Our journey to Tagmoute took us first through a swathe of bright green irrigated fields just outside of Tata, then up into the mountains where we admired the layers of rock, forming patterns of swirls and waves across the hills. There were hardly any cars on the road and to us this was cycling paradise: a beautiful landscape and a whole road to ourselves, not counting of course the occasional donkey or herd of goats trotting by on the side. We passed a few nomad tents through the day and as we sat down for lunch under a tree a young girl came by to see what we were doing, and also to ask if we wanted to give her our sunglasses. It made a change from the usual requests for candies or pens! She didn’t seem too disappointed when we said no, we’d like to keep our glasses thanks, and went back to the well where she was getting water and looking after several donkies. Early in the afternoon we rolled into the oasis of Tagmoute, which is a real paradise in the middle of an otherwise rugged landscape. Olive trees and date palms fill the fields, where Berber women gather in groups, working the land and chatting together.