AFRICA: Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa

Many of the Semester at Sea community had intense and meaningful cultural experiences in the townships of Cape Town – service visits, school exchanges, a “jazz safari”, homestays, cooking classes, and city orientation tours.   At the Post Port Reflection (an open-mike event which always takes place on our first night back on the ship) students and faculty alike discussed the sharp contrasts seen in South Africa: contrasts of poverty and wealth; contrasts of unbelievable beauty and street crime; contrasts of beautiful colonial architecture and the squatters communities; contrasts resulting from Apartheid and it’s end just 18 years ago.

Melvin arrived in Cape Town and our experiences there were less social/cultural and more related to nature and geography.  In Cape Town we ascended Table Mountain – notice I did not say “climbed” because we waited 2 hot hours in line for the cable car up, hiked around on the top, took pictures, enjoyed ice cream,  and then descended again via the cable car.  Many of the SASers did climb and/or descend on foot. Much more challenging. 

From the Victoria & Albert Marina, Table Mountain rises in  the center of Cape Town.  The commercial piers  and other districts nestle to the south, east and north of Table Mountain.  The different townships range further to the north and south of the mountain.

Melvin sends greetings from the V&A Marina district. 

Its a rigorous hike but we chose to take the cable cars up instead.

On many days, clouds (called "the Tablecloth") gather on the top of Table Mountain.  As we walked around enjoying the views the visibility was diminishing.  One takes the cable car knowing that it may, at any time be shut down due to wind or rain. This photo was taken on our ride down - so we made it!

Louise, Linda, Melvin and I enjoyed High Tea in Cape Town at the Mt. Nelson Hotel where we dressed “Smart Casual” oh yes. The Mt. Nelson is a lovely colonial era hotel with gracious gardens outside and ample historical architectural drawings and botanical etchings inside. Lovely.  The tea (or coffee) was very good and the crumpets, petit fours, and sweets were extraordinary! 

Smart Casual

With a SAS group Melvin and I flew to Zimbabwe and Botswana to experience Victoria Falls and thrill to the wild animals on a game drive and two river cruises intended for spotting animals coming to drink and bathe.

In the small city of Victoria Falls we stayed at the Kingdom Hotel, visited the local craft market, and enjoyed the Zimbabwe dancers and drummers who welcome visitors at the airport, at the hotels, and at restaurants.  The hotels and restaurants are lovely inside/outside open-air structures with numerous attentive staff waiting and working to make the visit extremely pleasant. And beds in the rooms have classic mosquito netting to prevent night bites. A sunset boat ride on the broad Zambizi River some miles above the falls was enchanting….capped off by the full moon rising over the river.

In Zimbabwe there appears to be an entire job category: dancers, drummers, and singers in traditional  costume doing traditional songs to greet the foreign visiters.  It's very nice! 

This is the Zambizi River several miles above the falls.  This great magnitude of water is peacefully heading toward the massive Falls. 

"King George" was combination tour guide, local color, and security guard to keep people from sitting on the edge of the barge. 

Lovely open spaces in the hotels and restaurants. 

Necessary at night to prevent the malaria mosquitos from getting their blood meal - from us!

WHAT? Is that a GIANT standing bird...or a feathery monster.... beside those two elephants heading toward the river  to drink?

Open-beak cranes in the tree tops at sunset.

No sooner did the sun sink to the west than the full moon rose to the east.

Crossing the border from Zimbabwe to Botswana was fascinating – and exactly as one might imagine a rural border crossing in the middle of Africa. Photography was PROHIBITED at the border!!!

(Hey Joe Lattuada – does this remind you?)

All the people were required to get out of their vehicles and stand in the hot sun in a long line entering one door of a small building, present documents face-to-face with a couple different immigration officers, and then file out the other door to enter a different vehicle.  Our group of 34 did this both going to and coming from Chobe National Park in Botswana where we enjoyed the morning game drive and the afternoon in a broad, flat, covered barge on the Chobe River. We saw 4 of the “Big Five” – and that’s because Rhinos do not live in this region of Africa. At first we “flipped out” when we saw Impala and later we got to …“Oh,….. there are some more elephants…”

Nevertheless, very exciting for us city folk.

Our guide said this lionesse was waiting and stalking a nearby Cape Buffalo .... but then she yawned,  got up, and sauntered around the bush.  Did not look like a hunt to me.

A Saddle-beak Crane and two Egyptian Geese.

A white Egret and another bird are unconcerned about this lurking crocodile.  They must know  he is waiting for something larger - like an Impala who is vulnerable when the head goes down to drink. 

This black Heron spreads it's wings to cast a shadow on the water so that it can spot the fish below - and quickly  eat them out of the water. 

What is a multitude of hippos called?  Yes, these are many mothers and babies enjoying the afternoon river.
We did also see solitary males as well as hippos in much smaller groups.

By afternoon the thirsty elephants head toward the river or to a watering hole.

First the elephants drink then they soak in the waters.  As they come out they  blast sand and dirt all over themselves which gives them protection from the sun, protecting their delicate skin, like sunscreen. 

Watchful guides drive and teach about the animals and birds, the vegetation and the ecosystems.

This buck Impala has a flock of females numbering 20-30 that he  minds  attentively.  From time to time he will be challenged by males from the bachelor group, and if beaten will lose dominance and retire with the guys. 

Visiting Victoria Falls was exhilarating!  It was thundering sounds of cascading water, it was moist smells of tropical rain forest, it was wet, wet with mist both rising and falling, it was a rainbow-filled world of sensations!  Very exciting!  Even with raincoats and ponchos we were thoroughly drenched by the end of our 2+ hour walk along the opposite rim from the falls.  Sometimes the air was opaque with water mist then suddenly the sun would shine through revealing the mighty falls and lighting the world up with multiple rainbows.  Magical!

Rainbows, double rainbows, circular rainbows, and rainbow segments. 

The moisture in the air sometimes obscured the falls, but the thundering sounds were ever-present.

By this point everything was wet!

See the rising mists of Victoria Falls over in the distance? Viewed from  our  departing air flight. 

Incredible India - a second visit

This visit to India was significantly easier, less chaotic, less scary, and less overwhelming than my first visit in Fall, 2010.  Familiarity breeds comfort. Or perhaps it about learning the system and being better able to read the cues.

None of these photos show sufficiently the dripping hot and humid air of the south of India.

Only a few of these photos show the beaming, smiling camera-ready Indians who peek and stare at the Americans while the Americans peek and take photos of the Indians.

The girls in this school class group took our photos, took photos with us, and then posed for this lovely group shot. 

Kochi is the largest port city of the state of Kerala.  Kerala has a high level of literacy among the Hindus, Catholics, Muslims and Jews who live in this historical center of spices, fishing, and good will.

This is her photo face and smile!

Louise, Linda and I made our way in Ft. Kochi to Bastian Home Stay which is roughly equivalent to a bed and breakfast.  Like B&Bs in the US, these Home Stay lodgings range from a room in someone’s home to modest guest houses. We enjoyed working a.c. and a gale-force fan in a clean plain room with 3 cot beds and 1 table. 

Our shower was some combination of a hand-held shower nozzle and a bucket……..

Bastian Home Stay:four 2nd floor rooms located around a central open-air  dining couryard.

Louise, Linda, and hostess Jenny--- and a large fish in the tank too. 

Walk along this footpath alley, turn right then left then right again to find Bastian Home Stay.

Bastian Home Stay must be doing well as the owners are building another two-story unit across the alley.
The construction, in the heat, takes the fullness of time.

Fort Kochi has Government Emporium stores, Kashmere merchant shops, local shops and plenty of street vendors to sell whatever, and more whatever to “the Americans from the ship.”  And so, we did shop, browse, and shop some more.

Old Ft. Kochi for the most part has the red tile roofs of Portugese influence. Another Portugese legacy is Roman Catholicism, found in  large communities of Indians in Kerala and other port and costal regions.

For Sale:  Tiles or Tee Shirts

Much hotter than it looks, we shopped here and dined at the Crafters Cafe upstairs at the turquoise  balcony.

View from the cafe down to one portion of the shopping streets of Jew Town,

For Sale:  vessels of metal or plastic

Auto Rickshaw drivers ‘adopted’ specific groups and were their attentive drivers for as many days as we were in port.  Our driver was Saleem who showed us the city laundry, Catholic churches, the Jewish Synagogue, The Dutch Museum, and the first annual India Biennial (which exhibited outstanding contemporary art from India and southeast Asia in 5 warehouse and colonial building venues).

Different fashions for the young girl set. 

The slightest indication of interest prompted this Kashmere merchant's sales clerk to spred out dozens of cloths and bedspreads.

You Buy:  large shrimp!  Here Rickshaw driver  Saleem holds one up to tantalize  ......

Of course we ate many delicious meals of curry and other Indian foods.  And happily, with sufficient precautions, none of us suffered the dreaded T.D.  Most Indians in the south of India eat their meals with fingers rather than forks.  Thali is generally served on a banana leaf and includes rice and several sauces and condiments. 

This is right at the beginning of the Thali meal - it gets much messier as  many more  courses are  brought around by the waiters. Later my hands were too sticky to use my camera

We spent a fascinating evening at a Kathakali performance, a traditional stylized dance which emphasizes facial expressions and very red eyes (from seeds put into the eyes for 10 minutes before the performances).  Kathakali originated in the 17^th century when itinerate troupes danced 6-7 hours through the night at the villages they visited. 

One hour before the performance the actors come onto the stage to begin applying their makeup.

One actor completes the complicated makeup for the demon bad guy character.

Check out the "whites" of their eyes.

All actors are male - even that 'beauty' on the right. In this performance we saw  rape,  murder, and perhaps sodomy acted by the cast of only 3 actors.  Additionally there is a narrator who chants and sings and two drummers. It's all very exciting.

After two pleasant, hot days in Ft. Kochi, Louise and I had a driver take us 5 hours to the mountain region of Munnar where India’s high range teas have been grown and processed since 1877.

Along the way we stopped for coffee at a roadside cafe to watch the elephants parade down to the river for bathing.  

A cup of strong, rich, sweet coffee ..

and along comes the parade of 'rescue' elephants from the nearby Elephant Camp (who knew?)....

who lumbered into the river, as they do twice daily ....

Nothing but enjoyment here.

.  In the mountains it was considerably cooler; we enjoyed spectacular views, a masterful massage, and delicious food from the Blackberry Hills resort where we ‘chilled’ for a few days.  Each morning and evening we heard the chanting of Sikh prayers and the Punjabi music and drums,  along with the noisy tree birds. Our rather-swanky resort was spare and elegant – only lacking hot water ....except in the evenings and early mornings.

This is the view from Blackberry Hills restaurant just down the stairs from  the rooms. 

Tea plant cling to the slopes and steep hills of the mountain.  Tea production began here after 1877 under the British and has shifted somewhat to employee-ownership Indian companies today.

Along the drive we had many opportunities to see and sometimes to barely avoid the brightly painted transport trucks – apparently each region has signature painting patterns and styles.

Very cheerful.

Please note:  just a few feet in front of our rickshaw the signs on the trucks say "Sound Horn - Keep Distance"