Aachen, Ancient City of Kings

The last full day we had in Germany was a John's Pick Day, since he had come with us to the Steiff factory.  He picked the city of Aachen, which is very historically significant because it was not only a favorite of Charlamagne's, but it was also the coronation city of kings of Germany.  In Roman times people took advantages of the springs there, and in the middle ages Aachen became a royal city.  The main attraction is a huge cathedral, which has been built over many centuries and therefore looks like a hodgepodge of architectural ideas.  It also houses the remains of Charlemagne and his throne.  The rest of the city has some interesting history too, but we didn't get to see much of it, as I shall explain later.



It was nice to not get up at the crack of dawn for once.  Previously I had been up early either on planes, getting ready to go on planes, or to board some trains.  We did indeed board a train this day, but the morning had a much more leisurly feel.  Although Aachen was not the city I immediately thought of when thinking about "cool cities to visit!" after learning a bit about the history I was excited to see this big important cathedral and the ancient city.  Plus, you know, Charlamagne's an important guy so it's cool to see his stuff.  When we got to Aachen the weather was quite nasty; cold, sleeting, and grey.  We had to find our way around the city somewhat blindly.  None of us had ever been there before, but luckily there are a lot of tourists and also a lot of tourist information.   When we did find the cathedral it was very large, Gothic, and impressive.  Around the outside was another Weinachtmarkt, the Christmas market, and so I headed for some gluwein to warm me up.  I was also quite hungry, so I feasted on a potato pancake (which came with applesauce, oddly enough) and gluwein.  I paid a few extra euro for a deposit on the mug.  It began to sleet and rain in earnest, so I downed my potato pancake and ran with Dad and John for the inside of the cathedral.  I rather forgot that I had the mug still and when I got inside Dad advised me to down the drink so that I wouldn't get in trouble for having it inside.  I did, and stashed the mug safely in the bag.  We milled around the inside of the cathedral's entrance and main hall area for a while, admiring the colorful mosaics and ornate saint boxes.  John went to see if he could find information about getting a tour.  It turns out that tours can only be booked several days in advance (especially English ones) and there is a minimum number of 10 people per tour.  Uh oh.  So we didn't get the tour, but later we saw a photo of the throne of Charlemagne and...it was a wooden chair that looked like an ancient toilet.

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After we left the cathedral we browsed the Christmas market a bit and then headed back through the city towards the train station.  The sleet had stopped, but it was still pretty cold.  Especially for someone who had been acclimated to Africa for the past four and half months!  We passed a lot of gorgeous shop window displays with holiday themes, exciting fountains, and big posters for Steiff bears.  We also got a little lost in the dark.  When we did make it back to the station I was very, very grateful to get on the warm train back to our apartment in Dusseldorf.  

 A few days earlier we had seen a wooden music box nativity at one of the Dusseldorf Weinachtmarkts that we thought would be just perfect as a Christmas gift for mumsey.  Now we were determined to try and find it again because we wouldn't have another chance before leaving for the US.  The entailed the three of us running around Dusseldorf at night, in the frigid weather, getting more and more frustrated.  Eventually Dad's German insticts lead us to the right place and we were so relieved!  Music box, purchased!  Then it was time for a celebratory last dinner in the Altstadt, and Dad took us to one of his favorite haunts.  Unfortunately our friend Ollie was locked up in a business meeting and couldn't join us :(  But we did have a great dinner and some quality drinks!  I was quite tired by this point, and ready to sink into my comfy bed.  It was going to be another extremely early morning.

The Promise Land: Steiff

The next day we got up early- before the sun was up- in order to make the long trek across Germany to Giengen where the Steiff factory has been located since it was founded by a young woman named Margarete Steiff in 1880.  If you aren't familiar with this company check out their US website here.  Since I've been collecting Steiff my whole life it is literally the promise land.  Dad's friend John was very good natured about being dragged on an all day trip to a toy factory.  We started out
the journey with some (haha) Starbuck's coffee in order to fortify us.  What followed was many hours on trains, changing trains, and also some train stations.  We saw a lot of the countryside, which I liked because it was a good way to soak in the country during my brief visit.  The precise schedule of the German train system became very apparent when our train came into the platform a minute or two late and we consequently missed our connecting train to Giengen.  So we killed some time in the station and waited for the train that would take us on the last leg of the journey.  It finally came, right on time, and I was going mad with anticipation.  Giengen is a cute little town, almost entirely based around the Steiff factory and the historical aspect of the life of Margarete Steiff, who is the local hero.  We got off the train and immediately saw signs pointing us towards the factory.  In addition there were giant bear pawprints on the sidewalk to guide us.  It would have been a real feat to get lost.  As we walked we passed a Marklin store, but for some reason Pappy didn't go in for a peak.  Marklin trains are his Steiff.

The factory, when we arrived after a short walk, was just like in all the photos I oggled.  It was glorious!  The white building is the 'klinik" where Steiff go to be fixed, and the glass and round buildings are part of the museum tour.

The big glass building was the original factory, but has since been retired.  When we walked inside the museum we were immediately greeted by a display of a wintery tree, giant Steiff bears, and a profusion of Steiff squirrels.  On the other side was the (!) store (!).  We power browsed through it before purchasing our tickets for the museum tour.  John decided to come along with us, but I suspect he may have regretted his decision when it began and became obvious that it was designed for young children.  Pappy and I found it amusing, and I put up with the kitschy stuff because the displays, layouts, and magnitude of Steiff animals was magnificent!  In one area there were studio sized animals, which are huge Steiff that are rideable, and I went around and sat on the giant elephants, polar bears, and caribou.  There were all kinds of giant animals.  Like a wonderful petting zoo.

There was event a snake slide that led to the floor below!  I slid down it twice!  The floor below (also reachable by staircase and elevator) had all the historical animals in glass cases.  Also very fascinating and wonderful.  This then led back into the (!) store (!).  Pappy and I spent a lot more time browsing around while John went off on a self guided tour of the town.  We decided to venture across the street to a cute little shop called Barenburg, which is turned out was started by Margarete's sister and has been selling ever since.  It was packed with all kinds of animals, including vintage Steiff!  The staff were very kind and didn't mind me running around and touching everything.  They only spoke German, so Pappy communicated with them for me.  It was sososososososo hard to make decisions!  In the end, after A LOT of deliberation (let me say that again, A LOT) I ended with two fine canines and a little Christmas fawn.  By that time was dark and had started to snow.  It was a beautiful way to end the shopping experience...well, it was almost ended.  We went back to the factory to buy a teddy bear for my then-not-yet-born nephew.  Since my parents had bought a Steiff bear for me before I was born they thought it would be cute to buy one for the nephew too.  Pappy spent a lot of time selecting the most perfect bear.  I bought a few Steiff critter keychains for myself, my goddaughter, and one of my good friends.  Then we met up with John and headed back to the train station.  It was snowing in earnest by then and we were glad to get onto the train.  It was a long, sleepy journey back, and I kept peeking at my delightful new Steiff critters.  When we finally got back to our little apartment I was quite happy to curl up under my blanket.  I think Pappy and John were too.

  

Crisp German Winter Air...That's Good Right?

After meeting up with Pappy at the Dusseldorf train station we walked back to the rented apartment where he and John (and now I) were staying.  It was wonderful to see Pappy again and be back in good old Germany.  Like I mentioned before, I fit in and looked just like everybody else!  For once, that was a good thing.  I don't think the yarn dreadlocks I had (which I now miss greatly) even made me stand out.  The apartment was very luxurious, with a big living room, two lovely bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and the best part! I nice warm, cozy bathroom complete with a deep bathtub and separate shower!  I could have stayed in there for days!  As much as I liked the refreshingly cold air I also was in the habit of being very well heated and I guess my body just didn't want to give that up.  That certainly became apparent when, later that night, I went outside and frigid night air hit me, making me want to vomit and run back inside to hide in a hot bath.

But back to the apartment- We didn't stay there too long.  By that time John was up and after introductions we headed back out...and back to the station for some real German food!  I was so excited to have new food options!  No longer a slave to chicken and rice, I could be a vegetarian in peace once again!  We ate at a nice little cafe in the station and then set out for a day's adventures in the city.  Dad and John had spotted a store window featuring Steiff the day before and challenged me to find it.  Game on.  Walking around Dusseldorf also meant that we could happily explore the wonderful Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas markets.  I love these! They were booths all set up outside selling every Christmas item known to man, as well as selling hearty food like potato pancakes and pretzels.  I discovered the joy of drinking hot Gluhewein (I think I spelled that right...?), which is hot spiced wine.  It takes a little getting used to, and probably wouldn't taste very good outside of the setting of a cold Christmas season.  It also comes in nifty mugs.  I later learned that stealing/buying these mugs is a Blank family tradition.  One I was happy to become a part of when I accidentally (...kind of) made off with one myself in Aachen.  I think I probably lived on Gluhewein and potato pancakes.  We visited a huge mall, which was all decked out for Christmas, and enjoyed the sights and sound of beloved Germany.  And yes, my Steiff-y senses did lead me to the window with the big display, which was in a Kauhauf, which are big department stores.  We went inside to the third or fourth floor to inspect the Steiff merchandise.  It was here that Pappy found the model of bear that he wanted to buy for young Ian, who was not yet born at that point.  Soon it was time for lunch and so we headed to the infamous Altstadt for some bier and feasting.  Our destination was an establishment called Uerige (I probably spelled that wrong), which served some delicious alt bier and the wonderful Dusseldorf mustard, among other things.  I was happy to munch on cheese, bread, and mustard- aaannnndd beer, after such a long stint of eating chicken and rice.  Pappy also bought me what must be one of the world's coolest t-shirt, which featured a skill and the Uerige logo surrounded by lines of majesty and the key ingredients in beer.  Glory!

After an afternoon of adventuring we headed back to the apartment for some rest before dinner that night.  I was running on very little sleep, but I was also running on hardcore determination not to waste my time in Germany by sleeping.  This determination was fueled by months of the kind of sleep deprivation common to all study abroad students, as well as by three and a half years of conditioning from being a college student.  I filled my time with bathing and Steiff plotting.  As evening came we headed back to the train station (this is when I experienced the cold like a royal fist in the gut as mentioned earlier) to visit some old friends in Hilden.  The Korte family has been friends with us since their son came to live with us on an exchange sometime in the very early 90's.  Since then there has been quite a bit of back and forth.  The most recent was when I came to Germany on my way to Africa and stayed with Ollie (the son, now all grown up).  Mrs. Korte is a very talented chef and always makes decadent meals.  She even made me vegetarian food because she is so talented and considerate.  They also served very good wine.  Unfortunately the combination of the late hour, the warm house, the wine, and the good food, did me in.  I curled up and fell asleep on their couch while Pappy, John, and the Korte's visited.  Pappy woke me up and we walked back in the freezing night air to catch a train back to Dusseldorf.  Thus was my first glorious day back in Deutschland.

The Last of Bots, the First of Deutschland!

After leaving Botswana and saying goodbye to my friends (both human and animal) I was ready for the next adventure- Germany!  As much as I had grown to love Africa I was so very excited to return to Germany for round 2 of my visit there.  It would be my third time in the country total, but because my visit there on the way to Bots was so short it kind of felt, weirdly, like I had only left the country for a long weekend and that it was time to go back.  I hauled ass through the confusing maze-like Johannesburg airport and made it to the far end where my gigantic Lufthansa airplane was boarding with little time to spare.  Once I was on the plane (armed with a book and my brand new Anthropologie coat, thanks to Mumsy and Matt) sighed a gigantic sigh of relief.  Airports make me tense.  Now however, it was one long smooth flight to Germany where my Pappy would be waiting for me.
The flight was, indeed, long and smooth, and I had time to watch several movies and TV shows from the comfort of my personal screen inlaid in the seat in front of me.  Unlike my flight from Germany to Joburg, I had no chatty seat companions, but that was just fine with me.  We flew through the night and arrived in the Frankfurt airport sometime around 6 am or so.  I gathered my things, excitedly put on my new coat in expectation of the refreshing winter air (cold air, how long we were parted!) and stepped into the huge airport to bungle my way through train ticket buying and platform finding.  It was so confusing!  I finally found a kiosk sporting the red DB logo, which I recognized from train layouts, and went inside to inquire about a ticket to Dusseldorf.  The ticket man easily switched into English and kindly refrained from making fun of me for having no idea what I was doing.  He sold me a ticket on the next Dusseldorf bound train, which left in about an hour, and I was on my way with helpful directions to the platform.  It turns out that the platform was not that hard to find, I was just nervous.  The platform was also outside in a glass tunnel, so while it was shielded from the wind it was not shielded from the brisk pre-dawn chill of a December morning.  For the first forty five minutes or so I was thrilled to feel that chilly air.  I giggled out loud when I saw my breath form.  It felt oh-so-refreshing after the dry heat of the Kalahari.  Then it began to actually get cold and my ears and nose where the first to suffer.  However, I was able to ignore this inconvenience because I was excited to asked a question in German.  I couldn't answer, but at least it meant that I blended in.  Blending in was new after months of sticking out like a sore thumb.  When the train finally came I was glad to warm up in the cozy seat and nap a little.  I couldn't fully relax for fear of sleeping through my stop, so I dozed and watched the countryside go by.  It didn't look too different from Wisconsin, actually.  My train got into Frankfurt at around 8.00 and I got off looking for Pappy, who was waiting for me somewhere on the platform.  Unfortunately I didn't know where, and we must have missed each other.  I walked up and down the platform, going down below to the lower level, all the time dragging my luggage around. I got increasingly worried as an hour went by with no sign of Pappy.  Finally I stopped pulled out my laptop and looked up the Italian phone number he had sent me in case I needed to call him.  I found a payphone and braved the European public phone system...and it worked!  I was able to call Pappy and we found a place to meet up.  I was so happy!

The Last Days in Bots

The last few days in Botswana flew by in a weird whirlwind of activity and lethargy. Of course it was really hot, and there were no classes or even any other students on campus for that matter. The dining services had all shut down for the break so we ate all our meals at Riverwalk or bought supplies from the grocery store. It was a good time, actually. I enjoyed having the whole room (and pretty much the whole building) to myself; no competition for the sink for washing, no waiting for a shower in the morning, no dealing with the horrible little twerps that were my roommate's friends. It was bliss. Amanda, EJ, and I spent a lot of time at Riverwalk enjoying the last few meals together. Our last trip to Milky Lane for ice cream and our last sub at Debonaires was a big deal. There are photos of course. On the last night we were all together Batsi threw a big party at his house, complete with catered food, liquor, soft drinks, and music. He barbecued some chicken and steaks too- Batsi is the best! It was bittersweet to be all together for one last time. We were excited to go home or keep on traveling, depending on our post-Bots plans, and the UC kids were all making plans to keep in touch once the spring semester started. Of course Batsi had one last assignment for us all to do.

In the morning some people left for the airport. One group was taking a bus to Joburg and then flying to Cape Town or some such complicated plan, and quite a few were just flying to Joburg and then catching a connecting flight home. EJ and Amanda both left and I was almost by myself. My friend Brooke was still around and she spent most of the day frantically trying to cram her belongings into her luggage. She was planning to stay on for another week or so, continue working at Mokolodi, and then meet up with her parents and travel around Africa for a little while.

I had made arrangements with my friend Diana to spend my last night in Bots at her house. She picked me up from UB (it took her, my friend Tonya, and myself to haul my luggage out) and we drive through the village and to her place. At the time her sister had gotten a tiny and ridiculously adorable kitten named Stoney, so I was pretty entertained with playing with the kitten. However, since it was December, and since Diana not only loves Christmas as much as I do, but is also one of the few people on Bots who really cares about Christmas, we went shopping for some holiday decorations and bedeck her house with. The end result was very pleasing. Her mother came home and started to cook dinner, had gotten not too far into, and the gas for the stove was out. The gas man couldn't deliver another canister, the car was busy over heating, and Mrs. Abankwah didn't have any cash on her. Somehow, despite all of this, in the end she got the stove working and finished cooking a delicious dinner. Then we watched a Christmas movie until we fell asleep.

The next day, the day I was to leave Bots, Diana and I woke up fairly early and started the business of buying the materials to have yarn dreaded into my hair. We stopped at several market places and then tracked down the hair stylist Diana likes. The whole process was completed quickly and efficiently: the hair stylist put aside a few choice locks of my hair and then began wrapping the maroon colored yarn tightly around the locks. A small piece of metal at the bottom of each dread completed the look. The whole thing cost P15 for the work and P10 for the materials- score! Then is was back to Diana's house to pack up my luggage and go to the airport! Before we left Diana gifted me her bullet earrings (which I had been coveting all semester), which are now some of my most prized pieces of jewelry. We got to the Gabs airport, checked in, and discovered that my luggage was way over weight. Big surprise. Diana and I hugged our final goodbyes and then I got to stand awkwardly in a tiny office until somebody noticed me and had me pay the appropriate fee. I also could only take one carry on when I had been counting on two, so with great reluctance I sent my backpack into the baggage department. I had packed my most valuable items in my small wheely carry on bag and my backpack. At that point I was sure I would never see my big suitcase or my backpack again. My luggage was to be transferred over for me from Gabs, to Joburg, to Frankfurt.

So it was that I was not entirely settled as I sat in the boarding area waiting for my flight. I had a pretty short lay over ahead of me in Joburg and I began to get nervous as my flight from Gaborone to Joburg was late. It got to the point of panic before the tiny airplane arrived and I sat tense for the whole (mercifully) short flight. I booked it through security and the windy, confusing Joburg airport and by the time I reached my gate for my flight to Germany the plane was already loading. Once I was safely in line though I felt sweet, sweet relief was over me. From here on out it would be smooth sailing and in a few hours I would not only be in Germany, but I would be able to meet up with my dad. Pappy, Germany, Steiff, food that was not meat, beer....

Our Last Day in the Delta

Our last day in the delta was a long one. After breakfast we packed up prepared to leave. Amanda and I sneaked a few glorious moments away from the noisiness of camp and wandered around behind the tents in the early morning sunshine, enjoying the sight of a herd of impala grazing nearby and a few ever-present guinea fowl running around. Then we came back and and hopped back in the vehicles for the long drive back to Maun. Up until we reached the veterinary fence it was kind of live an extra game drive. We saw the enormous mass of a dead adult elephant at one point. The dry climate kind of mummifies the bodies for a while. We also saw a few giraffes, tortoises, and impala. Of course everyone was pretty sweaty and uncomfortable when we finally reached the city, but for about half the group there was one last great activity. Batsi had arranged that those who wanted to pay the fee could do a flyover of the delta. Keeping in mind movies like 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' and 'Out of Africa' I had eagerly signed up to go. After pulling out huge wads of bills from the Machine That Only Gives Small Bills we headed into the office to pay. Then it was over to the airport across the street to drop off our bags, leave the other suckers not going, and head onto the runway. We were met by two bush pilots, each flying us in a small Cessna. My pilot was named Brett and he was, unusual to see in Botswana, red haired and freckled. His accent sounded South African. There were six people in each plane and somehow I jumped on the offer to ride in the cockpit first. This turned out to be a great decision in the end. The land dropped away swiftly as we took off and Brett told us to look for the veterinary fence; it was not hard to find because one side was cut into dry little squares with square little houses and the other side was lush greenery and wildlife inter mingled with streams and rivers from the delta. We saw herds of elephant, buffalo (thus making my list of the Big 5 complete and seen), impala, and clumps of hippos which looked like ticks they were so fat and grey. Once I saw a huge crocodile lurking in some water- it was suitably unnerving even from a airplane. At one point Brett showed me how the steering mechanism worked (there was one on the copilot's side where I was sitting as well as the pilot's side) and then took his hands off, making me in control -temporarily- of the airplane. Every little bit of pressure I put on the steering thingamajig made the plane move sharply. Over in the other cessna Zach had been given the same opportunity, only he made his plane plummet and dive before bring it back up in a steep climb.

Brett took control again in time to land the plane and we all got out feeling thoroughly exhilerated. There is a group photo of us in my facebook picture feed. After the plane ride we were pretty hungry so we stopped at a nice looking cafe across the street from the airport. For some reason it was WWII themed and the waitress looked like she was about to kill someone, but the food was good. I fulfilled a dream I had had since taking French class for four years in high school: eat a croque monsieur. It was delicious! After stuffing ourselves my friend Brooke wanted to go and do some shopping because Maun is famous for it's crafts. It was probably in the hundred degree range, but I agreed to go with her anyway, even though I wasn't planning to buy anything. We made several dog friends as we walked along, so that made up for the discomfort of the heat. We shopped for about forty five minutes before heading back to the cafe where the rest of the group was more or less clumped. Everyone was wilted and tired from the temperature, and some of us made an escape to the only air conditioned shop we could find. Ah, sweet relief. Howevere, we still had time to kill before the flight back to Gabs, so inevitably we ended up back at the cafe. It was here that the dust storm hit. At first it was just windy, then VERY windy, then I had to close my eyes and cover my face because of the dust! Everyone either tried to cover themselves or dashed inside for shelter. People's food and drink was ruined. The power went out at the airport. TIA. When the storm abated a bit Batsi led us all over to the airport to sit and wait for the power to come back on so that the airport could get up and running again. Three of our number had joined us at the start of the delta trip from an expedition to Namibia and they had some left over beers they shared around. We had been enjoying them for some five minutes before being shooed outside by airport staff. Outside the wind had died but the sky was darkening and there was lightning. Everyone could smell rain. Sure enough by the time we had gotten through security and waited at the small gate area for our flight there was a serious downpour. The runway was completely flooded and the departure time kept getting pushed back and back. The gate was crowded and everyone was crabby. I was sweaty and dusty and quite ready to get back to Gabs and take a shower and relax in my now empty room. But I couldn't. I had to wait for the storm to pass. Eventually though, we did get on the plane and made the short flight back to Gabs. It was much chillier in the capital city, but it felt homey and we were eager to get to our showers and wash our smelly things. Here though we met another small roadbump; the man Batsi hired to drive us back to UB was nowhere to be found and we waited around for about an hour in the growing chill of the evening before he arrived. Two vans were needed, but I jumped into the first one being in no mood to share. Our driver was a complete and utter idiot, talking on the cell phone, weaving and speeding through traffic like a maniac, and driving the long way around the city. He even pulled over for a while and didn't tell us why. TIA. Anyway, we made it back to home base at UB at last and I was overjoyed to find not only the whole dorm building empty, but also no one had broken into my room, cut the lock on my closet, and stolen all my stuff. Batsi had made us leave our laptops and valuables in his office for safety, so I picked those up as well. Then it was time to relax and enjoy the silence. So that's how my December 1st went.

The Elephant Forest

Sitting in stats class with a laptop in front of me with a whiteboard full of charts and mathematical terms sends me into a spiral of nostalgia for Africa. How can I be sitting in this sterile and colorless environment when just a few months ago I was sitting in a dusty tent, hundreds of miles from civilization, which wild animals all around me? Is this real life?

The day after we spotted the elephant heard we got up extra early to pack up camp. The boys had to pack up the toilet and fill in the stinky pits- haha! It was time to leave to Moremi Game Reserve and move to a new site. The new site was in the Khwai Nature Reserve, which is owned by the Khwai village. The reserve differed from the Moremi because it had less stringent rules and was not owned by the government. The place we camped was in the middle of an elephant forest; by this I mean it was an area full of skeletal dead trees which had been stripped bare by elephants. One cannot full understand the impact elephants have on the environment around them until one sees the cast expanses of dead trees, huge craters where trees have been pulled up by the roots, and thick tree trunk which have been literally snapped in half like twigs. In some places these broken trees fell right across the road, making it impassable. Our site was set up under a tree which was fortunately still living and which, I was given to understand, was a favorite snack for elephants during certain parts of the year. This was not one of those parts. The ground was covered in multiple varieties of huge thorns, so thin and wimpy sandals/shoes were not an option. I learned this the hard way. Also, while we were there, it rained quite a bit, which made all the millipedes come out. There are no earthworms in Botswana. Instead, there are millipedes, and they are everywhere.

Camping in the middle of the elephant forest was extremely beautiful and allowed us to see around us for vast expanses. I went a little crazy with pent up energy and ran around climbing dead trees and jumping the air, ha ha. Faithful Amanda accompanied me so that we could at least keep an eye out for dangerous animals.

In the Khwai reserve we were allowed to both leave the roads and drive at night. On the first night drive we took be came upon the carcass of a baby elephant. Our guide told us that when he was in this area a month earlier the carcass had been there, so it was at least that old. The dry weather had preserved the skin which had not been eaten, so it still looked rather fresh. Before the end of the delta trip we were to see the gigantic, somewhat mummified carcass of an adult elephant. Also on the night drive we saw two hyenas slinking through the grass and away from our huge spot light. We also spotted a mysterious type of small wildcat which vanished too quickly for us to identify. Night drives are, in general, less animal-packed than day drives, but it is fascinated to see the landscape transformed by darkness. An added bonus is that the air is much, much cooler.

During our time in Khwai we drive as far as the boundary with the Chobe National Park. We also passed through a suprisingly modern San village (where Batsi bought everyone soda pop and I got a coke in honor of The Gods Must Be Crazy- heyoo!), saw more elephants at close range, and a large amount of hippos. We stopped by one lake in particular and everyone got out to get as close as they dared to the water where the enormous hippos watched us warily and displayed their teeth at us every so often. It was a little terrifying when they grunted and growled. We also came across a graphic reminder of the circle of life; a young impala was laying in the grass on the side of the road and it was bloody in places and one of it's legs was broken. It was panting heavily and tried periodically to heave to it's feet. It looked as if we interrupted a hunt and the predator had disappeared into the bush. There was nothing to be done for the poor impala, and in any case it was a wild animal. I didn't want to see the outcome, but I knew what it would be. One trucks stayed behind in hopes of seeing something dramatic, but whatever was hunting the impala kept it's distance. Later, when we drove back to the spot, the animal was gone. One night the skies were cloudy and as Amanda and I lay in our tents we speculated on whether or not it would rain. We figured it might, but the air was so hot and damp we couldn't bear the thought of closing the windows and shutting out fresh air. Of course during the night there was a torrential downpour and Amanda and I would have ended up soaked like everyone else if it hadn't been for our friend EJ. He got up to close the windows on his tent and then noticed that ours were wide open. He kindly came over to ours and closed them and I guess when he was closing my window I sat up and thanked him. I must have done this in my sleep because I have no memory of it. I do remember having a dream where the wind was rolling the tent around and I put my hand up to steady it. Touching the damp canvas woke me up enough to notice that the windows were closed and I wondered whether Amanda had done it. In the morning we were both mystified by the closed windows because neither of us had done it. EJ told us he did it, but he in turn was mystified by my apparent sleep talk. All around us people were waking up with soaked bedding and luggage. One guy, Grant, had all his clothes and booked soaked through. It was a harsh morning. That day, however, we were lucky enough to make a rare find. Our guides spotted a den site belonging to either hyenas or the rare and endangered wild dogs. Whichever species it was the dens were clearly occupied with pup and adult paw prints fresh in the dirt all around the entrance to the dens. While were were circling them and talking excitedly the pups were no doubt hiding out below us. There may even have been a few adults present.

On the last night in the elephant forest a hyena visited camp. It was after everyone was in their tents but apparently one of the guides spotted it and kept an eye on it as it checked out the site. The guide said nothing at the time, not wanting to alarm anyone. In the morning I was wondering around the camp behind the phalanx of tents and marveling at the beauty of the golden sunrise in the elephant forest. I noticed huge dog-like paw prints and realized what they were. The hyena had walked a scant five feet behind where Amanda and I had been sleeping.

Dustland Wonderland

The next day we got up early again for another game drive. It was less hot, but only because the sun hadn't fully risen; even without the sun we could tell that rain was on the way. The air was muggy and the sky was cloudy. Breakfast and coffee are served right away in the morning, so for about the first half hour of the game drives everyone is awake and alert. Then, as an hour or two pass, people drift off and wake up only when a fuss is being made about an animal. It is very pleasant to space out in the trucks and watch the landscape go by. On this morning, however, my morning game nap was interrupted by rain. The guides got out and rolled down the clear plastic flaps over the open sides of the truck to try and keep out the rain. No luck, it just poured down from the cracks and we were all quite wet (except for the lucky two people sitting in the middle seats). Luckily the rain didn't last long and the Bots sun dried everything pretty quickly when it came out. The guides drove back to the place where we had seen the dead water buffalo. The day before it had been freshly dead without a mark on it, and now it's insides were eaten away, along with it's eyeballs. Oddly enough, it seems that whatever was eating it stripped away the intestines without taking the partially digested grassy material within. In other words, it looked like something had taken a huge dump in the carcass.

Besides the dead water buffalo, we saw hippos (a lot of them!), water buck. vultures, wildebeest, and zebras. One of the trucks didn't have 4 wheel drive and it keep getting stuck in the deep sand. It got stuck at least four times, which meant that everyone had to get out and push. In addition, our guide hooked up a chain from our vehicle to their to pull. After one such occaison the driver agreed to let Tim, one of the CIEE kids, drive. Lily got to drive another of the trucks. Hers was the truck without 4 wheel drive OR brakes. The guide neglected to mention the lack of breaks until she was already driving.

The next day the morning game drive was fortunately dry, but also very hot. We didn't end up seeing very much. We came back to camp dusty, sunburnt, and tired, but managed to rally after nap and some lunch. We also played a few rounds of Mafia, which was becoming the new CIEE camp past time. It was time for the afternoon game drive which would turn out to be the most exciting drive of all. We were cruising along not seeing much and the truck I was in pulled far ahead of the other two. Suddenly, one of the others truck came zooming towards us at top speed and we could see that everyone was hanging out the of the sides yelling at us. They were screaming about a leopard! At first we thought they were kidding- leopards are the rarest animal to see and it almost never happens. We had been joking about spotting them the whole trip. This time is was real though, so our driver hauled ass and we raced back up the road. We were just in time to see a leopard sunk low to the ground, prowl across the road into the grass on the other side, not far from some impala. The big cat was clearly hunting and our noisy trucks full of excited people were clearly about to mess it up. It's illegal to leave the trails and the game drivers risk losing their hard-earned licenses and paying an expensive fine to do it. That's why two of the three trucks didn't leave the road and one did. I was not in the one that did and I was furious with the people who were because not only did they cause the (skinny) leopard to lose his/her lunch, but they got to see the rare and endangered sucker up close. Damn them! We waited around a bit and the impala heard moved off while giving the alarm cry that meant they had spotted the predator. Meanwhile, a heard of wildebeest we had seen earlier with their young calves, were approaching and didn't know about the leopard. It looked like s/he might get another chance after all. We waited and watched a long time and everyone was hanging out of the vehicles or sitting on the roofs. In the end the leopard didn't manage to make a kill and slunk off into the cover of the trees. We were so lucky that day.

After the excitement of the leopard the trucks moved off in three different directions. Our truck drove for a bit, not seeing much. Evening was coming on and the sun was going down. Someone spotted some elephants and we stopped in our tracks. It turned out that a whole herd, containing old females, young females, calves, and one or two bulls, were ambling across the road right where we were stopped. The elephants were HUGE and in the light of the setting sun they were absolutely magnificent. One of the bulls took offense to us and showed us a power display by mock charging and fanning his ears. It was pretty nerve wracking. The rest of the elephants passed us peacefully and their attitudes ranged from mild curiosity to boredom. Even the tiniest calves were bigger than any dogs. After all the elephants were well passed us we started the truck up again and rendezvou'd with the rest of the group besides a large delta lake. One of the other groups was babbling about some honey badgers they had seen. Damn! I missed the honey badgers! Although, thinking about it, I'm happier I was in the truck which passed through a herd of elephants. The third truck had seen nothing exciting at all. There are some beautiful photos of us as a group beside the lake with the setting sun. You can find them on facebook, of course.

More on the Delta Safari

After the excitement of the morning boat rides we headed back to camp for brunch. For some reason, the guides were very firm about the fact that the meal was "brunch" and not "lunch" even though it was noon time. After brunch I attempted another "bush shower" and had the misfortune to share it with biting ants and millipedes. Ugh! After this tramatic experience, and in the intense heat of midday, I took a nap. Napping in tents in the African bush in summer time is a somewhat uncomfortable affair, but I was too tired to care much.

Around 4 we had a quick tea and then set off for the evening game drive. We saw plenty of zebras, wildebeest (plus calfs!), butt-pecking birds on the zebras, and impala. The most interesting site was a dead water buffalo, which had expired within the hour of some sort of illness. None of the Kalahari predators had found it yet, so it was still perfectly intact. We decided to come back later and see what the progress was. Sunset was absolutely magnificent! The Okavango Delta and the Kalahari must be some of the most beautiful places on earth. Sunsets in Wisconsin certainly feel lacking since they don't include heards of zebra and impala, along with peppy little jackals scooting around the scrub.

Dinner that night was another culinary masterpiece (considering it was made in the bush- it was roast chicken and mashed potatoes with chocolate covered crepes for dessert) and afterwards Amanda and I retired to our tent. We ended up playing the one word story game for a while. A storm was rolling in and through the mesh window of our tent we could see lightning in the clouds. Luckily it didn't rain that night.

Dustland Fairy Tale: The Okavango Delta Trip

On Saturday we left UB at 6 am for the airport. It was brutally early for us, and when our 7.30 flight was delayed, it did not make for a very auspicious start to the trip. When we landed in Maun the cloudy and cool weather in Gabs was replaced by real African weather, which is hot and suffocating. Luckily the flight had been only about an hour and they served us a nice breakfast croissant sandwhich for breakfast. Our safari company, called Naga Safaris, was waiting to pick us up in three large, open-sided vehicles. We stopped for supplies and then got on the road for several hours. At one point we passed the Veterinary Fence, which is a huge fence separating wildlife from domestic livestock (don't get me started on this damn fence business). Our guide, Dennis, informed us that now we were in wild animal territory and to keep our eyes peeled. Sure enough we saw zebras, guinea fowl, and "the McDonald's of the bush", impala. We finally arrived at the Moremi Game Reserve, which is large tract of land situated in the heart of the Delta. We had a picnic lunch and then continued into the park. The drive to the campsite, which took several hours, was also a game drive. Certain places in the bush were home to what must have been millions of cicadas, because the noise they made was defeaning. We passed through Mopane forests, open grassland, elephant-decimated woodlands, and swampy streams and ponds. There were the usual suspects: wildebeest, zebras, impala, guinea fowl, impala, guinea fowl, imapa (haha, etc). No big game spotted yet...no elephants yet :( However, we did past into a narrow stretch of the road (which was just dirt and sand) and spot three adult lionesses just relaxing in the shade a few feet away. The guides stopped the trucks so we could all lean over and take pictures. Batsi and his two kids lamented the fact that they had forgotten to bring a camera. When the first truck tried to start up again it stalled and failed. The guide had to get out of the truck to take a look, which disturbingly made one of the lionesses very interested. A little too interested. It was a poor place to have a breakdown.
We did not get eaten, so when the truck started again we continued on to camp. In Moremi you are not allowed to drive off the roads/trails and you can't drive after dark. To do so risks losing your license. Guides are put through a lot of rigorous tests in order to become certified (such as facing charging elephants, rhinos, and lions among others). We made it to camp around sunset and were greeted by about fifteen cheerful green tents, each equipped with a back "room" which containted a shower and a makeshift toilet. These were attached to each tent so that no one would need to wander around the campsite at night. There are wild animals like leopards and hyenas wandering around, after all. There were two people to each tent, and both people were fitted out with a cot, a mattress, and sheets/bedding/pillow/towel. In camp there was also a large mess tent and a "kitchen" of sorts. All our food and water had to be brought with us because we were so far from anywhere. It was a good feeling. It turns out that our cook was exceptionally talented and we had gourmet meals the whole trip! However, we spent so much time waiting for each meal that we were so starved by the time it was served that we would have been happy with crusts of bread. After dinner we sat around the campfire for a little while and then wandered off to bed. Wake up time was scheduled for 5 am.
Breakfast was a lavish affair consisting of scrambled eggs, granola and yogurt, cereal, creamy milk, coffee, tea, and toast. For some reason I became completely obsessed with toast during the trip. I might still be when I get home- who knows? The sun was already up when we left for the morning game drive, but the air was lovely and cool. Batsi informed us that we were headed to one of the many tributaries of the delta for a speed boat ride. When we arrived at the dock there were two small speed boats waiting, so we divided our group in half and crammed ourselves onboard. The guides admitted that we were way over capacity. TIA! We sped off through the narrow channels and into big open pond areas. We saw a couple of elephants grazing near the water, and some big old hippos peering at us from the water. Our guide said that most of the deaths that occur in the Delta are due to hippos. It's not that hippos go around eating people, but it's that they knock boats over and people drown. With this delightful knowledge in mind we motored along passed the now menacing hippos. Our guides gave us lessons on water chestnuts, lillies, and papyrus. It was oh-so-educational. It was also extremely beautiful to see the blue water and the rich green color of the water plants after being in dusty old Gabs for so long. When we got back to the docks were told that twelve of us at a time could go for a ride in a little dugout canoe, which was poled through the water by a guide. I was in the first wave of people and I shared the canoe with Meara and Elijah. With the hippo information in our minds, the rickety canoe was a little nervewracking at first, but we stuck to the small, shallow, reedy channels. We went to slowly and smoothly through the water, and the world was so quiet except for the sounds of the bush; it was tempting to fall asleep. Yeah, fall asleep and then fall into a channel crawling with crocodiles, snakes, hippos, and who knows what else.

November: Trips to Pretoria and Durban

Matt left at the very beginning of November. So did my last remaining will power to put effort into school. Luckily the first weekend some CIEE kids with November birthdays organized a trip to Pretoria, SA, which about about half the group went on, including me. We rented a combi and squeezed in and seven hours later, voila! Pretoria! Here are some fun facts: SA has three capitals, each with a branch of government. Pretoria is the executive branch, so it's kind fo the like the Boss Man Capital. The other two are Cape Town and Bomfontein. Pretoria has a very high percentage of white people, mostly dutch, who speaks Afrikaans and English. The city has a very European air and it's sort of like not being in Africa anymore. It's nick name is the Jacaranda City because of the all the beautiful Jacaranda trees (trees with big purple flowers). Thanks for that update Wikipedia! Anyway, we stayed at a hostel whose name I can't remember. It wasn't as nice as Pretoria Backpackers, but we did get the back house, which had exactly twelve bunks beds for exactly twelve of us! It also had a kitchen, a living room with a pool table, a TV room, a small separate bedroom, and two bathrooms. Our combi driver stayed in the little bedroom. We picked up some booze to get the party going and ordered some pizzas. After a while, even though it was raining, we headed out to the main attraction of the trip: Hatfield Square. You may remember me posting about Hatfield Square during the Mozambique trip when we went there. Basically, it's a square of bars and clubs where you drink. Yep, so that's what we did. We also ate McDonald's, which was conveniently located righ across the street.


In the morning us girls were up bright and early and ready to go while the boys sat in bed and complained about things. We left them behind and got more McDonald's- this was to be a recurrent theme in the trip. When we got back the boys were up but this time complaining about being hungry. We all piled into the combi and the girls got out at a tattoo and piercing shop while the boys continued on in search of food. Two people wanted nipple piercings (nasty!) so we waited while they got their appointment, prepped, and finally did the piercing. While we were waiting around Hannah, the birthday girl, decided to get a small tattoo on her wrist that she had been thinking about. It was a spur of the moment decision, but an old idea. All in all it was very exciting and the tattoo lady was really cool. She and her husband owned and worked in the shop and lived in the house behind it. They let us use their bathroom in the house and we discovered a mama cat with three tiny kittens!


After the tattoo and piercing excitement we met up with the boys again and decided to do some sight seeing in the town. We drove to the parliament buildings, which are situated on a hill over looking the city. It was a great view. It was also a great place for a nap and we all ended up lying on the grass in the sunshine and dozing off. Eventually we woke up from hunger, left, and hit up a local Spar for supplies. A weird possibly homeless guy chased our van around for a while. That night we cooked a huge amount of pasta and played Drunk Jenga befor heading out. There were some terrible dares including table spoons of salt and mustard on toes. I try not to think about it too much. Anyway, this night went much the same way as the first: Hatfield Square, then McDonald's. The difference was that on the first night we won a bottle of champagne for dancing and singing the loudest to The Spice Girls and Journey, and the second night we did not.


Morning was rough, but we pulled together and got more McDonald's. I was one of the very few people in good shape, so I was chipper and having a good time. We decided to stop at a muge and famous mall on our way out of town. It was about five stories high with aviaries full of birds, koi ponds, big plastic balls for kids to sit in, and too many expensive stores. I wanted to check out the Swatch shop, but all the crabby hung over people wanted to leave, so we got some food and then headed out. It was a long drive back to Gabs, and as Meara said, "We may have marched to Pretoria...but now we're crawling away." Oh yeah, we ate McDonald's five times that weekend.





Durban:


The next weekend my friend Lily got some people together to head down to the coastal city of Durban, SA, reputed to be on the coolest cities in Southern Africa. I would have to agree; the city is a colorful mixture of Indian, African, and Afrikaans culture situated right on the beautiful Indian Ocean. It has big markets with weird things and crafts, exciting bars and restaurants, a healthy beach culture, and a big aquarium called uShaka Marine World. The city also offers things like going out on the boats which check the shark nets around the beaches every day to see which sharks have been stuck. Then the tourists get to see the sharks dissected for information on their diets and so forth. I myself didn't partake in this, but I was fascinated by the idea. I do like sharks, after all. Lily, myself, a CIEE guy named Tim, and a PhD student named Jenny all crammed into a car and drove the twelve hours from Gabs to Durban. Around about dark it started to storm and driving conditions got sketchy. Still, we made it to our hostel in one piece. The guy who runs is it named Elmer and he is very much an authority on all things Durban. He pulled out a city map and immediately drew out places to eat, places to drink, places to be entertained, and places not to walk at night. He only gave us a minimal hard time about breaking the 8.30 bedtime rule (we arrived at 10.30). After putting our stuff down in the comfortable and colorful rooms we headed out to Florida Rd, the main fine dining destination. We ended up eating at a swanky Italian place where they had REAL BEER. It was brewed in Germany and bottled in SA.
The next day we set out for some hard core exploration. Lily had spent a semester in Durban previously (during the world cup!) so she knew her way around. She took us to the markets so that we could buy crafts and see all the beheaded animals. No joke- I must have seen fifty goat heads and ten cow heads. The cow heads were absolutely enormous. After the craft markets we went to the Zulu Healing markets where there was everything from bark and soil, to herbs, to various partially dissected animals. To get away from the smell we left the marketplace and wandered into the largest temple in the Southern hemisphere, where a jolly and helpful man gave us a tour and told us many interesting tidbits. I don't remember too much, unfortunately, because I was so hungry and so tired at this point it was a fight not to doze off and make a fool of myself. I do remember koi in the ablution fountain. When we did eventually get lunch it was on the advice of two Indian ladies at a pharmacy/shoe repair shop who told us about a "divine" Indian restaurant at a place called the Warehouse. We went there and their speciality was also a Durban speciality known as bunny chow. This does not involve actual rabbits! It is a loaf of bread- quarter, half, or whole- hollowed out and filled with curry. The food was indeed divine.
After lunch we went to a place known at the BAT center which, despite popular belief, actually has nothing to do with bats. It is an art center located right in Durban harbour. It was pretty quiet when we got there, but we were all glad to get out of the wind and rain. There was a studio full of works in progess so we checked that out and met a local artist there. He was chatty and friendly and told us that he was a musician and that one of his bands was playing that night at a rasta bar called Cool Runnings. It was immediately and unanimously decided that we should go. So, several hours and a change of clothes later, we did arrive. Our BAT friend turned out to be a hired percussionist for the band and we had a great time sipping our drinks from the bar and listening to the reggae. In the alley out back there was a huge mural covering two buildings which had been painted specifically for Cool Runnings. Apparently their mascot was a little black and white cat named Spliff. I later learned that Spliff is an actual cat owned by the owner, and that once at a kitten he got lost. The owner put an ad with a reward in the newspaper and sure enough he got Spliff back. Finally, a cat story with a happy ending from Africa!
The next day we went to the beach (the overcast sky did absolutely nothing to deter us) and set up base camp at a bar restaurant with a view of the ocean and a live performance by none other than our favorite reggae band from the night before. It wasn't long before I was able to get back in the ocean and swim again! The air was cool but the water was warm. We made trips between the beach, the restuarant, and uShaka Marine World all day. At the aquarium they had an area where you could walk into a fake old ship and see down into the shark tank without actually having to pay to go into the building.
Lily and Jenny left to follow the rastafarians, which left Tim, Chris, and I. We wanted to get sushi and fried rice and unfortunately we had a hanger-on from the restaurant. At first we were too polite to leave him, but after an extremely irritating and uncomfortable meal we had no qualms about waiting till he was in the bathroom and then running away as fast as possible. It was full on raining at this point so we took shelter in a hotel lobby until we could get a cab back to the hotel.
The next day was Chris's birthday and we decided to get breakfast at a cafe and at a tasty little bakery called Bread Ahead before heading to the Botanical Gardens. We spent all day wandering around the ponds, trees, flowers, birds, and themed gardens. It was very peaceful and relaxing and we only left when they closed the park and made us get out. We headed back to the beach after that for drinks and seafood. Lily and Chris wanted to go out on the town, so we did, and it was cool to experience that part of Durban as well as the touristy beach areas.
The next day were planned to pack up the car early and get going in order to make it across the border before it closed. Lily had a final at 8 am on the following day, so we couldn't risk getting detained in SA. Elmer had noticed that the car had a small oil leak, so in the process of backing it up to check on it Tim noticed that tires were so badly worn in front that they were literally one thin layer away from blowing. He deduced that the alignment must be off and that it was shredding the tires. With this dires news were headed to a body shop. It took about two hours for Jenny to pick out new tires, have them put on, and get the alignment fixed. We were behind schedule and grumpy. Still, we got on the road and hauled ass. Sometime after dark we were driving on a road which passes along a game park and all of a sudden we kept seeing giant kudu lurking next to the road, threatening to cross, be hit, and annihilate the car. Luckily, nothing of the sort happened, and luckily still we made it to the border with an hour to spare before closing.
We wandered back into Vegas and dispersed. It's always hard to come back to Gabs after an exciting trip.

The End of Matt's Epic Visit

I forgot to write this in an earlier post: One night while Matt was visiting and we were hanging out at Innisfree we heard mob noises. Really loud mob noises. And we thought it was the end of the world and that we were all going to get slaughtered. Actually, what it was, was that some thieves had broken in Vegas dorms at UB and stolen a laptop. The girl who ownered the laptop saw the thief and shouted after him, thus alerting the rest of the student body. People here hate thieves, and so they went after him so beat the shit out of him and teach him a lesson. The thief got in his car and drive to one of the gates, but it was locked. The mob was catching up with him and, fearing for his life, the security guards gave him sanctuary in their office. The mob was MAD when they were denied their prey, so they threw rocks and then moved on to lighting his car on fire. The police were called and they failed to disperse the mob, so then a special services team was called. They shot rubber bullets and this failed. Finally, tear gas was able to clear up the angry students and the thief was hauled off to jail. End of story.

Back to Matt's visit: We booked a night drive and a stay in one of the chalet's at Mokolodi. The night drive was refreshing and relaxing; it was not as cold as when I went with Mom back in September. We didn't see a whole lot, but what we did see made us happy. This included a black house cat (feral, no doub) streaking off into the bushes. Our guide dropped us off at the chalet around 9 pm when it was quite dark. Our place was called 'Hartbeest' and included a main room with sleeping room for three, a bathroom with a shower, and a fully equipped kitchen. Outside was a porch and braai area. We knew we were somewhere near the water hole, and we could hear something splashing around, but we had no idea how near or which water hole it was. You see, one of them contains crocodiles and hippos and one doesn't. Matt immediately set about gathering sticks and grasses to make a fire. It was a little nervewracking to watch him disapear into the dark. There are leopards wandering around, after all. We had a nice, if short lived, fire. Then we went inside and watched Jurassic Park until we fell asleep. It had been a long day. At one point I woke up and went to get some water from the bathroom and discovered a frog! I got so excited I dragged Matt out of bed to see and he did, but didn't seem at all excited about it. In the morning I learned that he was asleep the whole time it was happening, haha. Anyway, we both woke up early in the morning in order to enjoy the African sunrise. We had asked the game drivers to pick us up at 8 am so that I could get to campus and make a poster presentation for my archeology class. With this in mine we set off to enjoy our short time in the great outdoors to the fullest. The water hole (the one without crocodiles and hippos) was RIGHT IN FRONT OF US and we saw some hornbills, some catfish, and some warthogs right off the bat. The water was low, so we walked around it a bit. It was getting on 8, but no one had appeared to pick us up. Meanwhile the wildlife started to get more interesting. Impala came and went and a giraffe lumbered in the distance. Still no vehicle. Matt began to wander around with my cell phone looking for reception. Zebras and wildebeest appeared! Kudu! Dung beetles! I was simultaneously upset to miss my project, which was 40% of my grade, but also excited to see so many animals. Finally we managed to get enough reception to send a help! message to Batsi. Then the giraffe showed up. It was thirsty. We totally watched it awkwardly bend down to drink, just like on National Geographic, awwwwyyeeeaaahhhh. Then a truck finally did arrive (an hour late) and we headed back to civilization. Matt and I spent a pleasant morning and afternoon together and then he caught his plane home.

More on Matt's Visit

While Matt was here we decided that it would be cool to go down to Durban in South Africa. Durban is a modern mixture of Indian, Islamic, African, and Western culture all mixed into a cool ocean side city. Unfortunately, it turns out that the Intercape Bus has possibly the most poorly planned route schedule for any bus anywhere. Flying proved much too expensive, so we insteaded decided to cool our heels (actually, to sweat profusely) in Gabs. One of the two weeks Matt was here sported the highest temperatures I've experienced yet. Luckily his hotel room was airconditioned and there was a pool. We spent some good time there, while he worked on Anitigone, and I languished in the cold water. We also enjoyed evenings out at Linga Longa where we sat at the bar for hours and drank Windhoek and had rambling conversations about everything. I think it might have been here that the subject of getting a giant rabbit came up....


Unfortunately it was also in Botswana that we learned that our little 8 month old kitten, Luis, had died. Matt found out Luis was terminally ill from the vet about two weeks before. He had Rodrigo, our other cat, taken to live with his parents temporarily because Luis was contagious. While he was in Africa, Matt's parents doted on Luis as often as possible and made sure to check that he was eating, drink, etc. One morning they came to check on him and found Luis curled up near the couch. He apparently died in his sleep.


Since we didn't go to Durban, we had ample free time to do other things, like go on game drives at Mokolodi. We signed up for a morning drive on a Tuesday. I had never been there so early in the day and it was lovely and cool in the morning. Right off the bat we saw some giraffes grazing near the trail. They seemed not only extraordinarily tall, but also completely unphased by our presence. After that we didn't see too much for a while apart from impala and warthogs. About half way through the drive Matt spotted zebras! There were two and they were attempting to hide behind some thin trees. Zebras are shy and they didn't stick around too long to see what the noisy vehicle was up to. It was my first time seeing zebras in Africa- thanks Matt! It turns out that our driver on that trip was a woman who spent a year working in Florida at the Animal Kingdom in Disney World. She was pretty talkative once she found out we were from the States.


Besides going on the early morning game drive we also attempted to show up for a day of volunteering. I wanted to give Matt a chance to feed Letoatsi, the cheetah, and possibly the hyenas too. We took a sweaty ride to the bus rank...and then couldn't find a bus to Remotswa. Or we did eventually, rather, but after waiting around for about 45 minutes in the extreme heat we scraped the idea. Instead, we booked a night time drive and a night's stay in one of the chalet's by the water hole.


In the mean time Matt's time at Innisfree had come to an end and we reluctantly moved his stuff to my dorm room (which has no air conditioning and no fan). We actually walked with all Matt's luggage from the hotel to UB because the last taxi driver we had had charged a rediculous fee and we were quite fed up with greedy grasping taxi drivers. Even though my room was quite hot in the summer weather, it was so nice just to have Matt around for a change. The room seemed much nicer.


I took Matt on some field trips with the rest of the CIEE group. Batsi didn't mind having an extra person around and the trips were totally free for Matt- win! The first weekend we went to SOS, the local orphanage CIEE volunteers at. Matt spent a couple of hours having kids climb all over him and demand spinny rides. There are adorable photos up on facebook in the album titled 'Mattswana'. The weekend after SOS we went to see a traditional healer (what most people think of as a witch doctor) and learned about the trade. We also got to see the healer's...workshop? It was a tiny little room with a broken couch and mysterious smelly objects. On the door was a sign which read, 'This premesis protected by a ghost'. So yeah, be warned. After that enlightening experience Batsi had the combi drivers take us to the much-hidden location for No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. The set was abandoned and pretty decrepit, but the sign for the agency still hung bright and colorful as ever. We all explored the actual building and took a look around at the rest of the shops on set. About a third of our group was excited (myself included) and the rest just wanted to leave. After No.1 Ladies Batsi had us taken over to the Gaborone Game Reserve for a drive and a braai. It was my first time being there and I was not terribly impressed. First of all, you must have your own vehicle, so you pay an entrace fee. Then you drive around and see nothing but a few gazelle and ostriches, lots of construction and trash, and nothing else. The braai area was full of people cooking and drinking; despite the generally crappiness of the rest of the park, this area was pleasant. Batsi and his friend were on braai duty and he had brought some food from a caterer and (ta da!) beers and ciders. Yay Batsi! It was a wonderful feast, which included macaroni and cheese!, and which was monitored closely by a gang of monkeys. These little buggers actaully stole meat off the braai! They also moved in to steal from people's plates and hovered in the tree above our table. It was all fun and games until one dropped a digusting load of monkey poop onto Zach's steak. Photos on facebook. I spent a lot of that time on Monkey Patrol, chasing them away. But they allllwwwaaaayyyss come back.

This Time for Africa

Thanks for the title, Shakira. I decided to do a little post about actual Africa, not just a list of my daily activities. When I think of Botswana, this is what comes to mind:


Smell: Dust, sweat, animals, meaty- gameyness, cement, wood, car exhaust, Russian roles cooking in the sun.


Sound: Babble, shrieks, cars, cow bells, goats, wind, birds.


Sight: Dust, dark-skinned people, cows, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, birds, cars, slippers, yellow berries, cow dung, street vendors.


Touch: Dust, sweat, stone, wood, fur, grease.


Places: UB, Riverwalk, Mochudi, dusty roads, Mokolodi.

In addition, here is a link to the Shakira video Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). When I first saw this video back in the States I thought, 'Damn, Shakira is hot, but I'm sure everybody in Africa thinks this song/video is dumb.' Here's the thing- they don't! South Africans especially love it. Having been privileged enough to travel to South Africa a few times it captures the vibe pretty well. I saw one of the FIFA World Cup stadiums in Durban. It was pretty fantastic. Anyway, watch the video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0

Matt's Visit

The time after Mozambique was pretty dull and stressful. There was a lot of work, which in Botswana involves running a constant wild goose chase. Thankfully, Matt arrived in the afternoon in mid October. He was dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans, and jacket; I quickly warned him of the 90+ (that's in the 30's celsius, folks) heat. We sat around, got a taxi, and headed to Innisfree Apartments. There there was air conditioning! A pool! A most importantly, Matt. For some lucky reason the jet lag hadn't him yet and he said he felt up to dinner and drinks, so we struck out for Riverwalk where we got dinner at Linga Longa. It's a good place for food and has a pleasant pub-like atmosphere by the bar. This is where Matt discovered Windhoek, a Namibian beer found all over Southern Africa. We talked over drinks for a long time before Matt finally began to feel the effects of travelling thousands of miles across two continents and the Atlantic Ocean. We headed back to Innisfree for sleeping. The end of the day one.

Mozambique: Finishing Things Up

That whale shark trip was the highlight of my experience on Mozambique, but I continued to have a good time the rest of Thursday anyway. After lunch we decided to laze around in true spring break fashion on the beach. We went back to that dive shop with the restaurant and laid out on the deck chairs. The boys went back in the water. Since Liquid Adventures didn't offer any sweet t-shirts to commemorate our experience I wondered into the dive shop to see what they had to offer. They had sweet t-shirt, alright, and I'm sure I pissed off the guy at the counter by asking to see every shirt they had and then flip flopping between which ones I wanted to buy. In the end I bought two; one for me and one for a friend. I also got some exciting post cards (which I have since sent out and since been recieved). Once I had my pile of goodys I went to pay, but of course the power was out and I was paying with a card, so I went outside where the other girls were laying in the sun to sit tight and wait for power. I didn't feel like having the life sucked out of me by the sun so I wrote some post cards I bought with cash then and there on the beach. Then I sat in the shade and drew in the sand. Then I watched a guy attempt to windsurf. Then the power was back and I bought my swag- hooray!


That night for dinner we walked down to the market end of the beach and ate dinner at a bar/restaurant called Dino's. It had fabulous food and a fabulous atmosphere, so after dinner we sat in the sand outside and enjoyed some rum while playing the improv one word story game. After that, Dino's was beginning to buzz with other foreigners. The Australians we had met earlier in the week were there, along with some Aouth African teenagers, and a few locals. It was the kind of place where you can take off your shoes and leave them in a corner while you dance. We all had a blast and by the end of the night I was one of the last ones standing, so I helped shepard people home. Zach and I ended up getting a ride in a truck half way down the beach with the Australians while everyone else walked. Suckers. We enjoyed the stars and lay i the sand for a while before heading in. The night sky in Moambique is brilliant, the air was warm, and the waves were making a comforting racket.


The next day was rough for some people, but nevertheless we packed up and left early to get on the road back to Maputo. It was a long ride and we had an extra passenger; a Canadian named Shaun we met in Tofo was looking for a ride to South Africa so we told him he could ride with us. He stayed with us in Maputo when we stopped for another night. We went back to the fish market since it had been so tasty the first time. The second time around we were more prepared and when the same guy who ripped us off the first time approached us and tried to get us to use his kitchen we took satisfaction in telling him to bugger off. We chose a different place and sat down for another tasty seafood feast. Once again, by the time we were done eating we were the only people there. The market was dark and deserted and in the parking lot our combi was all alone. Just before crossing the street someone- maybe Chris- noticed some suspicious characters hanging around the combi. The rest of us scoffed and boldy headed across to the vehicle. There the guys swarmed us and attempted to get in the combi with us, but I didn't feel like dealing with their shit, so I pushed passed and blocked the door so that they couldn't get in. Everyone else got in the combi pretty fast and we secured the windows and told Lesh to drive. He wasn't and we were getting increasingly worried because the thugs weren't leaving. Drive! Drive! We shouted. Lesh explained that the thugs were demanding money and threatening to break off the rearview mirrors if we left without paying. They said we had hired them to watch the car- a lie of course. We told Lesh to just back up real fast and it's their freaking fault if they get run over. Lesh did, no one got run over, and we escaped with just one of the thugs slamming the window with his open palm. TIA.


The next day we left early (after a stop for breakfast at a delicious little bakery!) and drove for about seven hours to South Africa and to Pretoria, where we were spending the night. It was a hot and cramped ride so we were all thankful to be out of the combi and at our hostel, which was called Pretoria Backpackers. No sooner had we gone to the reception desk then Shaun had disapeared. He had said he needed to go to Johannesburg to meet a friend, so we assumed that's where he went but he didn't say anything and we haven't heard from him since. Did we sacre him away? Probably. His loss, because Pretoria Backpackers was a luxurious place with a jungle courtyard, complete with Greek statues and a koi pond, and the inside was cozy, lavish, and spacious. We three girls got our own room with real beds and a TV! The boys had to share a dormitory. There were ample bathrooms- with hot water!- and a kitchen and dining area. A hallway leading to the front desk area had book cases stacked with Coast to Coast Backpacker's Guides to South Africa. There were three different editions and they were all up for grabs. We later found out that Lesh took bags and bags full, ostensibly to sell to costumers of his travel agency. Maybe he just though they were funny, though, which they are. We took time to shower and recouperate before getting dolled up and heading out on the town. A storm was blowing in and as we stepped out of the cabs at Hatfield Square the rain started coming down in sheets. The boys scampered for Subway and McDonald's while we three girls went to a Spur in search of nachos. It was a companionable dinner. The boys found us after a while, reporting that they had had three different dinners at three different fast food places. Ah, South Africa! McDonald's, how sweet thou art! It was time to head into Hatfield Square itself, which is actually a square of bars and nightclubs. This particular rainy night it was full of high schoolers since the college students were all away on spring break. We didn't care though. We had a great time making the most of our brief trip to Pretoria. Later, when the rain was still pouring, we made a run to McDoanld's and had a kingly feast. Then it was back to Pretoria Backpackers where we all passed out pretty quickly. In the morning I woke up the delightful sound of a summer thunderstorm outside while wallowing in my cozy bed inside. Everyone else slowly came around too and we dutifully packed up our things, wishing we had more time to spend in Pretoria. It was mutually agreed that McDonald's would be our last stop in town before heading out to Gabs. Most of us got a Micky D's breakfast because they absolutely refused to sell us any lunch items. Howevere, while Zach was ordering the magical changing-of-the-menu occurred so he went ahead and bought six sandwhiches and a medium fry. I don't know how that turned out for him, but probably not well. We got back in the combi, booted Diannah out at the trains tation so that she could go to Joburg to be with her boytoy, and then headed back to Mos Eisley (Gaborone). There was a brief amount of excitement when we crossed the border and there was a rain/hail storm, but outside of ten minutes that passed. Then we were back at UB and everyone was a little depressed. Ah well, all's well that ends well.

Mozambique, The Whale Shark Adventure

On Thursday we all got up bright and early (Matt got up extra early for his dive- he saw giant manta rays!) to walk over to Liquid Adventures for our Sea Safari. We got there, signed some release forms and paid them, then we suited up in wet suit shirts, snorkel gear, and flippers. This was definitely one of those times when I missed my friends from back home because only they could have appreciated the true awkwardness of me in snorkel gear. Especially the fins- oh those fins! Well, I'll get to how that ended up. There were about 20 people total signed up for the morning Sea Safari and we were from all over the world! It was quite a mix of people in Tofo that day. The Liquid Adventures dive leader and skipper took us down to the beach where a big rubber boat was waiting for us. They explained that we each had to grab on to a line of rope hanging off the side and run into the ocean with it. Then, when he shouted, the ladies would all attempt to jump in (you must understand that our head were roughly even with the sides of the giant rubber contraption. This was not going to be easy or in any way graceful), and then the men would continue to haul further into the waves. Fianlly, upon command, they would all jump into the boat as well. When this was finally accomplished the skipper fired up the motor and we zoomed at top speed into deep waters. Each wave we hit made us fly into the air and everyone was holding tight to the boat with their feet strapped in, praying not to be the idiot who flew out of the boat and got eaten by a dolphin. When we were a ways out the skipper stopped the motor and our dive leader explained the rules. "No touching the wildlife. If you need to touch something, touch us. We may not see anything, but keep your eyes peeled for black shadows in the water because that's a whale shark. No touching! If all else fails we will go to the coral reef and see fish. No touching! By the way, look over there at those leaping dolphins and that humpback whale." After these first sightings we didn't see anything for a while and I settled in to at least enjoy the thrilling boat ride. So when the skipper stopped the boat and the dive leader pointed at nothing and said, "Put your masks on and dive in," I dutifully followed instruction by expected to see nothing. I fell backwards over the boat and struggled for a second to right myself in the water. Then I looked down and four feet below me was a gigantic eight meter long whale shark, cooly cruising by. I had to swim sideways to avoid being smacked by his tail, which rose up in the water to where I was awkwardly hovering. Then he was passed me, and I went to the surface again. I just couldn't get the mask and the fins to work as they should, so I scrambeled, with much help, back onto the boat to collect myself. Nothing could have prepared me to see such a gargantuan animal to close and in such and alien setting. The water was just blue and dark, and then out of the shadows emerges a whale shark! I was ready for more, so the boat scooted forward to pick up more people and drop others off. This time when I jumped in I was expecting to see the whale shark, but when it swam out from under the boat and underneath me again I was still in a state of shock. This time I tore after it and kept pace for a while, breathing through the snorkel apparatus. The whale shark seemed not disturbed in the least to have a pack of tiny splashing people following it, and he kept close to the surface. I was so engrossed in watching him that I didn't realize how tired I was getting. It's not particularly easy to breath through a snorkel so when I surface I spat it out and took huge gulps of air. The boat was some ways off so I waved to it. They didn't see me. I shouted, but they were too far to hear me. I started to swim towards it but I was so tired and the blasted fins were dragging me down. I started swallowing water and I waved and shouted more and I panicked more. I considered kicking the fins off in order to stay on the surface because now I was sinking more and more often. Finally the boat noticed me and they zoomed over. I was too tired to haul myself up so I just threw my hands in the air and my friend Chris was able to pull me into the boat. I lay in a heap in the bottom for a while, recovering. It didn't take long for me to perk up and get ready for another round. This time I took the fins off and waited for the whale shark to swim right under the boat before jumping on top of it. It was just as glorious before and I felt so free without the fins! I only stayed long enough to watch it swim under me and away before going back into the boat.
Not long after this the dive leader announced that it was time to scoop everyone up from the water and head in to shore. We drove back at top speed and I thought I would fall off for sure. We stopped briefly at one point to watch a humpback whale. Getting into shore was pretty exciting; we continue to drive at top speed and we literally smashed into the beach, jarring everybody considerably. Then we all hopped out and helped pull the boat further up the beach where a broken down old pick up truck came to haul it the rest of the way. While I was walking up the beach to change out of my borrowed gear I noticed that the bracelet Emily had given me as a farewell gift was gone from my wrist. I had been wearing it day and night since she gave it to me in July, but I guess smacking repeatedly into the ocean had finally done it in. Now it was either resting on the bottom of the Indian Ocean or in the belly of a whale shark. It seems like a fine resting place for such a fine piece of accoutrement.
After deposting our gear and picking up our stuff we went back to Bamboozi for a hearty lunch. It had been a big morning.

Mozambique, Time Spent in Tofo

The rest of the week was spent in Tofo, and I'm so glad it was. The next morning after our arrival I got up early, dressed, and walked down to the beach. It was low tide and all the sharp, jagged, and vicious rocks not far from where we were innocently swimming were exposed. Fortunately this made for exciting rock pools and communities of sea critters in the rock pools. I combed the area for shells and ran into Matt and Chris, who had discovered an abundance of star fish. We also found various colorful little fish and a tiny sea urchin- Phin's ocean relative! It was an excellent way to start the day. We had been out maybe half an hour when we spotted a man jogging up the beach toward us. It turned out to be none other than Lesh, our missing combi driver! We were glad to see him because we had no way to contact him and we had no idea where he and his lady Tulu were staying. We rendezvou'd with him and brought him back to Mango to see our place. Meanwhile, we worked to drag everyone else out of bed and get them going. At long last we set off down the beach to walk into the Tofo marketplace for supplies (this usually means booze. Sometimes food.) As I mentioned it is a good 20 minute half out walk along a beautiful beach, so of course we stopped, stripped down into our suites, and went for a swim. It was beach time; no hurries, no worries. After our swim in the warm Indian Ocean we headed to a dive shop which boasted a little restuarant and the most delicious pineapple smoothies. Snacks are important when one spends all one's time battling waves. Lesh had gone on ahead at this point and promised to meet us in the marketplace with the combi so that we could drive out to the nearest ATM for much needed cash and supplies. As we walked I developed the most vicious rash from my swim shorts and by the time we got into the market place I was quite unhappy. There a South African by the name of Leray spotted us. "You look hung over," he said. "Not really," we said. "Come with me for a drink," he said. "Okay."
So that was how we met the infamous Leray, who led us into a little whole-in-the-wall shack which sold kebabs, rice, and booze. He made a concoction of the most disgusting "cherry" soda ever and some kind of cheap Mozambiquan brandy. Then he told us a little about himself. Turns out Leray is a soldier in the South African army and had been stationed in Tofo, doing absolutely nothing, for about two years. He lived a big party house and drank all the time, as well as many other illegal activities. He also kept repeating that he was supposed to go back to Joburg that very day and was just waiting for a very important phone call. He bought us several rounds of drinks and lunch. I don't think he actually paid for anything...
After lunch he told us about a cool little island "only 4 kilometers away". "Okay," we said. Lesh had finally been located, so we all hoped in the combi and drove out of town to the ATM. Of course, my card was not accepted there. In the only ATM for miles. TIA. Anyways, by this time my rash was rediculously painful and the "island" turned out to be much farther than 4 kilometers. Then it wasn't an island. It was a beautiful beach, mostly free of other people, and with a pleasant tiki hut bar. I wasn't having a great time...that is until some beach vendors found us with backpacks full of colorful cloth pants. Diana and I each bough a pair and I gratefully changed into these. Sweet relief! I also bought a prech cowrie shell bracelet which I have been wearing ever since that day. We stayed on the beach for about an hour or two and then headed back to Tofo. Leray, even though he was still supposed to be appearing in Joburg that day, decided he would come with us back to Mango. We hung around the market place for a little while and bought some trinkets and then started walking back down to the beach towards Mango, but somewhere a long the way we lost Leray. Oh well. We never did see him again.
That night was rather quiet since the day had been so eventful. We cooked some dinner with the supplies we had bought (this time meaning actual food) and went to bed. In the morning we woke up early, as per usual, and headed out to the beach. We were beginning to look like a more ragtag bunch by this time. Salty hair, sun burn, shell bracelets, and sandy. Excellent. We walked to a placed called Bamboozi, which was one of the establishments built high up on a dune and accessable via a steep and rickety wooden staircase. There we booked and ocean safari on Thursday for everyone (yay snorkeling!) and some scuba dives for Matt, who happens to be certified. You may have run across 'the big 5' before in terms of land animals (lions, water buffalo, elephants, rhinos, and leopards/cheetahs) but apparently there is also a big 5 of ocean life, all to be found in the Indian Ocean. I think it includes manta rays, wale sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, and humpback whales. Even though the establishment was Bamboozi, the actual company we booked through was called Liquid Adventures and offered just about every water activity you could think of.
After booking we went to the Bamboozi restaurant for breakfast. The place had a beautiful ocean view and was made in the tikki hut style- great beacha atmosphere. Several resident dogs and a 'weather coconut' were also in attendance. After breakfast it was time for more swimming of course! Diana, Jamie, and I decided to relax in the sun for a bit too while the boys went around being rambunctious and doing something or other. It was only for a short time, but I recieved the nastiest, worst, baddest sunburn on my poor leg I have ever had or seen someone else have. It is now November and it is still not fully healed. But that's beside the point, after laying out for a bit we went back for more swimming! Then it was lunch time and we all had worked up quite an appetite so we went back to the dive shop for smoothies. No pineapple this time, but we got apple instead and still enjoyed it greatly. We also tried to order sandwhiches, but the power was out, as it so frequently was, so we had to tweak our order a little bit more. In the end we were fed and watered and it was all delicious. AWA. P.s. That means Africa Wins Again.
After lunch Diana, Chris, and I headed back to Mango to get ready for a horseback riding adventure. I changed into my awesome beach pants, as did Diana, and we walked back up the beach to Bamboozi, climbed the dune, and walked a little ways into the palm forest and village to get to the horse place. On the way the tide was coming in fast and strong. It was already to the point where big waves were crashing against the dune and buffeting us as we walked. We saw a man ahead of us stumble and fall. A receding wave started to pull him out and he stuck his arm out to us for help. Chris grabbed it, but the man remained on the ground. He had a big glass Coke bottle full of liquor in one hand, but this and one of his sandals were washed away. He kept asking Chris not to let him go. "If you let go we're goners,". In his case, he was right. The tide would wash him away and swallow him up without a trace. Standing and sober, we were not in danger. The three of us managed to pull him along to Bamboozi where we deposited him on dry sand and told Jamie and Zach to watch him to make sure he didn't dorwn. Then it was time for horse back riding, and we were already running late, so we wasted no time moving along. There were four beautiful horses waiting for us. Diana had never been so close to a horse before and she was pretty ecstatic. Chris and I, who have been, were excited too, but were a little more composed about it. Our guide was a small man who was very energetic. He introduced our horses to us: mine was named Brownie, Diana's was Wolfie, and Chris's was named something terrible girly like 'Wind Dancer' or something. The ride was pretty exciting and it felt good to be on a horse again. We rode through the dunes and took a rather terrifying plummet down to the beach where the tide coming in bothered the horses not at all. A group of beach dogs barking did, however, and Diana's horse got spooked. We rode the horses back into the dunes and saw some fantastic views of palm forests, mountains, and the beach from a high vantage points. We rode through little villages and along fields. The sun was setting and everything was very beautiful. In the end we were all very sore and a little bit sunburned, but it was so very worth it.
When we were done riding we had a dilemma on our hands; where were we supposed to meet the others? On the far end of the beach at Dino's? At the very far and opposite end at Mango eating an expensive meal? Somewhere in the middle? We ended up walking up and down the beach, becoming exhausted, and arriving at Mango to find out that our friends had made dinner reservations for everyone and a gourmet meal was being prepared for us. Win! It was one of the tastiest dinners I've had in a long long time. Drinks at Bamboozi followed and then another gorgeous day in Tofo was over.