Dancing to the Berber beat

Posted Tuesday, April 03, 2007, 6:27 PM by Lonely Planet

Lisa Burns'a hole in her boots what with the dancing and the trekking and...

A drive into the High Atlas Mountains, 1740m above sea-level, proved two things today: anyone can dance and trekking is best left to those with boots...

Lying quietly to the south of Marrakesh, the snow capped peaks of the High Atlas appear to float like hovering clouds as they meet with the stark, dry desert plains of Morocco. But, a stop outside the town of Asni led to me to wonder whether the peaks were floating for another reason, the beat of the Berber women. With a crowd of local Berbers (indigenous inhabitants of Northern Africa) making a man-made arena, the women let their hair down, let loose on the drums and let the music take control. Venturing over to the pumping circle of tradition led to a belly-dancing lapdance, a little hip shaking and a sight that made each of us stop and sigh with awe. In the centre of the circle was an elderly Berber male getting his groove on in a big way, proving to young and old you can dance - but it doesn't hurt to have the support of music-mad Moroccans to keep your toes tapping.



Good thing I don't get car sick as our drive to Imlil, the base town for most mountain treks, had us enduring some tight turns - grand prix style corners, in fact. After passing snake charmers, crystal sellers and sheep tied to donkeys (I guess we all get tired feet), arriving in Imlil made me think that this was what a base town should be like - inviting, stocked with hearty meals and full of smiling faces begging you to come into their shops 'just to look'. We didn't go to Imlil just to watch the trekkers arrive exhausted as we sipped our cold cokes at a sidewalk cafe - oh no, we also went on one mighty long trek. It lasted all of 15 minutes and took us about 400m up the hill from where our van dropped us. Hard work indeed, but such strenuous exercise was rewarded with a stop at a kasbah so picturesque it had us gazing up at Jebel Toubkal (the highest peak in Morocco) imagining what could've been.



One little surprise for today was the children of Imlil. Approaching them for a photograph resulted in a business transaction as they grouped together to work out a price. I was then faced with extended hands expecting money to fall from the sky. Quite clever and I expect to see them on the Forbes Rich List one day with the amount of travellers that pass by unable to resist a photo. They weren't all suits and ties though. They asked what my name was, where I was from and told me their ages and what subjects they learn in school. A local interaction a bit different to the norm.

Labels: Africa, Bluelist Winners 2007

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