Tuesday, January 26th - Matobo, Zimbabwe

This morning we were up reasonably early so we could get away and drive to the nearby Great Zimbabwe National Monument and have a tour there.  Miriam was our guide and she was fantastic.  I think she was just waiting flip-flops or light shoes but she moved pretty fast over the rough ground and rocks and climbed up the hill to the ruins pretty quickly.  She was a local and a big woman so you just didn't expect her to move so fast.  I certainly couldn't keep up to her and others were also commenting on the pace.  Luckily she had a lot of information to tell us so there were lots of stops along the way as we learned about the site but it was a big site and we really had to hustle to see it all before our departure time.

Great Zimbabwe is Africa's most significant ruins site south of Cairo and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   The name Zimbabwe means large or important houses of stone and this was the largest site so thus the Great Zimbabwe name.  Some believe it means the court or parliament of the country.  Zimbabwe, the country, was named after the site.  From the 11th to 15th century it was a major trading centre and artifacts from China, Persia, Arabia and other distant places have been found.  The area was rich in gold and that is why it flourished.  The population was close to 20,000 at one point and by the middle of the 15th century the land could no longer support the city - lack of water and agricultural production - so the city collapsed.  Most believe the site was constructed by the Bantu and Shona people although Rhodes tried to convince everyone it couldn't possibly be the blacks who built such a site.  Some historians tried to make a link to the Queen of Sheba but I don't think that was accepted by many.

There are three main areas: the hill ruins, the great enclosure ruins and the valley ruins.  The hill ruins is believed to have been the Royal city with its high granite base and buildings and covered walkways made of granite and sand brick.  Some of the walls are over five metres high and have no mortar within them and yet they are still standing today.  This area is believed to have been the king's residence and that of other VIPs and a ritual area for worship as well.  It was high on the hill so this was the biggest climb of all.

The Great Enclosure was to the south and lower down the hill.  It was an elliptical shape and had several large individual living areas with kitchens and living areas and in conical shapes.  Miriam said these were the residences of the Royal wives.  She also said that the King would yell from the "communication rock" up on the hill to summon whichever wife he wanted at the time and everyone in the valley would hear him.  Obviously he made other announcements that way too but this is the only one she mentioned. 

The Valley ruins were the living quarters and businesses of the regular residents and they spread throughout the lower valley and were made of brick and other materials.  Some of them were the most current in construction.

There were other parts of the site that we did not have time to see, including a museum which probably would have been very interesting.  One of the interesting finds on the site was that of several soapstone carved Zimbabwe birds.  These were large and supposedly sat on the top of pillars up on the hill.  Other artifacts were also in the museum but we did just the outside tour.

After our tour we all piled back on the bus and were on our way again for about a 400 km drive.  We of course had several stops for facilities and food.  We even had a shopping stop along the side of the road.  There was one big curved area with a big pullout and there were a number of vendors there selling a lot of different merchandise but mainly carvings.  I wandered around and looked at things but didn't buy anything.  Luckily, some of the people on the tour did a great job of supporting the local economy - and some of them bought a lot of stuff.

We drove through Bulawayo the second largest city in the country, and it was very modern looking - at least what we saw of it.  There were high rises and wide streets with boulevards.  There were large homes, some with big yards, and the whole area just seemed so much richer than the rest of the country we had seen to date.

This was the day our itinerary said we could go visit John Cecil Rhodes' graveside in Matobo National Park but we couldn't do that because we were apparently too far away from the site.  I don't think anyone was too disappointed but it might have been interesting to see.   He was certainly a big part of their history - the history of all of Southern Africa actually.

The Farm House was our hotel for the night and it was a farm with horses in the middle of nowhere.  There was a large garden area and a pool and a outdoor braai (BBQ) and eating area.  There was also an indoor restaurant and lounge with large patio looking over the garden.  Our rooms were chalets that circled around the main area.  It was very relaxing and very quiet - a great place to spend a couple of nights.

Dinner tonight was a braai and we ate outside.  It was delicious and there was lots of food.  And it was wonderful to be sitting out under the stars, and there were a lot of starts out by the time we finished.  After dinner, some folks spent some time in the lounge drinking and dancing to the music which our guide was now in control of, having taken it away from the bartender.  I was simply sitting and doing some internet work as this seemed to be the best place to get good reception.  I didn't stay too late but it was after most people had gone to bed so I have to confess that it was very dark outside trying to find my little chalet but I made it.

Sunday, February 28th - La Paz, Bolivia

This morning I was late getting up and getting to breakfast as I just couldn't get to sleep last night.  I know I was still awake after 4:00 and possibly after 5:00 and then didn't wake up until 8:00.  Luckily it was a rainy morning so no one was going very far very early anyway.  We sat around the breakfast area until after 10 and then went to our rooms to pack up and move to our new shared locations by 11:00.  I moved my suitcase into Gillian's new room as it was available (no one in it last night) and because it was just two doors down.  When we went down to the desk to hand in our other keys they suggested I just stay there and they'd put Gillian's scheduled roommate in with my scheduled roommate and everything would be fine.  We thought that sounded like a great plan so agreed.

We are gradually meeting members of our group.  Charlie is 62 and from Moncton.  Eve, who was to be my roommate, is in her 30's and from England.  Sam is also from England and maybe in her 40's.  The six of us spent most of the day together and it was great.  We got a taxi van and went to the Valley of the Moon first, then we went to the start of the cable car and road it down to Plaza Espana where we met our taxi again and then back to the hotel and out for coffee.  We were inventing things as we went and the taxi driver was great at accommodating us and at a very good price.

The Valley of the Moon is about 10 km south of the city.  On the taxi drive out the views were incredible.  This is such a hilly city that around every corner you get a different view and with higher hills and mountains all around the city the views changed continually.  As we approached the Valley of the Moon the landscape changed to include more sculptured formations - pillars of different shapes and sizes.  Once we got to the actual park, these shapes dominated the landscape.  Residential areas are encroaching on the area, which was larger at one time, so the area has now become a park and is protected.  I'm not sure how you would turn an area like this into a residential area but I guess you just knock all the pillars down and level the earth so you can start building.  It must take a lot of work because the pillars are really just dirt or clay.  They aren't exactly stable so would need a lot of compression to be a solid foundation. 

All of these pillars and structures were made by the wind and rain over many years.  They are still standing so they may be stronger than they look.  Many of the pillars have solid rock or rocks on top and that is what protected them.  A walkway winds through the area and there are lots of narrow walkways and steps up and down.  It looked very secure but I have to say that when two wild dogs came charging down the path toward me I was afraid to get too far out of their way for fear the path might give away.  The area is called the Valley of the Moon but it doesn't look anything like my image of the moon.  It is desolate, yes, but I just never pictured the moon with so many deep holes and high pillars in one location.  Cactus plants grow right out of the pillars and huge flowering yucca plants tower above one part of the landscape.  We spent an hour at the park and then went back to our taxi and had him drop us at the nearest cable car station.

The cable cars are La Paz' alternative to a subway.  Currently there are three lines in operation: red, yellow and green.  The next phase brings on six more lines and more are planned for the future.  Each cable car holds eight people and the ride is incredibly smooth.  You don't think you are going very fast but given the distances you cover and knowing the windy, narrow, congested streets of La Paz, riding the cable car is a great alternative.  Because  La Paz is built on such a hilly area and not necessarily on strong ground, a subway was not possible so the cable car was the solution.  It costs only 3 Bolivianos or about $.60 to ride on any one line.  We started on the green line and ended on the yellow (I think) and that took us from the south west near the Valley of the Moon to the south near Plaza Espana.  

Because we had to meet the driver and he picked the spot we didn't think we'd get much of a ride but it was a long ride and absolutely beautiful.  We went over many hill tops and saw many different areas of the city.  Some were poorer areas and some were wealthier.  All of them were colourful and everything seems very packed together.   We didn't see many big yards or gardens or swimming pools among the residences.  And on all sides there are hills and mountains.  The houses crest the tops of some of the hills but there are rugged mountains in the background.  We didn't see Mt. Ill mani, which is the really high snow covered peak but hopefully before we leave Bolivia we will have seen it.  

Once back at the hotel we didn't waste long heading out again, this time in search of coffee and lunch.  We had a long wait for our taxi at the beginning so we did grab an empanadas before we started our journey at about 11:30, but now we were ready for more.  Charlie knew of a coffee shop that served a good lunch so away we went and it was indeed very good.  From there we wandered back through the streets and did some shopping in the market stalls.  We were definitely in part of the Witches' Market this time and there were dried baby animals for sale.  They looked pretty gross to me but I guess if you are a witch or into witchcraft you really don't' care what they look like.  It was a long meander back to the hotel so once there I decided to call it a day.  Some of the others went out for another coffee.  

At 7:00 we gathered upstairs in the breakfast area for our group meeting.  The meeting lasted about an hour and there were a few surprises.  Temperature wise it is going to get really cold, like below freezing at night, so more winter clothes may be required.   Also, while on the salt flats we will just have our back packs and not our suitcases so we have to rethink our packing for those days.  We don't need sleeping bags though so that's good.  Nothing else was too new or surprising.

There are 15 of us in total: 4 Canadians, 2 Americans, 2 Chinese, 1 Italian and 6 British; 9 females and 6 males; 9 singles and 3 couples; and about 50/50 in age above or below 50.  Everyone seems nice so that's a good way to start the trip.  Six of us went out to dinner afterwords.  Others had just arrived or had an early owning planned so just wanted to get to bed earlier.  Our leader picked the restaurant and it was a very unique Asian restaurant that served dishes from anywhere in Asia.  I had a white fish in a coconut sauce and it was really good.  In fact everyone said their meal was delicious and they all looked great.  Once back at the hotel it was bedtime for everyone.

Saturday, February 27th - La Paz, Bolivia

This morning I was awake very early.  I think it was 4:30 but I stayed in bed for a while and then finally got up around 5:00 to do some blogging and upload some pictures.  At 7:00 I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard Gillian's voice and Randy's laugh so I knew that Gillian had arrived.  I quickly got dressed and went out to meet them as I heard them go by my door.  

Gillian had travelled with us on the Silk Road Tour and in Europe for the River Cruise in June and July.  She was supposed to be with us on the Southern African tour but her Mom got sick so Gillian had to cancel that trip.  Her Mom died in December so it has been a rough winter for her and we were so happy to hear that she was joining us again for the Bolivian trip.  

We went up for breakfast and spent a long time up there getting caught up on all the news.  Then we decided to get ready and go for a walk around the city as Gillian felt okay and said she was up to it.  I think she did a lot better today than we did yesterday!  We walked over to the San Francisco Church and plaza.  We took the tour through the museum which involved the church and the old monastery.  In fact there were several old monasteries as the first one was built back in the 16th century.  Others came after as the earlier ones were destroyed and then these were added to over the years.  I believe the current version is from the 18th century and the monks still use part of it as a monastery and the church is still active.  

We didn't get to tour the current monastery parts of course but we did see the cloisters, the column footings of the old buildings, some of the artifacts such as robes, chalices, crosses, etc.  We even went through the old winery area where the monks made not just wine but distilled spirits.  The tour went up to the roof area through some very narrow stone stairs and up to the bell tower.  It was interesting to see the whole complex and the surrounding area from that level.  The church itself is made of pale sandy coloured stones and the main entrance has many intricate carvings and statues.  The courtyards were all flanked by two storeys with arched balconies and the one courtyard has lots of fruit trees and medicinal plants.  The halls in the one area were a bright blue, supposedly the original colour of the time.  The floors and ceilings were tiles here but in other places they were wooden ceilings.  The outer roof tiles were red and were formed by placing the material over a man's leg to get the curve.  Different leg sizes led to different tiles but it all fit together.  There were lantern places up on the roof - three on each side and one in the middle.   From the top you could see the homes going up the sides of the hills in every direction but one and in that direction you have very high steep mountain peaks with no homes on the side.

From there we walked over to Plaza Murillo where you find a lovely open square surrounded by large impressive buildings.  The Cathedral is a newer but plainer looking building than the San Francisco Church but that is probably just hte style.  This one has few carvings on the front but does have columns and high arched windows and two towers, one on each side.  It too is made of a light stone and two tall storeys high plus another storey for the towers.  On the inside it has a long narrow nave leading to a very simple and bright altar area with a big window behind.  There are two additional aisles on each side of the central one so the church looks very wide.  The square columns are the same stone as the outside and lead to high arched ceiling that is a plain white and the floor below is a white tile so the whole church looks very bright and light.  In both churches there were services happening but there were very few people in attendance.  At the first church I thought it might be a private christening so only the family and friends were there.  At the second we wondered about a funeral as people were all dressed up, many in black, and the mood was pretty somber.

Also around the square are the National Museum of Art which is in a beautiful old building that used to be a colonial palace.  We didn't take the time to go inside.  The Government House and Legislative House, or Palaces as they call them, are also on the square.  They are very impressive buildings.  The one has stone on the ground floor and there were guards standing at the door.  The top two floors were a salmon pink colour with tall windows and white painted trim around the windows and the fake columns and decorations at the top.  The other is also three storeys high and more of a mustard yellow and white in colour and looks incredibly clean and beautiful as if it's just been painted.  It has four large columns at the front entrance where there are three high arched doorways, all below a higher clock tower.  There are other columns on the facade and they all look real as opposed to just painted decoration.  There are high arched windows on the two main floors and as this building is going up the hill, the bottom storey appears to diminish in size going in one direction.

Both of these buildings had three flags out front with the central one being the flag of Bolivia and the other two we didn't recognize.  I did hear a tour guide telling his group something about one of the flags being a flag that was put on the houses which were in support of the government and as the head of state travelled around he could stay at any of these houses and safely hold government meetings.  I guess we'll have to do the walking tour to get the real story.  There was a tall monument to peace in the centre of the square with a statue of Murilla at the top.  The monument seemed like a war memorial and had a book at the front with something written.  I am unsure of Murilla's role in the history of the city or the country and the exact meaning of the statue so I guess I'll need that tour guide again.

We continued walking and passed another old church, Santa Domingo, which was again in a light sandy brick, had carvings on the front entrance and a bell tower.    It did not appear to be open so I'm not sure it is still in use.  The street we turned down after that had neat two storey buildings with wood trim and small balconies around the windows/doors on the second floor.   They looked quite different than other buildings in the area.  We then walked down a few market streets, which were very interesting with all their wares, and just as it started raining we headed into one of the commercial centres.  It really poured after that so it was a good thing we went in.   We wasted some time there and then continued on our walk as the rain abated.  The buildings in La Paz are very colourful in pinks and blues.  Even the commercial centre which was on many floors all joined by ramps all the different vendor stalls were coloured in red, purple., orange, blue, yellow, etc.   Even the clothes they wear are the same bright colours.  I'm sure we look very drab in comparison.

I should mention that while we are walking we are climbing up and down hills all the time.  Some of them are very steep and some are more level but nothing seems to be really on the flat.   Sometimes they are just inclines but in many cases they are stairs.  The streets are paved or cobblestone and the sidewalks are cement slabs but often pieces are missing or not level so you really have to watch where you are walking.  As much as you would like to look at the scenery all the time, you really have to keep watching what you are walking on.  Of course this just means more stops more frequently so you can look at the surroundings and that's not a bad thing when you are struggling to catch your breath all the time.

We stopped for a quick lunch somewhere around the Plaza Murilla and then coffee later on and were back to the hotel by 3:30 for a well-deserved rest, certainly well deserved by Gillian who had been flying for 24 hours before arriving this morning, and had been on the go ever since.  I don't think she's going to have any problem with the high altitude sickness.  Randy is walking a lot faster today so I think he is basically acclimatized.  I'm still struggling for breath at times but it's nothing panicky.  I just feel like I'm out of shape, which of course I am.

At  6:30 we headed out for dinner.  Some Israelis we met earlier suggested a good steak restaurant so that's where we went.  We wandered down even more neat streets and alleys and climbed down a lot of stairs and finally decided that we must have missed it.  Sure enough it was back up the stairs but at least not too far.  And the walk was definitely well worth it as the food was great.  I just had a steak fired in Jack Daniels and it was cooked perfectly, very tender and very tasty.  The other two decided to share a platter and they had steak, chicken wings, pork ribs, hamburger, llama and probably something else I've forgotten.  They made a great stab at it but didn't finish it all as it was a lot of food.  And of course we also had the salad bar and potatoes with our meal so not just the meat.  We definitely needed to climb more stairs and walk back to the hotel to try and wear that meal off.  Once back at the hotel we each retired to our room to enjoy our last night of separate rooms before starting to share on the tour tomorrow.  And it doesn't look like any of us are sharing together so we'll all have new roommates if the current room bookings hold.

February 24th - 26th - Durban, South Africa to La Paz, Bolivia

We had our last breakfast in Durban at the hotel about 8:00 and tarried over it for a while.  Then we went back to our rooms to finish our packing and get ready to check out at 10:00.  Both of us put our bags in storage and we decided to go find a nice coffee place to put in time.  That turned out to be Pesto's just down the street in the same block and we sat there for an hour and a half until it was time for Randy to head back and catch the airport shuttle.  I was using their internet so stayed longer since I had a few more hours to kill.

Randy caught the shuttle at noon and flew from Durban, South Africa to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Dublin, Ireland to Washington, DC to Bogota, Colombia and finally to La Paz, Bolivia.   He was leaving at noon on the 24th and arriving at 03:00 on the 26th and covering a lot of miles in between.  His flight was booked by the travel agent through Air Canada partners and cost a fair bit of money although not too bad.  He was flying economy but trying to upgrade to first class using points.  This hadn't worked on line so he was hoping to do it at the airport.

I stayed at the restaurant until almost 3:00 in the afternoon.  My free internet was still working so I was getting some pictures uploaded which really needed to be uploaded.  I had a Hawaiian pizza for lunch and it was really good.  The restaurant wasn't busy so they didn't mind me being there so it was a great solution until my iPad ran out of battery life.  I then went back to the hotel, got my suitcase out and grabbed the top bag from it, went to the washroom area and changed into something more appropriate for flying to a cold place, repacked my suitcase and sat for about an hour charging my computer and uploading pictures very slowly (always a problem at our hotel) until I had to catch the airport shuttle at 4:00.

The airport is about a half hour away from our hotel and it was now rush hour so there was some traffic.  However,  we were still at the airport by 4:40 which was exactly two hours before my flight so lots of time.  My flight is on Aeroplan points so still with Air Canada partners and cost me about $70 Cdn in taxes, along with 55,000 points for first class all the way.  I fly from Durban to Johannesburg, South Africa to São Paulo, Brazil to Lima, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia and arrive about 01:00 on the 26th - so definitely a cheaper flight, a shorter flight and a better flight (first class) than Randy's.  And I was impressed at how easy it was to book.  I just did it all on-line.

Anyway, back at the airport I checked in and the girl at the counter tells me where the VIP lounge is.  That's a great bonus when flying first class!  The one issue we had was that the airline can only tag your bags for three places so she did the tag and said I'd have to pick up the bag in Lima, Peru.  I definitely did not want to have to do that because that is where I have about a 13 hour stop over and I didn't want to be sitting on the outside of the airport with my bag waiting to check in again two hours before my flight.   So we decided, since I'd have over an hour in Johannesburg between flights, that she would just book it that far and then I would grab it there and take it out through check-in to get new baggage tags and then go back through security and immigration to catch my flight.  

The lounge in Durban was nice and I used their free internet as well as ate their food, just some crackers and cheese, before boarding the flight.  The flight in first class was very nice and I had two chairs to myself to book - very comfortable and great service, even a hot meal even though the flight was only an hour and a half.  In Jo'burg I got my bag and had no problem exiting and going to the check-in counter to get the bag retained properly.  The wait for security and immigration was a bit longer than expected so I just had time to go directly to the gate for the flight and had to miss the pleasure of the VIP lounge there.  I did have time to buy some water and spend the last of my African Rand and use the facilities before boarding and that was really all that was necessary.

First class on this flight was amazing.  Again I had two seats to myself and so did most people on the flight except for two couples and two moms with infants.  They started offering you drinks while you were still getting settled.  I stuck with the orange juice, not the champagne.  The menu they offered had full four course meals, lighter fares and breakfast.  I jokingly asked the guy if we just ate for the full nine hours of the flight and he said pretty much if you wanted to.  I didn't want to and neither did anyone else.  I had dinner shortly after leaving Jo'burg and breakfast before arriving in São Paulo.  I read the papers they gave us as we were taking off and before dinner and again while we were landing after breakfast, and throughout the rest of the flight I slept.  The chairs folded out to become beds.  I had two pillows (mine and the seat beside me) and a lovely duvet that was ever so comfy and cuddly.   I went to the washroom a couple times on the flight but that was about it for walking around.  I never would have believed you could sleep that much on a flight but leaving in the late evening and flying east means you were in the darkness all the way, and everyone was quiet and sleeping so it was easy to do.  Yes, you heard the occasional noise like announcements for "the captain has turned on the seat belt sign" and what not but you could ignore them pretty easily.  I had their audio headsets on for a while listening to music but they were too big and bulky to sleep with so most of the time I just kept my good hear pressed to the pillows and slept soundly.

On arriving in São Paulo I went directly to the VIP lounge and spent about three hours there relaxing in the middle of the night.  Their internet was super fast so I got lots of pictures uploaded, which was a real bonus.  And of course there were snacks if needed but I didn't want much - just some of their chocolates which were made right there and delicious.  The flight from São Paulo to Lima was about 5 hours and again I had two seats to myself and the seats became beds so I slept most of the way.  I actually don't even remember whether they fed us when we got on that flight but I'm sure there was something to keep us going.  I know one person had breakfast before we arrived but I decided against that and slept a bit longer instead.  This flight left about 6 so it was just starting to get light outside.  We were still going east so we didn't get anything too bright outside and most of us had the blinds down on the windows anyway.

Once in Lima I went to the lounge but there rule was only four hours per person per ticket.  You could then buy 4 or 8 hours so I walked around the airport for a few minutes just to check out facilities and the prices for meals and then went back and paid them $80 US for 8 hours.  That plus my 4 free hours got me through the whole day from about 9 to 9 when my next flight left, and it was money well spent.  I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there as well as any other refreshments needed throughout  the day.  I had a nap in the afternoon in their sleeping room and I had a shower to freshen up.  They had an outside courtyard where you could actually breath real air instead of air conditioning.  That area was a bit hot during the main part of the day but in the evening it was lovely so I sat out there and read for about three hours.  And of course the internet was also free all day.  Unfortunately theirs was not as fast as Sao Paulo's but it was still good.   I got most of the last of my pictures backed up over the trip - down from a couple thousand to just a couple hundred on the iPad now.  

The flight from Lima to La Paz was a bit more crowded and I only got one seat, but then it was only an hour and half flight so not a problem.  I slept through most of it too. It sounds like all I did was sleep on this trip but it really amounted to about six hours on the first long leg, four hours on the second and maybe an hour on this leg so not that much over two days with a lot of breaks in between.  I arrived in LIma as scheduled, cleared customs quickly but then had to wait for quite a while because my bag didn't arrive.  The man at the counter where I was filling out the form found it though.  Instead of going to São Paulo to Lima to La Paz as the baggage tag clearly said, it went to São Paulo to Bogota to La Paz and would be in several hours later - on what I assumed was probably Randy's flight.  

While I waited for my bag I exchanged $100 US so I had some Bolivian money.   I took a cab from the airport - a charge that should be $50 Bolivianos according to the signs.  The taxi driver when I arrived said it would be $100, which I was expecting.  We eventually settled on $70.  The ride from the airport was interesting.  The airport is obviously higher than the main city so it was a long windy road coming down with the city below and we didn't waste any time on it.  Once we got into the main part of the city it was pretty deserted.  There was no one or nothing on the street of our hotel except for closed doors and security gates.  The hotel didn't look like anything great and we had to find the buzzer to let someone know we were there and come down and open the gates for us.  He eventually came so all was well.  I checked in, told him to hold the bag for me and not bring it to me when it arrived in the middle of the night and went to my room.

La Paz is so high that it is very cool and tonight it was very misty and wet feeling so my room with the windows open seemed very cold.  I closed the windows and went to bed - not much to prepare since I had no luggage.  However, I was so cold I couldn't get to sleep.  I ended up with everything I had with me on under a sheet, two blankets and a heavy bedspread.  I think the cool dampness and the late hour - probably 3 by then - and my weariness from travelling just meant I couldn't warm up.  Eventually I did go to sleep and luckily I had figured out how to set the alarm on my iPad because that's what woke me at 9.  I went down to the desk and got my suitcase and then showered and changed and went up for breakfast about 9:30, which was pretty late since it finished at 10.   Randy was there so we compared notes on our travel.  I definitely think I had the better deal, although he did get up to business class for at least part of his journey (albeit at a great cost!).

We both did some laundry after that and about noon we met to go for a slow walk around the area.  At over 12,000 feet you don't step off the plane and start running marathons, not that I ever would anyway.  The air is very thin so you have to let your body get adjusted to less oxygen.  We were out for about four hours and we stopped twice for food and drink.  Breakfast was pretty simple so we needed something more and we were supposed to keep resting and drinking lots of fluids so that's what we did.  I must have had ten cups of coca tea that day.  The coca is also supposed to help your body adjust.  As long as you can sift through the leaves in the tea cup it's not that bad a taste and it does seem to help.  Drinking lots of water helps too.  I did also take the medication the doctor in South Africa gave me - one pill yesterday morning after breakfast and one this morning after breakfast - but I really do not want to be on those for long.  Prednisone is not a nice drug and I still can't believe it can actually help the situation - unless of course you have inflamed lungs to start with, which I don't think I have, so we'll get off that as quickly as possible.

We were back in our rooms resting from about 4:30 to 6:30 and I did actually sleep again, which I didn't think I would but it was obviously needed.   Then we went for another short walk to find a place for dinner and then another short slow walk afterward through some of the market areas.  It is amazing how much they sell in tiny stalls in the city and the people carry the stuff in on their backs, unpack it, sit around selling it then pack it up and carry it out at the end of the day.  Some of the stalls are more permanent and some of the stores are proper stores but generally quite small.  We small small corner stores that carried just about everything, specialty stalls that carried just single products and what we saw was everything from pop and candy to costumes and paint and hardware to the staples of sugar and milk and bread to clothes and shoes and everything imaginable in between.  We are in a very touristy area so there are also lots of tourist spots trying to book you on tours, lots of hotels and hostels and restaurants and cafes.  It's a very busy area during the day - and crazy on some streets if you are trying to cross traffic - but seems to close down completely at night.  We haven't figured out if there are some residential units in this area or whether everyone local just comes in during the day and leaves at night doing their shopping along the way.  We may have to talk to a local to sort that out.

February 20th - 23rd -  Durban, South Africa

Saturday, February 20th

Today started out with a real rain storm and it ended with a really loud thunder storm.  In between it was incredibly windy and raining on several occasions but lightly, not like the morning or evening storms.  Because it is a weekend, the bleachers and streets are much busier now.  Heck, everything is busier.  We were no longer the only ones in the restaurant for dinner!  

Some people braved the beach today but I did not.  I went out for a walk in the morning but the wind came up so strong and there was so much junk blowing around that my contacts just couldn't handle it any more.  I'm assuming there was a lot of sand and salt blowing around too and that's probably what bothered my eyes more than the junk that was bigger and easier to avoid.  Sometimes the wind was so strong you really did think it was going to knock you over.  I confess that from my room I was laughing at people on the street but once I got down there I realized it was a struggle to walk.  My favourite person on the street was the big macho surfer who was coming off of the beach and trying to cross the street.  As long as he held his board into the wind he was okay but when he had to turn it sideways to the wind he was quite literally going sideways down the street no matter how hard he tried to control it.  And as the wind kept changing directions it was hard not to get caught facing the wrong way.

Later on I went out for another walk and went to a pharmacy to try and get some medication for high altitude travel.  I had everything else with me but I really hadn't thought much about Bolivia being at such a high altitude.  We have an 11 day trip there and all of it is over 2,500 metres and some of it over 4,000 metres.  We also have some days before the trip starts and some days after and they are over 4,000 metres.  I know I didn't do very well in Peru when I was trying to walk the Lars Trek or in Tibet when just walking up to the palace so I figured I should have some medication with me.    The pharmacist first said she didn't have any and then later decided she could get some by Monday so I could pick it up on Tuesday before we leave on Wednesday.  I was happy to hear that, and the price seemed quite reasonable.

Aside from my two forays outside I had a good day of blogging, booking flights, doing banking, clearing e-mails, and just generally cleaning up a lot of things that I hadn't gotten around to because the Internet had not been working well enough for me to accomplish anything.  Well, to that statement Randy would say that my iPad wasn't working well enough.  He had no problem with the Internet whereas I couldn't get it to work no matter what I did.  Anyway, the day disappeared and we went down the street to the closest restaurant for dinner.  The thunder storm was right above us at that point and the lightning was bright and the thunder loud.  However, we didn't get too wet either coming or going so that was good.

Sunday, February 21st

This morning after breakfast I decided I was going to go to uShaka Sea World.  The folks at our reception desk had tickets for just 150 rand or less than $15 Cdn so I bought one.  It included uShaka Wet 'n Wild as well so I wore my bathing suit and packed a towel and book and sunscreen and thought I'd make a day of it doing the world's fourth or fifth largest aquarium (sources differ on exact status) but definitely the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and have a nice cool break in a pool at Wild and Wet.

I walked down as it was just on the water front.  It was supposed to be a 15-20 minute walk but it took me more like 45 minutes so either I'm getting slower or their estimates were a bit off.  By the time I got there I was already hot and ready for a break but I decided to plan the day around the shows and feelings.  I had missed the first feeding of the day but I caught the seal show and the dolphin show and the penguin and shark feelings later in the day.  It seemed like a very confusing place to me and I actually had trouble finding the aquarium itself.  I saw where you could go into the cage and be down with the sharks - something I can't say was ever on my bucket list.   There was also a place where you could go walking on the bottom of the tanks with the fish all around you and you wearing a strange bulky looking head  sphere that did not look comfortable at all.  I also saw where you could go snorkelling about the reef pool and that seemed like it might be nice because there were lots of colourful fish in that area.  However, once I did find the aquarium I was glad I hadn't done that either as everyone down in the aquarium was looking up at all the snorkelers  at the top of the pool.

The aquarium itself was in what looked like an old boat.  When you entered you walked way down a series of ramps at the one end and then you were below and beside the tanks as you walked along.  The whole things was done as if you were in a series of ship wrecks so you had to watch out for old sunken chests and containers and the look was quite effective with the fish swimming past on both sides of the walkway.  And the walkway was quite large and the viewing windows varied in size and location.  The jelly fish and the sea horses and the rock fish were in small areas for instance while the Sharks and big fish were in huge areas.  There were crates and objects to sit on to enjoy the view and for some of the feelings you just gathered around the windows and they did commentary from the viewing area and the feelings from above.  It didn't seem like there were many people in the aquarium as it was so roomy but when it came time for a feeding and the people all gathered together there was quite a crowd. It was such a different layout to other aquariums that I found it hard to compare its size.  The aquarium we visited in Barcelona is very open with lots of light and glass everywhere.  This was like you were on the bottom of the sea among the cluster of sunken ships so it was very different.  At one point you were in the ships latrine with old toilets and sinks between the windows where the fish were swimming.  It was just very different and very enjoyable.

The seal and dolphin shows were in outside tanks and they had large stands for the audience.  These were covered so you could sit in the shade and they would certainly also help if it was raining.  They were your typical shows but really tastefully done.  The seals and dolphins showed what they could do but the commentary also gave a lot of history on the animals and told you a lot about them.  At least half of the seal show involved one seal and he showed us his ears and eyes and flippers and coat and how he swam.  The commentary was great and his actions were perfect for what was being talked about and if you didn't want to watch him directly you could get a good close up on the big screen projection to the one side so you could actually see his tiny ears and the fingernails on his flippers.  They also did a lot of talk on the environment and recycling and how important it was for the animals in the wild.  I guess the shows were good not only because the animals were cute and fun to watch but also because there was some education involved as well.  I enjoyed both shows, especially some of the synchronized moves from the five younger dolphins who were pretty darn good.  

I never did make it to Wet 'n Wild but I had lunch overlooking some of the slides and pools.  By the time I saw all of the other shows and the entire aquarium and walked around all the other pools and exhibits, it was almost closing time and I still wanted to go see the Scary Creatures exhibit.  All around uShaka Marine World there is an outdoor but covered shopping area that is huge.  One  of the new exhibits there was this scary creature one.  Basically it was just snakes and spiders and a few frogs but it was interesting.  Most of the animals were very quiet in their cages so they didn't look to scary.  The lady behind me had her flash go off when taking a photo of a cobra and he did immediately sit up and fan out his neck in attack posture so that was pretty cool.  There was one huge long cobra that was wound in a circle and his body must have been 20 inches in diameter in places.  He was unbelievably huge.  

The most interesting exhibit was a big python and he was moving because he was shedding his skin.  I had never seen that happening before so it was interesting how it just peels back and the exact design remains below and the snake just has to keep crawling and wiggling to get out of the old skin.  It looked to me like it would be very itchy but there wasn't much he could do but keep crawling along.  He was almost out of it when the place was closing.  It was right down to his tail and the coil of skin was several feet long and now dry and looking like dried skin.  A couple of us wanted to see the final moments but then the girl said the lights go off automatically so we decided maybe we wanted to be out of there before the lights went out so we left.  It was an interesting exhibit and they tried to scare you along the way with little gimmicks.  I'm sure they are treated well but most of the animals looked like they were in cages way too small for them and it just didn't seem like a nice environment.  It was also in a very strange location between all the fancy shops and restaurants in the shopping area.  I never did figure out if it was truly connected to uShaka or whether it just happened to be in the same area so they did some joint advertising.  The entrance fee was certainly separate.

Monday, February 22nd

Today was a really slow day for me.  I seemed to get a lot accomplished but it was pretty trivial stuff and I didn't do anything substantial so it seems lie a boring day.   

Sunday, January 31st - Livingstone, Zambia to Kasane, Botswana

We had a relaxing morning and didn't leave until about 9:30.  That was to allow anyone who had early helicopter or micro-light flights to finish before we departed.  For those of us who had already had our flight, we got to sleep in.  

After we'd been on the road for about ten minutes one of the guys remembered that he had forgotten his passport.  We turned around and went back to a main intersection where Gerhard, the forgetter, and Arthur, our guide, caught a taxi back to the hotel to retrieve the passport.  The rest of us went on to the customs area, about an hour drive down the road.  As we got close to the border, the traffic got heavier.  Well, if fact it was just the truck traffic that got heavier.  By the time we got through the Zambian exit point, which was pretty quick, and drove to the ferry, the others had caught up with us.  

The ferry is in no-man's land between Zambia and Botswana as the Zambezi River separates the two countries.  The ferries are very small.  Ours held two cars at front, a semi trailer, and a small van at back.  Then after the vehicles are on, all the walk-on passengers make their way between the vehicles to stand at the front where they get off first.  We had unloaded the bus and dragged our bags with us on to the ferry.  Our new bus, the one that will take us right through to Cape Town, was waiting on the other side so we loaded our bags on the bus and proceeded to Botswana immigration. That process took a bit longer but was still very quick.  No visas required and no money required so it was just a matter of getting a stamp in your passport.  After that you did have to walk through the foot disinfectant to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease but we could manage that.  We also thought it was rather strange because we all had several pairs of shoes and  we were only wearing one of them so the others certainly didn't get disinfected.  

Back to the ferry system, they had three of these small ferries working.  There were spots for four but only three were working when we were there.  The river is not very wide so it doesn't take very long to cross and the water is very calm.  We just stood with our luggage but that was fine as the trip was so short and it was a great way to enjoy the view.  

Our lodge was not far away on the other side.  We got in and had a bit of time to relax and eat some lunch.  We had stopped at the grocery store just before arriving to buy something to eat and to use the ATM.   We had a lovely courtyard with covered seats so it was a nice place to relax for a while, and the Internet worked.

At 3:30 we went out on river cruise for three hours.  The Chobe River National Park is right along the Chobe River and very green compared to the parks in South Africa.  We saw lots of animals and birds along the shore line on our three hour trip but I do't remember all of them.  I know there were lots of hippos both in the water and on land, and some of them were little ones.  Well, perhaps I should say young ones.  Even a very young hippo is not exactly "little" except in comparison to other members of its family.  We were hoping one of them would do a big yawn as we wanted a picture of how wide the jaws can open and how big their teeth are but they didn't seem to want to cooperate.  What they were doing in the water was twirling their tiny tails and it looks and sounds ridiculous but obviously it means something to them.  Perhaps they were just trying to scare away the crocodiles.  We saw several of them in the water and on the river bank.

There was also a herd of elephants with some young ones and the one teenager was hilarious.  While the rest of the herd was ignoring us, he decided he was going to scare us off.  He didn't get as carried away as the first teenager who tried that with us in another park but it was still cute to see.  No doubt someday both of these young males  will grow up to be great protectors of their respective herds.  The herd went down to the river for a drink and they were all splashing water around while they were drinking.  The littlest one couldn't exactly figure out how the trunk drinking worked so he/she just stuck his face in the water which was pretty funny to see.  Apparently there are so many muscles in an elephant's trunk that it takes 3--5 years for a title one to learn how to control them all.  In another location there were a couple of really big elephants rolling in a mud hole and they were totally covered in wet mud.  When they eventually came out they moved to another location and tried to get down into a sand pit to cover the mud with sand.  It was a good thing we were not too close to the mud hole or the sand pit because they certainly spray a lot when they are doing these activities.

The river is quite wide in places and narrower in others.  The water is very calm and the only boats seemed to be either fishermen or tourists so it was a very calm and peaceful place.  There are reeds along some of the banks and just grass in others.  The land slowly rises up from the river and then reaches some hills so it is very picturesque.  As the sun started to set we were treated to a lovely sunset behind the trees just as we were ending our tour.

We got back from our cruise just after 6:30 and just had time to shower and change and get down for happy hour before dinner at 7:30.  The meal was good but it took quite a while for everyone to be served despite the fact we had ordered before we went on the game drive so the food would all be ready when we sat down.  After dinner some people started heading back to their room and others stayed down at the bar.  Those who didn't have a flashlight with them needed some help from security because it was a dark night and it was hard to find your way from the restaurant back to the rooms.  No one stayed out too late though.  After three countries in the last three days, I think we were all ready for a good night's sleep.

Thursday, January 28th -  Matobo Hills to Hwange, Zimbabwe

I was up about 7:00, packed up and got ready to go down to breakfast.  A couple of the group went horse back riding so we were leaving at 9 when they got back.  Apparently they saw many animals and very close up as the wild animals did not mind the domesticated animals in the area.  By 9 the bus was loaded and we were on our way for a seven hour journey.

We have a bet going on as to how many times the police will stop us along the way.  Right now we are at a speed trap and our driver, Andrew, got caught speeding - so the police say but he disagrees - so had to pay a fine of $30.  They use old hand held radar guns that are calibrated not very frequently.  He tried to argue but apparently lost, or maybe he got the fine down a bit. I'm not sure.  I should also mention that the guys all got off the bus at this point for a bush break.  The ladies were more civilized and just stayed on board.

The countryside is beautiful and it's green because of the trees with all their leaves, but basically it is incredibly dry and the ground is just loose dirt.  There are big trees along the road and small bushes and trees farther away but there is very little agriculture.  The river beds are dry so there might be no chance of anything growing, although we did see a few corn and potato fields in one stretch.  There were once large farms run by the whites but they were kicked off and their farms destroyed.  I don't know whether any of those were in this area at one time.

There are several hot springs in southern Africa and we passed near some of them.  Most are about 36 degrees but the hottest one is actually 95 degrees!!!  We passed through the town of Luponi - not a big town but it has a university so lots of young people around.

We drove near the largest lake in the country.  It is now only at 12% of capacity, which is bad for the agriculture in the area but is good from other perspectives as the dam at the head of the lake was damaged by a recent earthquake.  If it breaks it will wipe out a whole lot of Zimbabwe and Mozambique because it would flow into a large damned lake in Mozambique and likely cause that dam to collapse as well.  Hopefully they can get things fixed before that happens!

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Our hotel is very nice and it is right on a watering hole in Hwange National Park, which is Zimbabwe's largest game reserve.  The hotel itself is really nice and there are large yards in the front and back.  In the back toward the watering hole there are benches so you can relax and enjoy the action and their are floodlights for night viewing.  There is also a lookout that you can climb up to and watch from chairs up there.  You didn't really even have to go that far though.  Most of the rooms had a view of the watering hole and could see the animals as they came along.  We had a few too many trees in front of us so we had to get out to actually see anything.   In my few viewings I saw lots of zebra and Impala and some elephants.  There were likely other animals too but I did not see them.  

The baboons were all over the yards at times.  There were hundreds of them and they were old and large to very young and small.  They were fun to watch but you certainly couldn't leave anything outside your room or leave your windows or doors open or they were liable to come for a visit and try to take something.  There was quite a mess when some of them got into some garbage and started helping themselves to the contents.  Even in the main atrium of the lobby they had a tree that was just full of yellow birds and their nests.  I believe they were weaver birds but I'm not sure.  The funny thing with them was that they kept singing their little song and flipping upside down while they were singing.

That afternoon we went on a game drive to see more of the park.  We started out driving past the watering hole and then continued on our way down numerous roads and trails in 4x4 safari vehicles.  It had rained recently and was indeed spitting while we were driving.  This apparently makes the animals very happy and the impalas were leaping and running around each other, the zebras were running and play fighting and the wildebeests were chasing each other.  They looked like they were having a great time so they were fun to watch.  We also saw jackals, impalas, water bucks, Malibu storks, crocodiles, kudus, wild or painted dogs, Guinea fowl and other birds as well.

At one point we were driving down a road beside a cleared area with large hydro towers in it.  The towers were full of baboons.  As we approached they didn't know whether we were friend or foe so they started climbing down the poles.  A couple of them even grabbed some of the zip lines and rode them down to the ground.  This was fun to watch but probably scary for them.  Apparently they climb up the towers at night so the leopards cannot get them.  We never saw any leopards on any part of our drive but I'm sure as soon as we drove past the hydro towers the baboons all went climbing up them again.

The most entertaining part of the drive was a herd of elephants.  It's always fun to talk watch them at any time and they had lots of different ages in the herd including some babies.  However, the one who really had us intrigued was a young male elephant, probably a teenager according to the guide.  This young male decided to save the herd from us so he was faking charges at our vehicle and trying to look really mean and menacing.  He even trumpeted us a few times to try and scare us away.  We were simply amused by his antics but it got even funnier when he stepped across a downed tree or log and then got stuck on it when he couldn't get his back feet over it.  He tried a few times to free himself and we were not very helpful as we were laughing at him but then I'm not sure he really knew that was what we were doing.  Eventually he did free himself, gave us one last charge, trumpeted us and then quickly turned and ran off to his mother.  He was incredibly cute to watch.

Although there were some great sights on the drive and we all enjoyed it, the drive itself was way too long and the driver was going way too fast.  We would see things and yell stop but by the time he got stopped and backed up the animals had run off.  Most of the time he was just going so fast that you really couldn't see anything and you certainly couldn't T take any pictures.  I would have preferred covering less ground at a slower pace.  We had a lovely sunset while we were out on the drive and after that it was virtually impossible to see anything, especially given how fast we were going.

We got back to the hotel with about half an hour to spare before meeting in the lounge for a drink to celebrate Eva's birthday.  About half an hour after that we were supposed to have dinner.  We had all ordered so it should have been pretty quick and well organized but it wasn't.  We waited a really long time and then some people received their food and had eaten it before others were even served.  Aside from the logistics it was a a great meal.  A few stayed up to party after dinner but most people were simply ready for bed after another long travel day.

Saturday, January 23rd - Kruger National Park, South Africa

5:15 wake-up call this morning but not to the sound of the drums.  Another group had arrived last night about 1:30 a.m. And they were still sleeping so someone had to walk around to all of our tents and make sure we were up instead of pounding the drums.  Because we were leaving at 6:30 we had a bagged breakfast and it was actually good, unlike many bagged breakfasts.  We had a juice box, hard boiled egg, yogurt, ham and cheese sandwich, cereal bar and an apple.  It served as both breakfast and lunch for me and for most of us.  I did have an ice cream at some point in the afternoon though.  

We left Shalati and drove for about an hour and a half to get to the closest entrance to Kruger National Park.  The area is very dry and desperately needs rain but the villages look prosperous.  The homes are made of brick and most of them are quite large and substantial.  Some of them are certainly bigger than my condo but the guide said there were probably several families or an extended family in each one.  The main money earners might work and live away most of the time so grandparents or aunts and uncles would be watching the children in the family while the others were away working.

The road was good as we drove along.  All of the South Africa roads were great.  As we drove along the first 1.5 hours we saw animals to our left, which was the direction of the park.  That surprised all of us but for for a while we were again driving beside one of the private reserves that ties on to Kruger so the animals were right there.  Going into the park was simple but then our guide had already gather our signatures and details so he was ready for the entrance.  I don't know what the entrance fee was but I'm sure it was worth it.  So far their parks have been wonderful.

The bus can only stay on the main road so we had to drive for many hours and expected that we wouldn't see much.  Boy were we wrong.  We saw four of the big five and a lot of others.  And they were close to the road for pictures and we saw lots of action and interaction.  We saw lions, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, bush bucks, kudus, impalas, elephants, wildebeest, Cape buffalo,  rhinos, hippos, vultures and lots of other birds birds whose names I can never remember, and no doubt a few other things that I am forgetting now. 

We drove past and over a lot of dry river beds in the park.  We also saw some rivers with water in them and small watering holes.  That's where we hoped to find many of the animals but in fact we didn't.  They all seemed to be along the roadside instead.  We got out of the bus and walked across the one bridge over a very large river bed.  It is apparently the only place where you are allowed to get out of your vehicles but you must stay within the yellow lines at each end of the bridge.  I guess the animals don't often come on the bridge so it is considered safe territory.  Anyway, we did see a bush buck and a hippo along that stream, and we also saw a lot of antelope.  The water flowed shallowly through several streams in the wide river bed and at one point when the impalas or antelope were leaving they were leaping over the one stream and it was beautiful to see them stretch up into the air to clear the distance.  They were very graceful and seemed to jump so easily.

Everyone in the park was trying to find shade.  Even under the smallest trees you would find an animal.  Here an elephant in the shade of a small tree.  There three elephants or a warthog family in some other shade.  There some impalas and zebras sharing the shade.  During the heat of the day all the animals take it easy and relax a bit.

As it is winter/spring in South Africa, there were lots of little ones around and they were cute to see.  The little impalas are so tiny you wonder how their match-like legs ever hold them up.  They turn and they literally disappear when you are not looking at them from the side.  There is just nothing there.  The baby warthogs are probably as ugly as their parents but they seem so cute as they run as fast as their little legs will carry them to keep up with mom and dad.  And all of the elephants help the baby elephants.  They are a true family unit and always stay together - except for the males who have to go off on their own and join with other males until it is time for them to have their own herd.

The cutest babies of all were the lion cubs we found sitting at the bottom of a thicket of trees int eh shade.  There were 4 or 5 of them but it was hard to know for sure when they were all in a heap.  They looked quite content and happy.  They would sometimes put their head up and look at us but generally they just seemed to ignore us.  We assumed their mother or mothers were off hunting or perhaps just nearby resting but they obviously felt the Cubs were safe on their own where they were.  We watched them for quite awhile but eventually we had to move on.  Besides, sleeping lions are really not that exciting to watch even if they are cute little cubs with adorable faces.

We later saw three female lions - probably not the mother(s) of the cubs given how far away they were - who looked like they were sleeping under a tree in the  shade, totally unconcerned about anything around them.  Occasionally one of them would lift their head or get up but then lay right back down.  We thought they were being very lazy but then we realized it was all a ploy and they were actually keeping a casual watch on the situation around them.  Suddenly two of them took of quietly in two different directions: one away from our vehicle and one straight for it.  It was obvious they were on a hunting expedition and there were lots of impalas in the area so we assumed they were the target.  The lion near us got really close to the vehicle and we had to close our windows.  He wasn't four feet away from us and he was definitely in the attack stance by the time he crossed the road.  The other lion took off running and so did the impalas.  I think the lions expected them to run towards us and then the lion at our end could cut them off.  However, the impalas had different plans and ran directly away from the road so the lions were left empty handed.  It was exciting to watch the hunt unfold but I think most of us were quite happy not to have a successful attack.  

  

We arrived at our hotel, a lodge within the park, about 3 p.m.  Some went off on an afternoon game drive with the park folks and some just on the bus with our driver.  We did not go on any drive but rather enjoyed the resort and got caught up on some pictures and blogging.  We were doing the night drive later in the day and the morning drive very early in the morning so we didn't think we needed any more than that.

We had dinner in the restaurant and it was fantastic.  The menu was huge with lots of choices for food and drink, and the prices were higher than what we have been paying but still reasonable.  The restaurant overlooks the river, which is very low right now, but there is still water in it and the animals do come to it.  We didn't see many but there were a few.  

At 8  we  went off on our night drive.  We saw some hippos, kudus, impalas and other large animals but mainly we were there to look at the smaller animals.   As we were in the dark we had to use spotlights and watch for the reflections of eyes in the dark.  We didn't do a great job of spotting things but our driver/guide did pretty well.  Of course we saw the usual groups of impalas and small antelopes but we also so a very small one whose name I have now forgotten.  We saw what they call the African kangaroo.  It's actually a spring hare and small but it really does hop like a kangaroo.  And we saw a badger as well but he moved out of our way very quickly.  Unfortunately I do not remember anything else we might have seen and I can't look at pictures to get an idea since it was too dark to take pictures.  However, I do know it was an interesting experience and well worth doing.    

By the time we got back to the hotel it was time for bed so that was the end of another great day.  We have been so lucky with seeing animals that we all wonder how long our luck will last.  I guess we'll find out tomorrow on our next drive.

February 17th to 19th - Durban, South Africa

Wednesday, February 17th

Breakfast was between 7 and 9 this morning and I made it down about 8:15.  I had a good sleep but not long enough.  For some reason the Internet started working just as I was about to shut off the lights.  Then I was awake many times during the night trying to keep my computer alive and uploading pictures.  I should have just slept because I think I only got about 1 loaded over an eight hour period.  What a bother.

Breakfast was good and Randy then took off for a long walk along the beach front to see what he could discover.  I stayed behind as it was again misting.  Besides I was more interested in finding a massage place and having my hair cut.  The ladies at the front desk helped me with that so I knew where I was supposed to be going.  However, I got side-tracked.

I did some internet since it was working for a change and tried to upload some pictures.  That was an incredibly slow process and took hours for just 12 pictures.  I then decided I just had to be brave and delete all the Cape Town pictures and hope I remembered to get them later off my memory card.  Doing that freed up a bit more memory on the iPad and the internet speed did improve - a bit - for a while.  Eventually, as I was starting to fall asleep, I decided I might as well go do the afternoon city bus tour since the weather was clearing.  

The Rickshaw bus is Durban's equivalent of a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus except you don't have much of an opportunity to hop on or off.  The trip is 2.5 to 3 hours depending on traffic and there are two stops: one for 30 minutes and one for 10 minutes.  Randy refused to get on a bus so soon after our bus trip but I decided this would be a good way to see the city.  There were less than a dozen people on the afternoon bus so there was lots of room.  The commentary comes from a man with a microphone as opposed to on tape, so everyone around us on the street could hear what was being said.  Luckily the commentary was in English so I could hear and understand it.

We started off driving along the waterfront.  The overall area is called the Golden Mile because of all the golden sand but it's really about 6 km in length so I'm not sure where the "mile" comes from.  There are lots of hotels, restaurants and shops on the side of the road across from the beach.  On the beach side of the road there is a lovely wide promenade with tiled design, palm trees and a lot of golden sand.  In some places the beach is really wide in in other places it is more narrow.  There are several places with pools and other entertainment along the water.  There are piers every so often along the length of the beach and between the piers there are different beaches.  Some are swimming beaches while others are fishing or surfing beaches.  That tells you the waves are pretty big so I'm not likely to spend much time in the water or get in too deep.  It appears that the waves could swamp you even if the water was only up to your knees.  Today it wouldn't matter which one you went to because they were all pretty empty.  Even the life guards were hard to find, although they were indeed present I'm sure.

At the end of the stretch of beach you have Ushaka, which appears to be an aquarium (the fifth largest in the world), a marine world, water parks, rides and other entertainment.  And behind that, on the other side of the point you have Durban harbour, which is the 9th largest in port in the world.  Who knew?  It certainly stretched a long distance and there were a lot of large ships and cranes and containers and cars so it's certainly a busy place.  

From there we drove up and down the streets of Durban and I can't begin to remember what all we saw.  There were lots of old buildings, maybe around 1900, down by the harbour and they had real character with their arched windows/doors and upper-level verandas.   There were also a lot of new shiny high rises towering above them and there were also statues and monuments in various locations.  Some of the streets were narrow and some of them were wide boulevards.  There were lots of shopping areas and the one by the railway station seemed to stretch forever with street vendors as well as those in the covered market area.  Some of the old brick buildings were quite spectacular with different coloured bricks creating the design.  The area around City Hall was very nice with its old brick buildings.  I shall have to visit it at some point as it includes a gallery, a museum and an auditorium, as well as other things.

We had our first stop at a small mall and with just 30 minutes we had time to find the washrooms and then grab a quick bite to eat before getting back on the bus.   After that it started to rain and most people deserted the open upper-level for more covered seats.  I stayed behind with my rain coat on and did very well.  It was warm enough and windy enough up there that the rain dried almost instantly.  However, when we hit a few tree branches along the way I did get a bit wetter.  Our next stop was just at a lookout to take some quick pictures of the city below.  Given the weather situation it was hard to even see the city below but I wasted some pictures anyway.  

We went through the ritzy neighbourhoods and the poorer ones, the high ones and the low ones, past some lovely parks and gardens and then back to the ocean promenade again.  It was a very nice tour, despite the weather, and I'm glad I went as Durban is very large (almost 4 million) so I likely won't make it to all of these places.  The Zulus make up most of the population but then the next largest is Indian.  Being on the Indian Ocean brought a lot of trade and people from India and many of them stayed.  You can certainly see their influence on the city and on the food.  

I got back to the hotel, relaxed for a while and then we went out to dinner.  On the bus tour we had passed the Durban Spa and it was next to a Spur restaurant and not too far away so that's where we went for dinner so I could check out the spa at the same time.  Of course the spa was closed when we got there but dinner was good anyway and now I know where the spa is.

Thursday, February 18th 

This morning was another slow morning with a leisurely breakfast about 8:00.  After that I went off to the Durban Spa to see if they could help me out today.  As it turned out they weren't too busy so I got a lower leg waxing, a full-body massage and a hair cut, wash and style.  Together, including tips, it cost about 750 rand or about $75.  The massage alone would cost more than $100 in Kelowna so it was a good deal.  The girl didn't do nearly as good a job on the hair but it's once again really short so should be fine for next month of travelling.

After that I went to the China Mall, where I was told I could find a new backpack (zipper broke on mine and some shoelaces) but the name says it all.  There were lots of shops but the goods were cheap Chinese products and nothing that would last very long.  The mall was half empty and looked like it was in pretty bad shape.  I thought I might get some lunch at the food court but it was all boarded up.  This was a five-storey mall so it looked like it should have been good but it definitely left a lot to be desired.  The area around it was not too nice either with people sleeping on the street and lots of others just standing around doing nothing.  I didn't stay long but quickly walked back to the hotel and spend another slow afternoon trying to upload pictures.  

It started raining in the late afternoon, a real thunderstorm, so we went to the nearest restaurant for dinner - Indian food that was really good.  When we left we had to hurry back as it was really raining but we didn't get too wet as we were so close.  

Friday, February 19th

This morning I woke up a bit earlier because the sun was actually shining and it was a beautiful day.  However, once I got up I had a few minutes of panic.  Suddenly I thought I should be packed and ready to go because we'd already had two nights here.  It actually took me a few minutes to wake up or calm down enough to realize I wasn't on the bus tour and I really didn't have to pack up and leave right away.  What a strange sensation!

I went down to breakfast about 7:30 and then, after a lovely breakfast and break staring at the ocean, I decided to go to the beach.  I wanted to go in swimming so I walked down to the swimming beach past the fishing beach and the surfing beach.   There were actually two designated swimming areas and they were pretty small but there were not a lot of people out.  The lifeguards were on duty and several times they had to remind people to stay between the signs and in shallow water.  I of course didn't have to be reminded as I only got about knee deep and the waves at that level were enough for me.  I got totally soaked and cooled off so that was good.  The water temperature is about 20 degrees as Durban is on the Indian Ocean.  Cape Town waters are much colder as they are on the Atlantic Ocean.  The sand is a very fine grain and beautiful here, although it does get very hot.  I only last for a while with my sunscreen and the ocean to cool me off before I had to move to the shade farther from the water. Two ladies from Jo'burg joined me in the shade and said the water is generally much calmer.  Maybe we'll get to experience some of that before we leave.

I went back to the room, showered, opened the windows and door of my room and relaxed in the cool breeze.  Then about 2:30 I wandered down to a nearby cafe that has internet so I could actually get some work done a bit faster.  I also had some lunch there.  I took the slightly longer walk back via the beach and a bank machine but then enjoyed a few more hours in my cool room.  Dinner was back down on the beach and that was the end of another fine day in Durban.  Not much to report so combining days in one blog is a good idea.