Morrocco, July 13: There is not avoiding the mighty “Ameqrane” River as we set out from the village of Boudinar towards the village of Boumaad and later on that of “Tiza”. Scattered tree limbs, water rivulets flowing soundlessly, and murky puddles of stagnant water wallow in far corners, like desperate liquid pools bowing shyly before the majesty of the great river.
On the left bank, a strip of water stubbornly forges its way into the great river, like a snake slithering purposefully towards a well known destination, laden with water as if fed by a clear source in the upper reaches of the mountain, meandering and gushing with such force that no finality seems possible other than embracing the folds of the Mediterranean sea.
A beautiful herd of predominantly dark brown goats graze, spattered with a few famished sheep greedily searching for grass to ease the signs of underfeeding that clearly mark their frames.
The two 4X4 hurry along to reach” Boumaad “village through the “Ameqrane” valley, turning left and then right in search of an easy path to their final destinations: the village of “Boumaad” and later on that of “Tiza”.
A man, busy sifting pebbles and sand in the middle of the river raises his head inquisitively at the passage of the vehicles. Piled by his side are two meager heaps of sand.
Finally, and after a 45 minute drive along the river, a turn takes us away from the river bank and up the mountain as we embark on a maze of turns and twists. Clouds of dust rise around us, blocking our visibility at times and forcing us to inch along in our climb up the mountain. The narrow dirt road takes us towards the village/summit where the population lives and from where we can admire the imposing majesty of the “Ameqrane” River.
—Agencies