The following day after breakfast at our Riad, we headed out on the road with our driver Nourdy and his companion Hamza. The scenery, heading into the Atlas Mountains was breathtaking. We arrived at the village of Imlil, the central village to 8 small Berber towns near this location. It was interesting to see the stalls selling beautifully decorated plates, dates, olives and almonds by the ton. We met our guide, Yassin, who took us on a beautiful hike to a waterfall and then up through the mountain trails to his Berber villages to his community. We were accompanied by a donkey, the typical mode of travel through the Atlas mountains for long journeys or heavy loads, we were all offered the opportunity to ride. Yassin had lost his family home in the earthquake (see the pictures of where his home use to be). His cousin who is working in a bigger city, has allowed Yassin and his family to move into his home. He shared that many of the people who lost their homes in the Earthquake, in September 2023, are still waiting for government assistance. Years ago Yassin’s father had gotten sick with DM and Heart Failure, thus as the eldest, he had to leave school to support his family, while strongly encouraging his brother to go to University (state funded in Morocco). He hopes to develop his own company but currently works for other travel agents, doing guided hikes, including four- and five-day trips through the Atlas Mountains, they sound amazing (we have his contact in case anyone is interested). His English was great, he attributed this to reading and watching English TV and movies. During our hike, we had a large lunch on the Veranda at a guest house in his home village. It was a delicious chicken Tangene, Moroccan salad, couscous, and fresh fruit.
