weathergirl

I have got sand in my ears and nose and mouth at the windy windy Essouria, ridden a camel, got bitten by a monkey, been hassled like I wouldn’t believe, got fat with lamb and couscous, grossed out by the awfulness of the meat stalls, and been entranced by getting lost in the old streets and markets of Marrakech. It’s a fascinating place.

I went over the weekend, and loved it. The sun was setting, it was beautiful. I wasn’t expecting it to be so filled with tourists though! xxx

Me and the bf spent the evening walking around this wonderful place this evening. It was so hot and we walked for hours barefoot in the fields and the streams and generally had a great great time! It’s fairly close to us – certainly within driving distance – but it feels light years away from London. It felt so peaceful and the fields were full of meadowsweet. I really needed it! xxx

One more pic here. I love the old old stone walls and bridges in this area. Some of the stone circles date back to the Stone Age, and there are remnants of the tin mining that used to happen everywhere. The history of this area is so remarkable, and I feel the place is so unchanged, as if somehow I’m seeing it as it would have been many hundreds of years ago. I remember my Dad telling me that when he didn’t get into medical school he went walking here to clear his head. I’ve done the same thing when I’m feeling shitty and it never fails to help me to see past the inconsequential and see the quiet beauty I sometimes fail to notice. xxx

I’m posting this for Scribbles, he wanted to see some pics! We went hiking yesterday and we had a fab time, it’s so rugged and starkly beautiful here. My relatives still farm here and it’s great to see how people live in real harmony with the land and each other. Plus the Dartmoor ponies – small, real thick coats, and lots of spirit – are so so adorable.

We did about 10 miles and I enjoyed every minute. This was taken near Bellever. xxx

I had to put this on my list when I read this article in the Metro a couple of days ago, which really took me out of my miserable tube journey into the desert, and made me remember how much I’d love to learn about Native American Culture.

Canyons, Shamans and Spas by James Litston

There’s a spooky legend among the Cahuilla people of the Coachella Valley that tells the story of Tahquitz, a malevolent shaman. It is said that his spirit haunts a lonely canyon near the village of Palm Springs, where he preys upon the souls of those with evil ways. To this day, some Cahuilla refuse to set foot in Tahquitz Canyon.

Modern visitors have no such qualms and the guided walks into Tahquitz and the other Indian Canyons are one of Palm Spring’s most popular attractions.

The Indian Canyons are tribal lands belonging to the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians, whose ancestors inhabited this desert landscape for many centuries. Thanks to the perennial streams that flow among the canyons, they were able to develop thriving communities.

The ranger-led tours reveal how ingenious the Cahuilla were in exploiting the desert’s resources. What my untrained eyes take for barren scrub turns out to be chock-full of goodies. Hungry? Try a desert apricot. Sore throat? Brittlebrush leaves will remedy that. Need to contact the spirit world? A carefully prepared dose of deadly jimson-weed produces a powerful hallucinogenic trip.

_Further insight into tribal customs can be gained on a jeep tour of the nearby Indio Hills. Here, on the Indian Cultural Adventure, we visit another palm-filled canyon oasis. Morgan, our fantastic guide, explains how the Cahuilla choose their children’s names based on distinctive characteristics, rather than on parental whim as in our own culture. To illustrate the point, she gives everyone on the tour an Indian-style name; thus Barry, the joker of the group, dark haired Ariel, and her cheeky son Elijah become Laughs-A-Lot, Raven, Bright Eyes. Morgan thinks I have an authoritarian voice so I become Speaks Once. _

Having worked up a sweat in the hot desert sun, it’s time to head back into town to experience another Cahuilla tradition. Palm Springs’ hot mineral springs (the “agua caliente” after which the tribe is names) bubble to the surface from deep underground.

Long used by the Cahuilla, the water’s healing properties were recognised by European settlers, who established a bathhouse in the 1880s. By the 1950s, it had evolved into a spa that attracted celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Marlene Dietrich.

Today, the spa provides massage and skincare treatments with the signature therapy, “taking of the waters” – a therapeutic soak in the curative springs. The intense heat and sulphurous fumes leave you light-headed but you’ll soon recover after a lie down in a “tranquillity room”.

The spa and adjacent hotel make up the top notch Spa Resort, which is owned and operated by the tribe to ensure it an economically stable future.

Another such project is the new Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, which the tribe hopes will help preserve its land, language, and culture. When completed, the museum will house exhibitions and provide space for classes in Indian crafts.

I’m learning about the genocide here for the course I’m doing at the moment and it’s encouraged me to read up. I’ve read this country is rich with history, culture, breathtaking scenery. I’d love to see mountain gorillas – I know that’s what everyone goes to see, so I’d try to explore a bit and see the rest of the country.

I want to find out more about how the genocide happened as well – why it was allowed to happen and why the international community isn’t more willing to intervene in situations like Rwanda in 1994 and Darfur now. If this had happened a bit nearer to home there would have been more done. I’d like to go there and try to never forget.

I’m driving up to London this weekend, I’m thinking of making a detour and going here. I think it’ll be great to walk on these cliffs. xxx

Living in London for three years without going here is just so wrong! I especially want to go for the Egyptian displays, I’ve heard they’re really fun. And I know they they should be in Greece etc etc but I’d still like to see the Elgin marbles too. xxx

..and has a wonderful atmosphere. I haven’t been here for years – the last time I went up was for a medical school interview. It was the nicest interview I’ve ever had, it lasted less than 10 minutes and they were lovely to me. I had persuaded my Dad to drive me up (quite a way from Devon!) and he was so against me going there he drove me round all the nasty areas of the town trying to scare me – Toxteth especially. Although he took me to Penny Lane too.

I decided to go to London in the end (not because of my Dad, I promise!) but I always kind of regretted it because I felt a real connection with the place. I remember – it was a few hours before my interview, and it was the first one I’d gone too so I was feeling nervous – and we went and stood overlooking the Mersey and it was foggy and grey and atmospheric and strangely beautiful.