Midelt Canyon Walk

Our first stop on our extended drive to Midelt was at a very cute alpine town toward the Atlas mountains. We gained altitude quite quickly, and the temperature dropped as a result. Nonetheless, we walked around the adorable town briefly before grabbing a coffee and continuing our journey. The orange leaves and steep red rooves of the town really did feel as though we had teleported somewhere in the Swiss mountains. As our journey continued, we stopped once again for a tea with a local lady who lived in almost complete solitude in the mountains. Her and her husband live a near nomadic lifestyle. He is a Shepard who is paid to look after a wealthier person's livestock while they live in the cities, and she looks after the house and the rest of the animals that remain at home. He walks the sheep hundreds of kilometres to the markets in the surrounding regions. They would traditionally have been the indigenous peoples of the atlas mountains who live all over the mountains, never staying somewhere for an extended period of time. Nowadays, they have a home, as simplistic as it may be, where they live throughout the whole year. This has been the result of a shift away from nomadic lifestyles to ensure that the children can receive an education and proper healthcare. After tea in their adorable little shack, we got back on the road to Midelt. A part from a brief stop to see and feed some macaque monkeys, we essentially drove all the way to Midelt. Once we arrived, we had about an hour to relax before getting back in the truck for a brief but interesting canyon walk. This was really cool as the driver essentially dropped us at the base of the Atlas mountains in the middle of nowhere. Our guide then walked with us for a while, picking up 3 local kids along the way, who ended up joining us for the walk. After a while of walking, the landscape opened up into an enourmas canyon that appeared out of nowhere. Clearly, the thawing of winter snow up in the mountains has carved out an enourmas scar into the landscape and created a meandering river through the bottom of it. It was really cool to see. As the kids began throwing things down into the canyon below, I could help but join in. Thoroughly enjoying the sound of the rock crashing into the rock bed below. We followed the edge of the canyon all the way along for a few kilometres before eventually a small town emerged on the outskirts of Midelt, just as the canyon opened up into the flat landscape. Turning into a desert from a mountain range. We then followed our guide, after a few photos with the donkeys, all through the town. He knew all of the locals and visited them and their children in their homes. One of the boys who joined us for the walk took us back to his place, where his mum would make us tea. Unfortunately she was busy, but it was nice to be invited and the local people were beautifully nice. Someone in the town had passed away during the night, and so many people were participating in their traditional mourning processes before taking the body to the burial location. In quite a macabre and sad end to an otherwise great day, we were being picked up at the exact same place and time as the body began to be transported. It was really sad to watch the townspeople crying and saying their final goodbyes to their loved one, as they were driven off. Of course, we waited patiently until their precession was complete until we drove out. In the end, our tour of the town was a real culture shock. I have had plenty throughout my travels, but this one really allowed us to get up close and personal with their lifestyle. The children are more or less left to their own devices. Wandering around the cliff faces of the canyons, climbing along the roofs of the little shacks, and playing with the animals. The houses are little more than dirt huts, with the furniture built into the walls with more dirt. The donkeys, chickens, and other livestock live right outside their windows. That being said, what we would consider to be abject poverty is their way of living. And, in a way, watching the ceremony for the lady who lost her life was uplifting in a very sad sense. The whole town, of hundreds of people, were in the streets mourning their lost family member or friend. The social connections, family relationships, and their capacity to enjoy the little things in life are enviable from a Western perspective. Their is no depression or anxieties in these towns. They may have a greater struggle in their pursuit of wealth, but when you watch the kids play with little more than a slingshot or a makeshift ball of straw, you understand that they may be the lucky ones. They enjoy the company of those around them rather than relying on the material objects that we are brainwashed into being convinced we need. I have had to constantly remind myself that their lifestyle isn't worse but different. It can be easy to observe their lifestyle and want to save them. But, after all, this observation of indigenous populations and looking down on them as less fortunate is what caused colonialism and the suppression and extinction of thousands of cultures and ways of living. But, apart from the absolute essentials, sanitation, healthcare, etc, they may be the ones who would be shocked and sick to see the lifestyles we adopt at home. Working long hours every day, going home to cook and heading to bed. Spending the weekends shopping and spending money on things we don't need. Children play in front of screens all weekend and day before waking up and realising that their childhood is over. Sure, they may never be billionaires, but neither will most of us. But we work as though we may one day. After society convinces us that this will make you happy. These types of travel experiences are uplifting and can really change your perception of life and really cause some self-reflection.

Our day ended here, and we headed back to the hotel for some dinner and bed. We had a long drive to our desert camp in the Sahara Desert. Something I was incredibly excited to witness and experience. I could once again not fit all my photos in for the day, as we are just doing too much, and im taking too many cool photos. I have tried to include the best stuff, though.Læs mere