Africa Part 1Wednesday June 7, 2024

Johannesburg, South Africa via Newark.

I wasn’t looking forward to this journey.  5 or so hours to Newark from California, then 15 more to Johannesburg.  We left on time ok but with the anger of Hurricane Debby hitting the southeast coast of the US, there was always a question mark if things would go well.

They did, sort of.  We arrived on time but things at Newark were a mess.  We had to wait for a gate to open up, things had stalled because they couldn’t put the walkway thingies out until a certain amount of time had passed since the last lightning strike.  So we sat.  I’ve never had a plane just turn off the engines while we sat and waited. for a gate.  It really wasn’t more than forty minutes, but we were getting nervous as we had a connection that wasn’t tight to begin with but was getting tighter by the minute.  The only consolation was that nobody was going anywhere and indeed our flight to Johannesburg took off three hours later than scheduled.

We were the lucky ones.  Al’s brother, John, and old friend Larry got diverted to DC from St. Louis and with every passing minute the news got worse.  Their new flight to Newark was delayed, then cancelled.  The flight to Johannesburg the next day was full.  I’ve had a hard time keeping up with all that went down but the text messages were not upbeat. 

I’m not sure what happened to all the OTHER people who were supposed to make that connection, but when our plane took off it was missing a lot of people.  So much so that my wish to have business class was dang near fulfilled, without the cost.  I was able to lie down across three seats and slept soundly (with a little help from my friends, of course) for hours. Photo “business class” – the cheap way.

Before I knew it we were a couple of hours out of South Africa.  John and Larry were getting a flight through Frankfurt the next day but after that would have to spend ANOTHER 15 hours sitting around the airport in Germany before catching a flight to the final destination.  Luggage? What is this luggage you speak of? (I am writing this Friday night, they have joined us along the tour but Larry’s air tag says the luggage is still at Newark).

This fiasco made Al’s dismay at having his luggage arrive with nothing but wet clothes inside from sitting on the tarmac for hours in Newark seem like the minor inconvenience that it was. Photo: I’m not in it, I’m behind the camera, photo of us and fellow travelers arriving in Joburg, Four of the people we travelled with in Peru a couple of years ago: Dana and David, Jesse and Scott. Susan and Steve are neighbors of Jesse and Paul in Long Beach.

Thursday, April 8, 2024

Johannesburg, Apartheid, Smog

We had been warned that Joburg (I just can’t keep typing it out, and that’s the shortcut that everyone uses) was not a safe place to roam around by oneself.  Our plan was to grab a Hop on Hop off bus and just get off at the highlights, but the guy who was supposed to take us to one of the HO-HO stops convinced us and the other 6 people we were with that he could show us a better time for not much more. 

He did do that (sorry, no stories of being ripped off or anything).  He drove us all around the city, rich areas, poor areas, Nelson Mandela’s home for 11 years after he was released from prison (rich area). The Mandela family still lives there and the trees outside the walls are surrounded by river stones that bear messages of gratitude from visitors. Photos: Our guide Sophi in front of Mandela’s post-release home (he has four daughters – TWO sets of twins!) River stones with memorial messages.

He took us to the solitary tourist street about two blocks long with beautiful murals commemorating the “revolutionaries”.  He took us through the Aglo-Boer war district which was a war over gold, imagine that.  The buildings there were all built with gold money and along the way were vestiges of the times – railroad cars, various digging machines. (Apologies for the third grade vocab  but hey – ) I was very sad as we went through some of the more creative areas – wholesale ribbons, for example – as these are places I certainly would wander into in just about any other city.  Our guide assured us it was not safe during the day or the night, not with him or without him.  I asked what might happen and basically it was being held up  – and refusing at one’s own risk. 

On to the Apartheid Museum – we spent two hours there and could have spent six.  It is a VERY confusing history and not at all just about blacks and whites, there was a healthy dose of classism – not all blacks were limited due to being black and not all whites were free as a bird due to being white.  An exhibit of real ID cards blown up to poster size demonstrated the many nonsensical classifications. Classifications could change depending on one’s circumstances.  An exhibit from a newspaper article in 1986 showed the re-classifications “with the stroke of the government pen” that occurred just in 1986. (Doesn’t that seem like yesterday?) Add colonialism to the mix and you have one wild and dangerous history.  I’d like to explain it more fully but honestly I’d need to read more than one book about the history to even scratch the surface.   There was so so so much information in this museum – many videos of speeches given throughout the history, exhibits how the various factions of whites vs white and blacks vs blacks and whites vs black and…and…; as I say, I left wholly confused and totally fascinated.

Who said this?: Answer at end of this post.

“I call him savage, something to be civilized off the face of the Earth. The world will be all the better when his place knows him no more.” From Apartheid Museum exhibit.

 We went to Soweto to see where Bishop Desmond Tutu lived (he was a very short man and his front doorway reflected that).  Also the home where Nelson and Winnie Mandela lived in their younger years with their daughters. He was a taller man and his front door reflected that.   When Nelson was imprisoned, Winnie of course continued their work and holes can still be seen in the brick where the authorities would blanket the house with bullets to try to frighten her.  The home was very small (an aptly named matchbox house in the style of the neighborhood) and is now a museum with his many awards.

Other than those magnificently curated museums, Joburg doesn’t have much to offer.  The smog burns the eyes and made us local Californians realize how clean LA is these days.  There were entire neighborhoods that were nothing but “used” car parts businesses.  We went past them too quickly for me to snap any photos but one would be just mufflers, one would be just doors, one would be just mirrors.  All essentially stolen. 

No, I won’t be walking around Joburg alone any time soon….

(Answer to above question):   Looking for some roots of systemic racism? Here ya go:

Friday,  August 9, 2024

Zim Zam

Goodbye to Johannesburg, on to Zimbabwe for our first glimpse of Victoria Falls.  I never did write about Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil which is a shame because I’ve never seen anything like it and even today I wonder why Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World and Iguazu isn’t.  Victoria Falls is the tallest, but Iguazu is three miles wide and I’m not talking trickling, I’m talking Victoria Falls and Niagara Falls kinda falls.  It was one of the most mind-blowing experiences I’ve ever had. 

Anyway, I can’t diss Victoria Falls for one good reason.  Last rainy season wasn’t that rainy, thank you global warming that is supposedly a hoax.  For this reason the falls, which usually thin out in September or October, have thinned out already here in August.  It was still pretty spectacular but areas that should have still been roaring were completely dry.  Nevertheless, it is quite the spectacle.  Because of its height, when it hits the bottom the spray rises up like smoke, thus its native name: Mosi Oa Tunya  the smoke that thunders. No, I do not know which of the 16 official languages spoken in Zimbabwe it comes from.  There is a huge statue of “Dr Livingstone, I presume” who “discovered” the falls and one of the islands around which the falls flows bears his name.   

Our day started out with a 5 a.m. wakeup (I’m not a morning person, grrr) and a 6 a.m. trip to airport to fly to Victoria Falls.  We arrived in Zimbabwe and had to wait for an hour to get through the line to pay our $30 and get our one day visas.  Everything is done by hand and the endless stamp-stamp-stamp for each and every person in front of us was like something out of a Monty Python skit.  Finally, they opened another window and things went a little faster. 

On to Victoria Falls where we spent a few hours hiking along the rim across the chasm from the falls; it was very hot but the spray was non-stop and lusciously refreshing at every overlook. It was only after the trail headed back to the parking lot that it got to Grouchy Mary Level hot, but a little carton of ice cream solved that problem right away.  I do not understand the people lounging in the pools on the top of the falls.  Supposedly you are tied with a rope so you don’t go over the edge but no thank you no thank you no thank you.  Some of the young, immortal people we could see frolicking a bit on the rocks around the pools just looked like an accident waiting to happen and I don’t want to know just how many accidents DO happen. 

Very quickly our one day visas to Zim (yes, our guide assured us, Zim Zam, Bot, Nam are all commonly used by Africans.  Who has time to say all those names every time?) were stamped again in a hot little office on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border, fewer stamps this time and we were entertained by baboons running around everywhere outside like squirrels in my Mom’s back yard.  Nothing really cuter than a baby baboon clinging to mama. 

A mile down the road we again got off our bus with our passports in hand to be stamped into Zambia.  Hotter, more crowded office and I hoped I wouldn’t pass out or need to use the bathroom in the worst way. It did finally move along though and we were on our way to our hotel.

Fifteen minutes to shower and refresh then onto a boat on the great Zambezi River for a sunset cruise where we would maybe see hippos, crocs, elephants, zebras and giraffes.  Saw all but the giraffes which were spotted by the guide but were really far away and scooted into the bush before I could find my favorite animal (other than boxer dogs, of course).

I was tickled by the hippos (aka “murder horses).  In these waters they only poked their heads out now and again before disappearing under the water for a ridiculous amount of time.  It was like watching whales.  It is expected in other areas we visit we will see more than just the occasional head popping up with a massive jaw chawing away, but it was pretty cool and who knew? Not just “murder horses” but also “river whales”.

The elephants we saw at the river were MASSIVE.  One male was so big it made me glad I was in a boat and kinda wonder about being on land with one of those dudes which we undoubtedly will be. 

I had never seen a crocodile swim, swim, swim as this one did across the wide river.  Again, glad I was in a boat. 

The zebras were far away but could see them with binocs.  Al took some photos of the critters but I have a hunch like most animal photos taken with the lowly iphone, they will be less than impressive.

Smoke on the Water, Victoria Falls in the distance on Zambezi River

We came back to the lodge for dinner but I passed  – see “morning person” above.  As much as I would love to open the balcony doors it is inadvisable due to the monkeys and mosquitos.  The monkey sitting on the ledge apparently knew there had been a turnover and maybe this new lady would not be the wiser.   

I’m falling asleep as I write now, but can’t say night night until I relate how, when the sun was setting like the quintessential orange globe that it is in Africa, our guide pointed out the smoke in the far distance across the water.  It wasn’t smoke.  It was the falls, and we were on the great river that leads to the smoke that thunders, separated only by some miles and a lot of islands. 

Spectacular.

 Saturday August 10, 2024

Missed Tour but Oh Well and…

 
I am sitting here on the banks of the Zambezi.  Our guide called our room at 8:40 and asked if we were coming?  We totally slept through our wake up time.  So what we missed this morning was going to the “pool” side of the falls and not sure what else, but we’re cool with it.  I got my back exercises in (I was feeling it start to complain yesterday) and am now enjoying the peace and quiet.  As usual, after four days of lovely people and the socializing that just naturally occurs on such tours, I’m exhausted and need my space.  John and Larry did arrive last night in time for the boat ride which was nice for them.  Today they will go out to try to find some clothes.  Lord knows what native gear they will return with! 

Later today we will take a train ride and not sure what that will entail but I will get back to you.  Right now I’m going to see if I can manage to put some photos together for wordpress.  Always a challenge for me.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon having lunch with fellow travelers from Texas, trying to stay off politics but it was a compllicated dance. Fortunately I’ve always been a left of center middle of the roader so I am able to dance that dance. No sense is storming off in a huff after making my feelings known about Trump. No minds going to be changed. Having said that, they are proof that we can all get along and be civil if we have to. Good thing, too, otherwise someone might have been lunch for the croc that lazed next to us the entire time.

In a few moments we will be leaving to take a train ride. As usual, I have no idea where I’m going nor what I will do when we get there, but if it’s a train ride, I’m all over that! Will let you know what happens. Tomorrow we go to Chobe National Park where the real “safari” starts.