California mountains, sea, & redwooods

 

		California National Parks VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We’ve been asked what happened to our blog and can only say that we have been having too much fun hiking, camping, spending time in nature, and being disconnected to spend any time on it. Since leaving Arizona, we have been in the California National Parks and forests and have been having a ball. We have been to Channel Islands NP accessible only by boat or air; Sequoia NP with the largest trees (mass) in the world; King’s Canyon NP with its spectacular scenery; unsurpassed Yosemite NP that John Muir loved; Tahoe NF around magnificent Lake Tahoe; Lassen NP with its volcanic rock; and Redwoods NP with its rainforests and the tallest trees in the world. So this blog entry is mostly photographs which certainly do not do justice to Mother Nature. We hope you are well and happy and enjoying your summer.

Happy Trails! Pat & Ron

A Winter of Sunshine

		Desert Winter 2013-2014 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We’ve received several queries as to what happened to our blog postings and when are we going to start travelling again, so this blog is to describe our winter on the desert.

We continued our recent snowbird pattern of renting a condo for those short winter days. When it is dark so early in the afternoon, our camper is a very small space to spend so many hours! We chose Gilbert Arizona, outside of Phoenix, for Nov, Dec & Jan. We were blessed with dry, sunny, and warm weather for all three months, fully appreciating that this was a brutal winter in much of the country. Since we have visited most places in Arizona, we decided to concentrate on getting more fit. We needed to lose the weight that we had gained on our Europe jaunts (and more) and to push ourselves to do something active every single day. That consisted of swimming, hiking, biking, tennis, long walks, yoga, lifting weights, jogging, or the elliptical machine, usually followed by a soak in the hot tub. These activities took dedication and time, became addictive, and were thoroughly enjoyed, but it doesn’t make for very interesting blog material.

We enjoyed visits with friends & family during this time. We took advantage of Farmer’s markets, Christmas concerts, the Fiesta Bowl parade and game, scenic drives up the Salt River Canyon and the Apache Trail, hikes up Camelback and in the Superstition Mountains, and the beauty of the desert with its wide open skies and beautiful sunsets.

We left the Sonoran Desert and the Saguaros behind and drove up to Las Vegas through the Mojave Desert with all of the Joshua Trees. We went to Lake Mead and crossed the Colorado River over the new bridge next to Hoover Dam. We stayed for 2 weeks in a condo off the Strip and enjoyed hiking in Red Rocks Canyon & exploring the area. We visited the infamous Pawn Shop of the Pawn Stars TV show. Of course we did visit the Strip and Fremont Street downtown. We stopped by the Paris (one of our favorites) for a crepe and a glass of wine and, in fact, we ran into long-time friends there. We had to stop in on our favorite stops; the LED-lit Fremont Street with all of the neon, the Bellagio for the fountains and the Chihully glass ceiling, the changing sky in the Forum in Caesar’s Palace, Margaritaville and the live flamingos in the Flamingo…well, you get the idea. There is so much to do in this town besides gamble. For Valentine’s Day we stayed at the Mirage, watched the volcano go off from our room, and took in a show.

Heading south back into Arizona, the town of Kingman is the “Heart of Route 66” and the longest continuous ribbon (158 miles) of “America's Mother Road.” Nearby we drove over Sitgreaves Pass on Historic Route 66. The 52 miles between Kingman and the Colorado River (near Topock) is the original Mother Road. It is laughable compared to today’s highway standards as it is narrow, has no shoulders, has dips and bumps and curves that explain Pat’s childhood motion sickness. Predating the declaration of Route 66 in 1926, it was cut to pour in a stream of prospectors looking to stake a claim in the Oatman Gold Rush of 1902. It is representative of the Mother Road mentioned in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and best symbolizes the Route 66 of the American Great Depression of the1930s and Midwest drought when thousands of families loaded up all of their possessions and headed to California. [92% of them eventually returned.] This is the longest stretch that remains of original Route 66. Wild burros, descendants of those let loose in the mining days, still roam the nearby hills and sometimes the streets.

Next destination on our desert route was to follow the Colorado River south to Lake Havasu City in Arizona. Lake Havasu City is a town that grew in 1971 after the re-installation of the London Bridge as a tourist attraction in this desert location. Everybody thought the guy was crazy but, crazy like a fox as he laughed all the way to the bank. It is now a tourist destination and a town of 52,000, including a popular Spring Break destination. Thank goodness we will be gone by the time the crowds arrive.

Travelling further south along the Colorado River we noticed that the river diminishes quickly. The water is siphoned off for population areas (e.g. The Central Arizona Project) as well as agriculture (The Imperial Valley which grows 90% of vegetables grown in US). The Colorado River is a vital source of water for agricultural and urban areas in the southwestern desert lands, as well as a water supply for almost 40 million people. Recent intensive water consumption has dried the lower 100 miles of the river such that it no longer reaches the sea (Gulf of California) except in years of heavy runoff (not recently with this severe drought in the West.) The Colorado River is now considered among the most controlled (Glen Canyon, Hoover, and Parker dams) and most litigated in the world, with every drop of its water fully allocated. That doesn’t leave much for Mexico. It was noticed that the bird migratory path following the Colorado River had been destroyed. Thanks to an effort to restore the bird wetland habitat, several national wildlife refuges have been established near where the Colorado River used to be and the birds returned.

We arrived at Yuma, Arizona, just a few miles from the Mexican border. Is this the same mighty Colorado River that we saw the headwaters in the Rockies, on which we white-water rafted on in Colorado, on which we canoed in Utah, which cuts its way through the Grand Canyon, which forms Lake Powell and Lake Meade. It is hard to believe as there is not much water left. We can walk across it to get from Arizona to California. Yuma is known as the “Gateway to the West” and was the only [previously] major river crossing in the desert. Major travelling routes of Gila River, De Anza, and Butterfield Stage all passed through Yuma to California. Native Americans, the ‘49ers looking for gold, immigrants, conquistadors, padres, adventurers, and armies all found this route advantageous to use. The “Ocean to Ocean” bridge across the Colorado River completed the highway and the ability to travel coast to coast as it is the only place to cross the Colorado River for over one thousand miles. Yuma, with its 4000 hours of sunshine a year holds the Guinness Book record for the sunniest spot on earth.

California and the Pacific Ocean here we come! It has been a fabulous winter for us with the weather being the most ideal for outdoor activities. We look forward to Spring Equinox, longer days, and having adventures in California. So, until next time, Happy Trails.

Morocco

		Sights, Sounds & Smells of Morocco VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We left Tarifa, Spain by ferry to Tangiers, Morocco traveling across the Straits of Gibraltar - about 9 miles at the narrowest point. We were very excited since this is our first time in Africa, albeit North Africa. It is an Islamic country (90%) and our first venture into a Muslim country. Arabic is spoken with French as the second language since it used to be French Morocco. Morocco has borders on the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Sahara Desert. The country has a vast plain region and is highly agricultural. The plains are by the Atlas Mountains, which go up to 12,000’ (and even have skiing in the winter). On the other side of the Atlas Mountains is the Sahara Desert. The famous Barbary Coast is here and named after the Berbers, semi-nomadic peoples and natives of Morocco from 4,000 years ago.

We did not realize at the time that we were travelling to an Islam country during one of the major holidays of the year, Eid al-Adha, or “Eid.” We think this circumstance certainly changed our experience, uniquely better for the most part. Similar to our Christmas festivities, there was a lot of travel home to be with family and a lot of shopping in preparation for the holiday. The shops were closed during their 3-day celebration. The ferry was jam packed with holiday travelers. Once in Tangiers and through customs, we exchanged money for some dirhams, no longer a Euro currency country. Our first impressions were that the countryside was dry and brown and there was a lot of poverty from the looks of their homes and villages. They have poor roads and 40 year-old vehicles are common. Their fields had dozens of women out in them working. The men were mostly in the cafes, but no women. There were frequent police checkpoints along the road and they indicated whom they wanted to pull over to check documentation. Thankfully, we were not stopped. Litter was dumped all along the roadsides, yet the fields looked clean. Many vehicles were motorcycles with multi-riders or with a trailer, so they can carry either passengers or sheep! Donkeys were a common mode of transportation, carrying freight, pulling carts, or carrying a rider. Donkeys were heavily used both in the rural areas and in the cities.

Cities we visited have a long history compared to our standard in the USA. The Old Town of Fes (not the English spelling Fez, which is a man’s hat) is an extensive labyrinth of small narrow paths with multi-story buildings on both sides. Very easy to get lost there. Fes was built in 808, is a former Imperial City, is extremely conservative, and is the religious center of the country with 700 mosques. “New” Fes was built in the 14^th century. Marrakech (Marrakesh) was founded in 1062 and the walls were constructed in 1122. Marrakech was the favorite city we visited and that we would recommend. It is also the primary tourist destination in Morocco. It felt much more open than the other cities we visited. Rabat, the capital city, was built in the 12^th century. Every town has many mosques. Casablanca was founded in the 7^th century BC by the Berbers. With a population of 5-7 million it is the largest city in Morocco and the 4^th largest city in Africa. It is more westernized, modernized, and the financial heart of the country. There we saw wealthy homes on the Atlantic. It has a very busy seaport and international airport and this is where FDR & Churchill met for summits in WWII.

The celebration of Eid lasts for an entire week (even though 3 days is the literal holiday.) 24,000 Muslims travel to Mecca for this holiday on busses. We learned that, primarily, the celebration involves dressing in your best clothes and going to the mosque and then spending time with family. In preparation for this, each family obtains a sheep, then slaughters it (or has a butcher come over to do that) in honor of Father Abraham’s sacrifice. In the Bible, Abraham’s sons are Isaac and Ishmael. The Bible describes Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac as a test of his faith, God stopping him, and instead Abraham sacrificed a goat. The Koran says Abraham was going to sacrifice his first son, Ishmael, and when God spared him, they sacrificed a sheep. [We are fascinated by the difference in these two versions.] Both sons were blessed by God and they split into Jews and Muslims, and they both claim Abraham as their father and Canaan as their promised land.

Muslims during Eid sacrifice an animal and distribute its meat by dividing the lamb into thirds: 1/3 for the family, 1/3 for the poor, and 1/3 to give away to friends, even if they are wealthy friends. It cannot be sold but must be given. A sheep costs between 200-400 euro so is no small investment. We saw sheep being bought and transported home in every possible way: on car roofs, on motorcycles and/or in trailers behind, cars, or even walking them (dragging them is more like it.) After the holiday, we saw carts of sheep’s skin with blood stains on the insides, and we saw fires with the sheep’s heads being roasted and smelled the hair being burned. No part of the animal is wasted.

The marketplaces are called souks. Every town has one major area for the souk. Hawkers were everywhere but not intrusive. Everything imaginable was being sold – live chickens (will slaughter for you), camel meat, fish, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, all kinds of spices, oriental rugs, ceramics, lampshades, handbags, shoes, clothing, scarves, head-coverings and Kaftans for women (no hood) and jalavahs for men (with hood.) The best marketplace was the large Jamaa el Fna square in Marrakech. The square is the nerve center where jugglers, musicians, snake charmers, monkey grinders, and shops and merchants of all kinds are present. You must bargain when shopping, offering half to start, so you must leave your sensitivity and meekness at home.

Berbers make up 40% of the Moroccan population. We passed through Berber village after village - poverty, filth, trash, donkeys, markets, sheep, and we finally saw a few camels. The Berber women have tattoos on their faces although the younger population does not always do this. Berber carpets are the traditional hand-woven carpets made by the Berbers, which uses a distinctive knot and has designs that are similar to oriental rugs.

Sights: We saw flock after flock of sheep, most all having a shepherd with them as they do not have fences. Some flocks were making their way to the street and the traffic. We saw orange groves, date trees, cedar trees, and goats. There are many palm trees here, and the coveted Argan trees produce an oil they are very proud of (squeezed from almonds), both for cooking and for hair and skin. We did not see many flowers except along the roadsides in Marrakesh. Other than mosques, palaces, oases, and Kasbahs (fortresses), we saw very little landscaping. All over the country we saw filth, garbage, poverty, disrepair, and decay. There was seldom a bathroom where everything worked properly, including the “modern” bathrooms with western-style toilets! They simply have different standards than Europe or USA regarding cleanliness and sanitation. As we experienced in China, one cannot drink the water even when brushing teeth. We were advised to wear closed shoes as it is so dirty, including donkey dung.

Smells: Right when we disembarked off the ferry, we noticed the strong smells of Morocco. They were unidentified smells, including spices, curry/saffron, fresh mint, cooking smells, cigarettes, leather processing, as well as the abundant donkeys. Of course, we also experienced the smell of the burning hair and flesh of sheep heads the day after the holiday.

Sounds: The most common sound we heard was the Arabic chant of the Adhan over loudspeakers by the muezzins calling the people to prayer five times/day throughout the town. People grab prayer rugs wherever they are and begin their prayers or run to the nearest mosque. Chatter and noise of traders in the shops and their invitations and encouragement to bring in new customers was constant in the marketplaces. The crowded city walkways were very noisy, and we were not accustomed to traffic sounds with quite so many motorcycles and donkeys. One word that we heard shouted out often was “Bellek, Bellek”. Loosely translated it means “Move, Get out of the way, now!” Leaping for the side of a narrow street, into a shop, or doorway (if you are lucky), you will be barely missed by a fully loaded donkey, or a man and cart, making their way to deliver items to shops. Apparently, they have the right of way.

Cuisine: Traditional couscous has the sheep’s head included in it but thankfully, ours had chicken as a substitute. Tangine is their stew to eaten by scooping it up with bread and by hand (right hand only!) We had a delicious one with chicken simmered in spices. Saffron is an important agricultural export. Interestingly, vineyards and wines are produced and sold even though it is against the Muslim religion. Moroccan spices are sparingly applied even though the Arabs started the spice trading market. Very sweet mint tea made from fresh mint is commonly offered as a greeting and a welcome of friendship to visitors.

Architecture: The Moroccan mosques and palaces have exquisite mosaic tile decorations on every surface. The wealthier houses followed the Andalusian model from Spain and have perfect symmetry around a central fountain, with a series of courtyards, riads (patios) pavilions & apartments. Labyrinth designs are used in towns and palaces (wealthy homes) intended to keep away any potential attacker. Their homes are plain vanilla on the outside; all their designs and beauty are saved for the interior. Interior courtyards are very important to them, instead of a back yard or front yard which they see as a waste. No building may be taller than the central Mosque.

Morocco is proud and pleased to be the first country to recognize the USA after their independence in 1776. People were extremely friendly and ready to return a smile and a wave. While it wasn’t common, we were surprised to hear English spoken at all. They claim to have a progressive democracy and are interested in social reforms. We were told that women are no longer required to cover their faces and heads, for example, yet in reality we saw very few without head coverings. There were reforms established in 2004 such as no longer being allowed to have 4 wives – now only 2, but only if the first wife gives her permission to take a second!

Morocco is certainly a vastly different culture from America/Europe. We were amazed by the stark contrasts we witnessed. There was so much beauty with their tiled mosaics, their colorful rugs, their friendly smiles, and the placid countryside. But there was also the busy city streets, different styles of dress and transportation, the apparent deep poverty, and lower level of cleanliness. We enjoyed being exposed to a culture so outside our comfort zone, in its society, food, religion, and roots in antiquity. The sights, sounds & smells of Morocco will stay with us forever.

Iberian Peninsula

		Spain & Portugal VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We arrived in Barcelona Spain from Avignon France by three different trains. One transfer was at the Spanish border because Spain has a very advanced high speed train - however, the tracks are not compatible with France’s! One thing perhaps we take for granted in the US is our high degree of standardization. This is not true in Europe. In Spain, the train took us through the Pyrenees Mountains that separates the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) from the rest of Europe. These mountains have played a significant role in how Portugal and Spain’s history, peoples, and cultures evolved, mainly by the isolation that they provide. Portugal is the “oldest country in Europe”, as their borders have remained unchanged since 1622, whereas Germany and all the rest had their borders redefined after that date. The Iberian Peninsula is significant since it is on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The passageway into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic is through the Straits of Gibraltar between Morocco and Spain.

The Romans named the Iberian Peninsula for the tribal inhabitants there, the Iberians. The history goes back further than the Romans to the Phoenicians and the Celts. Little evidence remains of peoples prior to the Romans since no written records exist before then. There are many Roman ruins, aqueducts, city walls, and temples still standing throughout the peninsula. After Rome fell (mid 400s), the Visigoths came and built many Gothic Cathedrals, also still standing. The Moorish influence began in 711AD when the Arabs defeated the Goths. Much Arab influence is still seen today with mosaics tiles, fortresses, and palaces (as Alhambra). Later, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella established a monarchy, united Spain, and established Christianity as the true religion. All of us remember that Isabella hocked her jewelry to fund Christopher Columbus’s voyage to America. In that same year of 1492, all non-Christians had to convert or else leave Spain. Many Jews and Moors (Moslems) left the country. Shortly after, that ugly time known as the Spanish Inquisition began.

There are famous pilgrimage sites (as Fatima) and paths here in Spain including the El Camino de Santiago. [Shirley MacLaine travelled this path and documented it in her book The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit.] Spain and Portugal are very proud of their role in discovering, exploring, and settling the Americas. This is more obvious in South and Central American than it is in the US. The Line of Demarcation was decided in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, settling a dispute between Spain and Portugal. Today that is why Brazil speaks Portuguese while Spanish is spoken elsewhere in South America.

Spain is composed of regions (similar to our states, but much more diverse in culture and even language). We travelled to many of them and some sounded very familiar. Castila-LaMancha (Don Quixote); Andalucía (Moorish influence); Castile and Leon (monarchy); Catalonia (influence in art of Dali, Gaudi, Picasso); Aragon (Catherine of Aragon, wife of Henry VIII was from here); Canary Islands. We saw the infamous Rock of Gibraltar area, which is controlled by Britain, not Spain.

As we all have heard, the economy here is struggling. Inflation is high (over 25%) without wages increasing. Products are still very agrarian. Vineyards, wine (Port, Madeira), cork (80% of world’s production - mostly as bottle stoppers), olive oil (65% of the world’s production, having a greater production output than Italy, but our Italian-American heritage snubs Spanish olive oil), & wheat.

Celebrating 500 years after Columbus, Spain is proud of the International World Expo and the Olympic games of 1992, which brought them back to the international stage

Barcelona is young, dynamic and cosmopolitan, and is the second largest city in Spain (3M, after Madrid). If you walk along the Ramblas pedestrian street or the busy Catalunya Plaza you can enjoy the cosmopolitan atmosphere that permeates the city. The city hosts one of the most important ports of the Mediterranean and is a cruise ship stop. More people use mopeds/motorcycles here than anywhere in Europe due to the nice climate. Barcelona’s iconic landmark is the Sagrada Familia Cathedral by Gaudi, combining gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau. Barcelona was founded by the Carthaginians in 300BC.

Madrid is the largest city in Spain and is the center of commerce and business, sports and nightlife. Very little medieval architecture is preserved in Madrid. Bullfighting still exists today and is quite popular. Football (soccer to Americans) is passionately followed in Spain and their teams of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the National team are highly followed and players highly regarded.

Toledo, Spain has weather that gets to 120 degrees in the summer. It rains in the Spring and not again the rest of the year, so they say there are 9 months of winter and 3 months of hell. The Toledo Cathedral (built between 1226–1493) has 270 stained glass windows but that was not even the overwhelming part. It was massive and had more gold, silver, and gems than any other church we’ve seen. There were El Greco paintings of all 12 apostles and of Jesus. We saw many other Cathedrals as well - some that were so gigantic, the altar could not be viewed by most churchgoers. Therefore, “Mass is to be heard and not seen.” After awhile, we saw ABC - Another Bloody Cathedral - each more opulent than the last - in Avila, Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Coimbra, Fatima, Salamanca, and a few more. All were worthy stops even for us non-Catholics.

Lisbon, Portugal is built on 7 hills, like Rome. It is a large seaport with cruise ships in port and was quite crowded. People weren’t speaking English as much as we’d experienced in Spain, but their friendliness made up for it. The Belem Tower on the Tejo River, built in 1515, is the landmark of Lisbon. They have a “25 April Bridge” built in 1966, similar to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which was the first bridge across the river and built with the same US design as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. It is so named as the date commemorates the “Carnation Revolution” a Portuguese coup from 1974 where no shots were fired, ending dictatorship and wars in their colonies.

In Grenada, Spain is “Alhambra”, a fortress and palace complex and popular attraction. It was the home of the Sultan of Granada, rebuilt in 1250-1300. We saw his opulent palace with spectacular plaster designs, tiles and fountains, flourishing gardens, his quarters and the quarters for his 4 wives, all with beautiful views of the city. Washington Irving (Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle) brought Alhambra to life in his Tales of Alhambra.

We absolutely loved the Iberian Peninsula and highly recommend it. We were told “Spain is 20 years behind Germany, and Portugal is 20 years behind Spain.” We just found it was all good wherever they are in their evolution! From Spain, we travelled to Morocco, which will be the next and last blog of this fabulous trip.