A Day in the life of Latifa - a MOROCCAN Mountain guide

Latifa Asselouf

Latifa Asselouf lives in Amizmiz, 56km southwest of Marrakesh. She lives in the same house she was born in and brought up there with her  four older sisters, one older brother and two younger sisters. Running the house by herself after both parents passed away, her mother in 2020 and her father in 2012. It is very different to a European house. There is a main small courtyard with a fire to heat the hamman, leading to a hallway with a shower room and larger front room leading from the hallway. From the hallway we come into a big main courtyard with a partial bamboo roof with a staircase up to a bedroom and roof area with beautiful views. There is a small kitchen off the courtyard, access to the hamman and a smaller seating area with an old-style TV. There are few material items - just simple, tidy and functional and very homely. 

​One wall has been completely rebuilt and there are plenty of filled cracks to see. Latifa was very lucky – she was on her rooftop trying to get her satellite dish to work when the earthquake struck. She told us harrowing stories of the mayhem that followed and the huge efforts she made to try to save her neighbours. As we drove through the village later she pointed out who lived where and how many causalities in each household.

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​Before qualifying to be a mountain guide in 2018 Latifa had studied biology at Marrakesh University and then was a government secretary in the Forestry Department. For the Mountain Guide examinations there were over 860 candidates but only 8 were women and only 3 became qualified mountain guides amongst a total of 219 candidates who passed the examinations. All the guides work well together and there is no discrimination against women working with them. Of the 219, some did not attend the practical mountain training, so this resulted in only 182 new Mountain Guides in 2018.

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our day with Latifa

​We arrive around 0930 and Latifa surprises us with breakfast after showing us round her house. She is making us rghaif (a folded, crispy square pancake), deep fried in a small wok on her gas cooker. This speciality is to have with tamnti (honey) and she had also bought us krouasa (cakes). She serves us kahoua (coffee) in two western style mugs, the first I’d seen in Morocco (one was missing its handle). She laughs as she tells us that the coffee had arrived by taxi. 

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​Every Tuesday Amizmiz holds its weekly market. Without Latifa to guide us round the many stalls we wouldn’t have this unique experience. Every stall holder is there for the local villagers, they are genuine and hardworking. It’s the normal way of life for them to buy their fresh whole foods, including meats, fish, vegetables, fresh herbs and spices. One of the butchers skilfully skins a cow’s head while opposite, a group of butchers beckon me over for a photo, happy and proud. Exploring the rest of the market, there are also household wares and clothes too - everything you need.

Latifa chooses some veg, carrots and potatoes and herbs. We are shown tagine kitchens where you can simply take your bought ingredients to be cooked for lunch – your name is written with chalk on a tagine ready for when you return later. Many of these ‘cafes’ are only occupied by men, but Latifa has a good rapport with all the owners and is allowed in to greet the locals. There is a long row of tumble-down attached stone huts, which are small ​​units for barbers, all occupied and their customers all very happy and trusting in the hands of the skilled barber using a freshly sharpened cut-throat razor. Then we are introduced to the oldest man in the town, he is 90+, and his stone built store where we are standing, collapsed in the earthquake. Eggs are sold from a pile of hay, buried like a lucky dip. Chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl and chicks, heads of goats, legs and heads of cows, all sorts of offal - a forgotten nutritious cuisine in the UK -all fresh, all for sale and all the normal variety of goods in Amizmiz market.

​Our next stop that Latifa takes us to is a clearing where donkeys are being sold; they are, in turn shown off by their owner to prospective buyers. I’ve never seen a donkey trot/canter before. A good donkey sells for about 3000MAD (just under £300). An old man sits nearby with equipment to re-shoe the donkeys. Bales upon bales of hay are stacked up and straw stuffed into countless blue sacks, all for sale.

​Like all mountain villages there are no pushchairs – the women carry their children either piggyback or if they are small enough, just tied on by a simple sling made from a scarf. Latifa greets many people - she is well known and loved; one woman she greets is dressed in a beautiful green and orange dress, holding a cockerel in one arm, a box tied with string - full of chicks at her feet, and a toddler securely strapped to her back with a scarf. On our way back to the car we pass an ironmonger, we stop to be introduced. The owner sits outside while his son works at the hot metal inside the small open building, sparks flying. The owner was very proud that he had visited France in his lifetime.

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​Latifa had made arrangements for us to have lunch at a friend of hers. Her friend, Mina Tansine, lives in a small village called Infag (1324m) up the Anougal Valley, she is living in a relief tent and had offered to cook us lunch. Very humbling indeed. There hadn’t been any casualties in her village but for the surrounding villages in this area alone, here are the losses:
Tafghart: 74
Tagheryousr: 8
Imi NTala (1485m): 86
Addouz (1449m): 32
If a woman loses her husband she has to wait 4 months and 10 days before she can marry again, in case there is already a baby on the way. A man can remarry straight away.

​Our driver Achmed drops us off about 6km downstream, north of Infag. It is very warm. Latifa guides us down to the river and we walk along the valley base, passing apples trees, carrots and turnips and through small, irrigated field systems and pastures. We find a suitable place to cross the stony river with a bit of a leap, and then we make our way to the group of yellow, green, and blue square tarpaulin tents. Children are playing who have finished their morning shift at school, happy that they have the rest of the day for themselves.

​Mina allows us to look inside her tent which was is home. Her kitchen is neatly arranged on a shelf made with apple crates and pallets, a gas stove supported with broken concrete blocks and a bench seat against the other wall. Another tent being a makeshift seating area with mattresses and cushions. 

We watch her confidently make bread in a traditional outside oven and then Mina proudly produces a magnificent lamb tagine and a delicious vegetable tagine. It is very, very tasty and the bread is superb – all served with peppermint tea. We sit around a plastic table beneath a walnut tree with Latifa and Achmed but Mina won’t join us because she is fasting. The damaged homes are our backdrop, empty and all awaiting either repair or demolition. I regret not having something material to give to her but instead we show our gratitude by discreetly handing her some money and hope it will help in someway to rebuilding her home.

​On the drive back we pass many more tents. It is a sobering experience and as we drive back down to Amizmiz I reflect on what we had seen – these people’s lives are hard by comparison to our rushed and manufactured lives. These people are tough and it got even tougher when the earthquake happened. They are relaxed, friendly, happy, extremely hard working and most of all very, very welcoming. I love coming here.
On reaching Amizmiz we drop Latifa off with her bag of fresh vegetables and say our goodbyes, ‘til next time. Inshallah.

​​Latifa has a busy schedule ahead meeting her clients for a 6 day package.

With Latifa in Essaouira

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This is a typical walking experience that Latifa offers.
 
Atlas Mountain 6 days Hiking with Latifa Asselouf
This trip package that takes you for 6 days around the best part of the Atlas Mountain, with its stunning views & Berber villages and valleys.
You will be staying in the mixture of comfort & basic Gites  + Guest houses that are owned by local people in the villages. These places are mixed with have private facilities & shared  ones & built with local architecture and are suitable for individuals and families with children. 
All of the treks listed can be changed, extended or shortened to meet your requirements. Treks can start on any day to suit your needs.

HIGHLIGHTS
See and stay in the places of the Atlas Mountains
Discover Berber villages and meet locals
We  are able to arrange Package of 6 days in Morocco that takes you to discover the best part of the Atlas Mountain, Meeting Berber people , staying with locals in the Berber villages, it is guest houses that are well built and has shared facilities.

What to expect:
​Day 1: Marrakech - Oukaimden – Tamguist 
Transport from the riad towards the Ourika valley and then to the ski station , where you meet the team ( mule and cook), short trek around the station then trek over the Aadi Pass 2900m with fantastic view over Imnan valley and Atlas chain, down to get to Tamguist where you stay Guest house   dinner and breakfast included.
Day 2: Tachddirt - Tamatert - Imlil
We leave Tachddirt ovet the Tamatert pass 2300m that allow us to see the villages of Imlil and At Mizan valley ,as well as the Highest peak in north Afriqua 4167m, the night will be spent local homestay  , which is the best hotels to stay in Imlil.5 to 6 hours walk.
Day 3: Imlil - Shamharouch -Imlil
Today we take the path that leads to shamharouch, passing by Aremd village and nice gorges, lunch will be served near the River and back to the homestay  for one more night.6hours walk.
Day 4: Imlil -Tizi Oussem-Id Issa
After breakfast we leave Ait Mizan valley behind and go over the Mzzik pass 2500m to get to Azzaden valley , with its beautifull villages and teracces and coulorfull hills, the night will be at the local Gite. 6 hours walk.
Day 5: Id Issa - Ouirgan
We trek along the Azzaden valley passing by many villages and gorges to get to Ouirgan, which nice spot for trekking in the Atlas mountain, night will be spent in local home stay. 6 hours walk.
Day 6: Ouirgan -Marrakech
Short trek inside Ouirgan and transfer to Marrakech, night in Riad.