Four countries, four messes…but with happy people!

Tough luck or tough love, either way we are shocked about this reality we live in.  Kenya terrorist attack, South African corruption, Dubai where women basically have no rights and Thailand protests where people are dying.  All issues we are dealing with in the last few months in places we are traveling to or have already visited.  Two Americans traveling, choosing interesting countries to visit and attempting to stay out of harms way by being cautious, continue to run into the mess we call our world.  And the cherry on the sundae is that we are staying out of the real hot spots but still find ourselves in compromising positions, some because of current events but others because of the government’s actions.

-A Norwegian woman visiting Dubai goes to jail for reporting a rape because she had “sex outside of her marriage”.  Do we really live in a time where this can happen?

-Sixty-seven innocent civilians die in a shopping mall and many were tortured and the terrorists didn’t even know a single victim in Kenya.  What is this supposed to achieve for the terrorist?

-Twenty years after apartheid ends, millions of people are living in unthinkable conditions with kids not having food for 5 day stretches. They elect a president with a fourth grade education and he goes out and builds a personal multimillion-dollar house. He also tells the people of South Africa to “shower twice to cure yourself of AIDS”.   How do you go from the greatness of Mandela to this? (RIP Mandela)

-Bangkok, Thailand where protesters are dying fighting their own government and after reading no less than ten stories on this topic I still don’t understand what they want.  Not sure who is to blame on this one, repressive royal government or bored activists.

I was born at night, just not last night.  I do my fair share of reading and keeping up with world events but this shit is down right crazy.  We wanted to travel the world to “live it” not just read it or watch it on TV so I guess we are in the process of getting a PHD (Pilled Higher and Deeper, sorry all you smart people) in life.

Meeting up with the family has been so incredibly special, not just because it’s a homecoming to the parents and the place I was born, but also because the opportunity to share life’s experiences with family is kind of what it’s all about.  That is, of course, if you like your family…just saying.

“Do what makes you happy” is what many will say life is all about, and if you can help people along the way and make a few dollars you hit the jackpot.  Two out of three in the last few weeks isn’t bad.

We started in East London, South Africa where ALL the Mercedes C class are made for the entire world.  Strange, very strange.  But yet you feel like you are on the tip of the earth because as far as you can see it’s untouched dunes and beaches with rolling hills of green lush jungle like landscape. We spent a few days catching up and chilling out, not that we had many options since it rained all day and night.

After relaxing we are off to a safari a few hours away, we are lucky enough to have seen a double header…the big five again. We are officially all animaled out (I’m not…this is Linda ;-)) but a few highlights need to remembered.

– We followed lions for over an hour as they hunted. WE stalked the lions, so interesting watching nature unfold.  An animal was going to die tonight in order for another animal to live. Sounds brutal but this is survival of the fittest in its rawest form.  Exciting and exhilarating was the quote from Dad.

– Languages ~ clicking is a language; imagine clicking your tongue on the top of your mouth to make the equivalent of words.  Our ranger in Shamwari (the name of our Safari reserve) came from a tribe where this is how they communicated.

– Elephant pee is a waterfall in itself, and they poop 2.5 hours after they eat.  They don’t digest their food all that well, which makes for yummy food for other animals as the elephant already took the effort to pick and eat all kinds of wonderful greens…so think of their poop as a big greenery cupcake blob for other animals to munch on. Nice.

– Hot towels to wash your face when it’s cold out are just as good as cold towels when you are hot.  Sort of like the quote, don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things. (A Lindy shout out for credit.)

– Getting up at 5:30AM gets old, even on safari.

– “I haven’t been in that much of a rural environment with close to zero human density, I just want to lay on the earth in the middle of the jungle. The vastness of space is incredible” – a Vanessa quote.

– I have a newfound dislike of zoos.

A week into the trip and our new travel partners are totally disconnected with home, not checking emails and this makes them feel less frantic since there is less  information coming in and out.  You quickly realize how much of the information/chatter doesn’t really matter.

Drove 5 hours down the garden route to Knysna, a small beach town that reminds me of Nantucket.  Once again, not comparing to the US because I’m judging only because it gives some context to what the experience is like.

Then on to Hermanus, another beach town that reminded us of a combination of a European looking beach town with deeply cut bays and high cliffs with houses carved into the rocks.  Combine all of that with a west coast beach town like Malibu with the high class modern architecture for houses and a quaint little town square overlooking the rocky shores. Made famous for whale watching, where you can see these massive mammals floating along the coastlines.  We didn’t get enough with this view so we jumped on a boat and got a close up. It was neat to see their shear mass, but it was probably one of those trips you do only once.  Wales can live to up to 150 years and in the summer these massive beasts travel 3,000 km in about 20 days to get back to the cold water they love to relax in.

The day wouldn’t be complete without cruising by the world-renowned shark alley where great whites hover around a small island where 30,000 seals hangout and take an occasional dip in the water.  We all know how this story ends, slowest shark doesn’t eat and slowest seal gets eaten, that’s everyday – not just on our tour day.

Penguins for days at Betty Bay, last stop before making it to Cape Town where my parents grew up and I was born.

As we get close Mom and Dad start calling out familiar and of course after 30 years many unfamiliar points.  A bit emotional for everyone to be back together, reminiscing is always fun but also hits a deep cord of the past for better or worse. “A walk down memory lane” – we are very excited to see what it brings.   It’s interesting to be so interested in a place you were born but have no recollection of since you left at age two.  I am interested to see how I will feel versus my parents because everyone says Cape Town is so interesting. (Interested x 4 in one sentence, not bad.)

Wow, this going to be a busy 10 days, the first morning was spent mapping out everything we wanted to do and we realized we don’t have enough time.  I guess we are back to waking up at the crack of dawn.  At times I am feeling a bit like the Griswalds in the movie ‘Vacation’ but enough about that for now.

Day one in Cape Town was a township visit, unthinkable how some people have to live.  Originally the apartheid government moved black people to these designated areas.  In the one township we toured over 50,000 people are living in poverty that could never be understood in America.  A tree house in America would be considered luxurious compared to how people are living here.

As our guide, Richard, basically said, they know nothing else so they can’t compare.  Very contrite and he is probably numb to the reality since he sees it every day.  A very dangerous place as well, Richard doesn’t even walk around at night and he grew up there.  To give perspective:

-Kids in diapers are roaming the streets alone, Richard said the community tries to take care of the kids as best they can.

-40m black people with 30-40 percent unemployment live in South Africa.  As an example of how deep and widely the problem is 2.5m people live in one township with most having no electricity or water.  Rows and rows of tiny one bedroom sheds line the streets for as far as you can see.

-A 10×10 room used to be a home for three families (often 5 people per family).  This would equate to 90 people living in place w six rooms and one shared common area/kitchen. Now they try and keep it to one family per room, which is better but still stifling.  Concrete floors, cardboard beds, every last item you see is old and dirty.  For example a plastic water bottle (the kind we throw away everyday) used to fill for drinking water looked like it had been used over 1,000 times.  It smelled so bad I almost got sick.

-A meal a day is not a guarantee; kids sometimes don’t eat for five days.   Sheeps head are considered a delicacy.

-Yet their wills are so strong that when the government built new homes people wouldn’t move in because the government kicked their friends off the lots so they could build.  Brand new homes have been sitting vacant for 5 years!  I might be pig headed (or sheep headed) but I’m not dumb.

We felts so terrible after an hour of the walk around the township that the next group of girls I saw I gave 100 Rand to, the two girls just smiled and went running.  I then realized I should have asked Richard first.  He said we are better off giving treats and buying school supplies.  So we walked down the dirt road lined with 10×10 steel corrugated (or whatever else they can find) sheds bumping up against each other and found a shed selling candies.  We bought as much candy as we could carry and had our nieces hand it out.  Before we knew it kids were running from all corners of the block.  It was great to see the smiles and watch a few of them dance away with the chips and toffee high above their heads laughing.  I know we didn’t like the idea of giving candy but Richard assured us that a little sugar is the least of their problems and they never get candy so it was a real treat.

Nothing I write will explain the conditions and concern we quickly developed for the kids, it really is an experience worth arranging even if it’s in your hometown and not in a third world country.  At worst you will appreciate your life and at best it will change your life.

We hooked Richard up with some extra cash to hopefully do some good with.  We are sure he will put it to good use.  However it doesn’t end here, we were all so moved by what we saw that we cancelled one of our city tours and decided to visit another township and meet with a director of a project where they are helping elementary school kids develop the necessary skills to become productive adults.  The Lalela Project.  Started by a New York based family.  What amazing work this group is doing, the family is now in discussions of how we want to further support the cause and we have decided to make a donation for starters.

A few more comments to give you a feel for South Africa:

-Just say “brilliant” or “proper” in any sentence and you will appear sophisticated. For example, let’s go get a proper meal or that glass of wine was brilliant. Seriously, try it out.

-Also “how’s it” is the cool way to say “hello” in South Africa, once again try it out, it works.

-George, our wine tour driver, says it’s fucked up but he’s staying. It’s cheap to live, great sports, kayaking, hiking, beach, safari and big beers for $1.50 each.  He’s got a point.

-Lesson of the week.  We’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again….Never ever throw anything away, it can all be used.  Take a little extra time to find a charity that can take it or place it.

All in all, what a special time we spent with the family.  We all are a little closer and have a better understanding of how fortunate we are and an insight to our background and roots.

Mandela’s passing today will hopefully create enough awareness of the pressing problems and remind the country of how hard they fought for equality so that a few corrupt high ranking government officials don’t take advantage of their own people any longer.

MORE SOUTH AFRICA PICTURES: – East London, Shamwari Safari, Garden Route, Cape Town