The oasis at Meski was a popular tourist spot and camp site set in the shade of date palms with a spring fed swimming pool, very popular with the local children. In recent years the chronic lack of water in the area had meant the swimming pool was now only half full. Covid had been a critical time for the village – for two years they had had few visitors and no financial help from the government.
Meski was the home of Hamid who had been our guide on many of our earlier excursions in Morocco. Two years ago he and his colleague Hassan had taken us on a ten day trip wild camping in the Sahara Desert.
Hamid’s Guided Walk – We accepted an invitation from Hamid to go for a walk. We knew from previous experience that walking with him would be a tough challenge. We spent the next three hours negotiating some pretty difficult terrain and fording the river (a pleasant foot cooling experience). Sometimes we marched in the hot sunshine which leached our rapidly diminishing energy but often we walked in the welcome shade of the date palms. Along the way there were one or two whinges from me which Hamid patiently bore:
Villagers collecting dates 
Plots tended by the villagers
We stopped at the house of Hamid’s sister-in-law where we were offered bread and olives washed down with tea served with sugar but no milk. After we had eaten we walked on to the main road at the end of the village and got a lift back to Meski in a passing taxi.
