The Family Room
In 1989 I took a two-week hiking holiday in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The first week was spent on a circular walk starting at Imlil with several nights camping en route before returning to the village. After acclimatising to the 6000' altitude, the plan for the first few days of the second week was an ascent of Jebel Toubkal - at 13,671' it's the highest peak in Morocco and, while not technically challenging, the thin air makes the climb arduous.
Well, so I've been told ...... having gotten into the photography of the Berber folk in the first week I relished the chance to do a bit more wandering around the villages, but in a more relaxed way and without the pressure of a mileage schedule. As a result I elected to stay behind (encouraged by a thin veil of overnight snow on top of Toubkal) and spend the next 3 days hiking around the area on my own hoping that a tiny smattering of schoolboy French would get me by.
The shot here has been rescanned and improved from an image I uploaded about 6 years ago, which I've now deleted. I met the gentleman on the right trying to navigate my way unsuccessfully through a small village with crop terraces and seemingly endless route options, none of which seemed to lead me where I wanted to go. The gentleman came out to help and invited me in to his house for mint tea, a traditional welcome for visitors. In the picture, taken inside his "best room", is his son and mother, who lived with the family.
Despite the obvious challenges of K25, it's my favourite shot of the trip and a nice compensation for missing out on Toubkal.
Tamatert, Morocco
26th September 1989
The Family Room
In 1989 I took a two-week hiking holiday in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The first week was spent on a circular walk starting at Imlil with several nights camping en route before returning to the village. After acclimatising to the 6000' altitude, the plan for the first few days of the second week was an ascent of Jebel Toubkal - at 13,671' it's the highest peak in Morocco and, while not technically challenging, the thin air makes the climb arduous.
Well, so I've been told ...... having gotten into the photography of the Berber folk in the first week I relished the chance to do a bit more wandering around the villages, but in a more relaxed way and without the pressure of a mileage schedule. As a result I elected to stay behind (encouraged by a thin veil of overnight snow on top of Toubkal) and spend the next 3 days hiking around the area on my own hoping that a tiny smattering of schoolboy French would get me by.
The shot here has been rescanned and improved from an image I uploaded about 6 years ago, which I've now deleted. I met the gentleman on the right trying to navigate my way unsuccessfully through a small village with crop terraces and seemingly endless route options, none of which seemed to lead me where I wanted to go. The gentleman came out to help and invited me in to his house for mint tea, a traditional welcome for visitors. In the picture, taken inside his "best room", is his son and mother, who lived with the family.
Despite the obvious challenges of K25, it's my favourite shot of the trip and a nice compensation for missing out on Toubkal.
Tamatert, Morocco
26th September 1989