tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1737185735433830502024-03-13T22:47:54.795-07:00Working in Beauty RSA & NamibiaUtemikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09578504472525149131noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173718573543383050.post-10867335096170765722008-02-27T15:26:00.000-08:002010-08-06T15:37:56.288-07:00Working in Beauty- South Africa and NamibiaAs always, click on any picture to see details...<br /><br />(N or S, E or W) indicates Google earth coordinates. Turn on the layers that show the little blue dots indicating pictures, much better than the ones I have taken.<br /><br />Leaving <st1:placename st="on">Salt</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> 9 am over the Uintahs, only east-west mountain range in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> (Except Brooks Range in Alaska, thanks Tony D), though I don’t know why.<span style=""> <edit> </edit></span>I spot highway 191 climbing the ridge out of Vernal, Flaming Gorge frozen in the background.<span style=""> </span>We’re still in the West, I know where I am by looking out the window.<span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Split</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype></st1:place> passes below just as it passed above John Wesley Powell and his small boats less than 150 years ago.<span style=""> </span>Then <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Dinosaur</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">National Monument</st1:placetype></st1:place>, where 2 of 3 staff paleontologists were laid off last week and the showpiece building over the beautiful quarry sits empty and condemned.<span style=""> </span>The paleontologists were laid off because the building was closed because the park didn’t have the money to fix it because there’s a hole in the budget where all the money goes…. <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>Flew from a cold <st1:city st="on">Salt Lake City</st1:city> to a warm <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>20 hours on a plane (in the tourist cabin) one week after a knee operations.<span style=""> </span>Yeah, I’m stupid and no one was with me….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I had a new toy this trip.<span style=""> </span>Though I’m a gadget guy, I seldom get excited or make recommendations.<span style=""> </span>I will do so now.<span style=""> </span>I got a Sony PRS-505 electronic book.<span style=""> </span>The thing is so cool!<span style=""> </span>There are numerous places on the web you can download text files of classics and books with expired copyrights for free.<span style=""> </span>This gizmo will also store pdf and rtf files, so you can load on company documents you may need to refer to.<span style=""> </span>I haven’t had time to try maintenance manuals to see how they come across (you can choose 3 sizes of print for those “older” eyes), but I’m planning to.<span style=""> </span>All this is in a 6 x 9 or so format that is easy to read and carry.<span style=""> </span>I have 88 books and documents in it now, including the CIA factbook for each country I am planning to visit and several Mark Twain and Phillip K Dick books.<span style=""> </span>I’m reading Twain’s “Roughing It,” great travel writing though he writes with the prejudices of his time.<span style=""> </span>Anyway, you carry all this in a thing as big as an address book and it’s very easy to use.<span style=""> </span>If you are a reader and you travel, buy one now!<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><br />Mark Twain is marveling at the speed of the railroad across the prairies compared to the stage he took not so many years before.<span style=""> </span>He describes his journey along the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">North Platte</st1:place></st1:city> at a grand 15 miles per hour by rail, so much quicker than stage, as I fly above at 500 miles per hour, so jaded by the experience I feel I’m in a flying bus and I don’t appreciate what it allows me to do.<span style=""> </span>I read of his journey from <st1:city st="on">St. Joe</st1:city>, <st1:state st="on">Missouri</st1:state> to <st1:city st="on">Salt Lake City</st1:city> (15 days by stage, 8 days by rail) in the 4 hours it has taken me to fly from <st1:city st="on">Salt Lake City</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Atlanta</st1:place></st1:city>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I thought I kind of knew African geography, but had to admit when they announced the flight was going to land for fuel in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Dakar</st1:city>, <st1:country-region st="on">Senegal</st1:country-region></st1:place> I wasn’t sure exactly where I was headed.<span style=""> </span>I had heard of the Paris Dakar motorcycle Race, but never much worried about exactly where it was.<span style=""> </span>I know now, thanks to the little GPS map in the back of the seat in front of me.<span style=""> </span>8 hours later, we landed on a spit of land that points toward <st1:city st="on">Atlanta</st1:city>, on the far western side of the continent of Africa that points generally toward <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Costa Rica</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>Though a long flight, we still had another 8 hours to go to get to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>Following a 4 hour flight from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Salt</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place>, the notion of building air miles with 2 more 8 hour segments loses its appeal…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cities on the western fringe.<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on">Dakar</st1:city> is joined on the screen by El Aaiun, <st1:city st="on">Nouakchott</st1:city>, <st1:city st="on">Banjul</st1:city>, Bissou, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Conakry</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>Heard of a couple of them, couldn’t tell you a thing about any of them.<span style=""> </span>And I still won’t know, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dakar</st1:place></st1:city> is just a fueling stop.<span style=""> </span>I know I need a new perspective.<span style=""> </span>Economist Magazine described the “year of the potato,” led by <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Peru</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on">China</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> are the two largest global producers of potatoes.<span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> on the move.<span style=""> </span>Advances with bed nets and anti-retroviral drugs. 60-80% of the people that need them, get them, though behaviors are not changing.<span style=""> </span>If you want to help, go to givewell.net first.<span style=""> </span>Too many NGO’s (non-govenmental organizations), too many are scams for the participants.<span style=""> </span>Self-supporting through your donations, but what do those donations buy?<span style=""> </span>For the price of a plane ticket for some shiny-faced<span style=""> </span>young volunteer, you can buy 2500 treated bed nets to stop malaria.<span style=""> </span>It's economics.<span style=""> </span>And greed.<span style=""> </span>Like anywhere with many who have nothing, those with an opportunity to grab more will.<span style=""> </span>Whether given by govenments or NGO’s and taken by governments and NGO’s; much of the money doesn’t get where it’s going.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gil Scott-Heron live on the ipod.<span style=""> </span>Live in 1990, full of hope as democracy turns out in Eastern Europe, Nelson Mandala is released from prison, the world is a hopeful place.<span style=""> </span>The genius that is the man that invented rap when it meant something is in clear voice and full of hope, temporarily between bouts of heroin addiction and time in prison.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I survived and landed in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city></st1:place> at 5 pm, the sun shining between large thunderheads on a beautiful green landscape.<span style=""> </span>Clearing customs, I met my ride and we proceeded to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pretoria</st1:place></st1:city>, about 60 miles north.<span style=""> </span>Along the way were rolling green hills, fields of corn and sunflowers.<span style=""> </span>Kind of looked like 60 miles of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> </span>Had that same haziness you see during the humid summer time in the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sacramento</st1:place></st1:city> valley when the air is just too thick to see through for very far.<span style=""> </span>The driver was telling me that houses are being built at an amazing pace, and it was easy to see that was true in <st1:city st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city> as well as <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Pretoria</st1:place></st1:city>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I checked into the Lariba Lodge, a beautiful place far too nice for this old miner.<span style=""> </span>( 25°50'48.34"S 28°10'41.60"E) </p><p class="MsoNormal">Thatched roof, green gardens full of trees and birds.<span style=""> </span>Many of the trees had helpful name tags on them, but they couldn’t seem to get the birds to cooperate in the effort.<span style=""> </span>The porter that took me to my room saw a message envelope waiting for me with my last name on it and spoke to me in Afrikaans, assuming that someone named Bernard would know the language.<span style=""> </span>I should have been a real spy instead of just a military spy.<span style=""> </span>In <st1:country-region st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> they take me for French, in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> I pass for Afrikaans (at least until I open my Midwestern mouth).<span style=""> </span>You always read the CIA is looking for ordinary people that blend in….</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X0BLBTA3I/AAAAAAAAAEI/NPz0GnUlt0o/s1600-h/IMG_1780.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X0BLBTA3I/AAAAAAAAAEI/NPz0GnUlt0o/s320/IMG_1780.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171808048080159602" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I left <st1:placename st="on">Salt</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype> at 8 am Tuesday morning, I arrived in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Pretoria</st1:city></st1:place> about 6:30 Wednesday evening.<span style=""> </span>The trick to time zones is to stay up until you would normally go to bed.<span style=""> </span>Not a problem as I go to sleep around 9 or 10.<span style=""> </span>I made it until 9:30, after a very nice dinner that included a Springbok Carpaccio appetizer.<span style=""> </span>I knew a springbok was an animal, so I was good to go with my carnivorous habits, but it wasn’t until later I was sure it was a type of antelope.<span style=""> </span>I won’t forget now.<span style=""> </span>Watched a bit of news.<span style=""> </span>Developed a new perspective.<span style=""> </span>The UN Security Council was trying to pass a resolution for more restrictions on <st1:country-region st="on">Iran</st1:country-region>, but wouldn’t share the text of the resolution with <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> – a member of the council.<span style=""> </span>How does this stuff happen?<span style=""> </span>Breakfast the next morning was buffet style, where I got to try passion fruit (had to ask what it was after trying it and liking it) – about the size of a kiwi fruit, cut in half to reveal seeds in a triangular arrangement.<span style=""> </span>It had a sweet and sour taste at the same time that was nice.<span style=""> </span>Hopefully it is healthy too, since I had another….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Work had to be done, so I went and did that.<span style=""> </span>Traveling north to Peitersburg where we overnighted in another nice roadhouse style motel with several units and a pool.<span style=""> </span>Oh, and peacocks.<span style=""> </span>I was told they would screech me awake in the morning, but my traveling companions didn’t know how early I got up.<span style=""> </span>Interestingly, the sun was shining early and I walked out to catch the peacocks sunning themselves in the morning sun, wings partly spread, just as I had seen buzzards do on a corral fence in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nevada</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style=""> ( 23°58'24.95"S 29°27'32.84"E)</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X037BTA5I/AAAAAAAAAEY/w-CVEogO-1E/s1600-h/IMG_1794.JPG"> </a></p><p class="MsoNormal">After a healthy breakfast, we were on to Lebowakgomo to visit a job site.<span style=""> </span>Stopping at the camp, I was treated to (sounds like pup)<sounds like="" no="" idea="" of="" proper="" spelling="">, a dietary staple.<span style=""> </span>It had a familiar taste to it and I asked what it was.<span style=""> </span>Corn porridge, Grits!<span style=""> </span>The locals seemed surprised I was eating with gusto, but they brought me a big old pan with meat.<span style=""> </span>They cook it up a little thicker, but all the same.<span style=""> </span>I heard later they liked it that the gringo was eating their camp food; chalk it up to my time in <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">West Virginia</st1:state></st1:place> and Bob Evans breakfasts.</sounds></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X0WLBTA4I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/RhoOuJ5ixyY/s1600-h/IMG_1788.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X0WLBTA4I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/RhoOuJ5ixyY/s320/IMG_1788.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171808408857412482" border="0" /></a><br /><sounds like="" no="" idea="" of="" proper="" spelling=""></sounds></p><p class="MsoNormal"><sounds like="" no="" idea="" of="" proper="" spelling=""><br /></sounds></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t get any pictures, but it was here I saw my first and only African wildlife.<span style=""> </span>A family of a half-dozen baboons had taken up residence under a tree by the roadside. Traffic didn’t seem to bother them and people weren’t even slowing down to look.<span style=""> </span>I did see some graceful gazelles on road signs, appearing ready to leap from the red-rimmed triangle and right onto the road.<span style=""> </span>A more striking sign was a small yellow sign on a tall fence by the side of the road.<span style=""> </span>It reappeared about every 100 yards and said simply “Danger” over an outline of a large-maned lion.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After a day on this job site, we began to travel to another.<span style=""> </span>Passing through a small town, there was a bright red Vodaphone box, about the size of the Coke trailer at a high school football game.<span style=""> </span>Now it was Friday and market day.<span style=""> </span>Lots of young people lined up at the Vodaphone box to buy minutes on their cell phones.<span style=""> </span>There was also internet access available at the box.<span style=""> </span>I had read how places like Africa and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> had leapfrogged technology, bypassing telephone lines entirely.<span style=""> </span>Here was proof of what is happening in the world.<span style=""> </span>The MTV culture is alive too, as the kids were dressed just like kids in the states, for summer.<span style=""> </span>The adults were wearing good clothes, men in white shirts and sometimes ties, women in colorful dresses and scarves, sometimes with bags, bundles and branches on their heads as they walked home with perfect posture.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X2QLBTA7I/AAAAAAAAAEo/S6uEngL2sjE/s1600-h/IMG_1801.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X2QLBTA7I/AAAAAAAAAEo/S6uEngL2sjE/s320/IMG_1801.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171810504801452978" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The area we were passing through was the homelands area, similar to reservations in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> during apartheid.<span style=""> </span>The first thing that struck me was how clean and prosperous it was.<span style=""> </span>There are many platinum mines in the area and a few chromium mines.<span style=""> </span>There is very little trash or litter on the roadside and the many houses are well kept, usually with a small garden but some with shrubs and flowers all around the house.<span style=""> </span>Many are simple houses, constructed of mud bricks.<span style=""> </span>Even those are undergoing expansion, with new bricks drying in the sun.<span style=""> </span>Quite a few of the larger houses are made with traditional brick and we passed a huge brick factory that seemed to be doing well.<span style=""> </span>Nearly every car we saw was new, something my host hadn’t noticed until I pointed it out.<span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a country on the move.<span style=""> </span>Interestingly, the discordant notes are blamed on illegal immigrants, the result of a failure to control the borders.<span style=""> </span>One especially rude guy in a fast-food hamburger joint was said to be Nigerian, someone South Africans didn’t need.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X2v7BTA8I/AAAAAAAAAEw/dNPh7EMnWS8/s1600-h/IMG_1820.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X2v7BTA8I/AAAAAAAAAEw/dNPh7EMnWS8/s320/IMG_1820.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171811050262299586" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In Burgersfort, we stayed in another beautiful lodge, high on the mountainside with birds all around and frogs singing in the creek.<span style=""> </span>My traveling companion asked to be sure we were not in the lodge he had stayed in the last time because the duck pair nesting there had woken him up early.<span style=""> </span>The view from the room was without compare, and our hostess prepared a wonderful home-cooked meal of rice and stew that filled and satisfied.<span style=""> </span>The next morning I enjoyed coffee by the pool while the rest of the crew jogged down the hill and back up (just had knee surgery donchaknow, best excuse there is- especially when your knee is as large as a thigh).<span style=""> </span>The birds were up early, including one pair that seemed to be growling one minute, then had a flute-like whistle the next.<span style=""> </span>No, I can’t describe it better than that. ( 24°40'23.94"S 30°19'7.62"E)<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X3xLBTA-I/AAAAAAAAAFA/JEpvnGiOAtI/s1600-h/IMG_1826.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X3xLBTA-I/AAAAAAAAAFA/JEpvnGiOAtI/s320/IMG_1826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171812171248763874" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X3aLBTA9I/AAAAAAAAAE4/wGMyrnmedjw/s1600-h/IMG_1831.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X3aLBTA9I/AAAAAAAAAE4/wGMyrnmedjw/s320/IMG_1831.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171811776111772626" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X4kbBTA_I/AAAAAAAAAFI/W2YQkfUw-_M/s1600-h/IMG_1835.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X4kbBTA_I/AAAAAAAAAFI/W2YQkfUw-_M/s320/IMG_1835.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171813051717059570" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">We visited a camp under construction Saturday morning.<span style=""> </span>It made me proud to know the company I work for cares about our employees enough to work as hard as they have on the camp to make the conditions right.<span style=""> </span>We are setting the example for <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> with camps like these and will change how things are done, one contract at a time.<span style=""> </span>After the camp visit, we headed for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:city> with a stop on the way.<span style=""> </span>I had time to notice more things on this Saturday drive.<span style=""> </span>Every church seemed to be busy, some with busses parked in front.<span style=""> </span>This is a very Christian nation, with some church-goers proclaiming their affiliation with small steel badges on their shirts.<span style=""> </span>My host explained that AIDS continues to take a toll, with funerals almost every weekend.<span style=""> </span>I was only just digesting this when we passed the scene of an accident, the ambulance stopped with its doors open, family members running to the roadside and the small, lifeless body of a young girl around 6 or 8 years old lying by the roadside near the bumper of a “combi’ or taxi van common in South Africa.<span style=""> </span>My host explained there would be no help in stopping, and the taxi driver could only pray the police would arrive before he was beaten to death or “necklaced,” a practice from the apartheid days reserved now for times like this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lest anyone think my host was an unfeeling remnant of the old regime, he was a “trade unionist,” an early white member of the ANC and firebrand of the revolution in the early 90’s.<span style=""> </span>I won’t relay all his stories, except to say he is proud to pay for the dental implants made necessary by a severely broken jaw in those times and speaks only reverently of “Mr Mandala,” nervous about the day when that great gentleman, now 90, passes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Arriving back at the Lariba Lodge Saturday night, it had been a long day and I crashed.<span style=""> </span>Sunday is laundry day on the road.<span style=""> </span>I’m still getting the “road warrior” routine down, but I have picked up a few pointers.<span style=""> </span>If you will be somewhere for a few days, use the hotel laundry.<span style=""> </span>The do a great job and they are quick.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately, most do not have weekend coverage and that is the time I usually spend more than one day somewhere.<span style=""> </span>Time to do “mike laundry.”<span style=""> </span>I fill the sink and knead and squeeze each article of clothing for as long as seems necessary, refilling the sink between “loads.”<span style=""> </span>I then wring it out, lay it flat on a towel and roll it up in the towel.<span style=""> </span>Putting my big feet to work, I stand on the center and work my way to the outside of the roll a couple times, unroll and hang to dry.<span style=""> </span>Even jeans will dry in a day this way, just have to remember to do laundry early.<span style=""> </span>The other travel item I have purchased is the high-dollar, ex-officio underwear.<span style=""> </span>It’s some sort of stretchy stuff that dries overnight.<span style=""> </span>I take 4 pair of these, they take up about as much room as 2 pairs of socks.<span style=""> </span>I change daily and wash every night in case I end up in a time or place I can’t get to it.<span style=""> </span>Much better than the old “front side, back side, inside, outside” from scouts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X5F7BTBAI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/hl3PgelcvSE/s1600-h/IMG_1840.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X5F7BTBAI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/hl3PgelcvSE/s320/IMG_1840.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171813627242677250" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I had the best customer service experience of all my travels to date in the Lariba Lodge.<span style=""> </span>I bought wireless but was working on battery power and needed to change batteries.<span style=""> </span>I had written the user name and password I was given, but had written it wrong.<span style=""> </span>Even though it was my fault, the young lady at the desk called the co-owner, who called back and apologized for not being at his computer, gave me the local number of a tech guy who could help me.<span style=""> </span>The tech guy went through the logon scripts until he found mine and corrected my goof.<span style=""> </span>Everyone was cheerful, even though I was interrupting their Sunday with my own goof.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Taking a break and walking the grounds of the lodge, I saw a tree full of hanging baskets.<span style=""> </span>They were bird nests.<span style=""> </span>Though I couldn’t catch a bird with the camera, it was a sparrow-sized yellow bird with a deep black collar on its breast.<span style=""> </span>Pretty cool.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X5nbBTBBI/AAAAAAAAAFY/YroYPPwlUdI/s1600-h/IMG_1841.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X5nbBTBBI/AAAAAAAAAFY/YroYPPwlUdI/s320/IMG_1841.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171814202768294930" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Having seen the beauty of this great country, I was not prepared for the everyday reality, or the nearness with which it struck.<span style=""> </span>There is much more here than I will ever understand, but my knowledge of history gives me hope.<span style=""> </span>In the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>, though we declared our independence in 1776, we did not have a constitution until 1787.<span style=""> </span>Even then, <st1:state st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:state> had engaged in war with <st1:state st="on">Connecticut</st1:state> (or <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Delaware</st1:state></st1:place>?) over territory.<span style=""> </span>This was in an agricultural time of slow communications and little population.<span style=""> </span>The “new <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>” as many refer to it, was formed in 1994, in a time of instant communication and competing popular interests.<span style=""> </span>It is much harder to form a democracy now than it was 200 years ago. <span style=""> </span>But they are working hard at it and for the most part succeeding.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yes, unemployment is 30-40%.<span style=""> </span>Yes horrible things are happening, including carjackings and kidnappings.<span style=""> </span>Yes, the electrical power grid can’t keep up with the growth of the population or the growth in industrial demand. <span style=""> </span>If you want to know more, google it.<span style=""> </span>I enjoyed the trip, the people and the countryside.<span style=""> </span>My experience gave me hope and optimism.<span style=""> </span>This country has gone through so much since 1994, and before.<span style=""> </span>That they can begin to move beyond it so quickly is a testament to the work they are putting into the effort.<span style=""> </span>Others are not so fortunate.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The people are so friendly, nearly everyone from the waitress at breakfast to the newest guy on the crew asking if it was my first trip to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> and what I thought of their country.<span style=""> </span>They also asked how it was on the “other side.”<span style=""> </span>Since I spend so much time in <st1:state st="on">Utah</st1:state>, <st1:state st="on">Nevada</st1:state> and <st1:state st="on">Arizona</st1:state>, I said it was much the same, only greener in <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>They want the world to know they are moving forward, hosting the world cup in 2010 and working hard to make that a coming out party for all of <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>I’m rooting for them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m off to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region> next.<span style=""> </span>The only factoid I’ve gleaned about <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region> is that their constitution was the first in the world to include environmental preservation.<span style=""> </span>Leaving any preconceptions at the door, I’m looking forward to the trip.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Not quite yet.<span style=""> </span>A contract driver picked me up at the hotel for the hour trip to the airport.<span style=""> </span>As we chatted, I found out he was a licensed tour guide who spoke all 11 official languages of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> and was learning Portuguese.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>He wife is a flight attendant for South African Airways and he has been to 52 countries, collecting a flag from each.<span style=""> </span>I felt like I was a traveler, but a quick tally of the countries I have visited tops out around 20.<span style=""> </span>He was a great conversationalist as well and the hour passed like 5 minutes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The flight from <st1:city st="on">Johannesburg</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on">Windhoek</st1:city> (“vind-HOOK”), the capital of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region>, is about 2 hours.<span style=""> </span>When you land at the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Windhoek</st1:place></st1:city> airport, you wonder where the city is.<span style=""> </span>The airport is way out in the desert, like a half hour drive from anything that looks like a town.<span style=""> </span>Seems like a cruel joke to get out of a 737 in the middle of nowhere…. ( 22°29'2.08"S 17°28'15.66"E)<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city st="on">Windhoek</st1:city> has a population of about 250,000, or about the size of <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Salt</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place> without the suburbs.<span style=""> </span>It sits in a small valley with lots of trees and greenery and the same left-hand traffic as the rest of southern Africa (don’t know about <st1:country-region st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> or <st1:country-region st="on">Algeria</st1:country-region>, Seem to remember that <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Morocco</st1:place></st1:country-region> had right hand traffic when I was there, but I could be wrong).<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8YBfrBTBKI/AAAAAAAAAGg/icFgXUTuuP4/s1600-h/IMG_1950.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8YBfrBTBKI/AAAAAAAAAGg/icFgXUTuuP4/s320/IMG_1950.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171822865717331106" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">I could probably get used to it quickly, but our standard transmission trucks would be a trick to get used to shifting on the wrong side.<span style=""> </span>But we were not to spend time in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Windhoek</st1:place></st1:city>, there was work to do.<span style=""> </span>After a quick round of introductions, we were off to the Namib desert, which becomes the Kalahari in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Botswana</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>Actually, we were off to the seaside resort town of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Swakopmund</st1:city></st1:place> (mouth of the Swakop river).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X7vLBTBDI/AAAAAAAAAFo/qyF-Ehhpi1E/s1600-h/IMG_1929.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X7vLBTBDI/AAAAAAAAAFo/qyF-Ehhpi1E/s320/IMG_1929.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171816534935536690" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We proceeded north and west to the coast.<span style=""> </span>The terrain again looked much like <st1:state st="on">Nevada</st1:state> and <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Arizona</st1:state></st1:place>, with fewer cacti and more brush.<span style=""> </span>I showed the crews pictures when they didn’t believe me (expressed with the African term “serious!?”) and they had to agree the differences were barely noticeable.<span style=""> </span>But I saw the anthills of <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>I don’t know if you remember, but around 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> grade, every textbook that talked about <st1:place st="on">Africa</st1:place> had pictures of the giant anthills.<span style=""> </span>The part of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region> we crossed was full of them, 3’-12’ high, just like the pictures of my youth.<span style=""> </span>I think the textbooks put them in because kids could relate to them.<span style=""> </span>I was told later that that is where the good (to eat) mushrooms grow after a rain.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-L7BTBGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/yIaRMLXGYOc/s1600-h/IMG_1946.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-L7BTBGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/yIaRMLXGYOc/s320/IMG_1946.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171819227880031330" border="0" /></a><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Swakopmund is on the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Atlantic</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>( 22°40'41.06"S 14°31'24.96"E) It was odd to watch the sun set in the west and know it was setting on the <st1:place st="on">Atlantic Ocean</st1:place> instead of the Pacific.<span style=""> </span>There are many dunes in this part of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and one shipwreck near town that wasn’t worth salvaging.<span style=""> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-5bBTBII/AAAAAAAAAGQ/OPcr_9IBYz0/s1600-h/IMG_1906.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-5bBTBII/AAAAAAAAAGQ/OPcr_9IBYz0/s320/IMG_1906.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171820009564079234" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">The desert just inland from Swakopmund is pretty harsh, like southern <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Nevada</st1:state></st1:place> and it is there that the uranium mines are found.<span style=""> </span>Long deep ditches in the earth, mirroring the way uranium is concentrated along an underground water flow, carried along then dropping out when the concentration is too high for the saturated water to carry any farther.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-5bBTBII/AAAAAAAAAGQ/OPcr_9IBYz0/s1600-h/IMG_1906.JPG"><br /></a></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-X7BTBHI/AAAAAAAAAGI/0M7ZBnR3C4M/s1600-h/IMG_1927.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X-X7BTBHI/AAAAAAAAAGI/0M7ZBnR3C4M/s320/IMG_1927.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171819434038461554" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8YABbBTBJI/AAAAAAAAAGY/VKcAbeYGLrQ/s1600-h/IMG_1883.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8YABbBTBJI/AAAAAAAAAGY/VKcAbeYGLrQ/s320/IMG_1883.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171821246514660498" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We went for dinner at a beachside café.<span style=""> </span>My host warned me away from the Oryx steak.<span style=""> </span>I usually want to try the unusual stuff (like my whale blubber experience) just to have the story later, but when a local warns you away, discretion is the better part of storytelling….</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X8HLBTBEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/HchE1O_Cqfo/s1600-h/IMG_1934.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X8HLBTBEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/HchE1O_Cqfo/s320/IMG_1934.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171816947252397122" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">( 21°59'49.65"S 15°35'38.55"E)<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X9iLBTBFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/NcDAtEcgFrk/s1600-h/mike+at+cape+krusenstern.JPG"> <img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_bcwflZf-5D8/R8X9iLBTBFI/AAAAAAAAAF4/NcDAtEcgFrk/s320/mike+at+cape+krusenstern.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171818510620492882" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">( 67°49'19.00"N 163°21'41.16"W)<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Two pictures, one pose, Namibia and Alaska. If you look at the forearm just above my watch in the top photo, you can see the blistering from hanging my arm out in the African sun. Didn't get my summer tan before going from snow in Salt Lake to bright sun in Africa....<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I also wanted to try a local dark beer, but the Dutch heritage and hot weather means lager only.<span style=""> </span>When you ask for dark beer, you are offered Guinness.<span style=""> </span>It’s okay, but I’ve come to believe that Guinness is the Bud of dark beer..<span style=""> </span>I had a Hansa draught instead, pretty tasty lager.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another thing about Africa I didn’t notice till I got to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Namibia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>The showerheads are always tall enough for me.<span style=""> </span>At 6’2”, I’m just not that tall here…..<span style=""> </span>After all my travels in Latin America and standing on my head to wash my hair, it was a neat change.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After the 2 hour flight back from <st1:country-region st="on">Namibia</st1:country-region> and the 20 hour flight to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>, both my newly repaired knee and my old knee felt like I had walked all the way. <span style=""> </span>I think I’ll rest a day when I get to Atlantic Canada.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Utemikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09578504472525149131noreply@blogger.com0