Serenity for the Hiker's Mom

My 17-year old daughter is doing a three-day hike this weekend. What a great experience for her, but I have to admit it's a bit of a nerve-wracking experience for me.

She and three other girls had to plan their route and must carry everything they will need for the weekend. It is part of the Duke of Edinburgh program which was started by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh himself, also known as Queen Elizabeth's husband. It is similar to the scouting program in the States. There are three levels you can earn: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. This is her first year to do it and she decided to go straight for the Silver. Bronze seekers do a two-day hike while Silver and Gold do three-day hikes. There are other components to earning the award including service hours, learning a skill, and doing a physical activity. It's a fantastic program but requires quite a commitment. For the skill portion, she is hoping the driving lessons she is taking will count. Physical activity is no problem as she plays soccer almost year round. Still waiting to see what the volunteering will end up being. Then there is the "Expedition". This weekend is actually only the practice run. In three weeks time they will do it all over again for the Final Expedition.

Preparing for this hike has been a lesson in planning skills. The groups start months ahead of time, learning about map and navigation skills, first-aid, meal planning, equipment planning, etc. So why did it come down to practically the night before the hike to get everything ready? I think (and hope) the girls learned the importance of planning ahead. Apparently it didn't sink in to the girls to really pay attention when they were supposed to be learning about planning the route and what are good things to take along. Suddenly the time is upon them and... well, hopefully, lesson learned.

But I shouldn't be so hard on the girls, they did get all their "stuff" together. Imagine having to carry on your back your sleeping bag, tent, cookstove, clothes, water, and food to last for three days. It helps that they shared the load, each girl carrying either a tent, tent poles, or stove. They weren't even able to fit all the food they had bought in their backpacks. The girls showed up to the walk with extra food hoping someone had space left for it but every rucksack was full to the brim.

Lexi's backpack was heavy but somehow the weight gets distributed well so she didn't just topple over under the weight. Here she is looking confident the night before the big hike:

My hiker girl

I really don't know how many miles they will go but they hike all day Friday and Saturday and return Sunday afternoon. There are checkpoints along the way to make sure they are doing okay. They are expected to use maps to find their way to each checkpoint. No GPS allowed! They don't just walk along roads but rather through fields and paths. At night, the groups come together to all set up tents in one area.

Being a mom I can't help but worry about my baby girl. I can't imagine how hard it must be to figure out the right paths to go on while lugging all that weight on her back. If they don't make it to the campsite by nightfall, they still have to find their way there and set up camp in the dark. Another mom told me how her daughter did the walk last year and got lost. What was supposed to be a 5-hour hike turned into 8 hours. They had to set up their tent in the dark. But the daughter still managed to have a great time and is back this year for more!

I've been trying to keep myself busy to keep my mind off how the walk is going. At least my oven is now clean. I find it calming to work on my cross-stitching. I started this particular cross-stitch project 12 years ago but I only pick it up now and then. I think back to Lexi being in Kindergarten when I started it. I remember working on it when I was waiting for her while she tested to see if she could skip 2nd grade. She missed by one point. I remember working on it during many family ski trips. My goal when I moved to England was to finally finish it. I'm getting close. I enjoy the memories I have every time I pick it up. How appropriate it is that it calms me. You see it is the Serenity Prayer that I am stitching against a beautiful nature background.

My cross-stitching

How final product will look

God grant me the

Serenity to accept what I cannot change,

Courage to change the things that I can,

and Wisdom to know the difference.

Agadir, Morocco

Relaxation

The remaining 3 days of our visit to Morocco were spent in the beach resort town of Agadir, located on the shores of the Atlantic ocean. Checking in to the Hotel Sofitel, we were once again given the little glasses of customary Moroccan mint tea. What a nice tradition for welcoming guests.

Agadir is further south than Marrakech so the weather was warmer. It was nice to spend the whole first day relaxing by the pool and soaking in the sunshine. How wonderful to escape the dreariness of February winter in England and work on our suntans by the pool. And what a pool it was. Here is a panoramic shot of the hotel pool area (photo stolen shamelessly from Pam).

Sofitel Agadir

The guys soon discovered what they called the "bunkers" laid out between the pool area and the beach. They sit low in the ground to help block the wind. We all met there for lunch each day. Waiters brought food and drinks right to the table. When not dining, the benches were great for napping or reading. It was the guys' hideaway, the girls preferred the more comfortable tanning beds at the pool.

The "Bunkers"

Group lunch in the Bunker

How's that for a tanning bed?

Tour Time

The next day the grown-ups were ready to take a tour to explore and learn more about the city of Agadir. The teens were not interested in leaving the paradise of the hotel, so they had another day of lazy tranquility poolside.

The first place the tour guide took us was to the fishing port. Surprisingly, Agadir's main industry is fishing, not tourism. We were driven past several canning factories, mostly canning of sardines. We saw boats being refurbished. It was interesting to see a pile of split tree trunks being transformed into wooden fishing boats right in front of us.

Trees turned into boats

The Kasbah is on hilltop in background

Our next stop was to the top of a hill to see the Kasbah where a fortress from the 16th century used to stand but which was destroyed in a 1960 earthquake. The outer walls were rebuilt but it's quite disappointing to get to the top and nothing is inside the walls except for a huge cell phone tower. My first thought was of the song "Rockin' the Casbah" by the Clash. Similar, but I believe the song is about another kasbah somewhere else.

At the top, you can take a camel ride or just have your picture taken with a camel but it will cost you. We made good use of the Arabic phrase we learned, "La Shokran" which means "No thank you", as the camel owners can be quite pushy about it. Having already taken a camel ride in Egypt next to the pyramids, a ride in a parking lot was not enticing.

Here is a picture of one of the camels waiting for a tourist to take a ride. Our 15-passenger bus is in the background.

Care for a ride? I'll take the bus, thanks!

It was worth it to go up to the top of the hill, however, for the view:

View of Agadir from the Kasbah

This is a view of the Kasbah from the beach. The words on the side of the hill say "God King Country".

Kasbah in background

At night, the words on the side of the hill are lit up:

Kasbah at night

After we rocked the Kasbah, we drove through the old part of Agadir that was destroyed in the 1960 earthquake. Over one-third of the population of Agadir was killed in the earthquake that lasted less than 15 seconds.  It was eerie seeing nothing left but the remains of stair steps. The area is now used for driving tests and driving practice. The city of Agadir has been rebuilt 1 mile south of the earthquake's epicenter.

We made a quick stop to see the mosque where prayers were just finishing. Men were exiting from the men's entrance and putting their shoes back on.

After prayers

Argan Oil

Demo of argan oil production

Our guide then took us into a shop where we learned all about argan oil. Of course the shop had plenty of items made from argan oil available to buy. This was the first time I had even heard of the oil but apparently it's very popular now. The oil is produced from the fruit of the argan tree which grows right there in the Agadir area. We were shown how the oil is extracted from the nut found inside the fruit of the tree. The photo shows the various stages of extracting the oil and the traditional method of grinding the nuts. Today, mechanical presses are used instead of the manual grinding stones.

The oil can be cooked and used as a dip for food, similar to using olive oil. It is supposed to be healthier than olive oil and good for reducing cholesterol. We were told swallowing a teaspoon a day is good for your health. I tried some on a salad but I wasn't sold on the flavor. When the oil is used in cosmetic products it is not cooked.

The shop had 3 entire walls of products displayed for sale. Each product was touted as a cure for some ailment, anything from age spots, dry skin, dry hair, to snoring and wrinkles, depending on what was added to the argan oil. I'm told by others in our group that the snoring has not been cured! I did buy some oil for dry skin and it does make my skin very soft and is easily absorbed.

What is nice about the argan oil industry is that it is produced solely by a women's cooperative that shares the profits among the local women of the Berber tribe. We were told that the shop we were in only employs divorced women who otherwise wouldn't be able to support themselves.

We discovered that the shop also offered massage therapy using what else, argan oil, at prices cheaper than the hotel. The girls had been wanting to get massages. For a little more than the hour-long massage at the hotel, the girls could get a two-hour massage here. As the parents would be bringing the girls anyway we decided we would all get massages. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Full Body 2-Hour Massage

Two hours is a long time for a massage. In fact, the ladies doing the massaging had to take a break halfway through. We joked about letting divorced women inflict their pain on the men. Those women were strong, especially when they used their elbows. They were generous with the argan oil all over our bodies, even on our heads. We came out feeling greasy and with wild hair, but relaxed. We were also feeling like another 2-hour full body massage would not be needed ever again.

Time to Leave

We were sad to have our week in Morocco come to an end. I purchased a cute little silver teapot and two little tea glasses to remember the comforting Moroccan mint tea we drank. We also chose a miniature tagine pot like the clay ones that the Moroccan stews are slow-cooked in.

Our souvenirs

At the airport, there were separate lines for men and women when going through security, which I've never seen. Then again I was leaving a country where donkey-pulled carts in the streets exist alongside the wealthy Saudi Arabian King's palace.

More on Morocco (no, not Moron in Morocco!)

On Day 3 of our week in Morocco, we had a guide take us on a cultural tour of Marrakech. He took us through the Bahia Palace with very ornate tile, carvings, and ceilings. It is a sprawling maze put together in piecemeal fashion as land was gradually made available. It was good we had a guide so we didn't get lost going through it!

One room in Bahia Palace

Bahia Palace courtyard

The guide told us that the current king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, was enthroned in 1999 and is 48 years old. He is attempting to reform the country. For example, he outlawed polygamy, gave women more rights, allowed public alcohol consumption, and provided more freedom in general. Muslim citizens are not required to drop everything and pray when called to prayer 5 times a day. The King shares power with a prime minister. I got the feeling the King is trying to make his people happy. Both this guide and one we had later in the week made it a point to tell us about the King's reforms so I guess they are trying to get the word out, or maybe they are just happy with the King. We were told, though, that some of the older generation are not fond of the modern reforms. Can't please everyone!

Our guide keeping an eye on us shopping in the souk

Our guide then took us through the souk which is the market with stalls of handicrafts that go on and on. Negotiation is expected. Chris's friend, Mustapha, was along and he helped make sure we were getting a fair price. He was in fact told that the price for an item for him would be lower than for us, the obvious tourists. Chris got in the bargaining game and purchased a beautiful wooden storage box made from the root of some tree. We also purchased pistachios and sesame seed-covered peanuts.

Dads/Daughters Quad biking

Day 4 was Valentine's Day. We spent the morning splitting up and indulging ourselves. The dads and daughters did a quad bike excursion through dirt fields while the women opted for time at the spa. I have photos of the dads/daughters but thankfully no pictures have emerged of the moms' activities.

A little dirty after the quad biking

The hotel spa offered massage and Hammam which is a traditional Moroccan steaming, scrub, and soak in a bathhouse. It originated when homes lacked indoor plumbing. It is still popular as an exfoliation cleansing. I personally didn't want to be scrubbed clean by someone else, so I went with the massage. My friend Pam wanted to experience the local Hammam tradition and what an experience it was. I will leave it to her to describe in her own blog but I like how she summed it up as an "intimate power-washing".

I have had quite a few massages and this one was not my favorite. I assumed a woman would do the massaging as Morocco is a Muslim country and surely a man wasn't allowed to massage me. What a surprise when a man led me to the massage room and told me to disrobe. Apparently there is a strong French influence in this part of Morocco. Normally, the massage therapist leaves the room while I remove my clothes and scurry under the sheet. Not in this country. The guy just stood there. My friend Beth had the same experience, but at least she had a woman. Luckily I was only having a 45-minute back and neck massage so my jeans were left on. The guy was strong and really worked me over. Beth and I were both sore in our upper backs later that day.

Atlas Mountains

The families all merged back together and we boarded our bus for a trip to the Atlas Mountains. It was a different view of the country as we got out of the city scene and drove through beautiful countryside and through small villages. Within an hour or so we could see snow-topped mountains in the distance. The road followed alongside a small stream, probably melted snow flowing from the mountains. It reminded me of driving in the mountains of Colorado.

Numerous wooden footbridges were suspended above the stream. All along the road there were riverside restaurants that had outdoor seating along the far bank. The only way to cross the stream were these footbridges. We saw a waiter carrying food across a rickety bridge to tables on the other side.

Village in the Atlas Mountains

Riverside restaurant

Yikes, is this safe?

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a lovely view from a terrace and thankfully, no bridge to be crossed.

We started with a nice soup flavored with saffron, widely grown in Morocco. Mike was disappointed that they were out of the rabbit he saw on the menu. Later, he learned our driver had a dish of the rabbit, guess he beat Mike to it. We had to settle for beef and chicken. Dessert was again the typical platter of oranges with mint tea.

After our late lunch, we headed for our next destination, the beach resort of Agadir. Along the way, we stopped for a break at a gas station with convenience store. We each picked out a treat for ourselves as it was Valentine's Day after all. We were excited to see American candy and cookies and even Cheetos, hard to find in England.

We finished out our week in Agadir and now I will finish out this posting and save Agadir for another entry.