If God hadn’t wanted us to eat animals...

My dad and his younger brother

My dad died December 22, 1996 at the ripe old age of 65. I think about him now and then when one of his old sayings somehow pops out of my mouth. I doubt many of these were original with him, but they are what I remember him saying:

• If God hadn’t wanted us to eat animals He wouldn’t have made them out of meat.
• God only gives you so many heartbeats. Why waste them exercising?
• If you’re not ten minutes early, you’re late.
• Don’t ride the clutch.
• It all winds up in the same place anyway. (When the melted jello would mix with the mashed potatoes on his plate.)
• Call me whatever name you want, just don’t call me late for supper.
• Smells like money. (Whenever there was the smell of manure in the air.)

Anything your parents said that you now repeat?

See also Voices from the Past, Blue Skunk 6/4/09

Those who are alone for the holidays

Image source

I gave a ride to a woman I’ll call Mary yesterday in my role as a volunteer for a non-profit organization. She went first to a gas station to purchase a carton of menthol cigarettes, then to a dollar store, and finally to a grocery store. She didn’t get much. She lives in an extended living hotel, possibly with the help of a state homeless program. Mary doesn’t look healthy.

And it sounded like Mary was spending this Thanksgiving alone. Trying to make a pleasant conversation, I often ask the clients I drive for about their family and plans. Not all responses are happy and I often wonder if I should have asked the question.

It is knowing that these people exist, those who have no one with whom to share the holidays, that breaks my heart. Personality, life-choices, mental illness, poor health, addictions, trauma - one can only guess why some folks do not have family connections or good friendships. And Mary is only one of many people who live alone whom I serve as a driver. Seemingly very alone.

I expressed to my daughter this feeling of heartbreak regarding my passengers and at her suggestion I recently read the book Trauma Stewardship by Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky. Lipsky wrote the book for those in professions that face far more stressful situations than my volunteer driving - police officers, emergency room workers, social workers, etc. But the takeaway is that anyone who wants to help others in need, needs to also make sure they take care of themselves both physically and mentally.

My mother’s death this past summer changed my plans for this holiday season. Over the past few years, my sister and I both drove to Mom’s house where we brought in a traditional holiday meal and spent the day with her. Without Mom, there is little reason to drive to my hometown. So my sister is spending this Thanksgiving with my daughter who lives in the same city and I am spending it with my friend Heidi and her daughter (after a traditional feast last night with son which Heidi generously prepared). As far as I can tell, no one I know, close family or friends, will be alone today. Were it otherwise, I think I would do something about it.

So thank you, Mary, for reminding me that of all things for which I should be grateful - health, wealth, travel, leisure activities - connection to other human beings ia the most important to recognize and celebrate.

Thank you, family and friends. I love you all. Happy Thanksgiving.

Yallah! Reflections on my visit to Morocco

Just being a tourist. (Me, not the camel.)

After experiencing a rather lonely time traveling in Malta solo last November, I decided to join a group tour for this November’s getaway. (Being retired, I am not exactly sure what I am getting away from.) I had heard good things about Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) and found a great discount on their 16 day tour to Morocco, a country that has been on my bucket list. So I signed on.

The lively Square in Marrakech. Our riad was in the corner of it.

The trip itself was somewhat less active than the hiking and biking excursions I usually do. There was more bus-riding, more lectures, more guided touring, more long group meals, more craft demonstrations followed by sales pitches, and a slower walking pace than I am accustomed to. But the trip’s activities aligned 100% to the trip itinerary provided by the company and we were busy every day. If I was surprised by anything about the trip, it was because I had not read OAT’s description of it carefully enough.

Morocco has often been used as the setting for movies such as Game of Thrones and Gladiator near Ouarzazate.

A few take aways:

One of many group photos.

There are pluses and minuses of group travel. I am, by nature, an introvert. I cherish my time alone. But I also appreciate the company of others when in new, strange, and sometimes confusing places. This OAT trip had 15 participants, two of whom dropped out after about three days due to ill health. I am guessing we were all between the ages of 65 and 75. There was one Canadian and the rest of us were from all over the US. One major issue I have with group travel are stragglers. I have to say, most of these folks kept up pretty well with only a couple of individuals taking rather a long time to finish purchases at gift shops or stop to take photos. Maybe I was the one everyone else complained about being slow.

Entrance to our riad in Rabat.

The sounds and smells and looks of Morocco took me back to my days spent in Saudi Arabia as a teacher for the ARAMCO schools in the 1980s. I loved hearing the call to prayer echo throughout the towns, even into my hotel rooms. I only remember about a half dozen words of Arabic and the Arabic of Morocco differs somewhat from that of Saudi. “Yallah” was the guide Wahid’s indication we needed to get going. We heard it alot.

Like many Arabic cultures, Morocco is what I would call inward looking. The alley above, reached by zigzagging down several like it from a main road, would give no hint from appearances that the doors off it opened to riads - former homes and palaces converted to luxurious guest houses. (I have a number of photos on my SmugMug site linked below to some of these rooms.)

The courtyard interior of our riad in Fez.

Pool, restaurant, bar and open skylights, the place was spacious and beautiful - as were the rooms. We stayed mostly in riads, a couple very swanky hotels, and two nights “roughing it” in the desert in tents that came with king sized beds, electricity, and hot water. (Riads are converted private homes.)

Dawn from our hot air balloon ride.

One thing this trip made me admit is that there are joys in doing touristy things. The camel ride in the Sahara and the hot air balloon ride near Marrakech were both designed solely to entertain visitors. And that is OK. Every trip perhaps needs a little Disneyland in it. 

Our camel trek

The balloon ride was breathtaking. Starting at dawn, we floated silently over the Moroccan landscape watching the other balloons being inflated and then rise with the sun. I will remember that balloon trip, like I do my first one in the 80s in Kenya, with great fondness. Only five of the 13 in our group did the balloon ride. The camel trek was also a unique experience. Our guide got us all scarves we wore as Arab headdresses and for about an hour we slowly plodded up and down Saharan sand dunes. Most memorable.

Visit to a nomad home

Forgive me here but I will be using the terms Berber, bedouin, and nomad interchangeably. I am not sure they are. But OATs made sure we got a real feel of the life of these desert dwellers, living in isolation in desolate-looking parts of the country. The Berber are the indigenous peoples of Morocco, conquered by the Muslims many centuries ago. Today they still herd goats and sheep as a primary source of both food and income, spin their own fabrics, and make their own clothes. It was not uncommon driving through an isolated area to see a single individual herding a flock of sheep - or simply walking alone through the wilds. I felt a bit uncomfortable peering into individuals' private homes and watching them make mud brick, cut alfalfa, or make bread baked directly on open coals. But we were served mint tea and they did not seem bothered by our presence. When asked about what future they wanted for their children, the reply was often “a continuation of our nomadic lifestyle.”

Our two week route

We covered a large part of the country, primarily by bus. (We used 4x4s in the desert.) The country is divided by the Atlas mountains and includes a fringe of the Sahara desert in its southeast, bordering unfriendly Algiers. We had two days of stunning views of the mountains traveling from Erfoud to Marrakech.  

A typical tajine prepared meal

Even great food gets old. Our meals primarily consisted of a continental breakfast and then a plated meal of salad or soup with a main course of meat (beef, fish, lamb, or chicken) and vegetables cooked in an earthenware pot called a tajine. Nicely flavored, not too spicy, I enjoyed it very much. For the first dozen or so meals. I got hungry for pizza and hamburgers and tacos. Oh, olives were served at every meal - including breakfast. Morocco is a major olive producer and we drove by acre after acre of orchards and even stopped to try our hand at harvesting them. I thought the Moroccan wine was excellent - a legacy of being a French colony for many years. Dates and mint tea were commonly served with many dates also being grown in Moroccco.

Our guide Wahid nearly gets run over by a motorbike

The larger cities are sprawling, clean, and modern suburbs circling a medina - a walled area which is filled with small alleys and courtyards stuffed with shops, homes, and even tanneries, as is the case in Fez. It is very, very easy to get lost in these mazes and one only narrowly avoids motor scooters and carts ramming their way around. It was certainly one of those times I was happy to have a guide.

Copper market in Fes in operation for centuries

Relaxing in the tub. (Guide said I was lucky not to have gotten caught doing this.)

Typical alley market

Strolling through markets seemed to make up a lot of our days. Like the food, the experience got a little old for me, but then I’ve never been much of a shopper. Bargaining was mandatory. I would have liked a full day dedicated to hiking through a Moroccan wilderness. Not in the itinerary.

Our drum instructor at a music museum

We visited a number of museums and factories, including a Berber music museum where we had a chance to learn how to correctly beat a drum. We also toured a tannery, a ceramics factory, a factory where furniture and jewelry were made from slabs of fossilized rock, and a Berber carpet maker. Of course, there was encouragement to purchase the products at each of these.

Crossing the High Atlas Mountains

I was amazed at how good the cell coverage was throughout this trip - even in the desert. I used a Holafly eSIM in my phone and it worked like a charm. Our weather was great - most days in the low 70s. I packed a puffy coat, concerned about the night time temps in the Sahara, but only used it on the early morning hot air balloon ride. One day of rain was when we were doing a long drive in the bus. (Coming home to Minnesota is a bit of a shock.)

Snake handler in Marrakech

Roman ruins of Volubis 

Hundreds of cats in the cities

I was charmed by the feral cats in each city we visited. I wish I could say they all looked healthy, but many did not. Some, like the ones pictured above, did have humans who fed them. I’m not sure cats are considered sacred, but the Prophet Mohammad loved cats (not dogs), so they are respected. 

Looking down from the Great Wall of China in 1988, I watched tour buses arrive in the parking lot. While my daughter and I climbed up the wall, walked along it, and even posed on a camel on top of it, most passengers on the tour bus did not. Some, I believe, did not even exit the bus. It was then I vowed to travel while I could be active and not wait until I was old and could only view the world through a plate of glass. I always got out of the bus this trip. I hope I continue to do so for many years.

All my photos from this trip can be found here: https://dougj.smugmug.com/Travel/2024/Morocco-