This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: D'Abidjan à Carcassonne : Une fin paisible

^{As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.}

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.

---

On the way from Abidjan to France, we were making a final stop in the High Atlas. We were in the valley of happy people from where we left for a walk to the third highest peak of Morocco, Mount M'goun. Our Berber friends, inhabitants of the valley, accompanied us. We also had two mules that would load nicely, for a good part of the trek, our baggage. All the preparations had been made the day before and the sun was not quite up yet when we were already walking towards the summits.

* * * * *

In the mountains

Omar was the guide, he was our friend and he organized the expedition he wanted to offer to us for a long time. Mohamed took care of the mules, they were docile as long as the paths were easy, when we passed areas of craggy rocks they were more difficult to manage. We gladly forgave them for some of their mood swings as they were carrying our burden. A third friend took care of the kitchen. It was nice, we must admit, to have hot cooked meals to recharge the batteries at night. It is clear that our role, my wife and I, remained very secondary, it boiled down to trying to follow.

The approach walk lasted several days. Crossing lost valleys, passing more or less difficult passes we walked towards the goal in a constant good mood. In the evening, after having feasted on dishes prepared by our cook, the musical instruments came out to enjoy a little more of the day. The nights when we did not find anything else happened under a common tent where everyone enjoyed a restful sleep. Often we asked the hospitality in the villages, the evenings took us to visit the inhabitants, giving us small gifts of welcome. In addition to hosting us for free!

One night we were welcomed in a nomad camp. A little by chance, I shared I do not know what food we consume quickly walking with a boy crossed on the way. In the evening the head of the camp intercepted us to invite us. We did not lose the opportunity to discover their life and taste some specialties, often from the camel. Milk and meat in particular. They did a lot of things like the Tuaregs, especially cooking under the sand, bread or goat on feast days. Our friends respected these nomads very much, as often poor but generous people.

When we showed signs of fatigue Omar asked if we were "spare parts", a way of saying tired, or rather very tired. Our pride made us refuse the adjective until it became difficult to deny it. Higher up, the wind reached us when we started to gain altitude, a terrible wind that made the hike and the evenings less pleasant. Fortunately we arrived at the refuge that serves as a base for the rise of M'Goun, which if my memories are correct means "wind". The climb is not particularly difficult when you are somewhat a mountaineer but there is, before the final climb, a stop particularly exposed to the wind on which it is necessary to pay attention.

At the refuge we had lost the intimacy of our small group but the atmosphere was very cordial. Another French couple was there with their guide. We were at altitude, it was pretty cold. There were showers, the water was heated with gas. In a turn, first women and men could go to enjoy. When it was our turn, I had the chance, due to my usual trips to the desert where water was precious, to be fast. There was a gas leak in this closed room: I got a slight headache but the guy who was with me, as he stayed a little longer, was sick to the point that his condition preoccupied us until the next morning.

The next day we had to come down again: in two days of a rather fatiguing march we reached the house of Omar, in the valley. We were "spare parts" but happy with our hike. A good meal was there to honor us and to make us enjoy our last night in the valley.

Everything comes to an end

It is tears in the eyes, long after the roosters of the house have called, that the next day we take the small road to Rabat, not knowing when life would gratify us a new visit in the valley. The end of our Berber visit but also the end of our long journey. There was only to reach Tangier to spend our last African night in its beautiful medina, refuge of many European artists at that time. A ferry took us the next day to the Andalusian coast through the Strait of Gibraltar. I did not know yet that I would settle there some 25 years later.

Leaving Abidjan in June, we arrived mid-August in Europe. With its overcrowded beaches, traffic jams, highways, huge prices, and its stubbornness about security, we found old Europe without pleasure. I only remember breaks for a little sleep, gas and coffee and boring highway hours.

---

We had traveled more than 10,000 kilometres since departure, many of them on the challenging tracks of Guinea and the Mauritanian desert. It was necessary to take advantage of Europe to make some repairs, it was the passion of my friend Charles, deep in the Corrèze. In its backyard, in a few days the car was better than at the beginning, ready for the next African adventures. It will be put in a container that would bring it back slowly to Abidjan.

Charles my friend, life finally separated us but from where you are, know that the mechanical lessons of this week of learning have served me and still serve me today.

-- @terresco

---

01: From Abidjan to Carcassonne, the first crossing, by @terresco
02: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: Guinea
03: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: A break in Dakar, by @terresco
04: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: North Senegal, by @terresco
05: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: Mauritania, by @terresco
06: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: The forbidden border, by @terresco
07: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: South Morocco, by @terresco
08: From Abidjan to Carcassonne: The High Atlas, by @terresco

Encounters with Africa series:

01: Encounters with Africa: Ivory Coast, by @terresco
02: Encounters with Africa: Abidjan, a daily pleasure, by @terresco
03: Encounters with Africa: The Tuaregs of Agadez, by @terresco
04: Encounters with Africa: The Tuaregs of Agadez, part 2, by @terresco
05: Encounters with Africa: On the way to the Dogon country, by @terresco
06: Encounters with Africa: Among the Dogon of Bandiagara, by @terresco
07: Encounters with Africa: The Gold Coast, by @terresco
08: Encounters with Africa: Where was born a desire to go elsewhere, by @terresco
09: Encounters with Africa: The time of failures, by @terresco
10: Encounters with Africa: The Promised Land, by @terresco
11: Encounters with Africa: The Land of the Upright Man, by @terresco
12: Encounters with Africa: From Bobo to Ouagadougou, by @terresco
13: Encounters with Africa: In the Voodoo country,

From Cape Town to Mombasa series:

01: Africa, the long crossing
02: From Cape Town to Mombasa: South Africa
03: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Namibia
04: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Botswana
05: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe
06: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe, part 2, by @terresco
07: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zimbabwe, part 3, by @terresco
08: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Zambia, by @terresco
09: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Malawi, by @terresco
10: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Tanzania #1, by @terresco
11: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Tanzania #2, by @terresco
12: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Tanzania #3, by @terresco
13: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Tanzania #4, by @terresco
14: From Cape Town to Mombasa: Kenya, by @terresco

---

All pictures are property of @terresco