Reflecting: an Overland trip well done and oh so worthwhile

We have taken our last drive day on the big rig, trading her in for a bus that is cruising its way to Cape Town as i write. To my left is a large, barren valley with rocky mountains creating an imposing ridge. It is a bittersweet bus, getting to a sweet, cosmopolitan city for New Years will be great but we are sad that the 2 month overland trip is coming to a close after covering over 10,000 kilometers making our way across and down the continent. It has been an amazing and hugely enjoyable experience, and one we enthusiastically recommend to anybody interested. We especially recommend the company we went with, Oasis Overland, as everything from the tour leader, driver, the truck, the food (recall our thanksgiving Tuna), the itinerary has been thoughtful and superb.

In that vein, it seems worthwhile to try and summarize my emotions and thoughts as we get to this inflection point in our travels. Starting tomorrow, it is back to the freedom and hassle of planning our time here in South Africa and beyond. We will no longer be able to count on the logistics and knowledge embedded in the trip, rather we will have complete autonomy to go wherever we choose, with the caveat that we will also have to spend time and energy making those choices a reality.

It is also sad to be leaving all the people with whom we have shared the rig and trip. This polyglot bunch will be spreading back out across the globe, some back to jobs and others on to their next adventure. We have spent hundreds hours in the close confines of the truck and shared experiences that were lifetime memories. We necessarily created a community, with various roles and social dynamics, and today is when that temporary and transient community ceases to exist.

Highlights

- Bisecting the continent overland

Mu soaks in the Atlantic coast

One idea that has really gained a toehold in my head is the notion of bisecting this big continent via land, and how cool it is to be able to look at a map and know parts of countries from the Atlantic all the way across to the Indian Ocean. For whatever reason, this makes me believe that i have really 'seen' a continent, versus sampled places. Of course, this is not entirely accurate, as i have seen many of these places from the truck cruising along, not exactly the paragon of immersion. Still, the idea that we traveled form one ocean to the other gives me great pleasure. Mu too, as you can see in the pic above, which i took right as we arrived on the Atlantic coast of Nambiai several days ago. Doesn't she look pleased with herself too?

Indian Ocean, Dar Es Salam

- Big, beautiful land

We suspect that when our reminiscing turns to this trip in the future, our first thoughts will be about the beauty we have seen. From the wonders of the Ngorogoro Crater, to tranquil Lake Malawi, to the airy Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, to the power and fury of Vic Falls and the Zambezi, to the Botswana sunset in the Okavango Delta, to a bush camping Christmas, all with the big skies that have kept us company from Nairobi to Cape Town. And with so many beautiful places in between. So many biomes, so many natural wonders, so many animals, so much vastness.

Sunrise over Lake Malawi

Vista across Zimbabwe and Mozambique, Eastern Highlands

Vic Falls as seen from Zambia

Okavango Sunset, Botswana

Bushcamping for Christmas, Namibia

- Troubled history, hopeful future

Lastly, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know the history of these countries and tribes through which we have passed. Africa is enormously multifaceted, layered and it is also so easily dismissed as a monolith from the comfy confines of the Western world. I am certainly guilty of this at times, as it is so far away and keeping track of the ebbs and flows of geopolitics on a continent with 53 odd countries is overwhelming.

Mu and i have both made a point of trying to understand the cultures, histories and possible futures of the counties we have passed through in the 9 countries on the trip (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa). It is not always pleasant reading or conversations, whether it be wars from the pre-colonial period through the present, or racial intolerance and violence, or corrupt and greedy politicians, or famine, or AIDS. The history of these places is troubled along many dimensions.

Being on the ground makes it orders of magnitude easier to contexualize this history, and consider where these countries might be heading. Botswana is often seen as a leading light in this regard, and it offers one path to increased living standards and hope for its citizens. There will be others, i am confident. I am strong believer in the industry of the citizens of these countries. We know from our interactions throughout East and Southern Africa that when working within a strong and consistent rule of law, where people are able to systematically work towards a better life and that of their family, people here will work hard and make tangible improvements in their present, and future. They just need positive stability (e.g. a contributing government rather than a a kleptomanic government) and a chance.



 

Bombs Away: The World from 10,000 Feet

The Cessna slowly circles above the meeting point between the ocean and the Namib desert, gaining altitude until we hit the magic 10k feet and it is time to make a much quicker descent down, gravity style. Having looked forward to skydiving for a long time, my nervous energy is ready for the release. That said, I am also really enjoying the ever increasing views across this majestic, still and almost inhospitable landscape. The sun is beginning to make its way towards the atlantic horizon, tracing the start of a dragon tail across the miles of ocean we see to the horizon.

Heading out, and up

We are outside Swakermound, and on tap today is a tandem sky dive. The feeling amongst the group has been akin to the locker room before a big hockey game, nervous energy mixed with quiet determination. There is good reason for that reaction, as the act of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is inherently counterintuitive. Just as before those big games, i tend towards the quiet side, for once, getting my mind ready for the adrenaline and focus that is ahead. In the Cessna, it is no different, as i skip the banter and prefer to take in the scenery, the vivid palette of reds, oranges contrast with the deep blue Atlantic, the same one i grew up frolicking in many thousands of miles from here, and its rhythmic surf that is beguiling from altitude. My only worry is not about the jump, but rather about the physical effects of the free fall and whether my body will respond positively. All that rock climbing has created comfort with harnesses, redundancy and process, which carries forward to the gear you wear to jump out of a plane. Instead, i am silently wondering - wIll i get sick, will my contacts stay in, will i be uneasy or comfortable?

Thumbs up, i hope

Suddenly, the door is open, although in this case the door is more like a garage door and slides up. Graves, the first one out of the plane with her tandem jumper gets in position with her feet under the opening and head up, in a second they are GONE -- out of view before my brain can even register the process and try and get a sense of what is in store for my turn. My instructor taps my shoulder and much too soon i am repeating the process with my feet out of the door and eyes taking in the vastness that is around and below. It is all happening now.


Sooner than i had anticipated, i get a tap and put my head up, and we are off. We turn over and my head is leading the way, with the sky diving googles pushing up into my face, which must be scrunched up in the wind and gravity (9.8 meters/second^2) is doing its part and we are accelerating. A feeling that is unlike any i have experienced before. The visceral sense of acceleration seeps into the brain well before the conscience thought is formed. We are rotating slowly in space, all while getting up to the 120 mph that we achieve at about 5000 feet over the desert.

The whole time we are in the air, from flight to touch down, i am hyper aware that there is a finite time for each step in this experience. I want to savor each instant, both process and enjoy the entire time. During the free fall, with my head leading the way towards the ever closer ground, i want time to stand still. In a way it does.

Glancing at the jump master's watch, i see we are nearing zero on the countdown and sense him pulling the rip cord. Surprisingly, we don't get jerked right away by the chute opening. This is one of the unexpected parts of the jump, in fact. Then, the chute takes hold and we go from the roar and rush to utter silence and stillness. My reaction? A hearty belly laugh --the kind that comes from way down in your soul. Wow.

It is so pretty, the primal contrast of sky, land and water. The stillness of the parachute flight is something i could really grow to love (sorry mom!). We do a little lesson on flight control and then i am steering this bad boy to the right and left, gliding across the clear sky. That sense of finiteness is acute, because i love it so much, and i want us to stay up here for hours, not minutes. The jump-master is great, answering questions that pop into my head, but mostly we just glide and laugh.

Still falling at about 13 feet a second, after a few minutes the ground transitions from an abstract sense of colors to a plane with finite objets, topography and finally i realize that this cluster of buildings and cars is our landing point. It looks a bit like the satellite pics you see of Al'Qaeda training camps in the news. Wow, how did we end up right over head, magic? I don't want to be there quite yet, but gravity is non-negotiable.




My legs up, curled in a ball under my torso, we touch down perfectly. It is much gentler than i had anticipated, a perfect 10 landing. There is mu, taking pictures and i can't wait to give her a kiss and hug. Triumphant and overjoyed: i loved every second, no physical issues and with total alertness and enjoyment.

Success!

After all the adrenaline coursing through the body, i am left feeling pleasantly empty. The pre-game anticipatory jitters and energy have been expended, replaced with only a warm glow. A bbq of delicious sausages and some cold beer start the process of refilling, but i want to savor the aftereffects as long as possible. It has been an unforgettable day. I will have a content smile on face for hours, with the sensations and vistas of each step permanently etched into my consciences.



 

A Day in the Life: Christmas in the Namibian Bush

First and foremost, Muriel and i wish everyone a very merry Christmas!


We hope you had a wonderful holiday wherever you were privileged to spend it. I realized a few weeks ago that this would be my 6th continent celebrating the holiday, which is a bit of a surprise considering how much i enjoyed and treasured this time of year back home while growing up. Now, i treasure it for another reason, a big window of time and opportunity to get out in the great big world to see someplace that i have never been, ideally with some outdoor sports thrown in. This approach has led Mu and i to many far ranging places, often with dear friends. It is a different approach to the holidays, and one that might not work for many others, but sure brings us a ton of peace and joy.

We thought it would be fun to give a little snapshot of our day yesterday, which took place in a national park about 100 kilometers inland from the coast here in Namibia. The park is called Spitzkoppe, which apparently means painted dome in german (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitzkoppe and http://www.travellersvoice.com/articles/article.html?id=49). The area is littered with large domes of red granite rock, some of the faces are hundreds of feet tall and i was reminded of J-tree and parts of Utah. Wifi however is in short supply, so we were not able to call our families, which was a bit of downer. The peaks are contrasted to the utter flatness of the surrounding area, making their relief all the more speculator. The entire area combines for sunsets that were stunning, lasting well over an hour and having such vivid red, yellow and pink hues.

Christmas Eve sunset

The campsite for our 2 nights at the park was nestled in the rocks, our tent in a fold of granite that gave some respite from the intense sun and heat, it must have been over a hundred at points yesterday. The hot and summery vibe felt quite similar to our Aussie xmas in Hobart five years ago, which makes sense considering the similar latitude. This led to playing some soccer and going on trail runs, which were a far cry from the skating and skiing that is de rigor back home.

Camp in the middle of Spitzkoppe

We even got in some climbing, which was a very pleasant surprise. Mu took the reins on leading up a tricky little granite climb, and she did a great job. It is always hard to climb when you do not know the grade of the specific climb, and she did very admirable job overcoming this mental challenge. Then, i climbed in my sneakers, since my climbing shoes were thrown away back after Lisboa due to disrepair. It was hard to get up the climb in sneakers, but the flow and airy vista across the desert proved sublime. Then, the real fun began as we were able to share our beloved pastime with many of the fellow christmas revelers, about 10 in total. It was really cool to get people on the rock, and have them enjoy the sport so much even in the powerful heat and sun. On-lookers were so supportive and the collaborative nature of the sport really took over, producing an enduring xmas memory for my lovely wife and i.

Mu killing it on the granite

The amphitheater

Then it was time to get down to the serious business of christmas dinner. We actually had two big meals, both of which were quite impressive for camping in the bush with no running water and only cooking off the truck. All of the cooking was done using the 3 propane burners or over a charcoal fired burner set up (man was the 2nd set hot). This creates a big challenge for sequencing a 21 person proper meal with all of the fixins and sauces, while also accommodating the dietary restrictions that a modern group of that size will require.

Our chef/tour leaders were more than up to the challenge, as we ate like proper kings in the desert. Breakfast was eggs, toast, fried tomatoes, fresh bacon, sausages - yum! Dinner was taken up a notch even further with 3 full leg of lambs on the bone (cooked in a stock bath and then finished over the coals), steamed beer chicken, fried mint potatoes, squash and sweet potato mash, carrots, creamed broccoli/zucchini and gravy. Painted Dog. Desert is more Mu's domain so i can let her chime in on that front in comments, but i can assure you it was also excellent.

Gifts were exchanged as well, with both a secret santa and a white elephant on tap amongst the group. Mu netted some wildlife stuff and jewelry in the bargain and i got a great South African cook book that i will be putting to use back home, wherever that may be. Mu and i also did our own gift exchange, and we both came out swimmingly.

Moon rising over the Spitz

Overall, yesterday was incredibly differnet than the christmas' of our youth, so dominated by snowy, wintery weather. Last night, mu and i slept out on the red Spitzkoppe granite with the moon tracking slowly across the sky and millions stars absoulutely glowing, seemingly right in front of our faces. Try that in Utah or Maine, in Dec! An extremely memorable day 112 to our travels and my 32nd christmas.

Xmas cheer, Namibian style

 

Recommended Travel: Etosha National Park

Mu and i are deep in a whispered debate about xmas presents for our family, and then she exclaims - 'A Rhino'. All thoughts of anything else evaporate and we are transfixed as a massive white rhino ambles slowly around the lit waterhole in Etosha National Park, Namibia. This is one of 86 waterholes in the park, where we are privileged to camp in the middle of tonight.


The campground lights the waterhole -- an extraordinary place. The floodlights imbue a yellow hue that pools out to the vastness of the savanna. The yellow hue is overwhelmed every few seconds by the brilliant cuts of lighting across the night sky, as storm makes it way steadily our direction. The burst of light reflects in the waterhole in a color that is transcendent.

Back to the the Rhino, who makes his way to waters edge and take a short drink, reflected perfectly in the still water. I am barely breathing and my heart rate has sped up, this is one of the coolest experiences we have had during our trip. After a drink, the rhino ambles around, casually grazing on the plants along the ground. Up close in this setting, the animal is unbelievably massive, long, powerful and primordial. It is easy to picture a rhinos roaming the same land as a triceratops. With the calm of night, the stillness of the waterhole and the approaching storm as nature's fireworks, Mu and i don't talk for ages, totally absorbed in the wonder of this rare and massive wild animal in its natural environment.

Etosha National Park is one of the largest parks in Africa and home to a menagerie of animals. In the middle of the park sits Etosha Pan, a massive 5,000 square kilometer salt bed, which has been a seasonal oasis to many migratory birds and animals and is the keystone of the protected area. This is one of the jewels for preserving open space in the entire continent and it is one of the only parks where our overland truck can enter. As a result, we game drove over two days in the park aboard our rolling home, quite a contrast to the rinky dink 4x4 Land cruisers, hi-luxes and land rovers that are de rigor here. Since safaris can get quite pricey, well over a hundred bucks a day, this is a wonderful situation for the entire group. Free safari!

Our lux safari rig

Vital Stats of Etosha

- 23,935 square kilometers

- 144 mammal species the park

- 3,551 kilometers of roads

- 850 kilometer perimeter fence

- 86 waterholes

- Over 200 hundred black rhinos, largest concentration in the world

Animals we will see over the two days include black rhinos, white rhinos, lions, hundreds of flamingos, giraffes having intercourse, elephants, zebras, mongoose, suricate, at least six species of entelopes, jackals, hyaenas and dozens of types of birds, including a peregrine falcon. Beyond the night viewing of the white rhino, two other animals stand out.



- Game Driving Day 1 Highlight - Black Rhino

We have to head back and have not seen anything that we did not see in the morning, even though the temperature is cooler and as a result better game viewing. Also, all of the gates in the park at the entrances and campsites close promptly at 7:30, and you have ot be inside or incur a stiff fine. Hence we have a hard stop for tonight's game drive.

Then, someone yells out that they see a rhino, and we hit the buzzer to stop the truck. In amongst a few giraffes, there is in fact a rhino, big and seemingly indifferent to anything but the food it is chomping along its meander. As it get closer, we try and determine whether it is a white or black rhino. The black rhinos are solitary, more dangerous, and rarer of the two. They have a square jaw and eat leaves in a fashion similar to elephants, ripping leaves off shrubs with their prehensile mouths as opposed to grazing like a cow. White rhinos are more of communal animal, are also incredibly rare, but have a more passive temperament and are not prone to charging when they feel threatened. We eventually settle on this being the rare black rhino, based primarily on the food it is eating and the shape of its mouth. It gets quite close to the rig and we are so lucky to be in the presence of such a noble animal. Unlike the rhinos, mu and i waled among in Motobos National Park, Zim, this rhino has an intact front horn and that thing looks like it could really pack a punch.




Having such a cool experience together with our friends on the trip is wonderful, a shared bond. There is a palpable sense of energy and an emotion high for the rest of the day, and for good reason, as we have been in the presence of one of the rarest and most endangered animals on earth.

- Game Driving Day 2 Highlight - Lion Pride

It has been an early start, 5:15 am alarm and on the road at 6:15, and the truck shows. People are a bit listless, myself included, starting out the truck and wishing they were still sleeping. That changes in an instant as I spot a lioness and we buzz to stop and check it out. We are in for a treat. There is not one lioness, but rather 5 big, calm hunters and 3 of the most adorable baby cubs. The little cubs are so adorable, romping around with the adults and getting licked majestically to clean their fur.

One of the moms is carrying an antelope head in its jaws, with the horns still attached to the skull. She will spend the next 15 minutes gnawing on the head, but will walk away without a fight when another lioness wants to have a go at the marrow. I am reminded of the fights between our two dogs, Zeus and Brigham, over the favored chew toy of the day, a battle that never resolved as well as these lions worked it out.

A jackal is also trying to get in on the carcass and circles the perimeter of the lions--giving them a wide berth. This was prudent as we saw 2 of the lionness begin to stalk the jackal -- their hindquarters twitching as they got ready to make another kill if the jackal proved too foolhardy.




Suddenly, the heads of all 5 female adults snap to attention, all pointing in the same direction. You can faintly hear the purring moaning rumble of a lion's roar in the distance and the pride quickly gathers the remains of the kill and heads off. It all happens quickly, purposeful but not frantic. As the pride moves off, the jackal scores a bloody 7 inch stump.

Our truck starts and we head down the road -- two massive, healthy and magestic male lions are strolling in our direction. These lions do not appear to have a care in the world, and clearly know they are the top of the food chain in a park where there is no shortage of food. We watch as the lions, who could easily be brothers, stroll within 20 or 30 feet of our overland truck, eventually sniffing around the area where the lionesses were a few minutes ago. They have some work to do if they want to meet up with the pride. Different theories arose whether the lionesses and lions were part of the same pride or whether the male lions were nomadic lions trying to form their own pride by taking lionesses from an existing pride. We eventually carry on, but mu and i never tire or get bored when we are in the presence of these cats on their terms.



The rest of the morning is spent game driving to the other end of the park from where we entered, and we are on to points south in Namibia. Etosha is not a park i knew of before this trip but it certainly is one that i enthusiastically recommend, it has the special vastness that one pictures as emblematic of this continent. And those lit waterholes.

 

Botswana: Sunsets, Delta, and a Craggy Mountain

It has been a lovely week. We have been in Botswana, which has been very relaxing and beautiful. The hustle and bustle of many other countries we have visited on our trip has dissipated, with the natural beauty of this spacious and sparse country coming to the fore.

Botswana's per capita gross domestic product was abut $250 dollars in 1970. Despite that starting point of extreme poverty, Botswana is now very well regarded, it has successfully navigated the post-colonial period that has been so troubling, bloody and destructive for so many other countries. The main reason for its progress was the discovery of and a corresponding judicious use of rich veins of diamonds just a few years after Botswana achieved independence. Of course, if its imbedded mineral wealth was known at the time, securing political freedom may not have been so easy.

Once diamonds were discovered, the government reacted contrary to many of its peers here in Africa, and throughout the developing world. It took several years for plans to be put into place to ensure that the riches soon to flow into the country would be utilized properly and justly. It plowed its new found dollars into roads, education and other social investments that have come good over the successive decades. It is a success story that demonstrates the resource curse, the economic theory that natural resources counter-intuitively lead to stilted or even repressed development because of the temptation to capture the rents of the resource extraction, is not axiomatic. There is a subtle pleasure of being in a country where one is not constantly hounded by touts. However despite the positive income statistics and ambiance, mud huts along the road remain a common site and the country is one of the hardest hit by HIV lowering average life expectancy to 29 by some accounts.

Botswana is large with a lot of open space. The three open space areas that we visited all stood out:

- Chobe National Park

This national park is at the extreme north east corner of the country, and borders the little sliver of Namibia. This park has tons of cool animals and we got into it via a boat safari. We had not thought about it before, by a boat is actually a prime way to see wildlife, as it is quiet and less obtrusive than a 4x4. From the boat, we slipped past dozens of crocs, hippos, antelopes, water buffaloes, kudu and a herd of elephants (with a tiny little baby that was impossibly cute), as well as hundreds of birds, including my favorite, the fish eagle. After seeing these big and dangerous animals up close, it gave me a little pause that our tent was a bit closer to the river than i would have liked! The evening was topped with a spectaculor sunset over the Chobe river.

- Okavango Delta

We've been itching to get to the Delta since we began planning our trip to the continent. As arguably the largest inland freshwater delta, it contains an abundance of life in its varying biomes and ecosystems from islands to permanent swamp. It is home to much of the fauna that Africa is famous for but not in the easily seen concentrations seen other places. Being in the Delta is more about enjoying this unique environment for the sensation of skimming in a dug-out canoe quietly at water level among the reeds, tromping through the islands, and camping away from any electricity, running water, or permanent structures. The sunsets were out of this world, huge skies, vidid colors all in the stillness that makes the Delta so peaceful.

One disappointment about the Delta was the amount of cattle that we saw there. Cattle are often ecosystem disturbers -- their manure brings black flies and infectious diseases such as giardia. We were told that the cattle were in the Delta because elephants had destroyed the buffalo fences and that people in the nearby villages will continue to graze their cattle there until the government fixes the fences. On the whole, however, we were delighted by both the quietude and environment of the Delta.

- On top of Botswana -Tsidolo Hills

Our last night in Botswana found us at Tsidolo Hills, which are rocky outcrops that arise out of the Kalahir Desrt. The desert is a semi arid biome, one that is less deserty than i had anticated, with low shurbs and sprodaic trees growing improbably out of sandy soil. Driving in the 40km washboard dirt road, i was reminded of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, where a long drive is rewarded by a spectator setting, in that case it is Anazai ruins, and here we are coming to a world heritage site. You see, the hills are the tablet for thousands of San bushmen cave paintings, some done in the style we saw in Zim while others were more reminiscent of the art seen in those Anazai ruins in the American southwest, outlines of indigenous animals such as rhinos as giraffes.

Beyond the historical weight of the rock art, i was also intrigued by the mountains and had my eye on the largest as soon as we pulled into the camp. In fact, this peak, called 'the father', is the largest mountain in Botswana, which is not known for its alpine zones. The only problem was that this hike is supposed to take 4.5 hours, and i had less than 2 before the utter night of the bush descended. Let me give it a shot, this is going to have to a be a run instead. I move very quickly, in 4th gear the whole way and run to the trailhead, then leap up the rocky trail that is relentless up the slope. After 50 or minutes of serious pace, i am rewarded by the summit plateau, and the view is astounding. There is not another peak in the entire 360 degree horizon, the Kalahari is dead flat as far as my eye can see in every direction. The complete vastness of the terrain and country are manifest in this view, and i take a few minutes to enjoy the view and let my heart beat a little slower. The calm of the sunset on the west horizon is contrast with a vivid on the eastern horizon. Amazing.

Now i have to get back into 4th gear for the run/controlled falling down the trail and then fast run back to camp. It all goes swimmingly, and i pull into camp right for dinner having done the entire hike in 93 minutes, right as dusk is turning to night. Very tired, i carry the view and knowledge and satisfaction of being literally on top of Botswana. A great way to say goodbye to a place we have enjoyed greatly.

On to Namibia



 

Rafting the Mighty Zambezi: a whole lot of water

The Zambezi River, Africa's 4th largest, has cut deep gorges in the canyon that separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. Above this set of canyons is Victoria Fall-- one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Below the Falls and through the deep gorges of the canyon is some of the best white water in the world. The water is warm, and the flow is truly astounding, with the rapids created primarily by sheer volume as opposed to the rockier, and scarier, rivers we have run in the Western half of the States, Queensland and Costa Rica.

A natural wonder - Vic Falls

Being In Vic Falls

Before rafting, we had a nice mix of adventuring and hanging out. The hanging out included going out to a restaurant that specializes in game meat. I had impala pate, croc, kudu, water buffalo, eland and the mouth watering warthog. Yum! Also joined a dozen or so dudes form various countries to watch the Manchester Derby, with Man U piping in at during injury time to seal the win. We also enjoyed a run that took us by a baobab tree that was 54 feet in diameter and had carvings from colonizers as far back as 1923.

Rafting

Although these, and our day trip biking into Zambia, were wonderful, the clear highlight of the time in Vic Falls was our day rafting the Might Zambezi. Our put in point was right below the falls, about 100 meters down from the mouth of the canyon on the Zim side. This starting point is about as spectacular as i can imagine. The water level varies greatly on this river, more than ten fold over a full year. During the high season only about half of the run is navigable. Luckily we were here for low season and so got to do the entire run. Still, even now in the ebb of the low season the water roars over Vic Falls with so much volume and force that the mist is visible for miles, wafting up to the heavens. All told, we had the full 19 rapids to look forward to, many of them class IV and V, which are the highest ranking available on commercial rafting trips.

Vic Falls mist

On the boat were three couples from the Oasis truck, a kiwi couple, a kiwi/english couple and us americans. Our guide, Blessing, was an uber fit guy in his twenties. A Belgium dude riding a Honda Motorcycle from Belgium to Capetown rounded out the crew. With friends and two other adventurers, the day was off to a good start.

After a quick safety talk, we were off, right into the Boiling Pot. This is a massive whirlpool that is the first rapid of the run, and you have to be on point as a team straightaway because the rapid flows right into a rock wall that can trap a boat for 2 or 3 flips if you are not careful. That would be a terrible way to start the day, let me tell you. The funny thing about the rapid is that from the shore, the waves don't even look that big. Once you are amongst them, they rise over the boat.

Rapid #1 - Boiling Pot

Rafting is one of my favorite outdoor activities, primarily because it is a team activity ini which we all share the risks and successes. You can clearly feel, and see, the difference between a boat that is going on all cylinders versus one that is disorganized or filled with people somewhat ambivalent about the entire endeavor. Our boat is certainly the former, with the majority of people having rafted before and intuitively understanding how critical it is for us to work as a team. The bond we already share is also an invaluable asset.

The rapids on the upper half of the run are excellent, and about a third of the way through the run we have a choice between a straightforward class III and a massive wave that goes at class V. Our group did not come all the way to Vic Falls to go the easy route and we opt for the big wave. Dropping in, we come to the massive wave, bigger than the length of our 16 foot boat. Unfortunately, we came in a little sideways and i know that our time in the raft is over, we are going into the river. A few seconds confirms hat snap assessment, as we rise up the wave, slowing almost to a stop as the wall of water flips our boat.

Uhh-oh - Flipping over and floating through rocks

We are in the rapid, right up and personal and it is chaos. The boat is upside down and we are all angling towards it, while Blessing scampers on top and starts the process of the righting it. In my head, i keep thinking about how we are supposed to 'Get Left' yet the river sure seems intent on me heading right. After a few disorienting seconds, i see Mu reaching out to grab me towards the raft, which she is holding. A literal safety line from my lovely wife. I lunge over and we are with the relative safety of the raft, but there are still big waves to come and the boat is upside down. Hmmmm.

Unfortunately, while Blessed is flipping the boat back to its correct side, Mu lets go of her grip for a few seconds and is instantly pulled away by the Zambezi. I manage to stay on and our guide pulls me back on board, and i drag a couple fellow rafters on as well. Mu is not one of them and i begin scanning the water, and find that she is hung up on the right side of the river, very much alone. At first, that seems like a good place, as it looks somewhat quiet. However, a few moments later, i see she is trapped a bit above a ominous looking rock 'V', with a drop. We are now at least a hundred feet away and i am powerless to even offer encouragement or advice. It is a sickening feeling, and one made all the worse by her ski accident earlier this year.

That ski accident, in which Mu dislocated her hip and came down on her head after a big fall in a creek bed, has remained powerfully with us both. On the plus side, it has enhanced both our bond and our appreciation of this life we are privileged to lead together. For that, i am perversely thankful. On the negative side, Mu has to monitor the hip to be sure that no long term issues are creeping up and it has made her decidedly more skittish about adventure sports, which are pretty much our favorite pastime. Very much expected, but in this moment on the river, i sure wish that it was me in the bad spot and not her.

Slowly, Mu pushes into the current and is pulled quickly through the rocks. For a few long seconds, she is out of view and then to my relief she pops to the surface, goes through a little more turbulent water before being picked up below the last rapid of this section. Whew.

We are reunited on shore because the next section of rapids is so large that everyone has to walk around it. Except Blessing, who is a badass and floats the Class VI rapid alone in our boat. Mu is shaken up a bit, with a bashed hip, chin and shoulder that all will take the better part of a week to heal up. Mentally, she is great, ready to get back after the white water. It could have been worse, as she was alone in that spot with no access for the rescue boats. We learn later in the day that this 'V' killed two rafters about a decade ago, which drives home how serious things can get in an instant while adventuring.



The trip goes on from here, with many more excellent rapids. It is exhilarating as we flip the boat once more and lose a few people at other points. The river is as powerful as you could hope for and the entire group has palpable energy reveling in and reliving our exploits for several days. The beers at the end sure taste great and go down easy. Mu and i love it all, but we both have that nagging feeling in our guts about the risks and consequences of these sports we love so drearily. I don't think that is going away anytime soon and will be something we manage going forward. A good thing, i am sure.

 

 

Immersed in the Mind of a Troubled Genius: Infinite Jest

For my first month on the trip, one piece of media dominated all the rest: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (DFW). This is a massive book, clocking in at well over a thousand pages in my edition, once factoring in the hundred pages of endnotes. This is a the work of true genius, dense, lyrical, wry, and painful to read, a book that sat on our bedroom end-table for over two years in anticipation of an opportunity to give it the sustained concentration and attention it requires, and deserves. In my modern, SF professional life, with the many demands and entertianmant temptations, I did not feel that i could give the book the sustained commitment in deserves. Too much ESPN.com, quasi smartphone addiction, work email, google reader RSS feed, new restaurants, etc. etc.. This is rich irony because digital entertainment and its impact on the viewer is one of the central themes of Infinite Jest.


Thankfully, our overland trip has been a godsend for reading, writing, conversing and reflecting. The drive days unfold gradually, with ample time to enjoy the scenery but also hours to pleasurably and leisurely fill. Looking around the rig today there are 9 people with their nose buried in a book, a shockingly high number of late twenties/early thirties people reading good ol' paper books. I am the only one with a screen open at the moment. I can not recall the last time i say such a high ratio of books:screens in my demo, perhaps as long ago as a decade.

Short DFW background

DFW is generally regarded as one of the finest writers since WWII. He was a literary sensation right out of Amherst, with a published work before he even graduated college. Just about when his literary career took off, he began struggling with mental demons. He moved around quite a bit, studying at UofA in Tucson, writing in Illinois, getting married and settling in Southern California. For those interested in his life, you can do a quick google search and find tens of thousands of words to consume.

Prior to Infinite Jest, i had read pretty much all of his non-fiction work i could lay my hands on, and loved it all. DFW wrote for many of the premier feature magazines, across a wide range of topics. A theme does emerge in these works of delving into the American experience, and contemporary culture. His fiction work was not as enjoyable, but this probably reflects my preference for stories based in the actual world more than anything. For those interested, here are my favorite of his non-ficiton pieces:

- A supposedly fun thing i will never do again: http://people.virginia.edu/~jrw3k/mediamatters/readings/cult_crit/Wallace_A.Supposedly.Fun.Thing.I'll.Never.Do.Again.pdf

- Ticket to the Fair: http://byliner.com/david-foster-wallace/stories/ticket-to-the-fair

- Federer as a Religious Experience: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?pagewanted=all

- 9/11, The View from the Midwest: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/9-11-the-view-from-the-midwest-20110819

DFW, the person. lived a very complicated, and emotionally, troubled life. He took his own life in 2008, hanging himself at in his house in Claremont, Ca, where he was a distinguished professor at Pomona College. He struggled with depression and/or substances for years, finally finding a chemical balance through anti-depressnts. However, as is often the case for people battling severe depression, he attempted to go off the functional, yet tenuous, drug induced balance because he did not feel completely alive and himself. This sent him into a tailspin, cruelly the old drug cocktail no longer worked, and he spiraled downward into his own personal hell. Eventually, living became too much and when his wife went out of the house for a few hours, he ended his battle with his depression, hanging himself in his garage.

It is a terribly sad story, and one that affected many people. Because DFW's writing is so personal and rich, his readers and admirers were devastated by his death, myself included.

Infinite Jest

Sadly, i feel i understand his action and depression generally exponentially better after reading Infinite Jest, which i finished a few days ago exactly one month after we arrived in Nairobi. Even though it is a work of fiction, there are long sections dealing with substance abuse and depression that are icily real in light of author's life. Just like pretty much every author, DFW writes best when he delves into areas what he knows from his own lived experience.

Broadly speaking, the book is about human desire, particularly when that desire is at odds with our physical and mental well being. Here is the link to amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Jest-David-Foster-Wallace/dp/0316066524), if you want to read a more than a short summary of the book in include here. Below, i just wanted to share a few thoughts about 2 main threads of the book.

Summary: A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in America. Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are.

- Depression: the passages from the book that have stayed with me day after day have been those that communicate what it means to have a deep depression. Obviously, this is a personal account, and it is not universal, but the distinction between the absence of feeling versus insatiable pain has been pinging around my brain ever since i read it. I have felt a version of former a little, when struggling to re-hab from an ACL reconstruction on my right knee and some serious complications that led to a temporary disengagement from the world. That was a rough period of my life, and one that i got through. The description of insatiable and domineering pain in Infinite Jest is bone chilling, a horror you would never wish on anyone. Pain that is unrelenting, that is what i image must have led DFW to take his own life.

- Chemical dependency: a related topic of the book is the degree to which chemical dependency can and does dominate people's existence, as well as the all consuming control needed to pull out of that orbit. There is this amazing section of the book that traces the decent of someone into a 24/7/365 alcoholic hell. So many times, you think, 'this must be the bottom', but there are so many circles of this self inflicted hell. The wanton disregard of others is tough enough to swallow, but when that uncaring, destructive and absorbed behavior extends to the host organism, you know that a disease is truly scary.

Parting shots

I really enjoyed this brick of a book, it was everything i had waited these years to enjoy. Did i fully understand everything? Probably not, but with a dense, layered work i think that is an impossibility. I touched on two tough topics above, but there are many parts of the book that had me laughing out loud or vividly recalling my varsity tennis days. In total, the book has happily made me think deeply about the above weighty subjects, and a whole host of others. I personally still prefer DFW's non-fiction work over fiction, which reflects my own reading preferences more than anything else. This world is so rich and complicated, and when a master of language gets his teeth into some of that reality, the results are awe inspiring. It would have been amazing to read DFW applying his razor sharp mind and pen to this world instead of a created, half reality world in such an ambitious and overarching work as Infinite Jest.

Lastly, it has been a real challenge reading this unbelievably high quality writing while simultaneously writing on this blog more regularly and purposefully than ever before. The work of a literal master and genius of the language and medium sets the bar impossibly high. It also has elevated my writing, i think, encouraging me to take a few more risks and be more open and communicative. That is an never ending journey, and one i was thrilled to be guided by the masterful DFW over this last month.

 

100 days abroad: What have we learned?

If you ever traipse and wander the world for 100 days with your life partner, you will acquire new, old, and purposely forgotten facts. You will find that 100 days feels like short amount of time but it is also long enough to breathe pure and/or putrid air in 17 countries. It is long enough that you will realize that retaining your belongings while traveling is a war of attrition and you are losing. You will learn that walking with lions in a game park does not cause your heart to thump as harshly in your chest as tracking rhinos in a national park. That burying your nose in a book can make you more aware of your surroundings. That colors during dusk on the African continent seem to be more brilliant than dusk on most every other continent; and that Petra is as beautiful as it is reputed to be.

Petra, Jordan

That hospitality varies greatly between countries; that in Turkey, people will offer you free food, lodging, and even a ride while on the way to save a dolphin; that in Turkish the word for guest includes the idea of people from the gods; that in Malawi, 5 year olds will grab your hand to hold and hug you after following you on your run for a few blocks; that the French can actually be nice to you when you speak French to them; that it is very important to meet a nice French woman when the whole town of Cannes appears to be completely booked because that nice woman, at her full hotel, will call other hotels to find you a room.

Okavango Delta sunset, Botswana

Dub on Turkish Riviera

That extended travel a decade ago in your early twenties is different, and not so different, from extended travel now in your early thirties; that you can get a PHAT Italian villa in Sardinia when your numbers swell to 6 people; that you are actually, and a bit sadly, [INSERT AGE]; that your tolerance for night buses, potentially vermin ridden hostels, late nights out on the street, or other types of physical or mental discomfort has diminished; that you now focus your primary attention on the section of the Lonely Planet's travel guide that details cute cafes and museums instead of drinking and entertainment; that the ubiquity of internet (or more correctly -- an expectation of internet) has complicated travel; that you may still be scribbling notes on ,whatever media is available but that the notes are not to receive your study abroad credits but so that you will remember more than what you have sadly forgotten from extended travel in your early twenties.

View from our Sardinia Villa

That a hippo is the one of the most dangerous animals on the African continent because it is mean and will charge you at 30 miles per hour; that to escape from said ferocious animal, you should find a dead log and jump to either side of it because a hippo has too big a belly and too short of legs to jump over the log and will have to continually run around the log while you jump back and forth. That to escape another danger: bickering with one's partner, you should join a tour group and spend two months with complete strangers. That americans are in the minority in the overland Africa travel scene. That sheer granite cliffs can be found both throughout Zimbabwe and in the French isle of Corsica. Or that both a monkey and a leopard tortoise may excrete upon you if given the opportunity.

Chobe National Park, Botswana

That extended travel with one's partner is an excellent example of a sum being greater than its parts -- you have greater synchronicity to do and see more; and that there are two engines with different preferences to drive you to new experiences, and also to conflict. That the scars of conflict from when Israel took Jerusalem in its entirety can still be seen 66 years later in the form of gun pockmarks on the ancient walls of Jerusalem. Or that sometimes you stop seeing, or at least feeling, or never actually understood the poverty and oppression that you may have passed through.

That old is relative; that the Aya Sophia in Istanbul houses relics claimed to be from Moses 4,000 years ago, that a painting on the Zambezi river, claimed to be "very old" by our rafting guide was "something like 25 years old"; that Zimbabwean cave paintings are believed to be 20,000 -60,000 years old, with no solidity as to where in that range the true dating might alight. That all old works of humanity, whether western or non-western (the Parthenon, the Dome of the Rock, Cave Paintings, Jerusalem's Western Wall, etc.) elicit a reverential feeling -- a common connection to humanity.

Parthenon, Greece

That dental floss is a scarce commodity outside the U.S.; that dental floss can (and did) cost more than an international travel adaptor. That being in a hurry shouldn't be mistaken for efficiency; that efficiency is very desirable while shopping in supermarkets and less desirable during social interaction. Or that the Mediterranean Sea is composed of many seas, including: the Ligurian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Aegean Sea

Ligurian Sea, Sardinia

That feeling hot can actually feel very different depending on where you are -- in Jordan, you feel as if you are turning into fruit leather and in Malawi, instead, you become a chicken pot pie or some other boiling cauldron of wetness. That reading can lead to complete self-absorption. Or that you don't miss home (U.S.) as much as you thought you would; that you may miss San Francisco more than you thought you would. That you have had the happy misfortune of filling every available moment; that you must guard against logistics comprising a large portion of that time filling. That correcting a mistake is easier to do at the time of the mistake (e.g., on 12/12/12, we were on day 100 but the picture for 12/12/12 is day 99 because we took pictures of day 15 on both days 15 and 16).




That these hundred have been amazing. That you wonder what the next 100 days holds?

Day 99

Happy Day 100