African Adventures, part I

I feel so incredibly fortunate and grateful to be here. South Africa is an amazing, beautiful country. My only complaint is that 3 weeks will barely be an introduction.

After a very, very long series of flights, we landed in Durban Tuesday afternoon, hopped in a car and headed north. Geof quickly discovered that driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the car while shifting with his left hand was challenging while jetlagged and sleep deprived. We missed the main road and found ourselves negotiating small villages just as school was getting out. The mass of humanity on the roads was out of this world. Very cool, sometimes overwhelming.

Nevertheless, we washed ashore in Mthunzini on the Indian Ocean. I grabbed my running shoes and hit the trails of the nature reserve with the last light of the day. After scoping out the animal chart at the trailhead, I decided I was OK with all creatures minus the snakes. Noting the Green Mamba on said chart, I chose not to step on anything green and slithery. A couple of suspicious branches caused me to do the quickstep. Otherwise, it was a joy. Red Duikers (a small antelope)darted in and around me, monkeys crashed the trees and the birds were out of this world. From sight to sound, smell and feel of the air, everything was different. I was so excited by 1 particular bird, I failed to notice for almost a minute that it was standing near a zebra. Ending on the beach as the sun hit the hills, I felt that this was where I was supposed to be at that moment.

It's 5:00 am and we're set to hit the road. We're less than an hour from Kruger National Park; I'm so excited I can't sleep. This is one of Africa's great parks and I can't wait to mix it up with the big 5 and all their friends. With any luck, we should make it off the waiting list and be able to hike for 3 days (with an armed guide). Did I mention how excited I am?

Leaving tomorrow

Oh boy, I want to be in South Africa already, with my endless to-do list, packing and the long plane ride behind me. Leaving for a trip, whether long or short, is a lot like moving: you're glad when you're there, but it's a pain in the ass getting it done. I've always felt like this quote sums up my feelings during the final countdown to departure:

"Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Alright, off to get more stuff done.

Lonely roads

THE JOURNEY
by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

Llamas in the mist

17,000 feet (and climbing)

You must like hills