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.

Where Do I Even Start

So, lets just say that the past few days have been amazing to the n-th degree. Leaving Zanzibar was difficult indeed, but right off we arrived in Malawi at Kande Beach along the shores of the massive Lake Malawi. Beautiful white sand beaches, palm trees, amazing locals to visit and stroll around with, i.e. a repeat of Zanzibar. But, the people were so much more open and friendly and we got to enjoy a local meal by candlelight on grass mats, out in front of a farmers house, completely surrounded by corn. Singing and dancing followed the meal of soup, meat, ugali and vegetables. Afterwards we all went out at a local dive bar. An African dive bar is quite different from one in the US, to say the least. Only males are "allowed" out at night, the bar pumps out extremely loud African/reggae/rap music to which people dance outside in the dirt. After becoming even more tan than I was on Zanzibar, we moved on to Lilongwe for a few days and then on to Zimbabwe, starting off with a bush camp experience that was so miserable I can barely talk about it. Basically, it is real hot here. But, there must be an alien mineral in the soil here that absorbs heat and somehow doesn't release it, even after the sun sets. In the tent, the ground radiated heat to the point that it felt like I was sitting on a hot plate. I basically turned myself like a rotisserie the entire night so that I wouldn't burn whatever side was touching the ground. Harare was next, and it was a full-on city with everything that you would expect from a European or American city... except supplies. Hundreds of stores, most with nothing on the shelves. A product of the countries poor political and economics. What we saw apparently was much better than in recent months, where there was absolutely no bread nor meat nor vegetables to be found. Yet, these guys are so laid back that there is no violence to be seen nor talked about. There isn't a more accepting and resilient people that I have seen than Zimbabweans.

And then there was Antelope Park. I walked along side 3 massive lions as they rubbed against me, held their shoulder blades in my hand as they oscillated up and down next to me and watched them stalk antelope and zebras. I also went on a long horseback ride through the bush, seeing wild game along the way, trotting and cantering my way through grass like in Gladiator. Then I moved on to riding an elephant into a lake and held on as they thrashed left, right and back at the behest of the trainer. Went for an advanced horeback ride through the bush at full gallop, also riding it into the same lake for a swim as with the elephant before racing it against the other riders. That was day one. Later, I played with lion cubs, took a canoe around the lake, went on informative walks and finally ended with another lion walk.

Yesterday, I jumped off a 111 meter (333 foot) bridge facing Victoria Falls with a little springy rope tied to my ankles. Thankfully, it made me bounce up again. My first bungee jump was the 3 rd highest in the world, the Vic Falls Bridge Bungee. Then I did it again, but facing backwards.
Today I will fly over the falls in a helicopter and then follow that tomorrow with more jumping off of high places, doing a gorge wing across the massive gorge carved out by the Zambezi River below. Hopefully, the rope is shorter than the drop...

I have an intense facination with jumping off of things. Of this, I am sure.

Serengeti and Zanzibar

Lions, cheetahs and elephants, Oh My! About a week ago now, we set out to the Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive in the twilight of the morning. As we wound our way up to the edge of the crater, the African sun started to brighten the landscape. Switchbacks led to the top and our first glimpse of the crater floor was ethereal through the mist and morning light. Specks of black littered the floor; our game. Along the trek to the other side of the rim, where the descent was to begin, we were teased with a view out to the west of the vast Serengeti plains. But, that would have to wait. We were on the floor, and when I say there was a concentration of animals, I mean concentrated. We saw a rhino, elephant, zebras, giraffes, and about 5-7 lions. Quite literally, a lion strode past our Landrover, 2 feet below my hand and camera! You can see the grains on the hairs of its head in one of my pictures. Absolutely amazing. After the aotted 5 hours on the floor, we began our drive into the Serengeti. Oh, ho hum, we stopped briefly at the excavation site of the bones of the oldest human anscestor known en route. Then, the reason for Serengeti's fame became apparent. Immensely vast plains as far as the eyes can see, sometimes full to the brim with mingling packs of zebras, wildebeast, griaffes, cheetahs, birds, etc. etc. The drives to the game drives, became my favorite part of the trip. Just resting my head on the roof of the safari vehicle or out the window, I fixed my eyes on the horizon but kept aware of the plains grass whipping by me in the periphery. The immense feeling of being small in this "land of endless plains" was so overwhelming, so indescribable, that tears flowed.

And then there were the game drives... To see the big 5: elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards and rhinos is rare, due to the sneaky leopards. It sometimes takes people a lifetime to see them. We saw all five in one day, and we saw a total of 3 leopards, 20+ lions, 50+ elephants, multiple rhinos and 100's of buffalo. Not to mention cheetahs and giraffes. Mind-boggling to see these things in the wild.

We moved on from there back to Arusha, where the difficulties of shipping to Africa became very apparent. I had to jump off the tour and head to Dar es Salaam, to the airport to get my music. After doing that, fairly painlessly there, I met back up with the tour to head to Zanzibar. I am now sitting in Stone Town after 4 days here. It is paradise in its purest form. White sand beaches opening up to the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Dhow's, ancient arabic sailing vessels, dot the horizon, and the breeze never seems to stop. We had perfect weather the entire time here and I am pretty tan, even for African standards. I may have to explain myself at immigration due to not looking like my passport anymore. Nevertheless, beach volleyball, beach bars, and beach everything was the call of the day each day. We did the Spice Tour yesterday which was immensely cool. Wee were taken to a proper spice farm and given leaves of each of the spices, so we could try to guess which spice it was. Cloves, cinammon, everything, was so aromatic as to confuse the sense altogether. One of the boys climbed a 30 meter palm tree to knock down some fresh coconuts for us which the chopped open and from which we drank. Also, I had my first liche, which was so good, I just can't believe I had never tried nor heard of it.

Now we are on to Malawi, where I might be getting PADI certified so I can dive in the Seychelles and Red Sea. Bush camping and no electricity for the next few days/weeks...