High up in the Atlas mountains of Morocco, a shepherd hurries his meagre flock off the road.
The day before our trip to Morocco my friend and I both incurred ligament injuries that meant that we could barely walk. This was a problem since one of the first items on the itinerary was a two-day climb to the summit of the highest mountain in Northern Africa, Jebel Toubkal.
Since walking was next to impossible, we had to drop out. After dropping our two other companions at the start of the walk, we set out to make the most of being in the Atlas mountains. We were car-bound, and could venture a few dozen painful hobbles before needing to regain composure and hobble a bit more.
Although we would have rather attempted the summit, this was a blessing in disguise. We drove around unmapped roads simply exploring and encountering people and situations that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. For instance this man scurrying to get his flock off the road was taken on a road that isn't marked on maps, but is visible on satellite images.
We limped through small towns, got attacked by children necessitating a truce that involved our Snickers stash, got lost a few times and raced up to the highest point on the mountain pass to watch the sun sink into the Sahara beyond and reveal innumerable stars overhead. Which we photographed as well :)
Even the night drive back to Marrakesh was eventful. Driving a manual gearbox down mountain-side switchbacks in thick fog is hard enough even when you have two working legs...
The Atlas Mountains, Morocco, 2010
Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS
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