Kari Schibevaag >> Girls Camp in Morocco

Once again I was on the plane, this time to arrange a girl camp in Morocco with Gemma Hamaini. The place was again Dakhla southwest in Morocco.

I arrived on time, but my luggage came a couple of days late (as usual). I was met with sun, wind and a happy girl who had already tested the spot. Elisabeth from Norway was glad to be back in the lagoon, this time with her own full set of Ozone kites. At the last camp she got to try my 6m Catalyst and was so happy with this kite that she went back to Norway getting her very own. She had also brought with her her new 9m and 11m 2011 C4 kites.

First morning the weather offered rain and thunderstorms, and all the girls were a bit shocked that Sahara had this to offer. I took it all by ease as I knew that after rain the sun always comes (you just don’t know how long you will have to wait :) ). We used the time to find equipment for the girls who needed this and to show them around the camp.

After just a few hours with bad weather the sun and wind was back. Everyone was relived and happy to get started with the kiting.

The lagoon, which is situated only 20 meters from the tent, was there waiting everyday with flat water and strong steady wind. We were kiting the whole week and the girls had to take breaks to gather energy to keep up, everyone was in the water many hours per day.

There were both beginners and intermediate riders at the camp and by the end of the week everyone was up riding on their boards. I taught the intermediate girls and we practiced tricks from morning until evening. New tricks were set everyday day and I was impressed to see how much of a beating the girls could take. Vera from the youth camp I held in Stavanger was also here, and I think her together with Elisabeth were the two girls who spent the most hours on the water. They never gave in and set themselves goals which they reached by the end of the week. I was very glad that it was the Vikings of the North that showed the others what the effort was.

Even though we used the most of the time on the water we also had time for some other activities in between the sessions. One evening we went to Dakhla city to check out the local market and try out the Moroccan sushi. The Norwegian national holiday was celebrated in the traditional Norwegian way with flags and I also baked cinnamon rolls for the girls this day.

In the evening the girls got to show their moves on the dance floor and beat the local break dance heroes in a dance off. The lunch breaks were spent practicing Slakkline and it was even time for a spa treatment one afternoon in the local hot spring (consisting of a pump and a tube…)

In the end all the girls were very pleased with the week but you could trace some sad looks as the board bags were packed and the cars filled as the sun shined, the wind was blowing and the few girls who had decided to stay longer were seen kiting on the water.

New skills were learnt, friendships tied and memories made (a kiteloop made some memories more extreme than others…) and the girls are already ready to come back next year.

Kariland.com

GoogleVideo:550,309,www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=24410371&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1