Oudtshoorn

850,000 ostriches, outnumbering people about 10:1.  Oudtshoorn claims to be the ostrich capital of the world.  I doubt anyone else is vying for that one.  The world's biggest bird is the oddly-named city's biggest tourist attraction.  Far removed from ostrich on safari, we have explored this African oddity to its up-close-and-personal fullest including feeding it, riding it and eating it.  Kirsten has even been bitten by it.  And while we've been tempted for weeks to purchase a beautiful ostrich egg shell as a souvenir, I'm glad we waited, having bought an ostrich egg, with the 'egg' in it that is, at the grocery for $2.75 USD:  the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs and three dozen's worth of cholesterol in case you're counting.

We've visited the Wilgewandel Holiday Farm &  Cango Wildlife Ranch, both mega-tourist-African-petting-zoos of sorts, each boasting "supernatural encounters!" "sheer thrills!" and "great family fun!" that for us included a family camel ride, white tigers in Africa, meerkats (Chloe's favorite), and, in Kirsten's case, opportunity to be bitten by the aforementioned ostrich.

Chloe, who's never even been on a horse, had been expressing much interest in a chance to ride.  Her equestrian introduction...lessons?  No way.  How 'bout horseback safari!  We love Africa for its opportunities and no trip to Oudtshoorn

 would be complete without the "unique bushveld experience" of Buffelsdrift Game Lodge where one need not even ask if it's okay to bring an eight-year-old with no riding experience cantering

 along among wildebeest, rhino and buffalo.  Needless to say both kids loved it and neither was thrown, trampled or eaten.

Among the highlights of our adventures here, though, was a spectacular trip through Cango Caves.  The 20-million year old caverns are billed as an ecological, archeological and historical landmark; one of the "Seven Wonders of Southern Africa"

 according to the brochure.  Our tour is described as "challenging", "requiring a degree of fitness" and as being for "lean people

 only."  No exaggerations here.  It was tough, a bit scary and fairly physically demanding.  The kids loved it, scrambling from one cave to another, but, of course, they fit, so it doesn't count.  It sure looked like I wouldn't fit.  One can't appreciate the small, dark hole called "Chimney" from the tidy diagram pictured, a neat sign presented in the lobby after I had wedged myself up, not on the cavern wall next to the small, dark hole allowing normal-sized humans to make a rational decision about wedging.  But for illustration, let's review included statistics and descriptions.  Approximately "3,6 m upwards crawl" translates to way more than ten feet pretty much vertical.  "Chimney-like feature" resembles a chimney only in

 that it is tight, dark and vertical while the "like" modifier describes that it is wet, slick and irregular.  "Average diameter of 90 cm" means it averages 35 inches and I hope for some uniformity in the statistic such that my 34-inch ass doesn't get stuck.  Luckily I did fit, emerging from the other end exhausted, panting, soaked and battered.  This is one of those things they would definitely never allow you to do in the USA.  Not even with a license and waiver and hefty fee.  Especially not the eight-year-old.  She loved it the most!

Surfer's Corner

Traveling throughout Africa we've tried to be as informed about our destinations as possible.  Mostly to be sure that we make the most of our experience.  But also to ensure that travel's as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Friday's temperature in the Cape Town area was forecast to reach a whopping 42 degrees celsius.  I can't even convert that but I can tell you it is hot.  Hot enough that though we've been in equatorial Africa's heat for over two months we think it's hot.  Hot enough that the locals comment.

What better place to go on such a hot day than one of the many beautiful beaches surrounding the cape?  Having done our

 research, we pick Muizenberg, a wonderful community known for its surfing, which Sarah is eager to do.  However, while that research led us to "Surfer's Corner" a great beach with perfect waves and cool surf shops eager to help us out, it did not reveal to us the meaning of the flag pictured at the right.  I can assure you from experience that when this flag is flown at the beach you are surfing its meaning becomes immediately self-evident.

Posted on a cliffside outlook a hundred feet above Surfer's Corner there is a lookout.  Here, members of Sharkspotters scan the clear waters below for large, uninvited ocean predators lurking in the clear water.  If we had visited the Sharkspotters website, we'd have known that a "White Flag with a Black Shark, along with a loud siren, means a shark has been sighted and you should leave the water calmly, but immediately."  However, when the alarm sounds, and all the locals set off their car alarms in unison, and the lifeguard blows his whistle in some frantic recreation of a scene from Jaws, and everyone flees the water in some comical recreation of that other scene from Jaws and that flag is run up yonder pole you're pretty sure of what's going on.

Fortunately we don't surf very well and, thrashed, we were already on shore, merely spectators in the unfolding drama.  This did not make it any less impressive, though, and everyone was agreed we'd had enough of the ocean for a day and maybe we should try some lunch.

FYI:  Green flag = good, white flag with a black shark = self-evident, red flag = the white flag with a black shark had just been flying.  Surf's up!  Sarah will be back in the water.  Not so sure about Kirsten.

What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been

We're back in civilization!  No one is more impressed than Chloe, who, from the window of the plane exclaimed repeatedly "There's a real house!  There's a real house!"  and in the airport, in front of about a hundred people shouted, "look...an escalator...and it works!"  First-world all the way.

I head straight for coffee:  Vida e Cafe is a sort of Brazilian-flavored version of Dutch Brothers.  It's a party with dancing baristas and thumping Latin Music.  My perfect latte, best I've had since December, is $1.77 USD and we catch some free internet in the cafe that's so fast I can't keep up.  I love it here.  

And, hey, look:  there's white people.  Tons of 'em.  For the most part they speak plain English.  Instantly we blend in, no longer ridiculously identifiable, able to pass for locals.  Crazy.

Rental car:  Driver on the right, in the left lane.  Okay.  Manual transmission shifting with the left hand?  Hmm...no problem.  

Cape Town is an amazing destination and our first stop is in Camp's Bay.  Beautiful beach, gourmet restaurants.  It reminds us more of LaJolla, CA than Africa.  Dinner's at Hussar's where I enjoy Bontebuck, Kudu and Eland bringing my safari experience to a delicious close (cue "Circle of Life" from The Lion King).

There's much to de here but we're content to hang out in Camp's Bay and continue to enjoy Cape Town as we move to the next town over, Sea Point.  Sunday is the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, final day of the Giro del Capo bike race and with an amateur event bringing the total number of participants to over 35,000 it's billed as the largest cycling event in the world.  Our hotel room overlooks the course 1km from the finish and all day long there is a spectacular parade of cyclists passing by. 

Tale of Two Islands

We visit Unguja, the main island in the Zanzibar Archipelago, now referred to as the Revolutionary Republic of Zanzibar, or, informally, Zanzibar and formerly The Spice Islands.  The name Zanzibar is derived from the Persian "zangi-bar" meaning coast of the blacks but the island feels very Arabian and is very Muslim - this was the land of sultans and Sinbad.  The capital, Zanzibar City, is referred to as "Stone Town" and its 200-year old architecture and narrow streets feel very foreign to us.  Our stay is at a resort 50 kilometers from the city and it feels very foreign to us as well.  The warm blue waters of the ocean and endless white sand beaches are inviting but we are out of place as tourists; both our fellow travelers and the locals are decidedly less friendly than the people of Ukerewe and these two islands seem worlds apart despite being part of the same country.  

The 'Legend of Pinky' and the 'Pedro Incident'

I was reluctant to let the kid bring a stuffed animal to Africa but what the heck, she's eight and I'll admit I love the one she chose:  Pinky, a large rat that Santa delivered this past Christmas.  And, our friend's daughter brought along Pedro, a rather realistic-looking stuffed monkey.   It turns out that on safari in remote Africa the stuffed animal comes in quite handy creating a diversion from one's day-to-day routine.  See, despite the fact that every day of this journey has been an amazing adventure, it does become routine in its own way:  same car, same group, same Africa, just another sleeping lion.  Same guide, too.  Although we had two guides, after we'd spent hours every day sharing amazing encounter after amazing encounter, combined with our esteem for them, they quickly felt like family.  Therefore, it was agreed early on that we needed a diversion, and, what better way to show our love for the guides we held so dear than to make them the brunt of a great practical joke.  Especially since they are, commendably, so professional in their work.   From their reactions, I don't think any other group of safari tourists had tried anything like this before, making it even more fun for all of us.

On our second afternoon in Amboseli, Dominic had slowed the van to show us something out the driver's side window.  While he was leaning out, pointing and explaining, Kirsten, who was in the front passenger seat exclaimed "What's this right here?"  Leaning out her her window, she gasped, and fidgeted, and leaned further out...and lurched back in across the front seat screaming with Pinky attacking her arm!  Dominic, with the honed skills of a twenty-year safari driver, jammed on the e-brake and was fleeing out the door before our hysterical laughter brought him back to his senses.  He immediately ordered Kirsten out of the van and made us promise not to do anything like that to him or anyone else ever again.  Promises were made to be broken.

At the beginning of our last game drive with Daniel, as we entered the Lake Myanara preserve, our truck was quickly surrounded by baboons so numerous we had to stop.  Everyone was leaning out their respective windows looking at the curious, unintimidated baboons when a blue monkey climbed on to the hood and began to play with the windshield wipers.  I was in the passenger seat, and Joe, screaming out his window behind me in alarm, handed me Pedro, who I, screaming, flung into the cab of the truck at Daniel, now also screaming and trying to hide under the steering wheel in hopes that the intruder would exit out his window.  Gotcha! 

We commended Dominic and Daniel on being such good sports, it seemed that they were both very amused.  And, explained at great length that it was only because we cared so much about them that we'd pull such a gag.  

Safari

Safari Day 1:  Maasai Mara Game Preserve.  First day on safari!  You immediately knew we were headed for something special when the driver would impatiently wave us off for asking to stop to see that one "giraffe!" or photograph an amazing "zebra!" on the way into the park.  Within the first afternoon's short game drive we saw more animals than I had imagined was possible for the entire trip:  wildebeest, zebra, Thomson's Gazelle, dik-dik, hornbill, guinea fowl, giraffe, cheetas, Cape Buffalo, lions, long crested eagle, secretary bird, Coke's Hartebeast, crown crane, Kirk's Dik-dik, impala, eland.  Even more amazing:  all the animals have babies now, too.  Baby giraffes and zebras were cute but we sat for a long time watching the lion cubs

 wrestle within reach of the van's window, and, a mother cheetah napping while her cubs fought over some recent kill.  Our driver Dominic, who's great, continued to show a sort of disinterested impatience and while he endured our enthusiasm for taking one hundred pictures of that first zebra we began to get the idea that incredibly, there could possibly be better sights to be seen.  

Safari Day 2:  Maasai Mara Game Preserve.  Lots of animals again today.  Highlights included an interesting encounter with the first male lion we'd seen.  He peed on his tail and we were all amused that this seemed like some pinnacle of deliberate laziness.  Our guide explained that the tail-soaking was deliberate but well-intentioned and that the male lions would even splash urine from their tails into the faces of elephant calfs they were trying to subdue.  We think he was just making excuses for such a slovenly display from the king of the jungle.  Later, we witnessed an amazing procession of over a hundred elephants with many calfs, some possibly one day old.   Dominic said he'd never seen that large a heard moving in this area and insisted we go somewhere other than where they may be heading despite our curiosity.  The elephants are exteremely destructive and the wardens do their best to keep them within the preserve but we secretly hoped they were heading for our lodge.  The day also included visiting a Maasai village.  Amazingly primitive and charming, fairly touristy.  The Maasai were very welcoming but at $20 bucks a head you'd be friendly too.  There were introductions, song and dance; our visit concluded with a dead-end in their high-pressure hawking gauntlet, I mean market, where we bought some trinkets of questionable origin.  

Safari Day 3:  Lake Nukura National Park.  Lake Nukura is a managed game preserve that borders a city of two million people; somewhat of a safari-themed Disneyland.  It offers an abundance of animals concentrated in a very small area and not one bit shy of your vehicle.  We saw two leopards here:  nocturnal, elusive and among the most difficult of the 'Big 5' animals to view.

Also, a female white rhinoceros and her calf grazing unintimidated two meters from us.  Despite the great game viewing, the park was crowded (with animals and tourists) and we were glad to be heading for someplace wilder and more remote.

Safari Day 4:  Amboseli.  Wilder and more remote we got.  When your safari guide of almost twenty years experience makes blatant exclamations like "Very long drive.  Very long." , or, "The worst road in Africa.  The worst.  Terrible."  you're guaranteed a long drive on bad roads.  Fortunately he had exaggerated, either out of his own frustration or just to prepare us for the almost nine-hour trip, and our route was downgraded to "the worst road in Kenya" and then to "not even the worst road we've been on."  After scrounging a quick lunch, those of us who hadn't cracked from being in the van all day were immediately back on the road for an afternoon game drive.  Amoboseli is an expansive dry lake bed and translated from the Maasai language means something regarding "dusty" but you don't need translation here:  if the Maasai, who just might be the hardest people in the world call it dusty, you're pretty much assured of some impressive dust.  Wildlife continues to be abundant, with most of the big game concentrated in and around the scarce, swampy remnants of water in the area making for some great viewing.

Safari Day 5:  Amboseli.  Morning and afternoon game drives highlighted by a baby elephant who, trumpeting his prowess, refused to yield the road to our van.  This is where cute baby elephant intersects with jumping out of your seat and when that little thing trumpeted we were all thinking escape!  I'll admit he alone scared us but his massive mother and other family members were within a few feet and we certainly hadn't intended any offense or foreseen the possible range of 

consequences.  This afternoon's game drive featured Pinky's appearance that had Dominic fleeing the van and will remain among the most memorable moments of our trip (more on that later).  

Safari Day 6 :  Travel day...leaving Amboseli we enjoy another opportunity to traverse the "worst road in Kenya"  and then are quickly ushered through some version of the safari-tourist border crossing entering Tanzania.  Today we must change tour companies from Naked Wilderness Afrika to Leopard Tours Ltd. and that means saying goodbye to Dominic, our Kenyan driver whom we have come to love.  Our new man Daniel is nicknamed "Mamba" (crocodile in Swahili as well as the black- and green- varieties of deadly snake) giving him instant credibility.  The East African tour continues over what must truly be the worst road in Africa, to Arusha, and following a quick but welcome stop in civilization (ATM, vodka, candy) we are on our way to Tarangire.

Safari Day 7:  Tarangire to Ngorongoro.  In what is now beginning to feel like a rock tour of East Africa we enjoy a brief morning game drive in Tarangire National Park with legendary baobab trees and one of the highest known diversities of birds in the world, then we are on the road again.  Our afternoon travel is over what could be the best road in Tanzania, donated by

 the Japanese government, to Ngorongoro Crater.  While each of the parks we have visited has been magnificent in their own rights, Ngorongoro is overwhelming and truly feels like remote African wilderness.   Our lodge is in the thickly forested crater rim surrounded by dense Red Acacia trees and foreboding jungle.  Stretching below is the expansive Ngorongoro plain within the giant volcanic crater.  The landscape alone is outstanding and even around the lodge, where enormous Cape Buffalo greet us after dinner, wildlife is almost too rancorous for us to sleep, highlighted by cries of Tree Hyrax:  amazing creatures that may win my award for Africa's loudest - you'll have to Google them because if I tried to describe them you wouldn't believe me.  Trust me, very loud.

Safari Day 8:  Ngorongoro Crater.  We leave on our game drive before dawn.  Descending out of the mist from 7800 feet rapidly to the crater floor in total darkness feels primordial and a dinosaur would not seem out of place.  Wildlife caught in our headlights freeze as we approach offering some amazing views of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo.  At dawn we discover a pack of lions and enjoy watching numerous cubs fight over the remnants of a kill.  The Ngorongoro Conservation area is over 8,350 square kilometers and the crater floor itself is 250 kilometers square and over 23 kilometers at its widest point.  Touring plains, forest, salt marshes and a spring-fed lake we see an astonishing variety of densely populated wildlife.  Spotting a black rhino with a calf we are thrilled even though they are distant: endangered and two of only 29 in the entire conservation area, they are the missing piece of many travelers' incomplete 'Big 5' lists.  Daniel was previously a ranger in the Serengeti and we can tell from his enthusiastic lecture he is pleased with the sighting as well.  He relates that  within his lifetime black rhino were as abundant as cape buffalo, wandering in groups of three to six.  However,

 they are only able to reproduce once every four years, their calfs are favorites of the lions and their horns (at about $5,000/pound) targeted by poachers.  Although conservation and protection have been a priority in the past twenty years, their numbers are slow to recover.  In the afternoon we hike on the crater rim with a ranger and a Maasai who, spear in hand, guards us from our fantasies of lion and buffalo attacks in the jungle.  The walk provides panoramic views into the crater and we celebrate the opportunity to be out of the Land Cruiser even as we finish hiking in the pouring rain.  

Safari Day 9:  Traveling again, we spend the morning at Olduvai Gorge, anthropologists' presumed location of our species' origin.  Then we are on to the vast Serengeti, named from the Maasai word siringett meaning "endless place."  Our afternoon game drive features abundant antelope and their like, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo.  The Serengeti is indeed expansive but we've come to understand and trust the Maasai assessments of their surroundings and though it feels like we traveled hundreds of kilometers through the plains before reaching the lodge we arrive energized in discussion of sights we'd seen.

Safari Day 10:  Serengeti.  Searching for the 'Great Migration' we depart for a day-long game drive crisscrossing Serengeti's eastern plains and forests wondering how the professed movement of millions of wildebeest through this area could remain hidden from view.  These wildebeest, numbering over two million, migrate annually in great herds between the Serengeti and Maasai Mara.  Those we'd seen so far were mainly females that stayed behind because they were pregnant or had a calf.  We finally become mired by the migration in forested reaches of Serengeti's

eastern end; wildebeest scattered through the trees, on the plain in groups reaching from one horizon to the other and on the road, often blocked by their scattered, indecisive procession.  Large groups of zebra join the parade and our driver jests that the zebra know they are safe from lions while moving with wildebeest but after watching them for a while I'm sure he's not joking and share the zebra's assessment of them as dumb, awkward and slow.  Our day culminates in one of the trip's most memorable encounters with not one but two male lions, one of whom we catch in the act!  Lion's mating schedule is legendary, rumored to last as long as a week and include over forty encounters per day.  Despite the scope of this epic undertaking it is allegedly very difficult to witness and we experience the competitive safari pride such accomplishments have come to provide as our driver proclaims that groups of professionals spend months here without witnessing the spectacle we've collected.

Safari Day 11:  The last day on safari, we cross the Serengeti one more time traveling to Lake Myanara.  Our final game drive of the trip in Lake Myanara Biosphere Preserve doesn't disappoint.  Both the landscape and the abundance of wildlife are impressive.  Plus, the area is literally infested with baboons and monkeys.  Within a few meters of the gate our Land Cruiser is surrounded by both, providing a perfect stage for the now-infamous "Pedro Incident" (more later).  We see hippos and giraffe.  And, after so much big-game saturation are excited to see an elusive python and later a leopard tortoise.  While we are sad for the adventure to come to an end, we are animated in our accounting of the game collected, triumphant in our successful quest for the 'Big 5' and continually break into laughing fits recalling Pedro's exploits.   

Culture Shock

Heading for safari, we overnight in Nairobi's Safari Park Hotel & Casino.  It's like we took off from Mwanza and landed in Vegas.  There was even a floor show that I will politely describe as "stereotyped":  African-themed modern dance in fishnet stockings.  Dinner was excellent though and I've included a picture of the menu.  At our hotel in Nansio the "menu" was a guy in a bloody apron who didn't speak any English, and, was grumpy because you interrupted him slaughtering a goat, who'd come to the table and tersely say "ugali, wali, m'buzi."  Or, if you were lucky, Angelina was working and you'd get the menu in English: "ugali, rice, meat of cow, meat of goat."  Here, the menu only hints at the feast to follow and in case you were having a hard time choosing between the pork, goat, chicken, camel, turkey, lamb, beef, ribs, sausage or crocodile don't worry, you're getting them all, served on a sizzling cast-iron plate at your table from a sword.  We're anxious to get out of the city, though and skip the song & dance to catch some sleep looking forward to our morning trip to the Maasai Mara.  

Kwaherini

Means goodbye.  After a month we're all ready to leave Ukerewe.  But for such a small place, sure seems like we are leaving a lot behind.  It means school's done.  That will be missed.  And many goodbyes...our students, classmates, the teachers we've met, our friends and sponsors on the island and even the staff at the small hotel where we stayed that entire time who've become somewhat of a strange extended family to us.  It also means we're traveling again.  A final ride on the ferry to Mwanza feels like the longest one yet.  Back to the now familiar Hotel Talipia where we'll spend the weekend.

It also brings to a close the volunteering phase of our trip.  Now begins the vacation (from our vacation, as it were).  Off to Nairobi where we'll rendezvous with Kirsten's cousin Kim & Chris arriving from the US and our friend Joe Kenoyer and his daughter Kelly who've been traveling in Egypt; check out Joe's blog and Kelly's blog.

We're on safari!  Leaving Nairobi Monday for a two-week adventure beginning in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.  Even looking at that destination's website seems a bit comical to us but I think we'll enjoy the contrast in our Africa experience this next few days.

Ukerewe

This weekend, our last on the island, we toured Ukerewe. The Ukerewe District (Tanzanian Districts are equivalents of our states) is composed of 32 islands in Lake Victoria that are home to about 250,000 people. Ukerewe is the largest island and Nansio, where we are staying, is the district's largest city of about 50,000. Accompanied by two Danes and an Aussie we've befriended we hired two cars and a guide and were off. The guide doesn't drive so me and the Aussie are each behind the wheel, which by the way is on the wrong side of the car just as the car is on the wrong side of the road. I'd done this before but it still would have been daunting except for the fact that "side of the road" is a very relative expression and the "side" of the "road" that we drove on was the one with the least threatening ruts and potholes. In fact the various combinations of washed-out dirt, two-track, pedestirans, cyclists and livestock we traversed in our beat-down Toyota sedan was only referred to as "the road" for about the first five kilometers of our trip. Encounters with oncoming car traffic were horn-blaring games of chicken to win the smoother side of what was really only a one-lane rut to begin with. Oncoming truck traffic was avoided by all means necesary...they seemed to speed up when passing as if to reinforce the idea that it was preferable to put your car in the ditch rather than fulfill their ambition of a head-on collision.

Our first stop on the far western reach of the island was Rubya Forest Reserve. Essentially a plantation of Caribbean Pine trees harvested for lumber, driving through the forest felt very much like being in Oregon. Except for the monkeys; entertaining displays by several bands of Vervet monkeys complete with a flourish of their rumored bright-colored genitalia that had been the source of much speculation in our house before arriving here. We passed the afternoon enjoying a swim and picnic lunch at Rubya Point.

After lunch a short drive to the overlook and remains of the Olwego Museum near Halwego. Excellent views of Ukerewe and surrounding islands from the top of this transformed natural rock formation, the island's highest point.

From there, driving past dark on dwindling two-track, we arrived at the small village of Buzegwe, our overnight destination on the island's northeastern shore. We are greeted with traditional dancers and in short time the drums, or, rumor of mzungu, have drawn the entire village. All very entertaining.

Sunday, after one of the most elaborate open-fire breakfast displays I've ever witnessed, we're off to Irondo Point for a hike over the rocks and another swim. The kids lending a hand to some fishermen pulling in their nets.  Then it's back toward Nansio with a brief visit at what is best described as ruins of the last chief's palace near Bukindo. The palace's current inhabitants are room-fulls of bats, making the stop quite worth it.

Buganda

Our accomodations this weekend in Mwanza are 'aboard' The Buganda. See also: Buganda, the kingdom of the Baganda people, largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda on the north shore of Lake Victoria. The name Uganda, the Swahili term for Buganda, was adopted by British officials in 1894. That may also have been the last year this tub sailed. Now she's permanently moored on the south shore of Lake Victoria; converted into five rooms as part of the Tilapia Hotel we are visiting again this weekend. Her hull is painted with the quaint script "African Queen" belying a theme and our suite is the "Swanwick" named for Peter Swanwick whom had some bit part in the film I can't remember. I guess the Bogie and the Hepburn were booked. When Kirsten said we'd be staying here, I replied "What an absurd idea! Lady, you got ten absurd ideas for my one." At least we won't be running any rapids. Fortunate, too 'cause even moored this heap is listing about ten degrees to the port. It's a good thing my gin got tossed overboard as walking across the slanted floor feels tricky even when sober. I'd recommend the movie over the suites. After seeing it, check out another of my favorite Africa-themed movies, "White Hunter Black Heart" starring a belligerent Clint Eastwood over-acting the part of belligerent director John Huston while shooting "African Queen" on location in the Lake Victoria region.

The Big Five

Visitng Africa as a tourist is stereotyped by a chance to witness "The Big Five" of safari wildlife encounters: buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino. While we have yet to see any of these beasts we enjoy debating our personal 'big five' updates daily and have been lucky to view some amazing wildlife, especially here in Tanzania.

Our current list, with only some minor deliberation as to its rankings:
1) Sea turtle hatchlings
2) Chameleon
3) Bats
4) Spider
5) Crocodile

While witnessing the sea turtle hatchlings was a truly amazing experience, one might wonder about the auspicious rankings of the other critters we've seen. Well, the chameleon was truly cool and put on a fascinating show with his oven-mit claws, rotating eyes and comical contrast of clumsiness and predation. Bats? Not only lots of bats...like a swarm, but big bats, larger than a crow, swift, agile and silent. Spider ranked ahead of crocodile? Absolutely, because when we say spider, we mean one of those jungle-dwelling science fiction monstrosities that you'd gladly trade an encounter with a hungry croc should it be chasing you.

We'll update the list as we witness other spectacular wildlife. But I'm betting, shiver, unless we encounter, sweat, some more beastly arachnid, that the spider is staying in the top five.

Rafiki

Put aside any worries of the children assimilating in rural Afrika. While we may have enjoyed a soft landing in Ghana due to the relative isolation of our location and our volunteer commitments, the kids have met the immersion and overwhelming friendliness of our daily lives in Tanzania with exuberance. Pictured, the oldest with a few of her many rafiki (friends) in the third-story shell of an unfinished building that is a popular local playground. While our younger daughter remains the shyer of the two, they have both made many friends and acquaintances throughout the community. Enthusiastic cries of "Mzungu" (white people) have been replaced by the familiar shout of "Sarah!" everywhere in town. The girls wear uniforms to school and the glances, stares and outright gawks we used to encounter have been replaced by bright comments of "...Nakoza..." as everyone is notably impressed with their dawning of the universally recognizable maroon skirt and tie. We are especially eager to encounter the few Masai who live in Ukerewe and they seem equally enthusiastic for our company, willingly engaging us in lengthly, one-sided dialogs of Kiswahili that they must certainly understand we don't comprehend a single word of. Seeming to appreciate that we are easily more recognizable and rare than themselves, one of Kirsten's introductions even involved a dramatic pantomime of his eyes bugging out upon seeing her.

High School Afrika Style

School's in! We have settled into our schedules quite nicely and the day to day routine of classes seems comfortably familiar. The kids have met the challenge of attending what is essentially sophomore year of high school, having been advanced from Form I to Form II as much of the former is taught only in Kiswahili. While their technical subjects are thankfully taught in English they are also immersed in Kiswahili and have one period a day in that language so they are learning it at a surprising rate. If we don't work to keep up, they'll soon be gossiping and joking behind our backs! Their schedule includes math, physics, biology, chemistry, civics and history in addition to English and Kiswahili. They seem fascinated with the sciences and were only daunted by their first day of math: quadratic equations. Possibly a little deep for the third-grader.

Teaching here has been very rewarding and much less challenging than we had expected. Kirsten is teaching English at both a primary school and the high school - as many as four or five periods a day. I have daily periods of biology and several periods a week of chemistry and physics with the "seniors" in Form III.

One detail of school here stands in stark contrast to education at home...the stick. Corporal punishment is a daily fact of life for all students. While the teachers and administrators insist on its importance and efficacy in maintaining order, it is strikingly cruel and capricious, no pun intended. Our children have escaped the cane so far but came home wide-eyed a couple of times with stories of wondering if they might be next. At dinner last night a couple of kids were wilding in the restaurant and ours were strangely quick to proclaim that "they need the stick."

Nansio, Ukerewe Tanzania

Red-eye from Accra to Nairobi, brief layover in Kenya then on to Mwanza, Tanzania. The flight from Nairobi to Mwanza is in a small twin-engine commuter and flying at a lower altitude gives us spectacular views of the famous geography in this part of the continent including Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengetti and Lake Victoria. Our overnight in Mwanza is pleasant at a small tourist resort called The Talapia with pool, internet, bars and serving some delicious Asian cuisines: Indian, Japanese, Thai. First thing in the morning we are on a ferry for the three-hour Lake Victoria crossing to Ukerewe. Our reception in Nansio is almost overwhelming and by the second morning we have met the District Executive (i.e. governor), Regional Executive (i.e. mayor) and the equivalencies of city counsellors and the superintendent of schools. We then visited the schools we'll be teaching in, meeting their directors and students who are presented in ranks at attention. We'll be teaching English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics at the high school here and will witness the graduation of its very first senior class. The girls will attend "Form 1", the local equivalent of a high school sophomore at home, assigned there by the director with his unabashed apologies for the state of academics. We received no apologies, however, for the state of our accommodations and today have had to relocate to much more comfortable digs. While the previous 'hotel' a self-proclaimed 'beach resort' was bad enough that we didn't feel at all bad about complaining or leaving, there was a sense of vindication when an Aussie we ran into said he'd bailed on it after his first night compared to the two we endured. In all Nansio is pleasant. It is thankfully cooler here than in Ghana. The people are friendly but very little English is spoken - Kswahili is the local dialect and we are studying vigorously, sad not to have been better prepared having been told that this was an English-speaking area. There is no internet or cell phone reception for us so we'll likely be out of touch unless we travel weekends. Fortunately the time-zone, electricity and satellite were all in harmony last night and we were lucky to catch the inauguration on TV. Kwa herini.

Enjoying a bit of Accra

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm sitting in a sportsbar. Air conditioning. Cold draft beer. Man-U on the big screen. American music. The food is great. Nachos. The atmosphere is friendly. The kids are distracted by the foosball table and Chloe wants to learn how to shoot pool with some local. The Brits in the next booth have a deck of cards and soon I'm dealing Texas Hold'em. Initially we were reluctant to go in, but I haven't felt this much a sense of escape since we hit the ESPNZone one night at Disneyland. Besides, it's Karaoke Friday. Wouldn't want to miss a thing like that. Quick hop back to our room to tuck the kids in and by 9:00 the bar has gone standing room only and our booth is prime real estate for any number of locals who'd like to sit for a moment. By locals I mean an endless stream of African women so beautiful my wife keeps poking me in the ribs and saying "did you see that?" "mmm-hmmm" i sheepishly reply. By sit for a moment i mean HELLO! I squeeze further in, get as narrow as possible, sit up a bit straighter, scoot yet a bit closer to the wife and try to keep the conversation with my new friends as superficial as possible: Yes, i am an american. Yes, that is my wife. Yes, i'm sure those Brits across the table would love your attention. No, i'm not going to sing. Goodnight.

Tomorrow night, "All You Can Drink" 10 pm to 1 am for only $10! Too bad we have to fly out.

Fu-fu

I'll take fu-fu and a Pee Cola. I'd already asked if they had beer or coffee. There's about six kinds of beer brewed in Ghana plus a millet-beer the locals home-brew that I heard Widmer Brothers are breaking out as their next summer ale. Sadly, a beer is hard to find. If there's no beer, why not enjoy the local pop. Pee Cola. Not urine, but rather a very common surname in Ghana. Although pee might taste better, especially if it was cold. Fu-fu is a whole different deal. It's pounded starch. cassava, plantain or yam pounded with a stick in a large stone pestle. When I say pounded with a stick in a stone pestle, I'm talking one of those third-world bent old lady with a 10 foot stick and stone bowl laboring in the sun you can only really appreciate if you've seen it. In ghana, if the food is not intriguing enough for you, you get to eat with your hand. Fu-fu may not seem exotic in its description but when you've seen it made, then grabbed up a handful of it, dipped it in some spicy stew and crammed it in your hole, the adventurous eater in you is fulfilled. That only seemed impressive until our kids asked for the grasscutter. You'll have to google that one; filter out lawnmower, steer towards large rodent.

Elmina Clinic

Hello everyone. Thank you for your comments!
Chris has been doing most of the blog. I think it looks really great. I have mostly been at the clinic when he was able to work on it and only just saw much of it today. The only correction I must make is that there was no actual beating of the children at the clinic: the nurse would just brandish a stick if the kids were not behaving. The children were well behaved!!
The clinic was a busy health center that provided prenatal care, family planning, uncomplicated OB/GYN and walk-in care. I was the only physician working in the walk-in section. They did have community medical examiners and midwives. We treated all kinds of illness and injury. There was certainly no patient privacy. In fact, often a neighboring patient would help interpret. There was also no equipment--like gloves, suture or sheets. There was medicine. You send the patients to the dispensary to get their medicine after you see them. They frequently ran out of medicines. Every patient expects to get several prescriptions (Tylenol counts and requires a prescription). In the poor town where we lived about 60% of the population was illiterate so communication was hard.
We saw tons of malaria - tons and tons. There were a lot of wounds and cellulitis. There was quite a bit of Typhoid, too. (Note: we are vaccinated for typhoid and taking preventative medicine for malaria). We treated a lot of people for worms, but didn't I didn't get to see any. We referred anyone who was sick or needed more tests than we could perform--like an x-ray. It was not clear to me how easily our referrals were seen since the medical center was in the next town. We could do about 5 tests--u/a, urine pregnancy, hemoglobin, malaria smear, typhoid test, glucose. That's it.
I was struck by how muscular all of the people were and some of the impossibly beautiful figures. There would be a young woman with a body better than Beyonce' selling bananas on her head on the side of the street. Michelle, the Canadian medical student who stayed with us asked me to look at this abdominal wall "mass". It turned out to be a very well defined abdominal muscle--the first pack of incredible 6-pack abs. I guess that is not frequently seen in the doughy Canadian population.
I didn't see any psychiatric patients, no one who drank or smoked or used drugs. There were no drug seekers as we didn't even have any narcotics. Not one patient complained despite long waits and little to offer.
Now I face two months of not practicing medicine. That will be the longest I have gone in 20 years! Yippie!

School's In!

Sarah went to school in Elmina today. The Etsiapa Memorial Methodist Primary school, a short walk from our house, is a small collection of open-air cinderblock classrooms housing grades one through six. Six hundred kids in fewer than ten classrooms with as many as ninety kids per class in the fifth and sixth grades. This is one of the nicer schools we've seen in the area and the staff and students are very welcoming. The children look smart in their yellow or blue uniforms. Sarah made a splash with the younger kids but was instantly accepted by the students in her class and was quick to make a few new friends who showed her around. By all accounts she did well and was even called to the chalkboard during math and science. I think the experience was uplifting and she'd have loved to stay on but unfortunately we are departing for Accra today. That's Sarah in the center of the picture.

Toddler

It wasn't in the brochure, but our house comes with an 18-month old named Faith. Also not advertised: dog, puppy, chickens and roosters, goats and a pig. While all of these have provided gleeful distraction for our children they have each compounded our acclimatization. Faith is a joy. She is also omnipresent; any gathering, all meals, nap time, bed time, what-would-have-been-a-moment-of-peace time. I was daunted by bringing a twelve-year old and an eight-year old to Africa. Now it appears we'll have a toddler along as well. Pictured: Faith with the girls, and, Faith with the mortar and pestle used to pound fufu (fufu is food, not the name of the puppy).

Nzulezo

It is not every day that you sit in Nzulezo and receive an oral history of the village from its chief. Traveling this weekend, we have ventured west, almost to Ivory Coast. Over six hours by bus and tro-tro to Beyin, then an hour by dugout canoe to Nzulezo. Accessible only by water, Nzulezo is a stilt village that for over 400 years has enjoyed a peacefully isolated existence on the water. This feels uniquely African. We are guests of the Acid Project, acronym for the Amansuri Conservation and Integrated Development Project, not some Keysey-esque hallucination. While their existence seems hard the people are friendly and welcoming. The small village is currently residence for 500 and has a school, three denominations sharing a small chapel and a bar. There is even a guest house should you like to stay. Fortunately we are not staying and after our peaceable paddle back to Beyin we escape to the tranquil seclusion of Beyin Beach Resort. The warm ocean, soft sand, cool breezes and swaying palms of the resort are not uniquely African - we could be in Hawaii or Mexico or the Bahamas but we are enchanted with the welcoming climate and our thatch-roofed hut facing the ocean. Our hosts, Nina, a Brit, and her Ghanaian husband Partick Sarpong, in addition to operating the resort, have begun a sea turtle conservation project. There are three species of endangered sea turtles here including leatherback which are thought to be near extinction. These turtles may not reproduce until they have reached an age of twenty-five years and the survival rate from egg to adult may be less than 10%. The Sarpongs hire security to patrol the beach at night and protect turtle nests from predators and locals, whom they will also pay for revealing a nest or delivering eggs unharmed; sometimes two or three times a day in buckets of over a hundred. They also pay local fishermen a stipend to release captured turtles from fishing nets instead of killing them or eating them. Awakened at dawn the first morning there by the couple's young children, we hurry to the beach with the excitement of Christmas morning to see a nest of over 70 turtle hatchlings safely reach the ocean and swim off into the surf, tiny heads breaking the surface for a breath before disappearing into the waves. We are uplifted by the stark contrast of the experience to the harsh poverty that surrounds us in Elmina, a small glimmer of hope that something here is succeeding against difficult odds.

Coffee!

Day of days. While walking around Cape Coast, Kirsten paused as though she'd spotted a lion in the savannah. "Let's...look...over here!" she exclaimed after some hesitation. Coffee! Kirsten had spotted a cafe, only the second we'd seen. The first was somewhat of a Nescafe' sham. But lo, here is the real thing. Fresh-brewed, dark deliciousness unparalleled in this hemisphere. Served hot, served iced, even cappuccino on the menu. Our exploration of Cape Coast had started at its center, marked by the statue on of a giant crab on an enormous pedestal worthy of Napoleon's triumphant mounted likeness. Easy to find. Good point of reference. While our first trip had been interrupted by Chloe vomiting in the grocery, we had continued to explore town in outward circles until our radius brought us to the other good point of reference, Cape Coast Castle. And there, across the street from the biggest landmark in town, a cafe. Why had no one told us when we asked? Could it have been any easier to find? If only our exploration of Cape Coast had begun as tourists and not taken us directly to the internet cafe and the market. We had arrived at Cafe' de Como. Its proprietor, Como, of the cafe's name, greeted us warmly and with the familiarity of your neighborhood's Starbucks barista. Kirsten had it iced. I took it hot. The kids savored delicate crepes and fresh-squeezed orange juice. We had a wonderful conversation with Como, who lamented that the tour books and websites would not include him without further recommendation. Imagine our chagrin! I promised to share, blog, recommend and comment all over the world wide web. Cafe' de Como, Victoria Road, Cape Coast, Ghana. Directly across from the Cape Coast Castle. (+233) 24-6899992. Breakfast begins at 6:30 am. Reasonable prices; surprise at my small tip. My wholehearted recommendation. See you there tomorrow.

Java House, Elmina, Ghana

Africa's Gold Coast is ripe with history after all, so I'll tell you the story of how our house came to be named. It's called the Elmina Java Museum. 'Java House' for short. Note, no coffee. In the 18th century there was a Dutch governor at Elmina Castle named Ulzen. With slavery abolished here in the early 1800s, the Dutch intermarried with local women. A great grandson of that governor, Manus Ulzen, joined the Royal Dutch East Indies Army in 1831 when they were recruiting from tropical climates to try to reinforce their melting brigades at war in Indonesia. Manus Ulzen was decorated for a tour in Java. Thus the name of the museum...we recognize the region in Indonesia, not the dark beans harvested there that I lust after. Ulzen family members also founded the clinic where Kirsten works. So, our house is some odd combination of an African cultural museum and, um, a mexican prison from a spaghetti western. The front half of the building houses the museum. One room of the museum houses the family who've taken very fine care of us. Behind their house is a series of four cells that house volunteers at the medical clinic. Currently, our family and a medical student from Canada are the only inmates. There are bars on the windows and our heavy wooden door bolts with hardware that a hollywood prop master would kill for. We do have non-potable running water including a shower and flush toilet. There is intermittent electricity. The food is outstanding, which is nice because I don't think there is a restaurant within a hundred miles and you might not enjoy the fish as much if you had seen where Lucy bought it. But in all we are reasonably comfortable and quite content.

About Our Trip

...I meant to get this in at the beginning of the blog, but not everything has gone completely as scheduled. Here are some of the details of our trip...

We'll try to update the blog as our family of four, ranging in age from 44 to 8 embarks on a 3-month adventure through Africa. We will be volunteering in Ghana (medical) and Tanzania (teaching). I think it will be roughly 60/40 volunteer/vacation time. We will safari in Kenya and Tanzania and vacation in Cape Town, South Africa.

Why are we going? We realize our time with our busy kids is short (even though it often can feel the opposite!) and we need to seize the opportunity to spend more time with them while they were still young and we aren’t too old. After some shortages at work resulting in long hours for me, I got this crazy idea about “bugging out” and getting some perspective on the world. I spent about six months researching and planning and decided to take the plunge in December 2008. Though our primary goal is building family relationships and discovering new places, we also hope to do some good along the way by volunteering and hopefully to teach the kids they have the power to make a difference in the world.

How are we doing it? I have been graciously granted a sabbatical from my group at the hospital. I will return to full time work in May. The recent addition of 9 new doctors to the group fortunately made room in the schedule for me to have a needed break. Chris' schedule is flexible, though he may not be, and mid-winter seemed like a fine time to be away from Oregon. Our kids are avid learners and despite the school they will miss their experiences alone will be great education for them. We are counting on their skill as students to learn in all kinds of settings; they will attend school in Tanzania while we are there and we will "home school” for the rest of the journey.

Many people have asked how much our adventure will cost. We focused more on creating a great experience than the expense. Our stints in Ghana and Tanzania are "voluntourism": we pay to work there. The bottom line is extended travel doesn’t cost nearly as much as people think it does. I have budgeted less than a tricked out Escalade. We pronounce that “Escalaaaaaade”.

Jubilating

Today they announced the results of the Ghanaian presidential election. That's the Dec 5 elections that were followed by the Dec 28 run-off concluding with today's deciding follow-up vote in the small community of Twain. We happened to be in 'downtown' Cape Coast when the results were made public. Imagine our luck! Have you seen "The Year of Living Dangerously"? There was much jubilating. By jubilating, the local term, I mean one of those third-world street celebrations you can only really appreciate if you've seen it. I don't think my 8-year old shared in the general enthusiasm. Apparently, there was going to be a rally or parade of some sort but we decided to leave town and went the opposite direction that 50.26% of people were jubilating and found a cabbie from among the 49.56% willing to drive us home. The NDC and their candidate John Atta-Mills have won. They are the party of change, having displaced the incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP. From the tone in Cape Coast, this appears to be a good thing. Whether or not the government in power agrees and defers shall remain to be seen. Until this week, that is. Imagine our luck! No lame duck here. Incoming Atta-Mills will be sworn in on Jan 7. Start packing, Papa Nana. Here's to our hopes for a smooth transition.

Arriving in this...

Wow. It feels like, well, Africa. 100 degrees, 100% humidity. Every street is a spectacle. Over 30 hours of travel, culminating in one of those amazing, three-hour third-world bus rides. We had the nice bus - you know, the one with a TV blaring an African version of a telenovela. Made it to Elmina, found our host and arrived at our house here, the Java Museum of African History. That's right, we live in a museum. Or rather, in some cells behind a museum. Our family and a Canadian medical student are currently the only inmates. But we've got running water including a flush toilet, intermittent electricity the family who are caretakers of the museum, and us, are wonderful.

The jet-lagged 8-year old is an interesting phenomenon. Not compatible with the jet-lagged adult's conception of getting on time. Chloe stayed up through the night and read an entire novel. Impressive, but possibly not commensurate with the family unit's sanity. After four or five days, we seem to have adjusted. A funeral celebration began at 7:00 this morning at the house next door with blaring PA music and early-arriving guests; glad I tucked in early.

Kirsten has started work at the clinic, which is a couple blocks from the museum. She's busy, but seems to be enjoying the unique working environment. Lots of malaria. Some typhoid. The nurse beats children with a stick if they don't sit nicely for their exam.

Chris and the kids have been enjoying daily adventures around Elmina and Cape Coast after long mornings of home-schooling. The students are captive, the teacher is fatigued. Really it's going quite well and we fully expect them to be speaking fluent Spanish and doing higher math by the time we return.

Internet access is very limited, unfortunately. We'll continue to try to find solutions. But for now our blogging and emailing will be intermittent at best. Pictures will be difficult but I will upload some when I can. The cell phone works, sometimes, but only for voice, not data and it appears I can call you but you can't call me!

We're off to a beach resort this afternoon. Rain forest adventure tomorrow.