by the Berber people.
We continued walking through the foothills, through villages, up and down terraced fields. At one point we stopped for a short rest in an olive grove. Our trip went on, at times going through numerous villages. Each Berber house is made of mud, stone, or bricks, and is a uniform brown color. However, each village usually has one or two colored buildings. These have smoother walls and are white, orange, or pink in color. Mohamed explained how the land ownership works. These buildings are owned by the village together, and are used as a mosque, school, or a gîte, a guest house. We stayed in the village gîte both of the nights we were in the mountains. We walked through one village, which had a graveyard. Berber graveyards have a simple stone at the head, and at the feet, but no writing or images on them. The bodies lay facing east. Mohamed explained that this graveyard contained a holy man from pre-Islamic times. Berber people are now Muslims, but they continue an old tradition of leaving a sacrifice of some food at this man’s grave. We walked down through this village, crossed a stream, and then went back up the hill on the other side. Our group arrived in Aït Zitoun, and we went into the compound where we would be staying. Berber houses usually have a wall around them, and the largest contain several buildings. We were greeted by an elderly man, the grandfather of the family that we stayed with. He spoke French, so some people could understand him. We went into the gîte. This particular one had the family house, and attached to it was the gîte. These houses have an open courtyard, with a dining area, four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. Our beds were mattresses placed right on the ground. We went out and walked through the streets. The entire village takes a few minutes to walk from one end to the other. There is pretty much one main street, and a couple of alleys. This village did not even have a mosque. We were followed by a couple of girls, and some of our girls made friends with them. They went with the local girls to see another family’s house. The rest of us went back to our gîte, and watched the local make dinner. It was crowded and steamy, so I could not get a good idea of what was going on, but they were making couscous. For dinner, we had a soup. It tasted like a chicken broth, but had no meat in it. Then we were served a giant dish of couscous, some kind of roast beef, steamed vegetables, and more of the same bread. After dinner, about five local Berbers started playing music. One of them had a drum, the others were banging on water jugs, buckets, or just clapping. The small kids danced while they played. They went on for almost an hour. We spent the rest of the evening huddled around pots of coals to stay warm, and then went to bed. I woke up a few times during the night, but generally slept well. Unfortunately not everyone in the group could claim that.
Wednesday morning, we woke up and ate a Moroccan breakfast, tea or coffee, porridge, and bread with honey, cheese, or date preserves. After this we set out on our longest section of hiking. Unlike yesterday, no mules or donkeys were with us, so everyone had to carry their own pack. This was honestly what I expected for the entire trip. The day was overcast, just like the day before. The first part of our trek was along the river. The river channel is several dozen feet wide, but the water itself meanders through only a few feet wide. This leaves large areas of rock that make an excellent path. It seems to be the main road for the Berbers, as we passed several people coming and going on donkeys or on foot. After a while, we took a path that led up on the right bank of the river and quickly began to ascend. We went up the hillside, and then through another village. Once out of the village, we quickly entered into a pine forest. It was very beautiful, especially considering we were enveloped in clouds, giving a surreal look to the landscape. You could tell that the path went along fairly steep cliffs, but no one could see very far. We climbed higher up, reaching the crest of a ridge, where we stopped near a ranger’s station for a short break. From there we hiked down the other side of this hill, through more of the pine forest. We arrived to a more open area, with very slick clay. I’m surprised no one fell right down the side of the mountain. We made it down, with several pounds of mud and clay on everyone’s shoes. Lunch was served in a large river channel. We had almost the same lunch as yesterday, also excellent. After lunch we hiked up the opposite bank of the river. We were heading uphill, but not as steep as before. We walked through more open fields, until entering a narrow canyon and following that upwards. It opened up a bit, and we came back into some thin pine forest. We reached the top of this ridge, where it opened up to some spectacular views. Looking down, we could see villages and terraced fields. The canyon echoed spectacularly. To our right, I could see the end of the mountains, and the flat plains beyond. To the left were the higher, snow capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains.
After a short stop, we turned towards the higher mountains and hiked along the top of this ridge. Towards late afternoon we arrived in Ait Hamed, where we would spend our second night. This village was larger than the first, it had many more houses, as well as its own mosque. We stayed in another gîte, but this one was slightly different from the first. Instead of two houses connected, this was one larger building. We stayed in one half of it, while the family stayed in the other half. Most of us went out and walked around the village for a few hours. One guy, Reed, had the time of his life. He wrestled with several of the village kids. They all loved it. These children were shyer than the kids in the last village. One of our girls asked if it was fine to take a picture, but they said no. However, a few minutes later, they said to take a picture. She did, and then they said “Dirham,” the Moroccan money. No one had any bills smaller than 100, which is about $15. Reed gave them some pens and we hoped it satisfied them. We went back to the gîte for dinner. Tonight was another kind of soup, a mix of vegetables, the same bread, and chicken. About five of us decided to attempt to eat like the Berbers, with out hands. It is much more satisfying. Dessert was orange slices, covered in cinnamon, which turned out to be excellent. We built a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and gathered around it. After a while, some of us went out to take a look at the stars. The view from the night was one of the most serenely calm and beautiful things I have experienced. There was not a cloud in the sky, and more stars than I have ever seen. With a half moon, plus all of these stars, we were casting shadows in the night. I managed to see the Milky Way, there is a distinct swath of sky with many more starts. I saw way more of Orion than ever before. Not just the three stars of his belt were visible, but every single detail could be seen. The mountains to our left rose up in a great white ridge, very detailed in the light reflected from the moon, their majesty unrivaled. The night was perfect.
Those of us who braved the cold outside were deeply rewarded, and after a while returned to the gîte. We had more tea around the fire, and then people began to drop off and go to bed. Once most of the girls were asleep, several of the Berber men joined us at our fire. It turns out that men around the world love to play with fire. We had a contest to see who could hold their feet in the fire the longest. Everyone got showed up by the oldest man with some pretty gnarled feet. I went to bed a little while later, and slept about the same as the night before.
We woke up the next morning, and after a quick breakfast, started walking down the mountain. We were in more open country, no more pine forest. The original plan was to hike all of the way down the mountain, then get on a bus and drive back to Marrakech. Instead, we woke up earlier than planned, walked down the road, and met the bus half way down. We got into the 4x4s and drove quickly to Marrakech so that we could get some time in the city. We did not get to see the old part of town, or the market, but they took us to a store. This was a strange place, you could barter with the salespeople, and when you agreed on a price, the salesman would come with you to the cash register and that’s what you paid. I got a jelaba, a Berber cloak/robe thing. It’s hard to describe, you’ll have to see it. We had a few more minutes, so I found a pastry shop and got some sort of chocolate pastry bar. We got back to the train station, ate a Moroccan sandwich lunch, and then back on the train to Casablanca. Finally, we all returned to the ship, tired and exhausted. However, these days in Morocco were incredible. I saw a culture very foreign to my own, and yet at times I felt completely welcome. I already miss Morocco.