Unlicked Envelope: Rock, then Casbah

We left Marrakech and headed for the High Atlas Mountains to mix things up a bit. In an hour and a half, we had reached Imlil, a mountain town that reminded us of a smaller Chefchaouen without all the blue paint. (Doesn't Imlil sound like something out of Lord of the Rings?)

As the region relies heavily on tourism, Berber rugs were hung outside of nearly every shop and geodes harvested from the rock were scattered on the stoops with cardboard displaying their price. We met our guide, Abdul, and prepared for a hike up the mountain to another Berber village.

We were starting at about 5,500 feet of elevation and, in about an hour, were climbing to 6,700 feet. If that means nothing to you, suffice it to say it was steep. As we walked through the town to the trailhead, we saw additional shops renting hiking boots and crampons and wondered if we were sufficiently prepared with our sneakers. While the deep mud on sections of the trail – the result of heavy rains over the past few days - did make me wish for hiking boots, it was nothing we couldn’t handle. This region does get a substantial amount of ice and snow but we only saw one melting bank near the end of our hike.

The terrain reminded us all of New England, with its steep ascents and rocky soil.

As in much of New England, many of the rocks had been pried out and made into low stone walls that ran alongside paths and property lines. Our guide, like many of the Berbers we encountered, was at first engaged and laughing as we asked him about the area and how to translate various words into his language. He soon grew disinterested, however, and had to be reminded to stop and wait for our parents, who were ascending at a slower pace. (We missed Lutfi!) As we wound our way up the many switchbacks, the beautiful snowy peaks of the high Atlas came closer and closer, our view not unobstructed by buildings and cable lines.

At the very top of the hill we were on sat the Berber town where we were to have lunch. We climbed through the house to the roof deck, where the panoramic view of the mountains and the valley was breathtaking.

Our lunch was simple but delicious and included a sort of potato salad with peas and carrots that made me think of summers at home. Our host had left out large straw hats to protect us for the sun, and this, too, made the whole thing feel like a picnic.

As we sat sipping mint tea and peeling oranges for dessert, though, we noticed that the sky was darkening and clouds were dropping low over the tips of the mountains. The forecasted rain was finally arriving. We scurried back downstairs to finish the loop of our hike, as we feared that the steep, already muddy paths would become difficult to traverse safely. Down the switchbacks we went, pausing for the occasional photo of an incredible vista, only to scramble back to join the group.

Abdul charged on and we followed him successfully most because there was only one path. About halfway down, though, a wonderful thing happened. The clouds receded and the sun again beamed brightly. Our weather luck had held! We traipsed down the rest of the mountain and into town at a slightly more leisurely pace, singing our way through all the songs whose lyrics we knew.

Hike complete, we headed to our lodging for the night. Let me tell you, it was quite the place to spend a free afternoon. We were dropped off in front of a casbah built on a spit of land sticking out from the road and overlooking the surging river and the towering mountains. But that’s what you’d expect, right, from Richard Branson’s Morroccan retreat? Kasbah Tamadot (tamadot means soft breeze) is gorgeous and built for relaxation. The meandering riad style was fully evident as we were toured around the three pools (although one seemed to be more of an decorative fountain and was filled with roses), the hammam (Moroccan bathhouse), outdoor dining area, indoor dining area, library, and various other nooks and crannies meant for relaxing.

Then it was on to our rooms, which were pretty darn swanky. There were babouchas (Moroccan leather slippers) waiting by the bed, bath salts by a tub so deep it required its own steps, and CDs of Moroccan easy listening playing from the corner. Color us impressed. We dispersed for the afternoon to relax as we each saw fit: napping, knitting, reading, doing puzzles, or going for a run (guess who?).

At seven o’clock sharp, we met to walk to dinner. At the last moment, though I had to make a phone call back home and left my sister to guide my navigationally-challenged parents to dinner. About fifteen minutes later, just as I was about to head over to the dining room, I got a text from my mother recommending I wear the bernous (giant, warm, hooded cape) in our closet given the long walk in the rain. Confused, I nevertheless swatched myself in the heavy cloak and walked the 20 feet under cover to the dining room. It turns out my parents and sister had only arrived a few minutes before me. From the moment they had left our door, things had taken one comical twist after another. Originally thinking they were going to the outdoor dining area, I said I thought the dining room was down the stairs and then to the left. On they went, and they proceeded to get horribly lost. I’m pretty sure they wandered the entire property in the dark before finding a sympathetic hotel employee to lead them to the dining hall. Meanwhile, the most direct path was to walk about ten feet from their bedroom door – the covered route that I eventually took. Suffice it to say that wearing the bernous was unnecessary, but it did make for a dramatic entrance to dinner.

Dinner was delicious, as we had expected. The most interesting dish was the dessert ordered by my mother and sister: a fruit tagine with rass el hanout ice cream. Rass el hanout is the spice mix (the number of spices in the mixture varies depending on who’s talking about it, but about 25-35 are in any given mix) used for tagines, couscous, and red meat dishes. Therefore, it was a surprising choice for an ice cream flavor. It was a gamble that paid off – the spiced ice cream was delicious!

Spotted 1: baby goats! We saw lots of them. First, we saw a herd of ~6-month-old goats heading down the steep mountain. The herder used little pebbles to redirect errant kids. Next, at lunch, we saw tiny baby goats hanging out on a neighbor’s roof, quietly bleating to make their presence known.