Continuing On!

Finishing off Morocco, I was in Fez, Chefchoaun, and Tangier. Fez was incredible. It had a music festival going on, as well as the biggest medina in all of Morocco to get lost in. One a jaunt, I decided to pop into a non-descript alley due to a sign that said "Cafe Clock". This turned out to be a cool little gem of a cafe, but also I met a couple from NYC there, who own a home in Fez and commute there often. David is an IT guy pretty far up in IBM's echelon, but is a crazy guy to speak with. Very funny guy, kind of a cross between George Carlin (God rest his soul...)and Chris Rock. Anyway, they invite me back to their riad (home). To say the least David had a great insightful comment that behind these doors lie palaces. The alleyways are lined with old wooden doors that really belie what they hide. Which is immense, ornate, palatial homes, most 4 or 5 stories high and graced with beautiful tiling done hundreds of years ago. You can have one for about $35,000, literally. Anyway, I had dinner with them and their friends and also watched sufi dancing, which was a spectacle of lights, music, singing and dancing. Chefchouan is known as the Blue City, which is apt, as its doors and streets are lit up in radiant blues of all shades. Really picturesque town. Tanger was mainly a port city used to get over to Spain by way of ferry. Didn't see Jason Bourne there, nor did I kill anyone with a towel, which was one of my main reasons to go. Guess I will have to return at a later date.

Making my way to Spain, I was really a sad soldier looking back from the ferry at Africa receding away into the distance. My feet not on its soil for the first time in 6+ months, I realized just how much it meant to me and how much I had grown accustom to its unique blend of craziness and excitement. Certainly each country had its own distinct flavor, but to me it is all AFRICA. Only death can keep me from returning for more.

My first moments in Spain truly made me feel like an immigrant, fresh off the boat, as it were. Shiny cars, well-dressed people on clean sidewalks waiting to be picked up by a new bus that was on time to bring us along a well-paved road to our destination efficiently and comfortably, was a new experience to me at that point. Creature comforts and their beckoning call, utterly familiar all my life, were hidden at that time, completely out of sight. I feel sad that in only a few weeks they have strengthened their hold, awakening a dormant beast of wanting and "needing" this, that or the other.

But, then again, I like my new clothes.

So far, I saw Picasso's home and museum in Malaga, Alhambra in Granada, Cordoba's wonderful mosque/church/synagogue, which I think they should call a Murchagogue, and Seville. Seville was extra special because the European Championships, which Spain won, were going on while I was there. Watching a game in an Irish pub in Seville with a ton of crazies all around was just the sport fix I needed.

From there, we went to Porto, Portugal, home of port wine. Yummy. It also is an amazing place full of narrow streets winding up and down hills with the Douro River cutting through the middle. It is on this river where all of the port wine houses make the beverage du jour. Beaches as well. I am now in Lisbon enjoying what I have seen so far, but mainly waiting for my sister to get her butt here! We will be touring Lisbon and Madrid and Ibiza together, finally in a foreign country together! 5 years in the planning...

Egypt and Beyond

I feel like the more I travel, the more I experience and the more I come to know my "future" destinations, the harder it is for me to be overwhelmed or beheld in awe. Egypt certainly changed all of that. Literally behind every corner is history that is normally viewed in books or on Travel Channel specials. It just boggles the mind when you stand in front of it. So it was that we flew into Cairo, with our bags apparently still in South Africa. We toured Giza, some markets and Saqqara, you know, while we waited for our bags. Unfortunately for me, I had chosen jeans as my flight wear, so I was a touch hot, running from shady place to shady place. Saqqara had the oldest stone construction known to man, the Step Pyramid, as well as other temple complexes. It is staggering to think just how old these things are, and the fact that many houses built in the 1960's need renovation. We rolled up to Giza and the 3 most iconic of symbols just stood there in very stark contrast to the surrounding city. We decided to be tourists and ride camels and horses to the Pyramids base's, not as easy as it sounds. I ran up onto one of them, as that had always been my dream; actually to the top was my dream, but there were too many police around. After taking way too many photos there, we returned to our hotel and waited for our bags. The next day, lo and behold they were there. We went to see the Ancient Egyptian Museum, with its vast collection of ill-marked antiquities. Included in this was a room dedicated to Tut, the focal point being the golden mask. An overnight train and we were in Aswan touring the dam, and then the next morning Abu Simbel. How they moved an entire mountain is beyond me, but there it was, lit by the morning light in amazing splendor. For me, it was the highlight of all of Egypt. We then cruised on a boat called a felucca, down the river Nile for 2 days, lazing under a tarp, swimming, etc. So relaxing. We toured a couple of temples on our way to Luxor, where we stayed a few days to see the Valley of the Kings and Queens and Karnak and Luxor Temples. All of these individually would be worth the price of flight and admission, so to see everything was quite overwhelming. In a good sense. As if that weren't enough for a lifetime, I then moved on to Dahab, on the Red Sea coast for snorkeling and scuba at one of the best spots on Earth to do it. The Blue Hole was aptly named and was where I swam with what seemed like 20 million fishes, who just barely maneuvered out of the way before I touched them. Yes, they parted like the Red Sea... Went to the place where Moses received the 10 commandments, Mt. Sinai, catching a sunrise over the mountain range. Next day took off to see Petra in Jordan, which is WAY bigger than just the Indiana Jones temple face. It is actually a massive city, many square miles, with temples carved into the faces of cliffs. As if THAT wasn't enough, I am now in Morocco in Essaouira ("S"-a-we-ra) after having enjoyed Casablanca and Marrakesh.

It seems ages ago that I landed in Nairobi, 7 months now, yet somehow seems even further from going home, which is still " months away. Maybe its denial starting to creep in...

Mauritius and Madagascar

Leaving the Seychelles was ridiculously hard. I mean it IS one of the most beautiful island chains in the world. Mauritius had a lot to live up to. It has fantastic beaches and mountainous landscapes galore. It even has a great mixture of people, but it just speaks as to the amazingness of Seychelles that it felt less than what it actually is. Plus, it has a little of the tourist factor, that Seychelles somehow manages to avoid.

Moving on to Madagascar, I was energized and anticipating amazing things. It did not disappoint. The capital Antannanarivo, or Tana, is a bustling place full of ethnic looking people. Its tough to place them, as there is an Asian, Indian, African, and local flavor. It carries over to their food, thankfully. Its one of the coolest little cities I have been in. Nothing in particular, its just got that "feel" to it. From here, I went on to Ranomafana NP, where I saw one of 18 known Golden Bamboo lemurs in the world! It required a trek through a rain forest, aptly named that day, but which I barely noticed. We spent about 20 minutes with it and another 2 brown lemurs. Truly amazing. I try to compare it to the Rwandan Mountain gorillas, which were far more impressive (likely because I think I can take on a lemur, or I am far less of a man than I currently believe...), but there is nothing like the thought of seeing in nature, no scratch that in the remote jungle of Madagascar, one of the rarest species on the planet eat a leaf. Not exactly an exciting action, but once again, it is the thought that counts. On the drive I stopped at a aluminum smelting factory, my first, and an arts and crafts village run by cute little old ladies. The place was teeming with them. The crafts. You absolutely cannot tell an old little Malagasy lady "No". Its an impossibility. I do not know what I am going to do with these afgans and table settings...

I then carried on to another fantastic park with beautiful hikes and waterfalls. Had to leave before I wanted because there are no banks anywhere and they wouldn't even take US dollars. Who ever heard of such a thing. Spent a few days lazing around a pool and beach and then flew to Morondava, the "closest" airport to Tsingy NP. Truly; you can look for yourselves on a map. It does appear just "right there" next to Tsingy. However, in real life it took a taxi into town and then a 10 hour 4x4 ride in a blessedly nice Toyota Landcruiser on roads that appeared to have been bombed only last week before becoming infested by a very large mutant mole species. There were also 2 river crossings on barges that only barely would be considered sea-worthy, and which I would have reluctantly climbed aboard if I had been stuck on an island. This only brought me to the gates of the park, the site being another hour away. To say that it was worth it to get there should be obviously impressive. Crazy, razor-sharp stone formations like spikes into the sky and formed into caves, ravines and tunnels made this place special. I love crawling through stuff. This place made me clip in to ropes for safety, adding a hint of danger that always makes me feel better about a place and all it took to get there. Unfortunately, the reverse trip back to the airport traversed the same mole-infested road. Thankfully, the truck did not get eaten and I arrived for the flight back to Tana in time. That is where I am now, waiting for my Sunday flight to Egypt. I am more excited about this leg of the trip than I was before I left the States. The pyramids, Petra (going to Jordan too...), Abu Simbel, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, all were just names of a Travel Channel show or magazine article. Now they will become a real part of the world and my consciousness, which is always an amazing feeling.

So, things are going well. I will do my best to avoid the heat, though I am not sure how that is accomplished in the middle of the desert.

Wow

Okay, I thought I had seen pretty beaches in my travels, but I was wrong. The Seychelles have 3 of the top 10 beaches in the world, and they are all well deserved. We chose to reside in La Digue for its peace and serenity and for 3 beaches: Grand and Petite Anse and Anse Source D'Argent, the last of which is the main attraction for this island. Huge boulders jut out from the perfect white sand and into the crystal-clear turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. 100-foot tall tropical trees holding 20 coconuts leave over the ocean threatening death from above; litterally, as one crashed down not far from us. The shallow lagoon extends about 300 yards into the ocean, allowing for hours of snorkeling. The sand is as powdery-white and fine as you can imagine. We motor around on bikes, as it is the main transport around the island for all. It took us about 45 minutes to bike the circumference of the island at a leisurely pace and it is vista after vista of beauty. Utterly spectacular. Oh, I forgot, on the main island we flew in on, Mahe, we went to Beau Vallon, another top 10'er, ho hum. Facing west, we got to see the sun sink into the ocean, right before we ate super-fresh seafood for dinner. Lately on La Digue, we let our host cook us home-cooked fare, rife with local fruit and fresh catches o' the day. Its a pretty sweet life at this point. So, it is that I have a new look and emotion in me about the continent I just left, that is undefinable at this point, and a thirst for all of this to continue, as it will for some time to come. Its hard to believe: only half way. I keep telling myself that and I laugh at the amazing blessing that is my life.

OH! And for all... Shantaram. Read it. Crazy story, but so thought provoking and poignant between the lines. Creeping up to the top of my favorite books ever list.

Where Do I Even Begin...

Well, its certainly been awhile. I haven't exactly been bored with myself, but internet has been mostly miss. Botswana and the Okavango Delta, Namibia with Spitzkoppe's massive rocks, Swakopmund's sandboarding, quadbiking through the Namib desert and skydiving over that same red sand spectacle on the sea, Stellenbosch and vino, Cape Town with friends and goodbyes with others, and continuing in South Africa with caves, the highest bungy in the world and into Lesotho, the mountain kingdom basically sums up the last month. This morning I awoke in my tent, unzipped the door and looked out into Royal Natal NP in South Africa and realized that it would be the last time I awoke in this tent, on this trip. Goodbyes are always hard. This one has been the toughest. Not only because it is the longest period of time I have spent with a group or consecutively on a continent, but because of the fact that everything you hear about Africa is true. It really does reach down inside you and rip out your heart. There are so many injustices everywhere you look, so many things that could be helped and so many people that are looking for anyway out. But, then it puts back in your heart, but covered with its soil and its soul. It seems to be a stain that will never go away, one that will remind you constantly of what it once was, to be here among its people, engulfed in its culture, its frustrations and its singular blessings. For there is no other place I have been to that has made me feel as I have here. Its at once shame for living in oblivion to the suffering of others, at other times motivating to become better, more involved in the world around me, and more open, more naive and trusting to the random person you meet. It melts the cynicism out of you.

I leave the continent tomorrow, I'm sure changed in ways I haven't yet fully realized. That seems to be the blanket statement for all who come here. Normally there is a good reason for cliched statements. "Africa gets into your blood and never leaves" is one that I keep coming back to frequently. I am infected. I wonder how it will effect my life.

So, I continue on into the islands, leaving Jo'Burg going to the Seychelles and then on to Mauritus and Madagascar. Life is pretty good. But, I will miss the amazing friends I have made along the way, locals and on my tour. It is only those you share the experiences with who can fully understand what you are and have gone through. Pictures can not capture, stories can not encompass fully what Africa is, nor what it means.