<--a picture of Aroumd, probably the most beautiful Atlas mountain village I visited.
And now, a little overview:
As I wrote about before, I had an adventure climbing Toubkal in snow then went back to Marrakech for a day to dry out and recoup and headed back to the mountains the next day. From there, I went to a bunch of little mountain villages all over the Atlas, sometimes sharing taxis with people but mostly riding the local transport that the Berbers themselves use: these Mercedes mini-buses that go all over the Atlas mountains, packed full of as many people as they can hold, often with passengers riding on the roof (I tried that once, it was awesome!). They drive these minibuses like they are four-wheel drive Land Rovers, however, so it's quite entertaining. I kind of feel like I went four-wheeling with the locals!
Then I found myself back in Imlil, near Toubkal and did a three day walk over the Atlas mountains, two days of which I hired a donkey and his owner to take me through the more remote parts. That was definitely the highlight of this past month. I am completely in awe of the Atlas mountains. I've heard that they rival the Alps and now I now why! I also now understand why my heart and soul was calling me here, for reasons my mind didn't yet grasp. The scenery and outdoors here are about as perfect as it can get, as far as I'm concerned: dramatic snowy peaks and wild rivers, desert oases, beaches, sand dunes, not to mention amazing music- it's really quite phenomenal.
After my three-day walk, I went to more little villages, then onto the famous Dades and Todra Gorges, where I also caught another minibus over the Atlas chain and landed in a little village called Imilchil where I was able to see some traditional Berber marriage celebrations. It's there that I really froze my rear. I stayed for 3 ½ days only because I wanted to see and hear the marriage celebrations. It can be difficult to hear Berber music publicly since it really only happens at festival times or for rites of passage like weddings. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to record this music, given the setting. I felt honored just to be allowed to attend the ceremony, dance with the bride and eat with the rest of the village so I wasn't about to ask to record or photograph these very personal events.
After that, I headed to the desert, rode a camel, hung out in the dunes, visited a remote Gnawa village that wasn't on the map but which I'd heard about (I fell in love with its remoteness and desolate feel), then onto Djebel Saghro, a vast volcanic landscape, ever so dramatic. I did a quick visit of Zagora and a few other villages along the southern oases routes then finished off in Ait Benhaddou, a village now semi-famous for its film credits, including Gladiator.
I'm very satisfied with my grand tour but completely exhausted. I've had three colds in the past 6 weeks and this last one is really a bugger. I think it's mostly because I've been cold so much of the time I was in the mountains and none of the places I stayed had heat. On top of that, I'm sure my body is dealing with all kinds of new bacteria with all the things I'm ingesting. Regardless of how careful I am, I'm sure my poor immune system is on overload.
It's also been emotionally, psychologically and philosophically challenging. Being one of those HSPs (highly sensitive persons), it takes some work for me to put up the guard I need to travel around by myself in a culture and country so different than my nature. White women traveling alone here is not something you see often and I'm still not sure how the locals view me for doing so. I've had to really put up a wall to get by and unfortunately, being suspicious or guarded interferes with my ability to genuinely interact with some of the locals.
For the men, who are generally the only Moroccans I've really been able to meet and talk with this past month, I've had to develop a strategy to stay sane. First off, because the street and the cafes are the man's territory and the home is the woman's, I'm was really only able to meet and talk to the guys/men who also are typically more educated and able to speak Arabic, French or sometimes even English with me. Where I went, the women typically only knew the Berber dialect, even when I had the chance to meet them. I was pretty much constantly hounded by guys, to different degrees and for different reasons. I've got some good stories about this, too which I'll save for another entry.
So overall, it's been a workout to balance staying open, compassionate, understanding and curious at the same time as safe and sane; in other words, keeping a healthy amount of control of every situation, when possible, without blocking myself off to opportunity. I keep reminding myself that for all the people who hound me or try to make a buck off of me, there are more who don't. And really, how can you blame them? The more I think about it, the more I realize that a lot of these guys have no work, have nothing to do so why wouldn't they consider accompanying a white woman, who in their eyes, is rich and much more accessible than the women of their own culture.
Anyhow, for all the hounding and colds I've endured, it was an amazing month. Now, the project in front of me is to connect with the Gnawa master here in Marrakech, whose daughter's name and number I have (she speaks English, he doesn't). As much as I'm still not real fond of Marrakech, I'm ready and glad to put down a root or two and take a break from constantly moving.
