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MARRAKECH
I don’t remember stopping. Tough? I should say so. I was
overtaken by themules, the donkeys, the goats and the
sheep, all on amission to get to the next camping spot. By
the end, even the dung beetles fancied their chances.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its moments. The
scenery is utterlymagnificent. We walk up dry river beds
and along gorges with precipitous drops, as mountain
range succeeds mountain range. On the highest peaks,
there is still dazzling snow. In themidst of this, we are so
tiny it’s humbling. Even the camels are small: looking for
themone evening in a particularly vast valley bottom is like
searching for ants on the ground fromatop a ladder.
Despite this, there’s no denying the physical demands
are hard. By the time we sit down for mint tea and a chat,
I’ve been crying with pain. Aisha’s day, however, has been
substantially harder. Shod in ripped, plastic shoes, she’s
been running up and down themountains herding the
230-strong flock to the best grazing. By the end of this trek,
us tourists will have walked 60km, but her route is at least
three times that. The Berbers and their animals also carry
everything they own; we only carry our daypacks and are
accompanied by a guide, a cook and threemuleteers, who
look after the fivemules that carry our tents, water and food,
which is shared with everyone.
“Today is the hardest day,” Aisha says. “We dread it
before we set off. It’s sunny now, but if it rains or snows, as it
sometimes can still do, that makes it much harder. So it’s a
worry. I’ve been throwing stones to guide the goats all day.
My armaches with throwing. Youmay like this way of life,”
she smiles, “but for us it’s difficult.” She leaves me with some
chilling words: “Tomorrow’s tough too.” Oh, no.
Tomorrow is indeed tough: seven hours over the
mountains, followed by seven hours the following day. But
there comes amoment on the final stretch that makes it all
worthwhile: when we walk over the highest pass near Adrar-
n-Ouchane, it’s like standing on the top of the world. There
aremountains in every direction, tiny clouds make purple
shadows on the green-greymountainsides that are still
partially covered in snow and.... Suddenly, I’m sobbing and I
can’t stand up. It’s been a tough walk, but I’melated.
The elation doesn’t last, however. Five hours later we
reach the end of the trek – but there is no Garden of Eden
Today is the hardest day,” Aisha says. “We dread it beforewe set off.
It’s sunny now, but if it rains or snows, thatmakes itmuch harder”
From left, Baichou Elouardi
(the tour group’s cook),
MustaphaOuaziz (the tour
guide) and Izhou Elaoukbi
(amuleteer) prepare a
sheep for supper
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