remember when....flight over lake victoria in the morning (kigali, rwanda to mwanza, tanzania, july 2014)

We are back Stateside, settling in to a new home in Seattle and spending our time with new jobs and (happily) old friends. And we've been talking about a lot of memories from our two years in Cape Town, and our traveling. We thought we'd go back and start posting more photos from some of our trips, that our initial posts just couldn't fit (especially our 4 weeks in East Africa in July 2014).

I wanted to post photos from Mwanza, Tanzania. I have some really vivid mental pictures of the giant boulders dotting the shoreline of this city that sits on the shore of Lake Victoria. We spent two days here preparing for our big trip through the Serengeti, and really enjoyed it. We stayed in a fancy (well, it's all relative) hotel with our own, clean bathroom, ate decent Indian food, had beers on the roof of our hotel watching the sun set over the lake. In contrast to feeling on display during our days in more remote parts of Rwanda and Uganda, we felt slightly less so in this bigger town. People in Mwanza were somewhat friendly, but mostly left us alone, and we wandered the streets without much fanfare.

I enjoyed eating breakfast at a place recommended in our guidebook, a little courtyard with trees overhead and a set of tables under an L-shaped tin roof. The place was full, with businessmen and young families stopping in for hot sweet buns and tea before work. We sat and watched people come and go, read the paper, watched TV, and enjoyed seeing a taste of a slightly more familiar routine.

Alas, I can't find any pictures of Mwanza. Maybe we didn't take any. We did take some photos of our plane ride there, so I thought I'd post a few of those instead.

About to board our tiny plane! Our South African pilot prepares his kit on the left.

Kigali at dawn

Sunrise through the mist! Throughout the weeks in Uganda and Rwanda I wondered whether this was mist or smoke from wood fires used for cooking. It smelled strongly of woodsmoke in Kigali. 

kruger national park as traversed by Jane, Ethan, Jennifer and Jim

Jennifer and I were honored to have Jane and Ethan visit us in South Africa.  So honored that we made them fly round trip to Joberg, drive up to Kruger National Park (5 hours) and camp without sleeping pads for two nights, before making the return drive and two massive return flights that must have amounted to at least 36 hours of travel.  I did hear that they are alive and well after the trip and we are very excited about that because we are really looking forward to their wedding in a few weeks!

We had two great mornings exchanging drivers and co-pilots and eventually meandering the minivan back towards camp without running it into the brush of too many acacia trees (we were able to cover up the minor damage by slicking some water and soap over them at a gas station, then letting extra dirt stick to the car while driving (that happens as a consequence of normal driving) :).

We would also go out for afternoon game drives and were lucky enough to spend the evening with our friend Taryn, who we met playing ultimate frizbee.  Taryn has spent at least 3 years studying in Kruger National Park and went there most years of her childhood.  There is actually a whole village in Kruger that helps support park staff and researchers--they just fence their houses.  At night the call of bushbaby's and impala can be heard on the local and majestic golf course.  Taryn brought us to two excellent places for the sunset--one overlooking a dam resevoir (for the town) that was full of grunting hippos and a variety of birds.  The next night we stood atop a kopjie (large granitic rock outcropping or big hill) to look out over the savanna and right below us down the steep slope of rock at a white rhino perusing through the underbrush.

Jane asked Taryn, "what if the rhino tries to come up here?" Taryn laughed and said, "I'd really like to see it try".  That pretty much encapsulated how common sense it was for us to feel safe on the kopjie.  Yet, Taryn followed up that warm feeling with a story about how they had to close the hill for a period of time because rangers saw a leopard stalking them on that spot one night as the leopard was figuring out that easy prey gathered at the same time and same place every night.  Pretty sure that leopard wasn't too close when we were there :).

Check out the pictures!

OK, Mom (Betsy) this is the start of your identification challenge.

the richtersveld (northern cape, south africa, march 2015)

This is the beginning of a 10 day trip into the Northern part of South Africa.  This is the place where Afrikaners fled to when Britain decreed that all slaves would become free people in 1830.  The Afrikaners refer to this mass-movement as the Great Migration.  Essentially thousands of black slaves carried Dutch settlers' stuff out into a narrowly hospitable climate (to be generous).

Our adventure was quiet at first as we needed to travel 950 km to our first campsite.  The final 48 km took longer than the first 250 km to put the remoteness of our exploration in perspective.

The single best event of the trip occurred when setting up camp after driving for 12 hours with the final 2.5 hours being the 48 km through a rugged two-track.  Needless to say we were tired, cranky, and hungry.  Accomplishing tasks such as putting up a tent, starting a fire, and preparing food in this sort of atmosphere is something that Jennifer and I do way too much on vacation.   Needless to say the situation was rife for disaster.

As Jennifer and I were trying to set up the tent we realized there was a layer of rock that would prevent our spikes from reaching far enough into the ground.  Considering the brisk wind that was blowing this meant we would likely lose our tent unless we found a new location.  So, I explored for a more suitable spot and found a good one (in my opinion, but not Jennifer's) about 10 meters away.  While I was searching for a new spot and sticking my spike into the ground, Jennifer was holding onto the tent to keep it from blowing away.

After finding my spot I thought it best to stand still while Jennifer carry the tent over--bad mistake.  Fatefully, the wind picked up and pulled the tent out of Jennifer's hands as she started to move towards the less-than-ideal new spot.  As the tent carried a few feet into the air, it moved just outside of Jennifer's grasp and began to tumble towards the rock field that ran next to the river (tent location and river indicated in pictures below).  The boulders that occupied the area within 50 meters or so of the river were large, sometimes sharp, and essentially not navigable at fast speeds.  

Jennifer was wearing two-strap sandals, so she took off after the tent.  I was barefoot, but quickly decided that should the tent be faster than Jennifer I would be best served downstream if the tent managed to lodge itself in the river.  I took off downstream to cross the rock field in a different place where the river narrowed to a deep section next to a protruding and tall rock that I could use as a spotting location.  

As I was working my way, not so quickly, across the rocks I could hear Jennifer begin to move into histerics.  Some crying, some shouting, general exasperation.  I just remember shouting to be careful crossing the rocks as I didn't want her to get her ankle twisted or hurt herself in a mad fury to reach the tent.  

When I arrived at the river's edge I was in position to talk to Jennifer so I called up stream, "Did the tent go in the river?", then "Yes".  "Did it sink", then "Yes".  "Can you see it", then "No, it hit and sank and went away and now its gone, I can't see it!"

So, I waited for a brief moment on my rock, thinking that the tent may be deep in the water as the river looked like it could be 20+ feet deep in the section below my post.  However, in a few seconds I could see the ghostly shape of the tent under the water--mostly thanks to the orange pieces.  As it was 30 minutes past sunset and we were still discussing the likelihood of the river having crocodiles (forgot to ask at reception 2.5 hours before) it was quite a scary moment for me.  But, to lose the tent when it was clearly within grasp would have been inexcusable.  

Upon jumping into the fast-moving and deep current, I found that moving the tent was much like trying to pick up 500 pounds, or move a hot-air balloon around with a rope on a windy day.  It was essentially impossible to move and pulling itself deeper into the water with the current.  To solve this problem, I pulled myself under water with the tent and began taking it apart to reduce its drag.  A sheet underwater will produce very little drag, so holding my breath for a few seconds I packed the tent down and began to swim it towards the surface/shore.  Thankfully, I was able to get myself into a counter-current eddy that formed below my big rock outcropping and the current actually pushed me back up against the rocks.  Tent saved!  Adventure had!

The climate was so hot and dry that even without the sun the tent dried in a matter of minutes.  Following this episode we had lots of laughs and decided to keep heavy rocks in the tent at all times.

The rest of the trip was not as interesting, thank goodness, but we did have good fun exploring the desert wilderness.

The rolling, smooth hills are formed by gneiss intrusions--a form of granite that penetrated into the crust of the African and South American crustal plates as they separated ~130 million years ago.

This is not the dirt 2-track mentioned above--it is road through mining areas heading into the Richtersveld.

agra fort (agra, uttar pradesh, india)

Just before we went to see the Taj, shortly after arriving in Agra, we visited the Agra Fort.

Driving in to Agra, things just gradually became denser until you realized that you couldn’t see fields any longer, only shops. The roads were narrow, much narrower than Delhi, and the shops much smaller and less modern.

We drove over the river which separates the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort, and got our first glimpse of the Taj along with the sight of a few men bathing in the river, and a group of cows cooling off in the water. My classmate Karthik explained how dirty the water was. I could see bits of trash near the shoreline and could see that the water was nowhere near clear.

We visited Agra Fort, and I enjoyed seeing the palaces. Our tour guide pointed out brass roofs on the tops of white marble structures, and explained that they had been gold roofs, but the British came and took the gold and replaced it with brass. It was a good example of the sorts of pillaging that Karthik had been describing to me earlier in the day when I asked how he thought of the British. 

seventh wonder - taj mahal (agra, uttar pradesh, india)

I am recently returned from another MBA trip, this time to India. Before classes started, I had the chance to tour (briefly) two prime sight-seeing spots in northern India: Agra and Jaipur.

Figured I would start with photos of the prime attraction: the Taj Mahal. I got to see it in the late afternoon, and we hung around through sunset. Another one of those surreal life experiences that I have been lucky to have so many of this year.

One thing that surprised me (in a good way!) was how many of the tourists were Indian. I asked one of my Indian classmates about it, and he said that there are different prices for Indian nationals. He explained that making a visit to the Taj Mahal is still a very expensive endeavor, and some of these families might be coming for the only time in their lives.

At popular tourist activities in South Africa and other African countries, to be honest, most of the people touring are white. I just heard something on the radio yesterday about a woman writing a letter of complaint to the City of Cape Town about prohibitive pricing on attractions like Robben Island and Table Mountain. Her argument was, simply stated, that she's never seen these amazing sights because they are too expensive, and now that she is getting older, she wishes she could go. I think she makes a fair point, especially for the Robben Island museum, which is something every South African should have the chance to see. A few parks in Rwanda had "national" and "foreign" pricing, as did the Genocide Museum, and it seemed to make a difference in the number of Rwandans we saw, especially at the museum in Kigali.

A brief history of the Taj: it was built between 1631 and 1648 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan. He founded Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), amassed a huge fortune, and built a lot of monuments. He built the Taj as a burial monument to his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, who died in 1631 giving birth to their 13th child. For that reason, it's interpreted as a site recognizing true love.

After he built the Taj, Shah Jehan went a little off his rocker, and was pushed out of power by his son and essentially imprisoned in his rooms in the palace at Agra Fort, across the river from the monument (he had wanted to build a black version of the Taj as a burial site for himself. Instead his son buried him in the Taj after he died). He got to look out at it every day.

I'll also post more photos from the other major sights we saw, including Agra Fort (where the Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal lived), as well as Jaipur.

Walking up to the gate at the Taj Mahal. From here, you can't see any of the actual building. The small arched doorways on the right that line this big courtyard were used as hotel rooms until not long ago, for people who wanted to come and see the Taj.

Facing the gate - excitement builds!

Our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal.

This is probably my favorite picture - from much later in the evening as the sun was getting low. But it was too good to bury at the end of the blog post! Click through for more. 

Our tour guide was very excited about taking this photo for each of us! Had to do it.

sangoma visit (shewula, swaziland)

On the final leg of our holiday road trip, we went up to Swaziland for a few days. Swaziland is one of the two entirely land-locked countries bordering (enclosed by) South Africa; Lesotho is the other. Both are kingdoms with traditional tribal leadership. 

Our first impression was that Swaziland was in pretty good shape! (relative to our expectations anyway - Jennifer has done some volunteering with HIV organizations, and had done lots of reading on how widespread the HIV epidemic is in Swaziland, which led us to expect sub-par government services. Sounds like things have improved since the early 2000s). We drove across the whole country (which isn't exactly saying a lot - it took maybe 4 hours) and saw good roads and some nice towns and productive farms. Sugar cane is a big industry there, and there are a few sugar processing mills that provide some good work. 

We spent a couple of nights near Mbabane, the capital, in a resort-y valley called Ezulwini. There was a shopping mall down the road with all our familiar South African brands (Woolie's, Mugg & Bean!) and some nice walking right outside the door. But we were hankering to see a little more of the country, and after discovering a very local guidebook in an art gallery on our first morning and phoning around to a couple of community-run lodges in rural areas, we decided to head up to Shewula for New Year's Eve. 

We were so glad we did. What a beautiful, peaceful place. Definitely recommend anyone interested in Swaziland take a look!! http://www.shewulacamp.org/thecamp.php. The camp was clean and welcoming and quiet, and we really enjoyed a couple of tours of the area, which is filled with subsistence farms (mostly maize and wheat, plus vegetable gardens). 

On our first afternoon, we had an amazing visit with a sangoma, a traditional healer, and enjoyed asking her questions about her life and work. We had heard that over 80% of South Africans visit with a sangoma at least once per year, so were curious to see what this was all about. This sangoma said she sees around 15 people per day on average, mostly from South Africa and Swaziland. Since she is about a 30 minute drive up a dirt road, after a 1-2 hour drive from the nearest town on the highway, which is another 2-3 hours from the South African border on any side, we thought those were impressive numbers. She sees very few Mozambicans, despite her road being only 10km from the border. We gathered that the sangomas in Mozambique follow a slightly different tradition.

Here was our view of the sangoma and her tools: her bones are on the mat in front of her, which she "throws" to read someone's fortune. The many bottles next to her are full of homemade poultices and tinctures, which she prescribes for various ailments. Calendars are on the wall behind her. 

She is answering our questions, translated by December, who sits to her left. We asked about her outfit, and she said the spirits require her to wear certain things, so everything she wears was specifically requested by a spirit.

road tripping and city living (durban and sodwana bay, kwaZulu-natal)

We had a great time breaking up our time in the wild with a little stopover in Durban on our road trip. Durban has a huge Indian community, so the food is awesome. We had great curries every night and spent afternoons walking the city beaches. 

From Durban we headed north up the coast to Sodwana Bay, a beautiful place a bit south of the border of Mozambique. Jennifer got her scuba certification, and Jim got an advanced open water certification. We only got to dive together a couple of times :) but managed to see some beautiful water life - green turtles, moray eels, giant potato bass (as big as Jennifer!!), and amazing live corals. Aside from vomiting at the end of every dive waiting for the boat to head back to shore (Jennifer gets very seasick!!) it was an amazing week at scuba camp. 

A camera shot back towards the city of Durban.

Beers on a big pier over the Durban Waterfront after a long morning beach walk.

Hanging out on the beach!

Who needs an ocean when there is a gigantic pool that is 2 feet deep?  This was a spectacle to behold!

A Durban beach two days before Christmas.  There are certain sections of the beach for swimming that are about 100 meters wide and tightly policed by lifeguards.  Kids from all around pack into those 100 meters to get their chance at diving and jumping into the waves.

Body surfing!

monks cowl and didima gorge (drakensberg mountains, kwaZulu-natal)

The Drakensberg Mountains are a stunning wilderness that has protected and provided for thousands upon thousands of generations of humans.  They functioned as a boundary for the Basutu people who were defending themselves from an encroaching and militaristic Zulu population and later the encroaching and militaristic Boers, not to mention the English.  Before this recent history they were home to Khoi Khoi or Khoi San people.  The evidence of the Khoi Khoi can be found in really cool rock art--some of which we found and is pictured below.  

Finding hidden caves is probably one of the coolest aspects of the Drakensberg.  They are on maps, but that does not mean you are going to find them.  We hiked far and wide to find two caves and spent the night happily tucked away behind a waterfall for one night.  The cave was so protective and peaceful that we spent about 20 hours hanging out, eating, and sleeping before moving on.  

The grass is stunning--more recently burned sections actually look greener.

There are plentiful streams and waterfalls as it is the rainy season.  Getting caught in one thunderstorm taught us how quickly the waters can rise.  We ended up saving a German couple from possible demise after a particularly powerful thunderstorm brought streams from 5 cm deep, to 1 meter deep in a matter of minutes after pelting us with marble-sized hail.  If you're wondering what the hell we were doing we were too.  That was our last hike up the big mountain.  Until next time!

Disclaimer:  The pictures are not in chronological order--maybe I'll take the time to rearrange them later.

This is one of a few of the Ranger Cabins.  So, don't think they're used very much anymore.  This is called the Ranger Station on the map.  Gives you a good idea of the politics in the region.  If someone builds a public building near you that means you are allowed to harvest anything valuable from that structure...including its roof.

This nearly hidden road through a swamp reminded me of Frodo walking through the swamp of the ancient battlefield where there were dead elves and orcs.  The Drakensberg was also an area that inspired curiosity and imagination in a young JRR Tolkien.

children's home in komga with jon, mike, jim, amy, mark, the volunteers, aunties, uncles, and the kids!

Our last stop in Komga was very important to all of us--we wanted to see all of the good work that Amy and Mark Rolfes were up to at the Children's Home.  We met some great people--five volunteers that had just graduated from Notre Dame, Aunties and Uncles who keep the kids in order, and of course the kids!

We had a fun morning hanging out with the kids who didn't go home during the school holiday that was happening when we were there.  Jon and I were able to secure a piece of metal from one of the tennis court stands that looked in danger of causing multiple wounds this year as kids were pedaling their bikes past it at top speed.  We were bending metal right and left, but eventually prevailed in moving the nuts that hadn't been spun in 20+ years.  Meantime, the kids were drawing pictures of me on the tennis court with rocks.  Each drawing surpassed the one before it until I was a long-haired caricature with huge breasts and a skirt, ha ha!  I was impressed with the playful creativity of the kids, but needless to say Mike was VERY impressed to the point that he had trouble keeping himself from laughing to tears.

Mark and Amy put us up for the night at a local lodge and we had some great Kudu lasagna that reminded me of all the times I ate my Dad's venison tomale pie.

This time in Komga sealed a great trip and ended our great adventure into the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  We then spent a whole day at the pool, playing tennis, and doing nothing at the mansion to make sure the boys were recovered for their long trip home.

Thanks a ton for coming down here Mike and Jon!  It made the whole South African experience more real for Amy & Mark and me & Jennifer--it is a long ways away from the people we care about and it means a lot!

Below is a joke to start the post, "continue the joke"

This is Mike's form of manual zoom--screenshot, zoom, screenshot, zoom, screenshot.  Killer look from the Dossie!

        

  

Jon preparing some extra food to bring to the Komga Children's Home.  If only we hadn't decided it was best to consolidate the fries into one of the trays, the salad into another, and the pies into another.  We could have just left them all in their trays!  Mike and I enjoyed watching Jon try to close these trays--the task was meant for more nimble fingers.

Jon and Amy under the Acacia Tree.

Mike using the universal tourist symbol.

Curious gazes from Jon, Amy, and Mike.

This is the ravine next to the lodge where we stayed in Komga. 

Looking out away from the ravine.

Must be a typical scene at the Children's Home.