1 hr, 3.0 kms



The trail down the mountain it seems is designed for donkeys, very rocky, but safe . I even take "shortcuts to the shortcut" cutting across the switchbacks. Soon terraces start to appear… the I reach my first palm tree… then… water… almost there… I'm very eager to get back to the comforts of the modern world: public transportation… hotels… restaurants… well stocked shops… wow, didn’t think 2 two day could make me miss them so much. And I’m glad I won’t be climbing any more mountains today!

I reach the bottom of a narrow valley where there a couple people relaxing by the stream. Up the slopes to the east are a couple tourists on ATVs, taking another road up the slopes. I must say, it makes me feel more proud of myself: I conquered the mountains of Tafraoute… on foot.

I’m almost certain I’m entering the Ameln Valley, the long fertile, flat stretch of plains running east to west, north of Tafroute. I stayed here a few weeks ago, gazed out to the endless green dotted with villages. Now I’m going to explore a couple of those villages on my way to Tafraoute. Soon I reach my first one, Ait Talb, which is actually several clusters of homes that I choose to count as one village. The first thing that strikes me here is the thought, “these people are so damn lucky”… gazing out at their flat, fertile farmland. What an easy life they’ve got, compared to the terrace farmers high above them!