From Tata we headed north up a fantastic winding valley rich in palms and olive trees. The road was narrow in places. Particularly in some villages, we found ourselves squeezing past houses while palm fronds were bouncing off the roof. The final climb out of the valley was a rather sphincter tightening set off hairpins where we were doing shunts without the reassurance of safety barriers. It all worked out fine. Baloo is actually very good at climbing hills. I am getting better at managing the gears and braking systems so that we have the fine control needed for steady progress. I am also getting better at turning on just the right line to minimise a corner so that we can get round with the minimum of shunts and drama.
Back to Igherm and then a different road south which soon became a track and, a day later, brought us high in the hills to the Tazalaght Copper Mine. From the mine, running south, is a track built for the ore trucks. It takes a fantastic line with terrific views and the massive bonus for us is that it is truck sized. We could relax and enjoy the scenery on a fabulous mountain track that felt like it had been built for us. Eventually, after a brilliant afternoon of driving, we arrived at the southern edge of the mountains and some broad, open vistas of rolling desert beyond. We turned right and once more looped back up into the mountains.
