The High (and cold) Atlas Mountains

We left Ait Ben Haddou toward our next stop in the High Atlas Mountains.  I was kind of nervous/dreading this part of the tour.  We had a 90 minute climb to a guest house, where we were advised we might need to bring a sleeping bag due to the cold, and we would be sharing a room.  None of that sounded appealing to me.  But we would be staying with a local family and sharing a meal with them so that seemed good.   

But first we had some driving to do through some very colourful hills.  Road pictures!

Yes, those snow covered mountains are where we are going

You might notice a theme to those pictures.  There were a lot of mountains to cross! 

The highest pass we went through was Tichka Pass at 2260 meters.  I can't remember if this is higher or lower than where we stayed.  But there was less snow on the pass so I'm gonna say lower.  

Consider yourself warned!

It really was a beautiful drive but we were getting higher and colder with every mile.  The road was windy and hilly and under construction.  Our driver, Abdul, did a very good job of not careening off a cliff.  

Once we were through the pass, the geography kept changing every time we turned a corner.  

We finally got to our destination, Aroumd.  Actually, now that I think of it, Aroumd may have been the village where Abdul dropped us off to start our hike, or it might be the village we hiked to.  It doesn't matter.  Let's just call everything in the area Aroumd.

I can't remember if I told you about G Adventures recommendation to bring soft-sided luggage because for this part of the trip, mules would be carrying our bags to the gite (guest house).  At the beginning of the trip, Kim had mentioned how much she pared down her luggage, 'think of the mules' she would say to herself as she rejected items.  But as it turns out, we each just packed a small overnight bag which was taken to the gite by car on some mysterious road we never saw.   No we took the 'path'.  I was somewhat disappointed that we did not have a mule to keep us company as we climbed to our gite.  But, we met mules along the way.

Verity, Tom and Rachel, waiting patiently (or not, they were 
too far ahead to be heard)

Those are stairs!

At one point, we had to get past a very pissed off mule who appeared in the path.  Mohammed's guide duties never cease to amaze.  Mule wrangler as well as tourist wrangler.  Eric took this picture.

It was a nice view and the walk wasn't terrible but it was cold.  We arrived in the village of our gite. Crossed a bridge and then traversed lots of very narrow, very rocky little 'streets' full of children and the occasional sheep.

We made it!  Rachel and I shared a room.  We could see our breath in the house.  Even with a heater and the fireplace roaring away.  

Our room. Those extra blankets were not enough

Only Mohammed was brave and hardy 
enough to actually take a shower

Eating with full winter gear on.

We did not get to spend time with the family.  We only saw the women as we arrived, they waved to us from a balcony above.  The only time the children appeared is when the men of the house brought out extra blankets.  I guess some of the group were playing cards around the fire and didn't grab a blanket right away.  The kids appeared and took them back.  Fair enough, they were probably taken off their little beds to make the soft tourists more comfortable. 

I was so cold, I didn't take off my clothes or my coat or toque. Just my shoes.  I just got under covers and tried not to freeze to death.  My efforts were successful, I survived but I did not enjoy this stay.  

The next morning, we all packed up again and headed downhill on a different narrow, rocky path.  But this time add snow and ice.  It was shorter but much worse than the path up.  And then, Catherine fell and whacked her head on a rock.  That was super scary! Bleeding head wound on a very remote location is not to be trifled with.  But she rallied and made it down the hill.  And didn't want to go to the hospital so we just carried on.

Abdul and the van met us on a road somewhere and we all piled on.  I for one, and I know I'm not the only one, was glad to be leaving the High Atlas mountains behind.  

As we waited for the van - kitten!

That's it, a short one this time.  We are getting close to the end of the trip.