Two weeks ago, Emma and I were in Baku for Easter. During that time, we were lucky enough to spend a couple of meals with some very generous ex-pats. At one of those meals I met the local Baku Boy Scout Scoutmaster. He explained that he ran a multinational troop and I explained that I was an Eagle Scout. Our mutual interest grew as we discovered that his troop's next camp-out was actually to my region, Samaxi. He suggested that I come out and talk to the troop about my time as a Boy Scout, as well as my experiences in Azerbaijan as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Very excited about being able to camp-out and get back into scouting, I eagerly accepted.
So... Last Friday rolled around, I met the troop's caravan of SUVs in Samaxi and we headed up to the designated camp-site. Originally I thought we would be camping by a lake somewhat close to a village I had visited. However, once joining the caravan I realized that we were heading for a site up close to the Soviet Era Observatory and Azerbaijani National Park, Pirgulu.
We stopped a couple of times along the way to pick up a variety of items: charcoal, a local guide and then after about a half an hour of driving up into a thickening fog, directions from a wandering villager. The directions worked and we soon found ourselves at a damp, slightly horizontal campsite. The cars were unpacked, tents pitched and food organized. For dinner we had foil wraps, which for anyone who has participated in a Boy Scout Event, is known as the staple of solid camp cuisine.
After dinner, the dads pulled out a guitar and we sang 70's rock anthems such as: Sweet Home Alabama, The Weight, Sweet Baby James, American Pie, etc. To top it all, we were even provided Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. It really doesn't get much better.
So, after a long night of warm sugary beverages and fire side songs, I headed off to bed. I don't have any pictures of this but I shared a tent with two of the adult troop leaders. Our tent was staked upon some of the more level ground available, still twice in the night I woke up a foot or so south of my pillow having slid down the hill, ha ha.
The next morning I woke to the sound of excited pre-teens and the smell of sizzling bacon. After a large breakfast containing portions of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon, the kids started on a number of tasks pertaining to certain scouting requirements they were in need of completing.
During that time, I was able to talk to most of the dads. A lot of the families were in Azerbaijan due to the fathers working for BP, Chevron... IE, Big Oil. However, despite the stigma attached to working for those companies, these dads turned out to be incredible guys. (I am thinking of the oil men I have met while out in some of Baku's finer drinking establishments, when writing this semi judgmental line...) One of which was actually from St. Louis and he was a HUGE Cardinals fan. See, I mean these guys were cool. So, yeah, the boys worked on merit badges while I got to talk to the dads.
At lunch, I talked to the boys about being an Eagle Scout and a Peace Corps Volunteer. Then we headed out on what was supposed to be a five mile hike. The path led right into the mountains and by the end, five miles had turned into seven and a half... We hiked around some of the most beautiful parts of Azerbaijan I have ever seen. It was really great to revisit some of the more compelling reasons for while Azerbaijan is so very special. The diversity of nature and breathtaking beauty of the southern Caucuses are quite impressive. It is nice to be reminded of that.
The weekend was a great escape from the rush of my dramatically slow life, ha ha. Here are some pictures of the fun.
American Tents
The Dads singing American classics
Breakfast
Crossing at the semi-dry riverbed
The Troop
3/4 of the way into the hike
-Mathias
1 comment:
I love the new picture on the header of your blog! The old one was kind of depressing.
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