Day 1 afternoon –

After the meal we headed down hill (baruch ha shem) towards the berber village we would be staying at. Just as we were getting our strength back, we rounded a corner and saw the track zig zagging for miles up the mountain into the clouds. This was when Gabriel decided that riding the mule was the best way to go up hill. The weather began to cloud over a bit but it was still warm and we were pleased when Rashid turned off the track and headed across the valley, fording the swollen stream enroute. Shortly we entered the village, and annoyed several locals by taking photos of them. It was hard to get pictures of them and the photos look a bit deserted, but in fact the villages were all busy bustling places with happy children running around (just coming out of school when we arrived) and women working, taking the cows out picking the fodder, washing clothes, (drying them on the rocks – see photo), tending the terrace gardens and repairing the irrigation systems, whilst the men lounged around chatting and drinking tea.(as usual)