Les bêtes sauvages partie 2

It seems a lot has happened in the last few days again involving wild animals! We are now in our house in Imin’Tizeght where we will be living for the next few months. Mostapha was supposed to come to move us in at the weekend but instead he said he had to go to Agadir to do some shopping (!!) so we decided to stay the weekend where we were with the family in Ighalen and go walking. On Saturday Mohammed took us up one of the smaller mountains behind his house and we saw some gazelle. Then later on in the afternoon we walked up the valley to visit one of the natural springs. On the way up to the spring we saw a massive scorpion (which apparently are rare at this time of year) and a red snake swimming in one of the irrigation channels. We misjudged the time and it was dark by the time we reached the spring. As if the scorpion and snake weren’t scary enough, on the way back down in the dark Mohammed suddenly stopped and signalled for us to stop too. We could hear the snuffling of wild boar just a few metres away and had to make a quick dash for the village. Apparently they can be really dangerous at night because they are almost always found in large groups of up to 40! We’re either going to have to get very good at climbing trees or not go out in the dark!

So we moved into our house yesterday and immediately set about cleaning it. Most of the year it is empty so the creepy crawlies have taken over somewhat. There was a big nest of massive ants (there are no small bugs in this country) by the front door and in the kitchen which we had to get rid of and the biggest spiders I have ever seen. The house is quite large but there is only really one room which is useable together with the kitchen and bathroom. The room we sleep and work in is a long room lined with cushioned benches. The kitchen and bathroom are very basic. The bathroom consists of a squat toilet and a shower (cold water only!!). The kitchen has a sink, a gas hob for cooking, a fridge and various pots, pans, plates and cutlery. Upstairs there are several rooms which are locked and a terrace where we can dry our clothes. I’ll post some photos soon which will give a better idea of what it’s like. It’s a pretty dingy house but it’s nice to have some independence after living with families for the last 2 weeks, and we had our first cup of English breakfast tea! It was amazing!!

We’ve spent most of today meeting people in the village and trying to cook food on the small gas hob with the limited items that can be found in the village shop. There is an American Peace Corps volunteer called Maggie who lives and works in the village so today we met up with her and she showed us round and took us to meet the women at the cooperative next door to our house. They make argan oil and associated products which they sell in a small shop. They were all really friendly and welcomed us to the village.

Tomorrow we are going to Tafrout, as its market day, to stock up on food. Then in the afternoon we are off up the mountain to look at the khettara (the upper part of the irrigation system for the village).