a little history
I’ve been fascinated with Morocco for a long time. Decades. The Islamic architecture, the ornate tilework, the colourful pottery, those magnificent cut-metal lanterns…I love it all.
I even named my cat “Morocco”, after my dream of going there!
Long before I got a chance to visit Morocco, I collected bits and pieces of Moroccan decor. Thrift shops, Winners and HomeSense, and a fabulous little shop called Andalous on Yonge Street in Toronto all afforded great finds. We’re so lucky in Canada, and especially in Toronto, that we can get products from all over the world. I once found an old Moroccan lantern in a community garbage drop-off pile!
I’ve also been entranced by the Sahara Desert seemingly forever. I remember as a very young child wanting to be either a kindergarten teacher like my big sister, or an Egyptologist. What kind of weird kid even knows what that is??? I quickly grew out of wanting to surround myself with small children (yikes – the horror!), but the African desert never lost its appeal. I was particularly enthralled by those oceans of sand called ergs that we see in movies and magazines – undulating dunes as far as the eye can see. Stunning. Every time I’d see a picture, my heart would yearn to experience this for myself. Maybe the solitude? The awesome force of nature? The antiquity? I don’t know. Mountains never stirred my soul this way, and big water makes me seasick, lol.
change = opportunity
In late 2014, mom started having health problems. Long story short, I ended up giving up my apartment in Toronto and moving back home to Hamilton to care for mom. Two strong-willed, independent women in the same house. It was a constant surprise to everyone – including mom and me! – that we didn’t kill each other. Most of the time, we didn’t even want to, LOL.
So now that I wasn’t financing a pied-à-terre in downtown Toronto, finally, in 2016, I was able to go on a small, private group tour of Morocco for two weeks. WOW. Morocco exceeded all my expectations (and really, how often does one get to say that about anything in life???). We saw a lot of different places, but the highlight for me was the camel trek into the big dunes of Erg Chebbi and staying overnight in nomad tents.
That trip turned out to be the first of many trips to Morocco. By now, I’ve seen a fair bit of the country, but I always gravitate back to the desert.
the dream made (even more) real
Fast forward to January 2020. Mom was going into a nursing home and we had to sell her house. I was going to be homeless – I had the cottage but it’s not habitable in cold weather. Around the same time, a desert home I’d rented a few times in Morocco went up for sale – in the Sahara Desert, within sight of the magnificent big dunes of Erg Chebbi. Talk about timing! I was lucky enough to be able to buy it, and all of a sudden I was a bi-continental land baron. Modest estates, to be sure, but still. I never imagined owning any home, and now all of a sudden I had two!
Of course, Covid-19 then proceeded to shut down the world, so despite having two homes, I still didn’t have a place to live. My sister Wendy and her husband Barry generously let me live in their basement. For months. (And have continued to let me stay there off and on whenever I’ve needed to. I have living out of an IKEA bag down to a fine art.)
I was able to get to Morocco in November 2020, and started settling in. The house is a traditional Berber dwelling, made of mud and straw bricks, but it’s got solar power, hot and cold running water, and wifi! So now I get to live in Morocco during the colder months and see those dunes every day. I never get tired of the view.
the cottage
My other home is in the hamlet of Woodland Beach, Ontario. “The cottage” has been in our family since my grandparents bought it in 1948; eventually it came to me. It’s rustic. Very rustic. It’s always only been a summer place, but now that it’s my only home in Canada, I need to be able to live there comfortably for longer – ideally from June to the end of October each year. So I’ve been fixing the structure (it’s old and needed work) and adding insulation. It’s a huge job and there’s tons more to do, but I love the place and the work.
It’s called “Woodland” Beach for a reason – tons of tall trees all around. Summers are green and lush and falls are gloriously colourful. Autumn is my favourite season and there’s no better place on Earth to experience it than Ontario.
the birth of the blog
It’s been a challenge keeping friends and family updated with what’s going on in my life. Some people are on Whatsapp. Others are not. Some have email, but never seem to get the pictures I send. Even when I was in Canada this past summer, Covid and the lack of a vehicle made getting together extremely challenging. (Plus I tend to be a bit of a hermit when left to my own devices, lol.)
Now, as Covid drags on and on and on, it feels more important than ever to keep these social relationships alive. But, me, I’m not very good at initiating all those conversations, and trying to keep track of who’s in what loop is too hard for my poor little pea-brain.
So I decided to try my hand at a blog, and “Camels and Cottages” was born.
Of course, not being terribly tech-savvy has meant a long learning curve, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now. The writing is easy. It’s the formatting and wrangling those pesky photos down to a manageable size (who knew how involved that process would be???) that has been the hard part. I’m still learning, so forgive my errors.
Best not be in a hurry when you visit the blog. Pithy I’m not. I write how I talk and once I start it’s hard to shut me up. 🙂
Welcome!