Let's Talk Turkey! ( Ephesus May 26th)- From Noa's notes

If you take another ferry boat from Mykonos over to the Greek island of Samos (which the was home to the famous mathematician & philosopher Pythagoras), then you are very near the country of Turkey. We knew we had to visit Turkey, at least for the day. So we took a short one hour ferry from Samos to the port of Kusadasi in Turkey.  Once there, they actually took our passports and kept them. This was a little worrying, in that all travelers know that you are NEVER to leave your passport anywhere and should ALWAYS keep it with you. But, everyone was expected to leave their passports with the police at the port, so we had no choice but to hope it would be safe.

When you envision Turkey, we think of exotic sights with scarves and hookahs and camels all around, but alas, it is again quite modern and looks like San Diego. there was a Starbucks, Burger King and McDonalds all right there for the cruise ship passengers to enjoy.  Kusadasi is a bustling tourist stop for many cruise ships since it is also the gateway to visit the ancient Greek and Roman city of Ephesus just 40 minutes away. In the summer the town increases in size by six times up to 300,000 visitors to enjoy the Turkish Riviera.  However, after getting past the port the town became a bit more traditional and we heard the "call to prayer" over some loud speakers.  We jumped on a tour bus with an english speaking guide and Noa took some notes while "Falco" spoke of the history of his great land:
The population of Turkey is 74 million people.
It borders the Mediterranean Sea & Black Sea, Iraq, and Syria
98% of the people are muslim
Ephesus had 5 different civilizations established & pass through its times
In 300 BC Alexander the Great conquered Ephesus and his rule went until about 132 BC
Alexander the Great died of malaria, which became a plague during his time and forced the relocation of the Ephesus- one of the 5 or so re-establishments.  But in his time conquered all the way to India.
The main crops are cotton, tobacco, sesame & sunflower seeds, and artichokes
Ephesus is on the route of the famous "Silk Road" and helped to create many wealthy people.
The Romans ruled after ATG until about 400 AD when the Persians took over.  Constantine named the eastern capital of Rome "Constantinople" which is now Istanbul.  Hadrian built a giant library at the site as well as other monuments.

The city of Ephesus was built on a slope so that the residents would have fresh running water from the springs.  Or maybe the slaves had to carry water up to fill the reserviors every day.  They made Terra Cotta water pipes to carry the water underground and to the fountains.  Also through the Latrines- see separate post!
They built 3 types of columns: Doric (was plain), Ionic (is scrolly on top with vertical lines on the side) and Corinth columns (has flowery vines decorated at the tops).


We saw the famous stature of the "Nike" with the swoosh as part of her robes.  We tried to touch in in hopes that we would be able to run faster.  Guess we won't know if that worked until later.

Amphitheater

Nike Swoosh

Pillars of Hercules

Noa in Epheseus, Turkey video clip

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Greek People and Mykonos (May 24-25)

The Greek people are definitely some of the nicest on the planet.  Noa seemed to be very popular, and many smiled and gave him a friendly scruff on his blond hair when we went by.  They are very proud of their country and are always ready to be helpful or share some historical insights.  There is a lot of frustration with the current economic situation and the actions, or lack of actions, from the leadership.  We learned that in order to raise money the Port of Athens was being sold to the Chinese.   Other ports and businesses were being sold to the Germans.  “The Greek people are sleeping!” is how Marretta, one B and B owner we met, put it.  “And what about the rubbish?” she asked, “It sits for one month until I carry it three more steps to the trashcan!”  She said the government is not doing its part.  We asked why, and she just shrugged her shoulders and said “It is Schhtoopid.”    But “Schtoopid” or not,  the history and beauty of the islands and the people make Greece a place that we could have stayed for a very long time.

PS- note the small beads on the table in the sunset picture.  These are called something like Kolomboy beads- and are actually "worry" beads used by many of the greeks throughout the day.  They are held in hand and twirled about to help forget the cares and worries of the day.

An evening at the Movies in Athens-(May 21)

One of our highlights in Athens was our attendance one evening at an open air movie theater where we watched the umpteenth, yet new Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily for us it was in English, but it included Greek subtitles for the locals.  The movie was projected on a big outdoor screen in an enclosed area near the Acropolis, ala old time drive-in movies, and everyone sat in lines of plastic chairs to enjoy the show.  There was even an “Intermission” during which time one may visit the WC or the Snack Bar.  

During my visit to the snack bar, the owner asked if we were from Sweden or Norway (which we have heard more than once on this trip).  When I replied that we were from the US, he asked about the San Antonio Spurs, and he said that the Greeks are big basketball fans.  He informed me that the top sports in Greece were football (soccer), basketball, and water polo.  Then he asked why we Americans call Football by that other name- “what is it?” he said.  “Soccer” I answered.  “Yes!” he said, “Why do you call the game with thee foot soccer?”   What could I say?  So I told him that the name “football” was already taken.  “Oh, I have seen your sport with the pads” he said.  “It is not a real sport, like rugby.”  Again, I had to agree.   

I went back out to watch the second half of the movie with Susie and Noa, and as we walked out there was a very long line for the 11:00 show.  I think this could be a hit in San Diego….

What Did I Pack?

It's about this time in the trip...let's see we are about 45 consecutive days into it, about a month and a half...that you realize a few things about your packing list. Or should we now call it just "baggage?" Because everything packed inside (and in Les' case dangling outside) has either become an excessive burden to carry or rather smelly by this point. Don't worry, we ARE doing laundry every week, either in the shower or through the hotel service, so our clothes are technically "clean." But wondering whether to wear shirt A, B or C with shorts D or E is rather limiting to a Californian used to a walk-in closet of choices. I've had several people ask me, "What DO you pack for a trip around the world?"
Our goal was to each have one carry-on luggage with wheels and one school-size backpack; 3 bags + 3 backpacks, Check! Well, it turns out that "carry-on dimensions" in the USA mean "check-it-through size" in all the other countries. So much for not waiting & worrying about our stuff in baggage claim at the airports.
Then, I read all the research for packing tips. It advised to either pack for 5 days and keep moving often so nobody sees you in the same outfit twice, or pack enough clothes for a month and stay put. After reading about my great great grandparents trip in All 8 Went, and how they must've transported enormous trunks loaded with corsets, bustles, feather hats and 3 piece suits for their trip, we opted for the 5 day travel light option. But still, we each snuck in a few extra items . . . that now we... can't... carry... any ...further! (imagine yourself in the desert struggling on hands and knees saying that ...just ...too... heavy!) Susie's List:
2 short sleeve t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 long sleeve shirts (polypro/capilene) -okay, I snuck in 3 more "cute" tops
2 sundresses
3 pants (1 black yoga pants, 1 jeans, 1 cargo khaki)
2 shorts, 2 skorts + 1 black skirt (too many I admit to sneaking extra in again)
5 ups & 5 sox
2 swimsuits + 1 thin beach towel each (which we put in Noa's bag, hee hee)
1 flip flops (totally love the Sanuk yoga mat kind, walkin' me everywhere)
1 hiking/walking shoes (love my Patagonia pair from REI)
1 pair of comfy black flats (also Patagonia- another extra sneak, but needed some style for Europe don't you think?)
1 windwall layer, 1 fleece jacket + 1 rain parka
oh, and I also tossed in a thin cashmere sweater, because I'm always cold.
a hat, sunglasses, beanie, a scarf (to look euro)...
No jewelry except some $2 bead earrings because we don't want to look flashy for pickpockets,
Plus, all the other little extras seemingly necessary for life, like 8 tubes of 1oz toothpaste & sunblock. (That's become Les' bain)  What was I thinking? No one else in the world brushes teeth or worries about sunburns? Note to self: you can buy it EVERYHERE if you forget it. Oh, and who can forget all the electronics and their plugs we are doomed to carry? For what would we do if our iPods & iPhones batteries ran out? (I admit, these were also snuck into Noa's bag -Hey, his clothes are smaller and fewer than mine!) and so, this explains why, tomorrow... we are going to the Post Office in Rome and mailing a big box of "baggage" HOME. It's time to lighten our load, lift our shoulders and keep on truckin!

Athens Acropolis video clip

Noa says "Hi" to Mrs. Standley and his class 6B at School of the Madeleine

Noa and Les in Roman bath house

In Epheseus, Turkey. Apparently the toilets were all right next to each other so that the men could share the daily news, and if the marble was too cold to sit on in the mornings, the wealthy Romans could hire a slave to sit on it and pre warm it up! Ha! From Noa

Sad Addendum to our Shark Diving Experience

The other day I read a South African article about the shark crisis in Mozambique and the world in general.  It is something that we all need to be aware of and realize that the act of "finning" the sharks will soon affect everyone. Here are some facts that are worth sharing...

Just about everyone knows that south east Asia has determined that shark fins are a prized possession.  Mainly as an ingredient in poor tasting soup. In the Hong Kong market one kilo of shark fin is worth up to $700. China, and other Asian nations, have determined that serving shark fin soup is a relection of the hosts social status and good taste. With over a billion people in China, the middle class alone is wiping out the world shark populations. Aided by enhanced fishing techniques (over 1.4 billion long line hooks are illegally set annually), it has been estimated that 3 sharks per second are being slaughtered, many of which are finned alive and then dumped back overboard to drown.

The industry is worth some $500M per year, and last year Hong Kong imported 100,000 tons of shark fin from 83 countries.  The tragic thing is that over 90% of the large predatory fish have now been eradicated.  30% of shark species are now threatened, and both tiger and black tip populations have fallen by over 90%.
Without the sharks in the food chain, other species that they prey on are growing- like bull nose rays- and those species are now over eating the oysters and mussles that humans depend on.

In addition, as the top predator, the sharks eat other fish that are filled with toxins from human pollution.  By targeting the sharks for their fins, and then having the third world countries take the rest of the shark for the meat, the local people are poisoning themselves.

The tough part is that third world fisherman, faced with overfishing and no work, are very tempted with the lucrative opportunity to kill sharks when there are few other options for work. This is a long term no-win scenario for all- the local third world fisherman and the south east asian population demanding the fins. 

One of the only hopes is to convince the fisherman that the sharks are worth more alive then dead- perhaps through tourism like the Great White cage diving in SA.  Otherwise we will all be faced with oceans devoid of sharks in as soon as 10 or 20 years. Which then results in upsetting the natural balance of the ocean's life cycle by removing the top predator from the food chain. We may all be afraid of sharks in some way, but if we're not respectful our fears, and greed, will cause extinction...and then we'll be sorry.

Ancient Construction Techniques

Ancient Greek Construction



Inca alien construction

 OK- after observing the ancient ruins in Athens at the Acropolis (5th Century BC) and the ruins of the Inca empire (merely 800-1000 years old) I have concluded without a doubt that the Inca's were aided by aliens.  Twenty ton slabs fitted together so precisely that not even a butter knife could fit between.  Clearly the work of the antigravity techniques of alien spacecraft....

Santorini Sunshine!



Noa captures wave photography

 Pictures tell the story better than words...

Noa on a quad on the beach, stuck?



getting ready to jump!

Les finds the off beaten path

The Aegean Sea is kinda cold, refreshingly so...

A very Tuckered out traveler

Our little Hotel Amelie in Santorini

Perissa black sand beach karate chops

Susie's sacrificial leap into the caldera



Sunset at Oia by cliff cave houses

Wherever You Go, There You Are! (May 16- 20)

After our fabulous adventures in Africa, we took an overnight flight on Lufthansa to Europe, landed in Frankfurt, Germany and bought 3 train tickets to Paris, France... all within 24 hours. It's rather amazing what we can do nowadays, even without the technology from Startrek's Scotty to "Beam Us Up!" yet.  Paris was a whirlwind romance, climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower was definitely the highlight and realizing that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, our only day to see it, UGH... was a low point. Now we understand the virtues of research and pre-planning vs. in the moment spontaneity.

Top of the Eiffel Tower

Our Paris room cost 3 times our budget due to last minute booking, yikes! So we called United and booked some free air tickets on Aegean Airlines to Athens, Greece. Then got on Tripadvisor.com and researched hotels (within our budget this time) by the Acropolis and we're rewarded with 3 days of ancient ruins and free Museum passes and souvenirs and gyros in the Plaka. We even caught the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in an ivy-covered open air theater under the stars. (Which made me miss home a little bit, because about this time of year our neighbors Sherri and Andy have "movie nights" projected on their garage door with everyone in beach chairs in the driveway).

Crab pose on the Parthenon!



Noa learned his Social Studies/history lessons on ancient civilizations in Athens; I threatened to make him write another expository essay about Ancient Greece. Poor Noa with a "Teacher Mom" glued to his hip. ha!

After a sprinkley rainy day, Les decided we should go relax in the sunshine on Santorini and Mykonos for a few days. A few inquiries at the front desk, a short walk to the local ferry agent, and we booked some ferry passes to the Greek Islands...now we're in the Mediterranean. More to come, time to go...



Trident pose at Poseidon's temple



Where to Next?

Les & Noa check out the map of the Greek Islands...

Gummy bears :)

This is what I do when I'm bored(switch the heads of the gummy bears :)
Noa

Strange Chips- by Noa

Hey guys- here are the only potato chips here in South Africa.  There are beef flavored and fruit Chutney flavored and tomoato flavored chips that are totally disgusting!  And gross, and weird and not too yummy....

On Mosquitoes- by Les

Before embarking on our journey, we were all obligated to stop by the health clinic to make sure that our immunizations were up to date.  I chose a place called “Passport Health” as it was quite near my office and came with some good recommendations.  The staff were professional and friendly, and charted a rather formidable list of “disease risks” that we would be taking by traveling off of the beaten path into the third and fourth worlds.   As I perused the list of potential insect borne diseases and intestinal infections, I had flashbacks to my grade school books showing pictures of that poor sot sentenced to carry his enormous nuts around in a wheelbarrow after being bitten by a tsetse fly in Africa.   The potential inflictions included Hep A and B, Tetanus/Diphtheria, Measles, Mumps, Typhoid Fever, Yellow Fever, something called Pneumococcal, and of course, MALARIA.  The mother of all insect born plagues.   The provided map of risk zones basically highlighted a band around the world with everything between the tropics, and also included all of South America and most of Africa.  Yep, that covered everywhere we were going.

In preparation for our three month battle with the malicious disease bearing mosquitoes, we armed ourselves with Deet wipes and Malaria pills- to be taken before, during, and after each “risk” location.  I was a bit leery of taking the medication due to the long list of side effects, which included hallucinations.  That last thing I wanted to do was envision foot long centipedes or large carnivorous animals at every turn.  Luckily for us, many of the huts we stayed in came complete with mosquito netting, much to the delight of Susie, who had a novelty net over her bed as a child in California.

Our first problematic encounter came during our week at Marloth Park in East Africa while staying at our good friend Laine Pepper’s safari house.  Situated adjacent to the Crocodile River, which did indeed bear man-eating crocodiles and wallowing hippos, I imagined clouds or mosquitoes just waiting to descend upon us when we returned home each evening after the day’s adventure.   The house has three large bedrooms, each with a mosquito net hanging precisely in the middle.   At the outset of our trip we decided that Noa would stay in our room whenever possible (to insure that he wasn’t carried off in the night by cannibals or large animals), and thus we were obligated to place the three blow up mattresses in the master bedroom in a triangle.  However, this triangular arrangement made it impossible for any of us to enjoy the safety of the mosquito net.  So each night we slathered our arms and faces with repellant, performed a visual inspection of the room with the flashlight, and hunkered down under the blankets for our night of rest.

Inevitably, as soon as I began to drift off, I would hear the high-pitched buzz of the one disease laden pest that managed to evade my sweep, as he zeroed in on the warm blood of our exposed jugglers.   I took this as a personal declaration of war, and steeled myself for a night-long battle to the death.   My tactic was simple- I would expose my neck to give my enemy an irresistible target- thrumming with heat and blood that I knew the malicious little kamikaze dive-bomber could not ignore.  When I heard the whine of his wings get close to the target, I would use my ninja-like quickness to bring down the hand of wrath and smite the vermin before he could execute his vampire-like deed. Soon a small pile of fallen microscopic pests would be littered about the battlefield of my pillow.  I imagined the word getting out to the rest of his mosquito family that this was one human family not to be trifled with, and to seek their fill elsewhere on less able bodied fare. 

In reality, the little bugger somehow managed to miraculously evade my swiping hand with each decent, and thus began a long night of cat and mouse.  He was not able feast on my blood, nor deposit his malaria carrying parasite into my body.  But to his credit I was not able to sleep, and spent a bleary red-eyed night contemplating the paradox of a creature so small having the ability to torment one a thousand times his size.

Food! Glorious Food!

You know when you travel, you are usually worried a little bit about what you're going to get to eat...that you will like. Les can go forever without eating, but Noa and I usually start to shut down every 6 hours if we're not refueled. When we get a little grouchy and walk like zombies, Les knows it's time to grab a gelati for us. Our strategy has been, to save some money while traveling, was to try and eat just two big meals a day (instead of three). The breakfasts come for free most of the time with the hotel room. So we pile up the fruit plate, toast, 3 cups of coffee for Susie, cereal for Noa, yogurt for Les...sometimes if we're lucky there's scrambled eggs or something pancake-like (but no maple syrup ever, just honey). We try to eat enough to last until dinner. Doesn't usually work as planned though. I've been constantly worried that Noa is eating enough, so I over-indulged him. "Sure, you can buy a chocolate chip muffin. Yes, get that bag of gummy bears! Look, a pizza slice, want some Noa?" ...and then I noticed dark circles under his eyes and realized we better stop the junkie travel food and fill the backpack with apples and oranges from the local grocery store instead. Now we are feeling much healthier & energized. Les says he's eaten more white bread in one month, then he has in 3 years. In an attempt to remedy that, he even had us do a circuit workout in Marloth, Kruger. Station 1: jump rope for 2 minutes, station 2: pull ups, station 3: step ups & lunges, station 4: push ups & plank, station 5: leg raises & crunches. Rotate around three times thru. It actually felt really good to stretch and work our muscles after a month and a half sitting in planes, boats, and buses.

But back to the FOOD! The trick is to find out where the locals eat, not the tourists. Joe (in S.A.) took us to this little Italian woodfired pizza place up a dark alley, with a faded sign out front (a place you would NEVER enter). Open the door, and it's packed with people! Cozy warm, aromas to make your mouth water, thin crust pizzas melt in your mouth and chunky watery salads, finished off with warm brownie ice cream sundaes. Yum!

In Paris, (blog coming soon), we found this little side alley that had the classic boulangerie (bakery) with baguettes & pain au chocolate (Susie's favorite!), mini espresso cafe's, frommage (cheese) to die for, poisson (fish market) with giant crabs & prawns on ice crystals, rotisserie chicken and crispy little potatoes under the drippings, fruit stands with the most delicate strawberries we've ever tasted... needless to say, we squealed with delight as we darted from side to side, fumbling for euros to buy a bite of each. The French do food right!

A Riddle from Noa

Just when we get tired of standing in yet another line at the airport, Noa tells us a riddle to keep us guessing, and make the time pass. Give it a try:

"What has a head that never weeps, and a mouth that never speaks, and a bed but never sleeps?"

Safari Time! by Susie (May 10-15)



Les and a Greater Kudu

 I know Noa really wants our Round the World trip to be a "Surfing Safari" like the movie Endless Summer, but for now we are heading inland to Kruger National Park for a real Wild Animal Safari! But where to go? Where to stay? Fortunately, our good friend Laine Pepper said, "You can stay at my place!" It's in a place called Marloth, which is literally right next to Kruger Park, about 4 hours drive from Johannesburg, in South Africa. What luck, as you soon shall see, the wild animals don't really know if they are in or out of Kruger boundaries, therefore we can't really believe that what we're seeing is for real. Laine's place is amazing, a 3 bedroom brick house in the bush with a splash pool, full kitchen and air mattresses all ready to go. But we have to also thank Joe Wade, another great friend that lives in Cape Town, and keeps an eye on Laine's house for him. Joe clued us in on all the little details we needed to know, like where to turn on the water, light the gas pilot, and set the alarm system for the pesky baboon break-ins.


Which was right on, because the first morning there, waking up, we see a troop of 10+ baboons clambering up the neighbor's house and peering in their windows looking for snacks on the countertops -just like Joe had forewarned us. From then on, we followed Joe and Laine's advice to the letter.



Susie pets a zebra!



As we are eating some Cheerios for breakfast and deciding what road to take our little mini rental car off-roading on, we see the cutest little duiker spying on us from the "bush." Just so you know, a duiker is like a small impala, about the size of our dog Tiki.

Noa and "Tidbit" duiker

Noa bends down low and reaches out his hand gently toward it, and we are all stunned as the little fellow cautiously approaches...it's a wild moment, all in the first twelve hours of arriving here! The little duiker, which we soon name "Tidbit," gives Noa a sniff, a kiss, and tries a Cheerio. He becomes our little best friend for the whole week we are in Marloth. Everyday, Tidbit visits in the morning, naps at noon with us while we read under the palapa, then explores the house curiously. We love him! But that's not all...the first morning "game drive" we come across a herd of wild zebra, about 8 of them with a few foals too. Well, I am elated, to say the least. I have to explain that when I was young, I had dreams of taming and training a zebra to ride in the equestrian olympics when I grew up. I know, I'm weird, but that's what dreams are for when we're kids. (and I'm living this dream I also had of traveling around the world right now! So some do come true!)

Anyways, I whisper to Les "Stop the car!" and open the door quietly to try my luck. I want to get a little closer for a photo of my favorite animal, these awesome stripey zebras ... creepin up ... slowly... quietly ... I'm 5 feet away, and a zebra looks at my outstretched hand and comes TO ME! It's crazy! "Give me the apple on the backseat, Noa," I whisper anxiously. I hold it out to the zebra and two more walk over! What in the world? This is my dream come true to be sure, I am petting a wild zebra. Not only that, but the next night, one even clip-clopped right up to our back door and I got to pet him too! I love Laine's house! Everyone is so friendly here. Les was enamored by the the enormous Kudu that ambled up one afternoon to say Hello. All of these amazing animals all around gave us great hope for the future of the world.

Buddy & Oliphant

After two days, we decided to venture out into the big time and try Kruger Park. Now since we didn't have an official guide or safari package it was hard for us to believe that we could just "drive around" like Lion Country Safari old days in Irvine, but we did just that.

We entered at the "Crocodile Gate" for $40 per person, still in our mini rental car, and stayed on the tar or gravel roads towards a campground called "Lower Sabie." Our plan was to be in Kruger from dawn to dusk. (which by the way, they lock those gates at 5:31pm sharp!) First, the hippo ponds, which had a ranger with a rifle (in case lion came too near people) and about 5 snorting & splashing hippos floating & farting. A couple small crocs lounged nearby, but the hippos could care less. Then, we see a giant Elephant, or two or ten, just walk across the road behind us. OMG! This is so cool. Giraffes, with their long spindly legs stroll over for a drink by the Sabie River, some have darker brown splotches than others. They look so awkward and yet graceful simultaneously, their long tongues eat the tiny leaves on the super sharp thorn trees. Noa gets bored trapped inside the car and climbs up on the roof with binoculars, just in time, for Les spies two big gray rocks in the distance...rhinos? Yes, RHINOS! By the end of the day, we see over a dozen rhinos, with their glorious horns intact! Thank God. At the campground we see the terrible pictures of poacher's snares and butchery for the wild animals in the park, but the rangers seem well-trained and pretty protective.  Noa wonders about the so-called "Big 5?" I think we've seen (and/or petted) them all... except the Lion. Where are those lions? None to be found this trip. I guess that is okay, since I fed an apple to a wild zebra. It's always good to have something left to come back for next time.  My heart still skips a beat in excitement and pure JOY for ALL the ANIMALS! Life is good, the grass is plentiful, and the zebras are my friends! Africa is one amazing continent. "Oh Best Beloved" -Rudyard Kipling.

Kruger Park

Laine's house in the "bush"

South African Blessing

Walk tall, walk well, walk safe, walk free

And may harm never come to thee.

Walk wise, walk good, walk proud, walk true

And may the sun always smile on you.

Walk prayer, walk hope, walk faith, walk light

And may peace always guide you right.

Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong

And may life always give you song.

Great White Shark Diving by Noa (May 9, 2011)

Noa & a biggie swims by



This is the one thing I really wanted to do on our trip. I don't know why, I just did. We left from Camps Bay hotel to go shark diving and it was a 2 hour drive to get to the boat run by “The Shark Project” we were going to ride in. when we got there, the guide told us what we were going to be doing and she kept saying how safe it was… which actually started to make me more nervous.  The ride out to “Shark alley” was about 20 minutes long and through really big swells. I loved it when the boat went up and slammed down the waves, but I’m not sure some other people on the boat did. They told us all if you felt seasick to lick a lollipop.  The experts dropped the shark cage into the water and gave us 7mm thick wetsuits. Since the wetsuits made us float more, they made us put on extra weight belt  to hold us underwater. I have a 4mm one at home and I felt warm in 50 degree water. When I crawled in the cage, the ocean water started seeping into my wetsuit through the zippers…and it was FREEZING! My mom, dad and I all got in the cage together.  When we hung on to the bars, we had to keep our hands and feet inside or the shark might snack on them.  My dad had the little underwater camera and he stuck his hand through trying to get a good shot. The first Great White we saw was 3 meters long, about 10 ft. I looked at my mom and I could tell that she was freaked out. Plus we had to hold our breath underwater, even though we had masks on, they didn’t give us snorkels or scuba stuff to breathe. We saw about 10 sharks swimming around the boat, and the biggest one had parasites on its head so we could recognize it every time. When we got out of the water and took off our wetsuits, it was still freezing, even though the sun was out. We went back to shore and the guide told us more about the Great White shark dilemmas. People are hunting them for big trophy jaws, and they are getting killed too fast to grow up really big, like 5 meters for a full size adult. Plus all the gill net fishing in the open ocean and demand for shark fin soup is totally killing all the shark population. So even though they are scary in the ocean, the Great White is almost endangered.  I have a lot of respect for sharks now. Because here we were, right in the water with them, and some juicy tuna heads floating nearby, but they didn’t attack really, just kept circling around and checking everything out.  It was cool. I will probably never forget being so close to a Great White. I’m glad my dad let me do it.

Mother's Day in Cape Town by Susie

Now this day can’t ever be beat for the rest of my life. First of all, I have my husband and my boy all to myself for three months, these 24 hours of Mother’s Day included. Second, we are currently standing on the southern most tip of the African continent, called the Cape of Good Hope.  Where two oceans meet, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, this is as close as we can get to the South Pole. It’s darn near magnificent, to say the least. Starting at breakfast time, everyone we meet, all day long, offers me a cheery “Happe Mother’s Day!” Who knew that mothers are honored all over the world on the same day? (It’snot just a FTD + Hallmark hype to sell cards and flowers…which makes the day even more poignant for me now). The gale force winds practically blow us off the rocky trail to the old Cape lighthouse, which gives me the excuse to hug both my guys a little closer. Plus, there are these little wild hyrax darting all around our feet (they look just like big brown guinea pigs, but are actually related to elephants- go figure). Walking back to the car, we see that a big old baboon has decided to sit on top and check out the surf.  Too cool! Just like Noa has been doing. We stopped at a little surfshop in Kammetje where the local guys told us (“Happy Mother’s Day”) and it’s better to surf on the Atlantic side, less shark attacks (uh, really?). The water is super cold, like miserable cold, but we see some boogie boarders head out through the rocks and big rubbery kelp. The super strong offshore winds hold the waves up and whisk the spray backwards, making for some awesome photos. Speaking of which, that was my Mother’s Day present… a much needed new camera. We bought it yesterday at the V&A Waterfront mall in Cape Town, with a 30x zoom to get all these great surf and animal pix. Noa has instantly mastered all the fancy features and camera settings to become our documentary expert for the trip.  “Stop!” I shout out to Les, “there’s an Ostrich, right by the road!” Another pic. “Look there!” I squeal again, “There’s another baboon family…take a pic! Yikes, roll up the window! -the baboons are coming for my lemon cookie!” The road signs all along have warned us about the bossy baboons. This Mother’s Day is too much fun. We pass beautiful Cape vineyards and vow to send home a case of wine before we leave. Circling back we stop by Shelley Beach to see the local Penguin colony waddling on land and darting in the tide. Les is stoked to find the town called Fish Hoeck where all the top surfski paddlers are from. Bummer, there’s a race next weekend, but we’ll be gone to Kruger by then.  No wonder these paddlers are the best, the wind and chop keep your surfski skills challenged to the max! But look at all those warning signs, “Never surfski alone”…we’re on the Great White side of the Cape now. Paddle fast and don’t fall in, is the surfski motto here. (I’ll let Noa tell you about the Great White Shark cage dive he talked us into doing, tomorrow.) It’s been a long day exploring the tip of South Africa, and Les has driven the right-sided, left-laned, rental car almost perfectly. It’s always fun to shout out a few, “Wrong Way! Head on traffic!” alerts on the way back to our little apartment in Camps Bay. Near death experiences keep the nerve endings alive and tingling! All in all, this Mother’s Day has been a blessing to be sure. Sitting at a beach side italian pizzaria for dinner in Camps Bay (with a free glass of wine for all mothers to boot), I called my mom in Oregon, Les called his mom in Boulder City to say we love them so.  For without our amazing mothers to get us started and feel the confidence and love for the world and each other…as Noa would say, “We wouldn’t be here!”




Travel Blunder!

Okay, I admit, I made a major travel blunder on our hotel reservations in Cape Town (and now I did it again in Paris). I had all the dates swirling around in my head, so apparently I booked them for June 6^th, not May 6^th. No wonder we got a better rate? When we landed at the Cape Town airport I called the hotel to get directions while Les rented a car, and the front desk guy says politely, “Uh Ma’am, we are not expecting you until next month…” Oh crap, it’s ten o’clock at night! We’ll never find a place this late. Thank God, the manager, thinking it might have been their error, very nicely called around and found us a great little apartment in Camps Bay for the same rate. Thank you Byron! And HOORAY for helpful people around the world!

I’ll go on to tell you that even though we landed at 10pm, and should’ve been at our hotel twenty minutes later from the airport. We got a little turned around in the rental car. I guess being in the southern hemisphere, add to that, driving on the left side of the car, on the left side of the road, in unfamiliar territory, in the dark, trying to read a map, very tired & very hungry… and it’s possible, totally possible… we might go east instead of west. Aarrrggghh!!  A minor blunder that, once we realized it, (and I turned on my iPhone GPS map with expensive data roaming) got us in bed by midnight.

Madagascar - Part 3 by Les

hillsides of charcoal pits

Eucaylptus trees clear-cutted

The tragic thing about Madagascar, and one of the main reasons that we wanted to visit, is that the locals are clear cutting the indigenous rain forest at an alarming rate.  The reason for this is that natural gas and other alternative fuel prices are too high for most of the population to afford, so they have taken to making charcoal out of the trees.  While driving the roads, one can see whole mountains that have been cleared of all remnants of the original forest.  The trees have been replaced with smoking kilns, in which the tree cuttings are buried and fired for about a week, somehow leaving small lumps of charcoal. 

Bags of charcoal for sale

The charcoal is then wrapped in long grasses and packaged in burlap bags about a meter high.  This seems to be the size limit that will still allow the bags to be balanced on the head by the women for transport down to the village.   Each local village is outfitted with what we originally thought were crud benches made of long logs for the bus stop.  We later observed that the real purpose of the benches is to stack the bundles of charcoal for sale or to await transport to the main cities.  Frankie explained that the markup on the coal was so high in town that most city residents preferred to have it bused in by mini-van from the country side.

The downsides to the clearcutting are numerous and clearly obvious to an outside observer.   The detritus from the forest canopy provides a continuous source of nutrients to the soil, as well as providing habitat to millions of animals and insect species- many of which are found no place else on earth.   We had come to see the many species of lemur, which did not even survive in zoos around the world, as they would stage a hunger strike upon being captured.  There were only a few forests left on the island where it was illegal, and taboo, to cut down the trees, and these were the last bastions for the indigenous flora and fauna to survive.  Tragically, after the forest is gone the soil becomes devoid of nutrients and thus worthless to all- even the farmers.

This is a good point to bring up the paradox of saving the rainforest for the good of the whole of Madagascar (and the world climate for that matter) versus local families simply trying to provide for their basic needs.  It is hard to burden a local farmer with the global need to maintain the rainforest when he has no other alternative to provide heat and cooking fuel for his family.  Add to that the fact that most people here have not even seen a television, and are only looking at their local environment and needs.  There is no single answer for this multifaceted dilemma, but it is clear that the rainforest is teetering on the brink, and some solution that works for all parties must be implemented soon.