In between classes and our work at the dar chebab, we had Sundays off throughout preservice training (PST). Two of these Sundays were set aside for travel. This week was one of those Sundays and my community-based training (CBT) group and I spent the day at Oushrah Park. A national park here in Morocco, it features some impressive mountains, cliffs, and a few small waterfalls.

It was a bit of a trek to get there. The roads were winding and, in some cases, very steep. We were lucky enough to get a great taxi driver who not only knew the best way to get there, but helped us down to a good picnic spot.

We set up our blankets and snacked while waiting for the other half of our group from another CBT site. I laid in the sun, feeling the warmth on my skin balanced out by a slight cool breeze following the natural corridor carved out by the water. Closing my eyes, I could hear the calls of the flock of birds echoing off the walls as they fluttered from their nests in the cliffs.

Once we were all together, we spent a few hours exploring one direction, crossing one small waterfall, and heading up around the main mountains. There were a few small caves, but none that were easily accessible. Instead, we took in the views of the water below and made way for the herd of mountain goats that bumped into us. After a quick break for lunch, we headed the other way, climbing over big boulders as we followed the water up to a slightly bigger waterfall. Working together, we tackled some pretty large obstacles before hitting a dead end. Running out of sunlight, we hiked back to our picnic spot, gathered our things, and headed back to site.