Charlie's Adventures

I worked for 37 years as an educator in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I retired in 2006 and am now experiencing the world of international travel. NOTE: Clicking on any picture will allow you to view the a larger picture.

Ethiopian Adventure Oct/Nov 2011


I joined the Focus Travel Club in Denver on October 23 after getting up at 5am to get to the Flag airport for the flight to Phx and then to Denver. I arrived about 2 hours before the group started arriving. We gathered our baggage and checked in to fly to DC. We spent the night there so I got a good night’s rest. My roommate was Harvey Meyer, a retired geologist who has been traveling the world years before I started. He was a great roommate and am looking forward to our next trip, where is my roommate to the Great Migration. We didn’t have to head to the airport for the long flight until about 7pm. We arrived in Addis Abba about 8am on their time. Thanks to Hamdy and HLO tours our adventure began when we landed and met our guide, Melaku Tesfa. He has been a guide for at least four years and as a Coptic was able to share a lot about the religion's beliefs. He was with us the entire trip.

I’m not going to write a day by day experience, but will write about things that I found interesting, fascinating, unusual, or just awesome.

MUSEUMS AND MONESTARIES
In Addis Ababa (Amharic) meaning ‘new flower’ we visited the National Museum where we saw LUCY, the 3.5 million year old remains of the earliest human. So awesome.
The country is a Coptic Orthodox Tewahado Christian [የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን] nation. The monasteries are one of the centers for education. They believe Jesus Christ as the savior, celebrate mass, and believe in that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. Jesus is part of the trinity—but Christmas is not celebrated in the same way other Christians do. Mass is celebrated in the Monastery and locals come for the 3+hr service—where everyone stands or prays…no seating. Coptic art is a very distinctive style that fills the outer area where the chanting and mass take place The priests are standing in the ‘holiest place’ and no lay people are allowed into the ‘holiest place’. Men and women are on opposite sides of the ‘holiest place’ and pray, chant, and receive mass from their place in the church. At one monastery we arrived to the monks practice chanting. We were invited to participate. We were given a staff and a metal instrument to shake. I was surprised that many of the Coptic crosses have a Celtic look…opps many of the Celtic Crosses have a Coptic look since Coptic, I believe, is older. I have to do some more research on that issue.
Underground monasteries…yep, dug from ground level down, with the ceiling intact. These were an amazing architectural feat to say the least. We were told God helped in finding a place that could be safely dug out. They really have to be seen to be believed.

AMHARIC and CALENDAR and TIME
Amharic is a Semitic language—related to Arabic—and is the 2nd most spoken Semitic language. Addis, the capital, has a metro population of over 5 million. Amharic does not have either ‘th’ sound in their language…so Ethiopia is pronounced EE-TEA-Oh-Pee-ah with the accent on the O.
The Ethiopians operate on two calendars…one for the Western World and the a modified Julian calendar for their religious use. That explained the ’13 months of sunshine’ tourist campaign. For example: Nov.1, 2011 in my calendar was 21 Teqemt 2004 in the Ethiopian calendar.
Then there is the time on the clock thing. Their day starts at sunrise meaning that is when the calendar changes dates. So it’s Monday at 5:59a, in one minute it will be Tuesday. Our guide says it makes much more sense to have the new day start at sunrise than in the middle of the night. Ethiopia is GMT +3 for business and tourists, but is basically 6 hours different than that. So if you meet someone at 9a GMT +3, it is 3a on the Ethiopian clock. Somehow our guide made it all work—he was always on time, the drivers were always on time and so were we. Our guide does a lot of European tour groups and told me: The Swiss invented the clock, the Germans use the clock, and everyone else breaks the clock. He did say we were punctual, like the Germans.

DRIVING
All vehicles are equipped with horns and are used as frequently as in Cairo. Rather than deal with the hassles of stop lights, staying in your lane, turning, or passing one simply toots the horn a number of times and keeps on driving. All drivers in the country seem to honk, pass cars, drive into oncoming traffic, honk, and pull back into the lane.  While climbing a hill everyone simply honks, goes into the oncoming lane, pass, and somehow know that no vehicle is just over the horizon. Most drivers drive between 80-100km/hr—50mph-65mph—on all roads—paved, two lane, four lane, dirt roads, windy dirt roads, and windy mountain paved roads. Honking means survival.
Our driver, Jonas was the most experienced driver and spoke very limited English. In our four wheeling times, Jonas led the group. We even picked up an NGO vehicle who had a driver who wasn’t familiar with the area. He later told us he would have turned back hours ago, had Jonas not been a professional driver. If you asked Jonas a question he didn’t understand, he would either just say yes or no. My ESL did come in handy a couple of times when important information was really needed. On our first drive, we asked how long to get to the destination? His answer: 10 minutes. How far? 200km. At that time I knew we wouldn’t be doing a lot of conversing.Jonas did a great job of getting us through some difficult areas and we really enjoyed his driving expertise.

MARKET
We visited the largest market in the country in Addis. As our guide told us, if you can’t find something at this market, it doesn’t exist. There were blocks and blocks of market. Each area sold specific things—spices, coffee, clothing, fresh food, auto parts, and on and on. Everything is laid out on the ground and available for bargaining. The market is not a tourist buying place, more like Sam’s, Costco, and supermarkets all out in the open. Strangely the young kids recognized us as tourists. They would come up to us, practice their English, and after a few minutes of chit chat tell us they needed books or pencils for their schooling. It soon became easy to spot the real students from the scam artists. Two kids in the market asked us to name European countries and they would instantly tell us the capital. I had no problem giving them a few birr for their efforts. At one market we somehow attracted three street urchins who just ran around us and laughed and begged. Even the guide couldn’t deter their game. They followed us until we got back to the bus, then sat in wait for the next bus. Every town we visited had market a couple of days a week. Locals would walk for miles to and from the market. They come to market with their items, and then carry home what is left over and what new things were purchased. Some had donkeys, some had one wheeled wagons, some had four wheeled wagons, and some just carried things on their backs or heads. Most of the rural markets had no pick pockets, but we were warned in Addis to be alert. No one in our group lost anything. Some of the markets were a little muddy but each one was worth the experience.

ON THE ROAD
The country side in the south is very hilly. On all the rural roads there were always people walking with cattle, goats, firewood, big plastic water bottles, or carrying something. This walking traveling was an everyday experience for them. Up in the morning, walk to town, at the end of the day walk back home. Next day, same thing. There were always kids on the side of the road trying various ways to stop tourists. Some would stand in the road holding up something to sell. Some would just stand on the side of the road and wave. More enterprising youth would dance to get our attention. The really innovative would do back flips. Very cute. While there were usually one or two kids dancing, once we stopped to give them pencils and sharpeners, or blown up beach balls suddenly there would be six or more kids around our vehicle. Many would ask if we were from America and then say ‘I like Obama.’ I’m sure they had a similar line for every tourist. Many of the tourists we saw were Germanic or South African. Not a lot of Americans. Many women carried bundles of firewood on their lower back, walking to town to sell it. At one stop, a woman had stopped and placed the bundle on a cement abutment. Hamdy tried to lift it..no luck. A lady in our group offered assistance and the two of them couldn’t lift it. How these women carried the wood day after day is beyond my comprehension.
Our road trip included seeing a small pack of African Wild Dogs which our guide said he had never seen before. We also saw a leopard in the brush beside the road. At several other times we saw monkeys playing around. Several times we saw a family of baboons.

TRIBES
After my pre-adolescent years with my paternal grandmother’s National Geographic, I had some idea of what to expect. Each tribe we visited…Mursi, Dorze, Konso, Tsemay,Karo, Hamer, Bena, had their own language, culture, and traditions. We were greeted at each village and many residents posed for photos…at 2-3birr per person in the picture. I’m convinced that National Geographic started this practice by paying tribal members when they visited these areas in the mid 20th century. The Mursi tribe, the women have clay plates in their lips, were the most aggressive about photo taking. They would stand in front of you and not move till you took a picture. The time in the villages was exciting and exhausting. At one village we tasted a homemade wine that was very strong. Another village had a dance show with singing. Another village offered us traditional bread, which was very good. While we had been warned that touching us was to be expected, it didn’t really bother me. It kinda reminded me of my early days on the rez, with my hairy arms. I would have gladly spent more time with each tribe except the Muris. Their village was just to hectic. Their only goal seemed to be having their picture taken.  Thanks to Hamdy, who is great with kids..he would help out at every stop by diverting the kids from us with a game or something so we could enjoy the sites and not have too many kids hanging on.

CLOSING COMMENTS
Our trip showed us many sides of Ethiopian culture. I was struck by the amount of mountain walking that takes place every day. Families get up early in the morning, load up their goods for trade or sale, and walk from their small villages to larger towns on dirt roads. They spend most of the day in town then take everything back to their small villages. In the rural areas, there is almost no motorized transportation.
The Ethiopian Coptic Church was present in most of the villages. The churches and monasteries were magnificent. Those that were carved out of the earth were amazing. All the monks and priests we met were friendly and knew how to work with tourists. The art work in the monasteries was easily identified and usually told the story of something from the Bible. I appreciated the different take of stories I learned as a child.
I am not a coffee drinker That sort of changed while I was in Ethiopia. At our first hotel, I sat down to a coffee ceremony in the lobby. The coffee was not bitter, had no after taste, and was very good. I did drink coffee whenever it was offered. A great memory.
It is hard to understand Ethiopia in the short time we were there. Another visit is needed. I had a great trip that was made possible by HLO Tours and Hamdy, Focus Travel and Ellie, the great people in our group, our guide and our drivers, and the many, many people who opened up their lives to us.

I have posted some videos at my YouTube website. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do.  Click here to go to my channel.

Grand Canyon River Trip 2011

July, 2011
Bob arrived about 3pm after a mix up with Map Quest. At 6p we went to our mandatory meeting at a nearby hotel. There we got our rather large rubberized dry bags, we were shown how to secure them, and told to return at 6am the next morning. We made it and hopped on a shuttle to Lee’s Ferry. Upon arrival our crew was waiting. There were four inflatable rafts for passengers, one for food and other sundries, and a small wooden boat, the Sandra. This was a ‘non-motorized’ trip, so once we pulled out, there was no turning back.

This was Bob’s xn river trip and I was a river virgin. We quickly learned there were five of us doing the full trip—Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Point, some 230 river miles away. The rest of the group was going to Phantom Ranch and hiking out of the canyon. There we would pick up another group doing the lower river ride after hiking in to Phantom Ranch area.
Our oarsmen and oarswomen were from a variety of backgrounds with at least one thing in common, the love of the river and all it provides. John was our trip leader and the manager of Canyoneers. He was a little officious the first day or two but turned out to be a great guy who came to Flag at 18 and worked on the river almost 20 years. Cliff was a constant reader. Every time we stopped, he would have a book in his hand. He also shared some great readings with us. His dad has written two great books about the Grand Canyon. Kate claimed to be the oldest oarsperson. She had lived in Flag, but moved to Delores CO so she and her boyfriend could pursue a dream of making dory boats. Turns out she is a great published photographer. Amity was with her boyfriend, Omar, for the first half of the trip. He is an avid hiker and climbed out with our first group. Rachel and husband were on the food boat. Finally was Greg, whose grandfather had started the first commercial trips on the river, back in the 30’s. The Sandra was one of his restored boats which was very popular with all of the guests. Isaac and Tom joined us at Phantom ranch to oar the food boat.

As a newcomer, I thought of what ol’ John Wesley Powell must have experienced as his expedition was the first explorer to travel down the Colorado from Wyoming to the end of the canyon. Thankfully our guides knew where all the rapids were, where there were good stops, where there were good hikes over rocks to beautiful waterfalls, ponds, Anasazi ruins, and slot canyons. Powell and his group didn’t have anyone with knowledge like that, except for maps made from the rim.

After a few minutes on the river, we passed under Navajo Bridge[s] and entered Grand Canyon National Park. While still in Marble Canyon we hit our first rapids. The series had drops of 8’ to 2’. The first one was a perceived ‘huge’ rapid but after Lava Falls, they were really not that large. I got wet is ice cold water many times that first day. It was about 100° and that cool water felt good. I still don’t know why I had so many quick drying clothes—I could have stayed cooler and wetter with cotton. We were constantly reminded to drink at least 2 gallons of water every day and to eat the salty snacks. On a couple of really hot days [108°] I added Nutrilite powder—much like Gatorade—to replace nutrients my body was sweating out. On that first day we learned about bailing and hand pumping to get the water out of the boat. We would continue this new skill throughout the trip…even when I heard that several days had been called ‘No Bail Days’. Most of the time I thought the 1” of water was nice to keep me cool, but even that small amount really weighed the boat down and made it hard to row, to control, and did not prepare us for upcoming whitewater.

We soon realized that the only sky we would be seeing on the trip was a wide slit directly above us. This was great because we some shade much of the day. I still don’t know why but the sky was the deepest blue I had ever seen anywhere. I figure it was because the contrast with the canyons. There were also no clouds most of the time in that slit until the end of the trip.

We pulled into camp about 4p to end our first day on the river. First item was to find a place to put the kitchen, then individual campsites, and then assist in unloading the boats. It was easy to find a kitchen spot—as close to the boats as possible. Campsites were fairly easy too for the first few days. Then all this became routine and not always ‘exciting’. Bob and I slept very well with each having one night that was a struggle. We laid out our pads, and the sleeping bag. I opened my sleeping bag, laid on one half and covered myself with a light sheet. Each night about 4a, I would awaken and cover myself with the other half of the sleeping bag for the last 90 minutes of sleep. I was never cold…never kept awake by bugs. On our first night the full moon awakened all of us and most of us thought the sun was coming up. The canyon rocks were dark, the sky was dark, and there was just this huge ball of white light.

We were told to pee in the river and crap in the ‘Duke’…much easier for men than women. The Duke was a self contained solid waste disposal bucket with chemicals and a nice seat. Actually there were about 8 Dukes for the whole trip. My grandfather had taught me, after a few swats that you never, ever pee in the river. I’m sure he was turning over in his grave every time I got rid of the 2+ gallons of water I was drinking every day. As an old-er guy, it was hard to get up in the middle of the night, walk to the river and pee. Fortunately, it was not a nightly occurrence. At home the call is usually around 5:30 or 6am that I get up, so since we were up by then, no problemo.

Some of our guides were mostly river people—enjoying just being on the river. Others were mostly canyon people—enjoying the geology of the canyon. Others were archeologist people—enjoying the ruins and the story they told. I was a river person. I really liked being on the river, both the rapids and the quiet portions. I have hiked to many ruins in my life—including two great trips to Keet Seel, taking visitors to Walnut Canyon, and many other places on the Rez. I did take some hikes to ruins on this trip, but they were easy walks. With bifocals and prisms, my eyes had a hard time focusing on the rocks I was walking over and seeing the beauty of the canyon on the walks. Even though I took several hikes, I did not take the ones that included ‘jumping’ or ‘holding the wall’ so as not to fall 100’ down. I left those to the younger folk, and to those who have never seen the beauty of Northern Arizona. It did not distract from the trip and it gave me some time to ‘become part of the canyon’ in a peaceful way.

One thing that struck me on this journey was that all the rapids, all the major rock formations, all the incoming creeks, everything was named by non-Natives. There was a story of how major rapids were named. There were stories of early explorer’s adventures near a spot. At times I wished we had a Native on board to tell us the Native story of this great canyon. While most people have heard of John Wesley Powell’s expedition I learned that it was actually J C Sumner—another Civil War Vet—who was responsible for making the expedition a success. He pulled Powell out of the water at least twice and was responsible for saving the boats numerous times. JC was not into publicity and fame, so he let Powell tell the stories and get the fame. Then there was Georgie White Clark who ran large commercial trips on the river throughout the 1950’s. She was quite a character who was known for her ‘leather skin’ her leopard pattern leotards and her no nonsense—don’t mess with me—attitude. She hated inflatable rafts and always took her trips in dories—sometimes lashing them together for better stability. On one trip several dories flipped, sending gear and passengers into the river. As she looked around at the devastation her only comment was ‘They don’t make passengers like they used to.’ Norm Neville took his first commercial trip down the river in 1938 in ‘new’ boats that seem to attack the rapids backwards—with the wide part of the boat going in first. He and his wife continued the trips until they were killed in a plane crash in 1949. Their company, now owned by Gaylord Stavely, is now called Canyoneers.

Our first wildlife sighting was three Condors around Navajo Bridge. They are magnificent in flight. While they circled above us, I could only hope that they were not thinking we would soon be dinner. Throughout the trip we saw a couple more. We had a great view of a red-tailed hawk on a shelf above us. It went into flight, just as we passed. Several times we saw blue heron on the shore line, standing on rocks right at the river. We saw big horn sheep of all ages. They were on cliffs, they were eating in a small meadow, they were drinking at the river, or they were simply meandering along the river bank. Cliff says he saw a fox, but he was the only one to see it and it was really hot—so it might have been a hallucination? Most campsites had deer tracks, sheep tracks, and one had a paw print that might have been a bobcat. I saw a very fast snake on the rocks during one hike—non-poisonous, and at the end of the hike others were greeted by a 5’ rattler, who felt they were a little close so coiled and rattled. Ravens were at all campsites—looking for food. Our trip leader John was very strict about leaving the camp cleaner than when we arrived. He made sure that no one dropped even crumbs and that we left nothing behind. At first it was a pain, but soon became routine. Seeing the number of visitors on the river, all of his ‘rules’ make a lot of sense. We were not the first, nor the last visitors. This is the least the canyon deserves.

I spent two days on the Sandra. The first day I was on the front, the second day in the back. We did some great rapids on both days. Sitting on the front of the boat has you right at river level. When I approached a rapid, I was told to ‘fish-eye’. That means lying on my stomach with my head right at the front edge of the boat. Your head, your body, and the boat go down into a small hole, then you hit the rapid and so up out of the water pretty high, then crash down into the next hole, ready for the next wave. You get really wet, slammed fairly hard, and keep the boat upright. The fish-eye-er has to use body weight to keep the boat from overturning and to bring the boat back down in the wave so it doesn’t do a back flip. Sitting in the back means bailing, getting very wet, and using body weight to keep the boat from overturning. Both days were a totally awesome experience.

‘High siding’ was essential to the larger rapids as was ‘scouting’. ‘Scouting’ simply meant that we pulled off the river, climbed up on the rocks and observed the rapids. I only did it the first time. The oarsmen and women would get up there, adrenalin would be running high, they would watch, then point, then wave their hands in various directions, and discuss how to attack the rapid. They used river vocabulary and this was not the time for a vocabulary lesson. I certainly got the importance of this exercise; I just had a hard time understanding the final decision. ‘High siding’ takes place in rapids. As the boat rises, you move your weight to the high side of the boat—to prevent flipping. Many times gravity is pushing you into the low side of the boat. Omar did several body slams high siding at the front of our boat in Taner Rapid.  I was never that adventurous, but did get pretty good, according to the guides, at high siding.

There was never a dull moment the entire 13 days. No matter what boat I was on, there were always stories about the canyon. I had heard the many sides to Glen Canyon Dam when I first came to AZ back in 1971, while the river was forming Lake Powell. The Natives were happy for the jobs and saddened by the loss of the beauty and history of Glen Canyon. The Dept of Reclamation was busy making movies and a very accessible dam to let the public know that so many more visitors would be able to see parts of Glen Canyon. The environmentalists were talking about the ruin of the canyon and the eventual silt build up that would make the dam inoperable. What I didn’t know was the Reclamation plan to put a series on dams IN the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the Marble Canyon Dam site, where work began on the dam before it was stopped. There are still remnants of the plan, including the holds for the proposed tram and a huge cave that goes several hundred yards into the canyon. That cave was drilled to help anchor the dam. Some of us walked back into the cave which was about 10’ wide and 12’ high. It went back for what seemed like forever. We only walked a hundred yards before turning back. Thanks to everyone who had the foresight to stop the building of that dam and several others in the canyon.

Lava Falls as one of the highlights. Bob and I went through them with Cliff. There was the mandatory scouting. Everyone was always serious after a scouting trip. When we got back on the raft, Cliff looked at us and said to get ready. Then in the most serious tone he had ever used, he told us that we were to stay in the boat, watch the boat behind us, and if anyone fell out to keep our eye on them—no matter what, and to yell and point to the person in the river. “Don’t take your eyes off the person, no matter what.” I usually a pretty good multi-tasker but this seemed like more than I could do. My goal was to simply stay in the boat. The rapids did not take any of us. The ride was thrilling, better than any e-ticket at Disneyland. We were tossed and turned, raised and lowered, and our raft was filled with water. We all survived and I was ready for a re-ride. I asked Cliff to do it again. He looked at me, shook his head, and said ‘on your next trip’. I am ready.

On the last night it looked like rain and we all pitched tents. No sooner had we gotten things set up than the rain started. It cooled things off quickly and was really pleasant as long as we were in the tent. Neither Bob nor I expected a dinner in the downpour. They simply put up umbrellas and cooked a very nice enchilada meal. We stood under the umbrellas and ate. Linda Lou and I had helped with dinner a couple of nights before, but neither of us was out there working in the rain. It rained most of the night, but by dawn, it was another great day. We worked our way down to Diamond Point where we would be picked up. We had to wait about an hour on a great beach as the Hualapai control the exit point and they had motorized day boats to launch. This is where we saw a rather large rattler, who felt being coiled and rattling was a good choice. We moved on. The ride out of the canyon was about 23 miles of dirt to get to Peach Springs. The road had suffered from the previous day’s storm and there was a grader on the road, doing what he could to make it easier. We had to drop off some people at the South Rim then on to Flagstaff. Our adventure had come to an end.

Taiwan, Malaysia, Borneo Adventure September 2010 Part One

What a great trip to Asia. Before I start recalling the trip, one story about the plane ride back. We were in the air about 17 hours. That’s a long time in a toothpaste tube. We flew from Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia to Taipei, Taiwan. They had to get a new crew and clean the plane. We deplaned, walked through yet another security check right as we got off the plane, into a waiting room, and then back to the plane after a 15 minute wait. There was a young couple with a baby about 9 months old. We made funny faces at the baby, he laughed, mom laughed, dad laughed. Cute babies break all language barriers. Soon after our reboarding, the stewardess passed out our cards to reenter the US. The man indicated in hand signals he didn’t know how to fill it out. The stewardess returned about 45 minutes before we landed to help the family. She tried English and Chinese and he just shook his head no. I pulled out my passport—always the ESL teacher—and he smiled and shook his head no. He did open a white bag he was carrying and pulled out several pages and showed them to the stewardess. She took the paperwork and the card and left. We later learned that the family was refugees from Myanmar and the paperwork was from the Department of State with Hillary’s signature. Sidenote: Our Burmese Purser on the ship that the times are tough in Burma right now. They have an election and all passport offices and visa offices have shut down until after the ‘free’ election, so no foreigners can enter or leave. Many Burmese live off the tourist industry, and the government basically shut that down a few years ago. So the refugees did not speak Chinese or English, another stewardess tried Thai and finally Malay. The dad understood Beginning Malay, so all was well. Just after we landed the 2nd stewardess brought over several jars of baby food and Enfamil. At first dad declined, but she convinced him the baby would need it. I let her know that his was a very kind gesture, she smiled, and said we can always get more. It turned out there were 30 such refugees on the flight. LAX immigration has a special section for refugees to sit…and wait…and wait…and wait. The family was still waiting after we spent our two hours moving through the maze of documentation. Their only luggage was a small backpack the dad carried. I later saw two passengers on my plane from LAX to PHX that were carrying the same bags. This is the America I love.

Our trip started in Taipei. Our tour guide, Andy and the programmer, Angus, was with him. This was the first visit Angus had planned for Americans, so wanted our feedback. Andy has been guiding for years, but few Americans come to Taiwan for a holiday. We were treated very very well. They wanted us to see so many places. During our five days you could count on one hand the number of Anglos we saw. Taipei is a big city—6.75 million—and is always busy. Our first street market (Shilin) was very crowded at 11pm. The market was full of fresh food and inexpensive Dollar Store stuff. I’m sure the entire city population wasn’t at the market when we were there…there had to be a few grandmas that stayed home.

We also visited several Buddhist / Taoist Temples. Angus was willing to share much and as the group wandered the temples I spent time with him, learning a lot. Andy shared much too, but is a Catholic, and seemed to have more book knowledge, whereas Angus was raised Buddhist.

We ate lunch and dinner at local restaurants. The food was good, and not the typical Chinese food of America. All meals are family style, with a huge lazy susan (or as Andy called it—lazy suzy). I should point out that many of the dishes were difficult to translate into English, and most times we were happy to just know if it was beef, chicken, pork, fish, or ‘something else’. All fish dishes, from a variety of fish, were all just translated as ‘fish’. I really liked anything with noodles and was able to add hot chili to every dish. I also became quite adept with chop sticks.

I was surprised to learn about which country sends the most tourists to Taipei; it’s the Chinese, followed by Aussies, and then Brits. I am so happy I am one of the few. I am sure that some of the countryside locals had never seen an American. Taipei was hot and humid—average temp was about 31° (90°F) and humidity was around 78%. I continue to wonder why the US remains the only major country not to switch to Metric. Every country I have visited use Metric, and they did not fall apart. We tried to convert for our bicentennial, but neither Nixon nor Ford could pull it off. As globalization becomes a major force in everyone’s economy, American children are being left behind. They have to do way too many conversions, which leads to errors. I recall a US space flight that had a problem when someone did an incorrect conversion. The guide always announced the temperature for the next day and it was so embarrassing for someone always had to ask for the conversion. With several guides, they didn’t know, and someone with an iPhone had to get on the web for the conversion.

Taroko Gorge National Park, Taiwan: When Taroko National Park was established on November 28, l986, it was of special significance for the environmental protection movement in Taiwan: it showed that both the public and the government agencies had realized that against the background of the nation's four decades of extraordinary economic success, serious damage was being done to its natural resources.

According to the National Park Act of the Republic of China (passed in l972), parks are established to protect the natural scenery, historic relics and wildlife; to conserve natural resources; and to facilitate scientific research and promote environmental education.


The first indigenous people we visited live in the mountains outside Taipei. The Thao/Nagan live at Sun Moon Lake. This is the largest lake in Taiwan and the East side of the lake represents the sun, the West side the moon. There are only 281 Thao/Ngan left. They speak their own language and Chinese. They arrived at Sun Moon Lake after chasing a deer. An elder was visited by a fairy in a dream and was told that his people should remain at the lake. The Elders still follow the traditional way, but the young working in Taipei, about a 2 hour drive away. The Chinese Government has opened a lodge near the lake. It was built by the tribe and only tribal members can work there. The lodge and the individual cabins surround a huge grassy area that was filled with metallic blue butterflies. Elders use colorful tattoos on the face which are earned by doing something good for the tribe—usually weaving expertise for women and hunting for men. The tattoos are a single color band (usually red or blue) across the forehead and another around the chin. The wider the bands, the more important the person. In 1999 an earthquake destroyed about 80% of the indigenous homes.

We visited Marble Canyon. Unlike Marble Canyon in AZ, this area was white marble. The drive was on very windy roads but well worth the danger. We were able to walk along the road that before a recent earthquake had been the only way through the canyon, so we had to turn around. We had to wear hard hats and could only go into the area about 100m. A worker was cleaning up around a boulder that had fallen about an hour before we arrived. The VW Bug sized boulder would have made our hard hats useless. There were lots of Chinese families out there taking pictures standing near the damaged area. It is quite an attraction, with guards handing out hard hats. There is also a bridge that Chiang Kai-shek (traditional Chinese: 蔣中正 / 蔣介石; simplified Chinese: 蒋中正 / 蒋介石; pinyin: Jiǎng Jièshí) had built after praying there about his recently departed mother.

Our visit to the WuLai Aboriginal Tribe (Atayal—genuine people) included a “Laminite Generation” or ‘Up with People” type program. We joined in a traditional round dance up on the stage. This area is famous for its hot springs. The word WuLai means poisonous as the early hunters thought the hot water coming from the ground was dangerous and not fit for bathing. Andy told us he was returning there as soon as our tour was over. This is a much larger tribe (91,000). They have a nice and very expensive resort with hot springs that run into the river. We took a ‘train’ ride down from the village after the program and the mandatory walk through the gift shop.
We watched the changing of the guard at several monuments around Taipei. All were quite impressive. One was indoors while the other two were outside. It was hot and muggy there—33°C (92°F) with about 70+% humidity. The guards were in full dress dark uniforms and didn’t seem to be sweating, unlike this American who was dripping wet head to toe.

I’m slowing getting over my jet lag. Went to bed at 11:00 and was up at 4:00. Today I decided to take a nap to see if I can get back to my regular sleeping pattern. Since I was up so early, I caught up on all my email. Tomorrow I will catch up on my snail mail. I’m still having problems with the day of the week, as the paper arrived this morning about 5am I was expecting the Sunday paper. For the entire trip I seldom knew what day it was or what the date was. I blamed it on crossing the international date line but actually it was not important. It was nice to have no TV on the 9 day river cruise and no US news the entire trip. We did have about an hour each evening to watch BBC or CNN-International. I really didn’t miss the US news as highlights were enough. I did hear about a tornado in NYC. It turned out my brother’s flight from Paris was diverted to Philly so it took them 18 hours to get from Paris back to NYC, including a 2 hour cab ride from Philly at 2am. They should have been home about 11pm, instead of 4am. They both had meetings at 10am so the end of their trip was less than pleasant.


As a linguist, I am always fascinated by other languages. While in Taiwan I found myself asking a lot of questions of Angus regarding Chinese characters and translations. Angus had attended Oxford for his undergraduate work in Business and Tourism. I had grown up calling the island of Formosa. I don’t remember when the maps changed it to Taiwan. I remember when the island government claimed to be the government of mainland China. I remember learning of lots of tension over the two governments. The Chinese people of the island have known the island as the Chinese equivalent of Taiwan. It is also the name of a common tree on the island. Formosa is actually Portuguese for ‘beautiful island’. The Portuguese were the first of a long line of invaders. The list includes the Dutch (early 1600s), the Japanese (late 1500s), and the Chinese (before and after the others). While in Taipei, they had Red Coca Cola. It had the English logo and on the side of the can were Chinese Characters. The four Chinese Characters sounded like “Coke”. There meaning was “OK (good), mouth, OK, and refreshing”. The Coca Cola execs wanted the English sound of “Coke” and were not that concerned about what it meant. Pepsi, also available, didn’t have any Chinese Characters on the label.

While in Taiwan, I really had to listen hard the whole five days. Usually after a day our brains quickly begin to recognize speech differences and most pidgin English becomes much easier to understand. I seem to have been listening just as hard at the end as I was on the first encounter. Andy is a member of Toastmasters and he works very hard to speak English that is understandable. I’m sure that Brits and Aussies found his English much easier to hear. He tried really hard to speak to us and was successful. He taught us some Chinese—greetings, etc. I talked to him in a quiet moment and ask him to try an old ESL trick I learned. In order to get the correct inflections, start at the back of the word and pronounce the last syllable, class repeats then do the last two syllables, class repeats, and so on until the entire word or phrase is said completely. At one point in the tour he tried it, and everyone found it much easier to pronounce the phrase. He thanked me for that trick. At one of the dinners we were celebrating a birthday. He taught the group how to sing “Happy Birthday” in Chinese. The restaurant staff came over with the cake and chimed in with us. Very cool.

We left Taipei with great memories. We had to be at the airport at 5am for our flight. It was a 6+ hour flight, even though it didn’t look that far on the map. Flying on Malaysian Airlines for the entire trip, on this flight many of us noticed that the airlines had hired flight attendants from a cookie cutter mold. Most of the females still had their hair in a French roll and all met what appeared to be very strict height, weight, and age requirements. They all seemed to exude the same facial smiles, no glasses, only perfect skin. I found it kinda unsettling. They entire flight crew was always multi-lingual. Throughout all our flights, all passenger announcements were in Chinese, followed by Malay, and then English. I realized that the poor monolingual English speakers would be the last to know that we were crashing. The meals on all the flights were good, for airline food. We always had two entrée choices. There was always a good portion of fresh Malayan fruit—grapes, papaya, etc. The cabin crew seemed to enter the restrooms each time they were used, checking for cleanliness and using a fresh citrus spray. I mention this because the Egypt Air cabin crew didn’t even seem to know there were restrooms on the plane. On Malayan Airlines, the restrooms were as clean at the end of the flight as at the beginning.

We were greeted at the airport by our guide, Susan and our driver Mr. Wo. Susan was Malay, and Mr. Wo was Chinese. Susan was part of the 2% Catholic populous and made sure we knew that very early. Malaysia is a Muslim country and I am sure our tour would have been much different if we had a Muslim guide. Susan raised an interesting view regarding the future of Malaysia. The goal is to become achieve ‘developed country’ status. She was a little vague about what that means, but did say that Malaysia needs more children, good jobs, and more electricity. She mentioned that Kuala Lumpur, the capital, keeps its business building lit 24/7. As our adventure continued, I began to feel that Susan was looking at the surface appearance of the country; not the deep infrastructure changes needed to move from a developing nation to a developed nation. Susan talked about One Malaysia and that the country was celebrating a new holiday—Malaysia Day—during our visit. About 50 years ago, Malaysia and Borneo joined together to form Malaysia, Singapore was part of Malaysia until it pulled out of the alliance. Malaysia has the highest GDP in the region @ 6.5%. The South China Sea divides Malaysia into East and West Malaysia. Oddly, foreigners and some Malaysians must provide passports to travel from East to West within this one country. It seems West Malaysians need a passport to go to East Malaysia, but East Malaysians do not need a passport to travel to West Malaysia. There is no customs check, just passports.
After refreshing at the hotel, we went to KL Tower, the 5th tallest building in the world and had an amazing buffet dinner in the rotating restaurant that gave us 360° view of the city. The next day we went to Lake Gardens—a 20 hectares (50 acres) enclosed bird park aviary with 3000+ birds. The entire park is netted overheard and some of the more rare species are kept in fairly large cages. Visitors can enter most of the cages through a series of gates that prevent escape. Two hours was not enough time to study the birds, but certainly enough time to slowly walk and enjoy the area. Next to the aviary was an Orchid Park with 500 different species of orchids. 

Our busy day ended at Kuala Selangor about 90 minutes from KL. This town is famous for its mangrove forest and its fireflies. After a great dinner, we walked down to the dock, climbed onto a sampan (boat) to quietly glide down the river to see the fireflies. This is only one of two places in the world where this many fireflies can be seen. We were all very quiet with only six passengers per boat + the ‘pilot’. As we floated by the mangrove trees, they lit up like a well decorated Christmas tree. We were doing this in a full moon. I can only image what it would have been like without a bright moon. At first as we crossed the river, we heard people on the shore talking away. Suddenly the trees began lighting up. It was almost as if there were workers deep in the forest turning on the lights as we got close. As we moved deeper into the bayou we knew for sure that the fireflies were real. The pilot caught one and we passed it from hand to hand as we traveled. If you ever did Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride you get an idea of the lights…now multiply that by about 50 times. The hour long floating was a great end to the day. Several in our group had grown up around fireflies in the South. They were as impressed as the rest of us who had never even seen a firefly.

Our original itinerary had a full day of leisure in KL. We had had very long busy days in Taiwan and Ellie convinced our guide that we would be better tourists if we had two half days of leisure. Susan and Mr. Wo accommodated our request so we were well rested to see some of the sites. I enjoyed walking around KL in the morning but didn’t venture by cab or bus. Those that did, had a great time but didn’t find any wonderful discoveries the rest of us missed. KL had a huge mall—five stories high. On four of the five floors was a huge food court with about 20 restaurants on each level—everything from fast food to elegant dining. The government goal of joining the developed world still leaves me wondering. This mall had many franchise stores from around the world. I easily recognized the American franchises—especially KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Carl’s Jr. I learned that many of the department type stores were Chinese, British, and Australian. It was hard to find a Malaysian based company. Several people in our group kept reminding me that this is what Globalization is all about—everything available to the world. I did notice that the franchise fast food places had a much different menu, though I still chose not to eat at one of them, they were all busy. KL has certainly embraced Globalization and seems to be a thriving city. Our guide had also embraced it, and it was not possible to find out what they had to give up for this new trend. Susan was happy with the electricity, nice homes, jobs, good transportation, and more modern lifestyle. She was certainly a ‘never look back’ type person. The destruction of forests, open space, shanty areas was seen as a good thing.


Malaysia got its name from Sanskrit (‘land of mountains’) when Indian traders arrived in the 1st century. It is divided into 13 states and 3 Federal territories. Nine of the states retain their royal family—headed by a Sultan. One of the nine Sultans is selected to represent all the Sultans in National Politics. Each Head Sultan serves for 5 years, then the nine meet again and select another Head. It appeared that rather than actually selecting, it was more on a rotating basis. No Sultan has yet served twice. This may occur in a couple of years, as the Sultan who will be selected was the youngest Sultan ever selected when his father had died just before his turn, and his 18 year old son became Head Sultan. Now 40 years later, he is only 56 now. The constitution allows religious freedom but also states that it is a country of Islam. The crescent moon and star of Islam are on the flag, along with 13 stripes (alternating red and white) to represent the 13 states. On Malaysia Day there were flags and banners on every building, and the flying was very reminiscent of Old Glory.

While KL was a nice modern metropolis that appears to be thriving, it was not a highlight on the trip for me. We stayed at a very nice hotel. You needed to use your room key to get the elevator to work. As we quickly learned, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Getting mad does no good. The same was true for getting into the room. It was a very nice hotel, but not a 6 star hotel. I am not used to hotels with elevator cards and it seemed a little pretentious to me. There were doormen 24/7 who would open the door for you. We were not in an area where outsiders could just wander around the halls of the room floors.

We took a short flight from KL to Kuching…yep pronounced just like the pop culture sound of a cash register. It is the Capital of East Malaysia, Sarawak with a population of just over ½ million. Charles Brooke was the White Rajah during British occupation. He believed in allowing the culture of Sarawak to thrive and is still seen as a hero. Kuching (Cat in Malay) has been watched over by white cats since its inception. September has the lowest rainfall average at 210mm (8”), while December is the wettest at 520mm (20.4”). The daily temps here in Sept average 23° at night to 32°C during the day—(75 & 89°F). It was a tad warmer while we were there. We are now in an area where one drips whenever outside. The flora is amazing. The Chinese Museum is awesome. We are now in an area where, up until 1941, the indigenous tribes used darts to kill their enemies and then hung their smoked heads at the entrance to the long house to ward off invaders. Tattoos are also a big deal with the indigenous tribes, as is ear piercing of women so they have a long earlobe with a big hole—ah, thanks to National Geographic in the 1950’s I did know a little about these practices. We visited a Mosque and adjoining cemetery where many of the headstones were covered with white or yellow cloth. Ramadan had just ended and families make a year trek to the cemetery to clean up the area. The white or yellow cloth lets everyone know this person is still missed. Zack is our guide and is very engaging. He is the kind of guide who really enjoys sharing his knowledge. His presentations are colorful and certainly not canned speeches. He is known to wander around the topic a little most of the time, and get completely off track sometimes. He is a certified guide for Bako and for our upcoming visit to the Orangutans. For me, this is exciting because he knows the staff at both places and they know him so we get some of the latest info not given to the general public. Zack does freelance guiding and so wants to provide a good experience so that our evaluations that go back to Pandow are good. For me, this makes the trip much more personalized. Susan did not appear to be a freelance guide and seemed to have her job no matter what we said.

We traveled on to Bako National Park where we will see Proboscis monkeys and take a nice river cruise in a small boat. The best way to beat the heat and the humidity is a boat ride. The park is very green and has lots of foliage. I am seeing many ‘houseplants’ we can buy in their full glory. I once had a huge Boston Fern in my house—it was about 18” in diameter. Turns out that is a sickly fledging of the ferns in the park. I am learning about the layers of the forest. There are the groundcover plants and animals, those that live within trees at 8 feet or more, and then there are the birds in the highest part of the forest. The monkeys are plentiful, but haven’t learned how to pose for pictures yet. You just see them running along the ground or swinging through the trees. It is great for viewing, not great for photographing. We have been told several times that to photograph, you have to find a spot, sit quietly for an hour or so get good shots. We are on a schedule, and I’m not sure I could just sit quietly in this heat and humidity for that long.


We were warned not to wear bright color clothing for our trip to the Semenggok Nature Reserve of Sarawak where we would be seeing Orangutans. Zack, our guide, was also a registered guide here, so we again got some extra information from the other guides. The word ‘orangutan’ translates to ‘man of the forest.’ I had seen orangutans at the CO. Springs Zoo, and at the Denver Zoo. Until I saw them in the wild, I never understood the translation. We got there just before feeding time. We had to rush up the paved trail to get there on time. While several in our group usually walked slowly and appeared a little unsteady sometimes, at this park, all that was forgotten. Everyone was at the feeding spot very quickly. Watching them come in from the forest, I understood their name. As they stretched out and swung from tree to tree, in the shadows of the thick foliage, they put on an amazing Cirque de Soleil performance. We were told by one of the guides how lucky we were that day. The Alpha Male hadn’t been in for a couple of weeks, but he showed up. So did one of his wives with a two week old baby—her first outing since the birth. It turned out there were several feeding places, all timed to that tourists could view all of them. Like the Lion Walk in South Africa, much of the ‘danger’ hype seemed unnecessary, however, this venue did have very large pictures of arm and leg injuries of visitors who didn’t follow the rules. All the feeding areas had lots of trees, a high platform for the food and also added ropes to assist the Orangutans movement around the feeding area. While they stayed in the trees, and not on the ground, many times we were less than 15 feet from them with no fences or barriers. They were much more interested in the food and the trees than our cameras. Several moms had their babies holding on around mom’s waist as she swung though the trees. The tiny ones had a look of horror while this was going on. This is a rehab center for orangutans. There are several young males who may try to be the Alpha Male. When this happens, the younger male is ‘sent off’ to another area…the guide wasn’t real clear as to exactly what that meant—did it mean to another center, back into the wild, to a zoo? I guess for them, limited English makes it easier to deal with the difficult questions.

After our visit we are off for a short plane ride to Sibu, where we will begin a 9 day river cruise. Since our arrival in Malaysia, the scheduled has been changed three times. We are now back to the original time of the flight. It is a small airport and our 2 hour wait changed into a four hour wait. Ellie was getting concerned that we would miss our ship. In the end, all we lost was some shopping time in Sibu and upon arrival were rushed from the airport to the ship. Sibu was attempting to reclaim the Malaysian record for the most number of Chinese lanterns on their streets during this festival. There were 31,000 lamps throughout the city. A beautiful view. The city center was alive with food markets, food booths, and many carnival games going on, late into the night. We had been greeted at the airport with a camera crew and interviewer. At first we thought the cruise line was making a promo video to sell to us at the end of the cruise. After boarding the ship, and refreshing ourselves a little, it was off to dinner. There was the cameraman (who had a very expensive machine), a light man, a sound man, a producer, and a director awaiting our arrival in the dining room. They started video graphing us serving, eating, chewing, and conversing. It was apparent they were making a professional video. Most in our group seemed uncomfortable, so when they came to our table with the bright light and camera rolling, I told them it was rude to photograph Americans while eating. They stopped and went back to their table to eat. After dinner I went to the table and introduced myself and asked what they were doing on the ship. Turns out they were working for the Malaysian government Tourism Office and would be with us for the cruise. I explained that they should tell the group what was going on. The director, a powerful woman, told me that they had the government’s permission to do this. I told her she didn’t have MY permission. She looked shocked and said she was sorry. As the days of our trip continued, the crew turned out to be very friendly, very nice, and quickly realized that the Brits, Aussies, Canadians, and Americans on the ship were on Holiday, and that they were working. We never really got used to their constant presence at every turn, but realized they were working to help Malaysia and therefore dealt with it. The CEO of the cruise line showed up and he stayed for a couple of days for interviews and filming. This filming was a really big deal for the cruise line and because the CEO was on board, we did get some great opportunities that other cruises probably don’t get. I definitely want to travel on Pandow Cruises again, but in the future will check to see if a film crew is on board. More on the great film crew later.

The nine day cruise down the Kanowit and Rajong Rivers had many exciting and interesting stops. The ship was amazing, with great food, adequate accommodations, and really nice sun deck. Those who don’t believe that the internet and wi-fi have changed the world need only to head for Borneo. We had wi-fi access throughout the cruise. On the river, we had to wait for a small town, but seldom were out of contact more than a couple of hours. As we travel into some fairly isolated areas, I am still amazed to see fishermen using cell phones, satellite dishes on long houses, and kids greeting our ship and taking cell phone pics of us. One the cruise we had Brits, Aussies, and Canadians. Lord and Lady Geddes were quite the couple. When I learned that he was from Scotland—Glasgow—[McDonald Clan] we had a nice discussion of the town and the beauty of the islands. When I learned he was the main speaker in the House of Lords I understood his rather boisterous personality. Celts are everywhere! The Canadian couple had been active in the Vancouver Olympics. One of the guys worked at the Alumni Center of the University and his partner was a free lance trainer. Both were bike riders and skaters. Wolfgang and his wife and her sister were now living in California and had some great stories. The crew was amazing. It turns out that English is their third or fourth language, yet many times, they have difficulty communicating with each other. Our guides on this ship were Louie and Henry. Louie has been doing this for years, while Henry is just getting started. Both of them offered great insights.

Pandaw River Cruises began in 1995 when it revived the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company to run a river cruise in Burma. The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company is a Scottish Merchant Ship line that was founded in 1865. At its height in the 1920’s it was running 650+ ships in Burma. Thanks to the Celts, we could see Borneo in luxury. All their ships were built in Scotland. In 1942 the Japanese invaded Burma and the Flotilla Company was closed. Then in 1995 a Burmese historian revived the flotilla and decided to craft. He restored the Pandaw and in an unusual move had 4 identical Pandaw ships built. They are filled with Teak and Brass and show the luxury of that bygone era. This is only the second year that a Pandaw ship has cruised in Borneo. They had to stop running the Burma cruise, due to the Myanmar government. They also run a cruise in Vietnam. We were on the Orient Pandaw. The crew of 28 kept everything running smoothly. While most of the crew only knew beginning English, communication was possible and all were happy to practice their English skills. Since most of their communication in English was with either Brits or Aussies, they certainly had interesting accents. This was a very happy family crew. Everyone pitched in to help everyone else. Wherever help was needed one of the crew would step right in. Docking was always an experience. The constant rise and fall of the river meant that sometimes we left the ship on the main deck, and sometimes on the upper deck. We had at least 4 different gang planks that were used at various times. Several times the docking procedure was exciting, with four or five guys jumping ship to be on shore and several still on the ship. When the first lowering of the gang plank didn’t work as well as expected, there were many chiefs and not a lot of Indians suggesting ways to improve the deboarding process. Since they all spoke different languages, chaos was present, and hand language and laughter always ensued. Never, and I mean never, was a harsh word spoken or did any of the sailors get upset. For them, it was fun, even if no one was listening to them. Steve, one of the sailors and a trekker on our excursions wants to be on some Alaskan Cruise Line. James, another sailor and trekker, wants to become a Pilot on a river ship. Nigel, the Burmese Purser, somehow keeps the crew happy and keeps the ship running smoothly. On our final departure all the 28 crew members left the ship, lined up and waved good bye, much like a family waves good bye to a family member leaving on a trip. That gesture was so much more than simply wishing us well. Nigel’s job can’t be easy with so many nationalities, the cruise lines mission of a luxury experience, and the many changes in the itinerary due to river conditions. Every change had a Plan B in place and the crew was able to make a seamless transition—including moving a beach cookout to a school park area because the river was too high. I think that Louie and Nigel were very good at keeping the passengers informed and always introduced any change in a positive way that showed the crew wanted us to have a great holiday.


We visited two traditional longhouses of the Iban. As many as forty relatives live in one very long house. Each house has a veranda that joins the rooms together. Private quarters are small and used for cooking, sleeping, and in some cases, watching satellite TV. Our first longhouse also had an outside veranda for hanging clothes. It was so humid I never did figure out how the clothes ever dried. We were greeted with male tribal members doing a sort of Welcoming ceremony. There were lots of colorful costumes, great music and dancing, and a prayer. After entering, we had another ceremony that asked the Gods for Health, Wealth, and Happiness. This home had a bag of skulls hanging at the entrance. At least three generations were there to greet us. The men were farmers, the women were weavers, and the kids were just kids. Farming means going into the forest and finding plants and animals to eat, use for medicine, or to sell down the river at a town. This is certainly not an easy life. The Iban use blow darts to stun and kill their prey and their enemies. The heads of enemies are smoked and then hung outside the main entrance to warn off others. The story is that this practice ended by law in 1941, just before the Japanese invasion. The government permitted it during the war on the Japanese, then banned it again after the war. I couldn’t help but wonder if there were still some traditional people out there who don’t know or follow the law. Pandaw pays the longhouse chief for our visits and programs. They also pay the locals to keep the trails clear or semi-clear for visitors. (Some plants grow as much as ½” per hour.) They also pay a rental fee for the use of the trails to the longhouse. Each season they go to different longhouses so that many can share in the bounty. This reminded me of the various tour groups who come to the rez and visit a hogan.

Usually a woman moves into the longhouse of her husband. They live in the father’s private quarters until they can add on another private room. In one of the private rooms that was open to the public, a 2 week old baby was sleeping under a mosquito netting. So hard to imagine all these extended family members living in harmony in this tiny community.

At one of the dances, the girls wear a metal ball or two hanging from their waist. In the ‘olden days’—only 60 years ago—the metal balls were the skulls of enemies. We learned about the longhouse governmental system—after all how can a bunch of relatives live in one house and not have issues. Saving face seems to be the most important thing. Losing face is a very bad thing. Most issues are settled by the Longhouse Chief—a hereditary role. If he can’t settle the dispute, it goes to the River Chief—elected by the Chiefs of the longhouses in that section of the river. If the River Chief can’t settle the dispute, the parties go to the District Chief. Eventually the dispute can be settled by the national government courts. The National government recognizes traditional law and customs for all the tribes in Borneo. They only become involved when asked. The National government also gives out subsidies to each longhouse twice a year. Sometimes this is plants, sometimes food stuffs needed that aren’t in the forest. If a longhouse suffers a disaster—such as flooding, the National government will provide emergency assistance.

A politician is a politician. At the visit to our second longhouse, the River Chief was there for a visit. If his white uniform shirt was not enough to identify him, he was busy introducing himself to all the visitors. He mentioned, more than once, that he should be at his office in the city, but was staying because “so many important people have come to this longhouse”. During our visit, some businessmen pulled up in a black car. The River Chief was out there in a flash, shaking hands, talking, and joking with these locals. It was very reminiscent of Dine’ politicians at a family gathering.

Louie, our seasoned guide, shared much information during our days. At one time on the bus, I was asking him more about his term ‘witch doctor’. He explained that he did psychological healing, his fee is minimal, and his ‘work’ lasts about 45 minutes. I asked him if this medicine person sang or chanted during his healing. He said no, but he did pray. I asked him how this healing took place. He told me he takes things out of your body. I asked him if they were sucked out. His eyes got very wide and asked how I knew. I explained the little knowledge I have of Navajo Medicine Men. He was very intrigued, and wanted to know more than my little knowledge understood. He also told me that the Iban Witch Doctor sucks out objects—small bones, small stones, etc. to heal the patient. The Iban healer can also be on the black side. Any healer can do white—good healing, or black—bad stuff. The same healer who uses black medicine on a patient cannot be then the white healer for that patient. As expected he didn’t want to talk about the black side. He did say that I was the first tourist he had talked to that didn’t look at this healing as just silly superstition. There are also Iban healers, men or women, who know how to use plants to heal. They are trained differently than the Witch Doctor. I wish I had more knowledge, and that this conversation could have continued much longer.

As I mentioned before, we took two walks in the rainforest. The river we were traveling on was very, very brown. Louie told us that it had been clear when he was a boy. Then the loggers came in. We didn’t see much logging near the river, but we saw barge after barge after barge loaded with hundreds of trees. Many of the logs seemed to have the center bored out; it turns out this is termite damage. None of the people in Borneo wanted to talk about the damage of logging. It just seems to be part of the life in Borneo today.


Our first rainforest walk had us all prepared for the worst. We all had on hiking shoes, long socks that were pulled over our long pants, and everyone was wearing some kind of leech stop socks. Our heads all had hats, so that falling living things would not get into our hair. We were warned not to grab the ropes without looking, as there were lots of hairy caterpillars, which it touched would cause us to itch a lot. Also many of the trees have sharp spikes that may not be seen before you have a handful of the tiny spikes in your hand. We were reminded to grab the ropes when climbing as the ground and or roots could be very slippery. The climbing could be at about 45° or more, and that some hand climbing might be necessary. A few people opted not to take the hike. Those who did would go to the first rest area and then those who wanted to go on would with Louie and Henry would take the rest back. We were also reminded to stay on the trail, as it is very easy to get lost in the rainforest. We were warned that cameras should be kept in a plastic bag as the forest plays havoc on electronics. I opted to leave the cameras behind and just to remember this jungle walk in my mind. When we got to the first rest area, everyone wanted to go on. Louie and Henry later said they really expected about half the group to stay behind. As I had kinda expected, their warnings were a little overstated but it was quite a climb. I could have brought my cameras, but will do that on the ‘easier’ walk. We saw lots of ferns, plants, and trees that are now used by modern medicine for everything from ED to HIV to cancer treatments. There were also plants for indigestion, diarrhea, congestion, and almost every conceivable ailment. The walking was not nearly as tough as the standing, as we learned about each and every plant. We did see huge Army ants, termites, hairy caterpillars, but very little other wildlife. We could hear birds, but never saw them. We were told we would have to stop, sit down, and wait very quietly about an hour or so to see any larger wildlife. We were told that there were deer, snakes, wart hogs and other wildlife in the area. The rainforest does have meadows, but we didn’t see any until we got to the end of the walk. After seeing the open space, it was easy to understand that many animals lived there.

Later in the trip we took the ‘easy’ rainforest walk, with not as much climbing and a waterfall at the end. Now that Henry and Louie knew more about our group, they divided us into three groups. The first group would go to the 2nd rest area about ten minutes from the waterfall. This group would not stop and learn about the foliage. I joined this group. The second group would go along and learn about the foliage, and the third group would stay at the long house and eat and buy crafts. Our group, with my camera in hand, moved quickly. We passed the first rest area without stopping and got to the second rest area. We waited about 30 minutes for the second group. Our trekker, a local girl about 18, told our guide, Steve—from the boat, that we needed to go on as rain was coming. We got to the beautiful waterfall and it was worth the hike. On the way back, we didn’t stop at any of the rest stops, we met up with the other group about 200 yards from the second rest area. They went on to the waterfall; we went back to the longhouse. We didn’t see much wildlife, but did see a wart hog, some roosters, and a caged pig. On this climb we didn’t get quite as prepared, and didn’t need to. Socks over your pants, a hat, and a poncho in your pocket are all we needed. Oh, and the ever needed bottle of water. At the end of both treks, my clothes were soaking wet and I’m sure I could have taken off my shirt and wrung it out and filled a small bucket. I’m not a big water drinker but on each hike I consumed two bottles of water and wanted more. While I’m not sure I want to ever trek into a rainforest again, I am sure happy that I had the experience.

I certainly learned to appreciate the rainforest. The destruction of the Borneo rainforest is extremely sad. The loss of language, culture, people, wildlife to make a coffee table for a home in the UK or US or anywhere, doesn’t make much sense, except for making money. At both longhouses they did not have a lot of crafts. Some in our group were disappointed. I saw it as that idea that they had not totally sold out to commerce. Tourists will come and go, but they will stay in their longhouse for their lifetime. Even at the markets throughout Borneo, we didn’t find touristy stuff. These markets are the backbone of the town’s economy, so foodstuffs, clothing, and Dollar store toys were everywhere. Our trips to morning markets were much easier on the nose than going at night. One early morning market was filled with fresh, very fresh, fish and other creatures from the sea. Fresh fruits and veggies were also abundant. The market was an amazing walk, about the size of a WalMart Superstore. Each vendor had a table or series of tables, a scale to weigh everything, a cash register or cash box and plastic bags for the purchases. The afternoon and evening walks through the market were not easy on the nose. Fish that have been sitting on open air tables tend to stink. Yes, there was some ice around, but after a day of heat, even ice can’t keep the fish smell from permeating the area. The night markets also had food vendors offering lots of choices of favorite foods. All of the night markets had a carnival/flea market atmosphere. They were exciting, but sure wouldn’t want to have to buy my groceries in that atmosphere every time I shopped.

As I look back over my latest trip, it is hard to talk about THE highlight. Every destination brought its own excitement, its own wonder, its own highlight. The Pawdaw Cruise was certainly in a class of its own. Each evening we met on the sun deck for free drinks and Louie informing us of the next day’s activities. He was brilliant in the way he prepared us. He would only talk about ‘the next day’ and never about upcoming days. This was good as each day was filled with so many things, it would have been easy for anyone to get confused. The one difficult activity on the ship was dinner. As an American, and as a single guy, I am not used to eating at 7pm. Nor am I used to having a two hour plus dinner each night with three or four courses. Also, it was hard not to eat all of the food presented, for fear the chef would think the dish wasn’t enjoyed. Of course, if I would have gained way too much weight if I had eaten everything. Tough choice when the food was sooooooo good. Some evenings there was a program after dinner, other times we could relax on the sun deck or just head for bed. I always tried to at least walk the sun deck several times after dinner, as I know that going to bed on a full stomach is not a good idea. My roommate, Steve, was always teasing me that I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Thankfully we were both quiet sleepers, or at least that’s what Steve told me. I wouldn’t know, as besides going to sleep rapidly, I go into a very deep sleep and I probably wouldn’t have awakened during an emergency.

Our day excursions from the ship included the two rainforest walks I already discussed. When I was growing up and learning geography a rainforest was called a jungle. I guess the term rainforest shows that it is more alive and vibrant. We also visited the Tau ek Kong Pagoda in Sibu and Fort Emma and Fort Slyvia—a museum from the days of the Brits. We also ‘ran the rapids’. At first we were going to take the Baby Pandaw on its inaugural ride. It was decided that it was too small for the rapids. While we are on a larger boat, the Pandaw crew really needs to come to the Western US to see real rapids. If you blinked you would have missed the biggest ones. The ride down that part of the river was beautiful, but ‘rapids’ it was not. We also visited a school and a clinic deep in the rainforest. Due to the high river, we got to the boarding school after the students had left for the weekend. These kids come in every Sunday, usually on the family boat, spend the week, and leave Friday afternoon. Teachers and administrators live on the campus in private quarters. No matter where I go, I boarding school is so much like the reservation boarding schools of the 1970’s. At the dorm, each child had a mattress and a small locker. Cleaning and upkeep was of course done by the students. All the mattresses were neatly stacked for the weekend. Tiny fans were near the windows to keep the air moving, but those large open areas must get very hot, even at night. The main dining room was like any other school cafeteria on the Rez. All the buildings are on stilts, as flooding is an issue. Each classroom also had many bright orange life jackets near the door. The assistant principal said they haven’t been used, and there due to safety regulations. The short walk from the school to the clinic was like any outpost clinic on the Rez. Everyone can be treated for one ringet—about 30 cents. Most of their work is on injuries that happen in the forest. They have a radio system where they can get transportation for a patient needing more care. They also have a birthing room and a midwife there to assist. I learned that traditionally the placenta is buried at the longhouse or kept in a jar inside the longhouse. Again, not that different than the traditional Rez. All the workers wore a uniform jacket, color-coded by their job. I am still amazed how much it operated like an IHS clinic. Many in our group were surprised about that, and some didn’t believe that such a primitive operation still happened on US soil. Our lunch that day was all food that was steamed in bamboo poles in a pit. We had chicken, beef, and rice. Each pole was stuffed with one of the ingredients and then steamed in a pit. Upon completion, the bamboo pole was split and the cooked food taken out. Amazing. The high river had hidden our beach so the food had to be prepared on the school campus, where the kitchen staff dug the pit, cooked the food, and returned the grounds to its original way.

One morning we cast off in long boats—four to six to a boat—at 5:30am. The boat had a small 15hp motor that was used to take us up a tributary as the sun rose. We then silently floated back down the tributary as the river slowly became alive with activity. Before I could take any video or still shots, the camera lens had to be dried off from the mist that formed. Turned out I had to dry the lens before just about every picture that morning. The camera could never capture the awesome view from the middle of the river, in total silence, hearing only the roosters, other birds, and the children running around in the morning light. As we floated down the river, more and more residents were out, loading their boats, and heading out onto the river. Throughout of entire river trip, the people on the shore and on the river always waved and smiled. We returned the gesture.

On the ship we had demonstrations of how men and women wear a sarong, how to use a blowpipe, how to make several exotic mixed drinks, how to make ‘pulled tea’—very hot tea with Eagle-brand condensed milk, and two lengthy and informative lectures about the longhouse and the Native Customary Rights Laws. About a dozen high school students came on board at Song Town came on board to entertain us with song and dance. They were very good, but the most amazing thing was that after the show each cast member shook hands with each passenger. After shaking a hand, they would take both their hands and pull them toward their body. It was very impressive and obviously part of their culture. Henry later told us that it was a way of saying that each person was being drawn into their heart. Very cool. One night the crew entertained us with traditional songs and activities. Another night was disco night, with crew and passengers remembering the great songs of that era. Two of the songs must have been British Disco, as none of the Americans had ever heard them, but the Brits were up there dancing and singing along. Due to a heavy rainstorm a lion dance was moved from a huge dock to our sun deck. This was only the second time the rain had moved the dancers to the deck. The entire crew and many of the male passengers assisted in getting the rain off the tarp covering the sun deck and putting up tarps on both sides of the ship to keep the rain off the deck. I remembered how the snow had crushed several business roofs in Flagstaff last winter, and was more than happy to use a broom handle to lift the sagging tarp to get the building pools to run off into the already high river. The Chinese lion dance is a story about life. Two lions want to eat a papaya, but it is protected by a snake. The lions dance around and lure the snake away from the fruit, then one lion gets to the fruit and break it open while the other lion eventually kills the snake. The lesson is that the good things in life will always have barriers and that by working together; the good things in life can be obtained. The dance was very entertaining, and I can only image how great it would have been in a larger and more open space.

Check out these pictures of the trip:
Taiwan
Rivers
Monkeys and Orangutan
Panoramas
Foliage of the area
Pandaw Crew Entertainment
Local Entertainment

Southern Africa Safari 2009

Like everything in life, my Adventure in Southern Africa has come to an end. Thankfully I have a lifetime of memories. I would be remiss if I didn't thank HLO Tours in Lake Mary, Florida and if I didn't let everyone know that Hamdy Nossair, President of HLO Tours is a great tour operator. He worked very hard planning the trip, and kept busy during the trip so that everyone of us would have that lifetime of memories. He and Ellie Leinaweaver of Focus Travel Club had to have worked for many months to create such a great trip. This adventure was my second with Hamdy and my third with Ellie and the group. As many of you know, I used to do Southern California tours for the eighth graders at several Bureau Schools. I know how much work our 5 day tours were. Planning a 21 day trip on another continent is beyond most of my comprehension. Hamdy and Ellie are both perfectionists and work very hard to make sure that we have amazingly memorable trips in Africa any beyond. They both work long hours during the trip and ensuring that we never have to wonder what to do. We do have plenty of free time and are given great suggestions of safe places to go.


My first overall observance has to do with PERCEPTION. That is "immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment." I was able to visit Cape Town, Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum, and Victoria Falls. In South Africa there are whites, colored, and blacks. And Apartheid found a very destructive means of separating these groups. Coloreds might be mixed race, they might be Indian or Pakistani, they might be Chinese. Whites might be light skinned Europeans, they might be Japanese. Blacks might be from one of many tribes--who were grouped together much like the US did with our 'American Indians'. If that wasn't hard enough to understand, there were also the Afrikaans. Some Apartheid started in the late 1920's and didn't end until the 1990's. On his release from Robben Island Prison, Nelson Mandella told the people of South Africa to move on from Apartheid and live with Reconciliation. In less than 20 years the voice of many white South Africans have had to change from calling Mandella and the ANC (African National Congress) Terrorists to Heroes. Blacks and Coloreds have moved from Freedom Fighters to Heroes. It is all about perception. When the Dutch, French, Brits arrived in the area they renamed everything. Mosi-oa-tunya (The Smoke that Thunders) was renamed Victoria Falls by a Scotsman. After his death an island was changed from 'The place of rest and shade' became Livingstone Island. Like so many who have invaded or colonized, the native language was ignored. It's all about perception.

“If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.“

“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.“ ~Nelson Mandela

I have a friend who has traveled and had some unusual experiences. She has told me about them, and I found them interesting. When I was on Robben Island, standing in Nelson Mandela's cell, I had an unusual experience.



As I was standing in the prison, I could feel myself getting angry and sad at the same time. I am not the kind of person who does that. I suddenly realized that, even though I lived through the Civil Rights changes here during the 60’s, I never really understood what was happening. While I could easily talk the talk, I never had to walk the walk. My two minute or less cell time makes it hard for me to forgive. I will never understand how one group of human beings can possibly oppress another group of human beings. Knowing that it happened, seeing that it happened, standing in that cell, I don’t know how anyone could forgive. Nelson Mandela has changed the world. He opened eyes and hearts. He always has worked to ensure freedom for all. Amazing.

Robben Island has allowed many to see and hear and feel the Apartheid times. After a short boat ride to the island we were greeted by a man who had worked on Robben Island during Mandela’s imprisonment. He told stories of what happened to the many prisoners who had been placed there. He told how the many nations of the world worked to end apartheid. Scotland began a boycott of South Africa’s fruit in 1959. The AAM—anti-apartheid movement—continued until the end of apartheid. In 1973 the United Nations stated that the South African Apartheid was a crime against humanity. The US never signed that document. Reagan even supported the white government. In 1986, after the ANC had started using a violent approach to end apartheid, our congress passed an Anti-apartheid bill that called for the end to the violence by the ANC and said the US would work to find a peaceful resolution to end South African Apartheid. Apartheid did not end until 1994.

After touring the island, we entered the prison. We were greeted by another former Robben Island resident. He had been a political prisoner. Now he did tours of the place he had lived because he believed in freedom. While his stories were horrifying, he, like Mandela, had forgiven. His fight for freedom had taken him to prison, then freedom came and now he was free to tell his story, the story of apartheid, the story of reconciliation.

On June 26, 1876 the US Calvary suffered one of its greatest defeats in Montana. While in Elementary school I learned about Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. I was working in Pine Ridge South Dakota one June 26th many years later. On that day, Lakota Tribal Offices were closed. This was the annual Victory Day Holiday. It’s all about perception. Now I realize that the Lakota had no Nelson Mandela, had no Martin Luther King, had no Gandhi, and had no one that stood out to lead them to reconciliation, to lead them to forgiveness. I also realize the conquerors didn’t have a chance to hear that message either. So the anger, frustration, and fear continue.





A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

~Nelson Mandela





I barely made my connection from Phoenix to Flagstaff via a shuttle bus. Luckily for me, it was raining and snowing on I-17 and the shuttle was about 15 minutes late. As I started wheeling my two bags to the shuttle, the attendant taking to the bus asked if I needed any help. I said no, I had just gotten back from South Africa and was getting pretty good at traversing the airports. Turns out one of the other passengers was a young college age girl who was born and raised in Johannesburg. She was Afrikaans who came to the US about 8 years ago. We spoke for a few minutes on the way to the shuttle and in the shuttle. According to her, the political system had led to her family’s leaving. She couldn’t imagine why I would want to visit there or any of the other countries around South Africa. She truly believed that all the ‘good’ South Africans had left and that the ‘new’ government had ruined her homeland. It was sad to hear this articulate young woman (who was born during Apartheid and left soon after it ended) was unable to accept the changes.

A safari is so amazing. For a total of 9 days we got up every morning about 5am and in the jeep by 5:30. The morning drive lasted until about 10am. We always stopped about half way though for hot coffee. On rainy days we needed it. We then came back to camp and had a great breakfast. About 4pm we headed out again and returned soon after dark—about 7:30pm. Two of the three camps/lodges had an open Toyota or land cruiser with a driver and a tracker. The other lodge, in Chobe National Park, only had a driver. Some of the vehicles had no roof, some had a canvas roof. We were told to stay in the vehicle at all times, not to stick out our arms or legs, not to stand up, and to remain quiet. Each guide told us that the animals were used to the vehicle noise and the vehicle shape and knew that it would not harm them. Most of the time, the animals were within 10 yards of the vehicle. On several occasions they were within five feet of the vehicle. The drivers were correct; we only had one young male elephant spend any time checking us out. All the others just ignored us. We could watch them as long as we wanted to. On one of our morning trips we came upon another vehicle with a flat tire. They were watching a herd of impala. Our driver parked to help. She quietly exited the vehicle and walked along side our vehicle. As soon as her profile broke the jeep profile, the impala were off and running. On another occasion, a vehicle got stuck while coming out of the small river bed canyon. We had been watching a leopard from about 20 feet as it slept. Our vehicle had to be maneuvered so that our driver could get out of the vehicle and lock the hubs on the other vehicle. To block the leopard’s line of sight he pulled in so that we were only about 10 feet from the leopard. It was dusk, then dark. The trackers kept the spotlight on the leopard while our driver worked his way around. Within 15 minutes he had locked the hubs, attached a steel rope to the stuck jeep and pulled it out. We almost missed dinner that night, but the adventure would have been worth missing one dinner. Watching a pro in action made us feel safe—after the ordeal ended. During the ordeal, not so much.

At two of the camps we were lucky enough to see all the Big Five, up close and personal. The big five are the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the giraffe, and the Cape Buffalo. At all of the camps we also saw dozens of zebra, impalas, kudus, warthogs, waterbucks, dik-diks, steenboks, springbok, baboons, monkeys, and wildebeest. I am not a birder, but we did see and hear many of them too. We saw the ground birds and the tree birds. There were a variety of hornbills, a variety of eagles, vultures, heron, weaver, and guinea fowl.

I had another unusual experience while on Safari. At Honeyguide, a tent camp, Greg, our ranger, was cruising down the road. Either he or the tracker spotted a white Rhino. We had already been told that the white rhino will not be white, but grayish. Oh I how love linguistics. Turns out that there are five species of rhinos—two of which are the white rhino and the black rhino. One of their major differences is their mouths. One of the rhinos has a very wide mouth to help it eat and the other has much a smaller mouth to help it eat. One munches on taller grass, the other on shorter grass. When English speakers first saw Ceratotherium simum they noted its wide mouth. Over time, through mispronunciation, the wide mouth rhino became known as the white rhino. Wide/white is close. As people began calling it the White Rhino, they also discovered Diceros bicornis and since there was already a White Rhino, it made some kind of sense to call the new rhino the Black Rhino. The black rhino is also not black, but grayish.

So, back to the unusual experience. Our guides had told us that they each had a favorite of the Big 5. When I saw this first of several rhinos we would see over the next few weeks, I was transfixed on it. Everyone else in the jeep had grabbed their cameras and video recorders. I just sat there, staring at this huge animal. If I didn’t know better, I would still believe that the rhino was staring right into me—not the vehicle, not the other passengers, not the tracker…just at me. I stared so long that I almost didn’t get any pictures. This did not happen with any other of the Big 5. It didn’t happen with any other animals I had seen. We spotted other rhinos and each time, I felt a connection. I understood why the guides had a favorite. An amazing experience.

Another quick linguistic story. At another camp our tracker was a Zulu. He had intermediate English skills but was more than willing to practice them. We had just seen some elephants. I asked me for the Zulu word for elephant. It was several syllables long, and while I tried to repeat it, it was not to be. He did smile when I tried, and gave a little laugh. I’m sure I said something very dirty. My next question was “What does it mean?” He gave me a strange look and simply said ‘elephant’. Dumb tourist—asks me how to say elephant in my language, I say it, tourist says dirty word, and is so stupid he asks me what my word means. Luckily, our guide spoke fluent Zulu and told me it means ‘big animal.’ I told him I was expecting something more descriptive—long nose or something. He said nope, just ‘big animal’. I then asked him to explain our conversation to the tracker, he did and everyone got a good laugh. I did ask the guide what I had said, and his only comment was ‘you don’t want to know.’ It’s all about perception.

It is still hard for me to adjust to the winter temps we are having in Flagstaff. Last night we went down to about 18°, as we have every night since I got back. We rose to a sweltering 46° but the 13mph winds made it feel much colder. I also picked up my mail today. What a pile I had to go though. One might begin to think that Christmas is just around the corner.

Yeah, it's that big. As one guide told us, You ain't braggin when you are draggin'.

Elephants are really big. You may think you already knew that, but until you have been in the wild with them, you really don’t. Unless of course you have taken a ride on one. We had to get up early to take our elephant ride—left camp about 6am to get to the elephants about 6:15. The elephants were rescue elephants. It all started at Kampara when one of the reserve guides decided to take care of an orphaned, isolated one. After raising this elephant, it became attached to humans and could not return to the wild. Over the years other elephants were added. They are very social animals and all in the herd take care of others. They currently have about 15 elephants and 20 or so handlers. To prevent bonding by either the handlers or the elephants, handlers all use the exact same commands with the elephants and change elephants regularly. If an elephant bonds with a human, and then the human leaves, the suffer grief—not a good thing. Upon arrival we watched the elephants go through their morning exercises.

After my camel ride in Egypt, I was really wondering how I was going to get up on the huge elephant. Turns out, they you climb up a staircase and just step over to sit up there. Much easier than the camel that kneels down and then gets up. The elephant then walks on a trail, eats trees, drinks water, and walks on the trail. They don’t seem to even know they have riders. The view of the bush while sitting on an elephant is unbelievable. It is a little strange when they step into a watering hole and drink. A novice rider never knows if they are going to drink the water, fill their trunk and spray their back, or decide it is time for a swim. Of course the handler knows that all they are going to do is drink.

Elephants cool themselves through their ears. The back of their ears have huge blood vessels and when the elephants heat up, they flap their ears. The blood is cooled as it pumps through the thin ears. Very efficient.

Elephants have a very easy gait for riding. This is very encouraging, as it is a long way to the ground. As we were riding my elephant was hungry. The trunk twists around the branch of the tree, snap, the branch is in his mouth. Leaves are quickly removed, bark is twisted off, and the branch is tossed away. Of course the elephant gets treats from the handler. Sometimes, when the elephant wants a treat, he will provide the handler with a branch—minus the leaves and most of the bark. I guess they think the handler likes the part of the branch they don’t. Up comes the trunk and branch. It is waved around a little, the handler takes the branch and the trunk sniffs around waiting for a treat.


Lions, of course, are one of the Big 5 in Southern Africa. On this trip I was given the opportunity to see lions up close and personal. There was no fence, no barrier between me and the King of the jungle, his mate, and his offspring. These views were incredible. They were imposing while being intimidating. I was yet again overwhelmed on several occasions.

We saw lions from an open jeep. We were able walk with the lions at a conservation project. First the ones we saw from the jeep. Without our excellent trackers at the reserves or parks, they could have been easily missed. On one occasion we tracked a lion for about 90 minutes. The tracker was finding fresh tracks. He knew the general area the lion enjoyed—however that area was several thousand acres. We never did find that lion. When I did my archery hunts, I learned, to some degree, how to read tracks and poop. I had also learned to read tracks in Boy Scouts. On one occasion I was in a canyon, hunting javelin in AZ and while in a deep canyon, came across a mountain lion track. My friend said they were fresh, and we left the canyon. Now in Africa, we follow them.

We first saw two lionesses under a tree, resting. All that movie stuff is just that. Lions like to sleep and rest, especially when it is hot or rainy or cool, or daytime or they have eaten within the last three days. These lions were a good 40 yards away, but thanks to my binoculars I could watch them breathe. They could care less that we were there. We were not a threat. They were resting. No need to move, no need to leave, no need to bother us. Just a need to rest. Another sighting had a small pride of about 8. It was too early for cubs, though several females were ready to drop. They were just walking in the grass, looking for more shade and a place to rest. One was favoring her left rear leg. The guide checked it out with binoculars, and her ankle was pretty swollen. Probably an injury from a recent kill, but nothing life threatening. These animals were only about 20 yards from us and again didn’t care that we were there. Another sighting had two lionesses stalking a giraffe. The lions were about 30 yards away on one side of the road in some shade. The giraffe was about 10 yards in front of us, on the other side of the road. Our guide told us that lions were very patient. We watched them about 15 minutes, and while they always kept an eye on the giraffe, they only moved about 5 yards in the low dry grass. Lazy or patient, they were not in a hurry to make the kill. We moved on.

We visited a conservation site in Zambia. Its goal is to provide rehab for lions, allow the lions to breed, and eventually release the lions back into the wild. Political Aside: The project started in Zimbabwe, and it was nice to learn that something good was happening in that country. The project is called “Walk with the Lions.” After a 30 minutes presentation about what to expect, what to do and what not to do, we were broken into two groups and went for the walk. The list of don’ts was very long. Basically it was don’t panic, stay quiet, and stand still if there is a problem. A problem means that one of the lions decides that you are something to play with and might do that. Panic or loud noise could change the play to something much more serious. We made a single file line and followed a trail. Soon we had three lions (one male and two females) laying under a tree, resting. They were about 2 years old, making them pre-teens. It was about 90 degrees F. They really didn’t want to walk. They just wanted to rest. Luckily they are well fed in this phase of the project. They finally did walk with us, along the trail. They would wander off, one of the guides would encourage them to return to us and they did. We stopped about four times, in shady areas, to learn about them and the project. Each time we stopped, so did the lions, appearing to agree with the need to rest in the shade. Each time we stopped, we were allowed to pet the lions. We would get right down to their level and were able to rub their sides, and their back. Everyone enjoys a good back rub, and these lions were no exception. While we were busy rubbing one lion, the other two would play, jostle, and simply enjoy the shade and each other.

If you don’t believe all this--just google ‘walk with the lions’. You will find out more about the program, its stages as the lions are prepared for return to the wild. You can even volunteer to work there. When I signed up for the ‘walk’ I thought the $150US price tag for 90 minutes was a little pricey. Upon arrival we learned that all the money goes to the project for food, and needs of the lions. After the walk, the price was worth every kwacha, and a whole lot more, for the experience.

I have been talking to friends here in Flag since my return last week. I have made up a little display bag that I take with me that shows some of the art and trinkets I picked up over there. I am just now beginning to realize how truly fortunate I am to have visited the area. I saw so many animals, in the wild. I had my eyes opened to the horrors of Apartheid. I walked through some amazing history. Each day I spend some time working with my pictures and videos. I am still waiting to figure out how to pull this trip together. On my first blog about Africa, I said a miracle would happen to help me share my adventure. I continue to wait.

Before we went into the bush…

I visited a museum that showed the history of Africa...where all of mankind's civilizations began.


I visited an Ostrich Farm. They are interesting to watch and their eggs have been made into beautiful art. The use of their feathers in women’s apparel took me back to the heyday of Hollywood, long before I was born. I also tasted some Ostrich and it wasn’t bad. I never did understand the ostrich leather shoes, gloves, wallets, and purses.

I visited the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans merge. The wind was blowing about 50-70mph when we were there. I really had to brace myself when taking a picture. A group of Asian tourists were having a lot of trouble clicking away. None were hurt, but several were blown over or blown down. My life in Boulder, CO and on the rez had taught me how to move around in those winds.

I visited a penguin reserve. It was only a few miles kilometers Cape Point, so was also very windy. The birds came to a beach many years ago and so liked it that they just stayed. I would have chosen a less windy place to live, but then, I’m not a penguin. They had quite a difficult time climbing small sand hills. It could have been the fine sand, or the wind, or a combination of both.

I visited South African Wine Country. I did wine and cheese tasting, I walked to the vineyards; I had an opportunity to learn about the many South African wines. I learned about local cheese that goes with the local wines. The one cheese I will never forget was a soft cheese with curry. I will not forget it because it was the worst cheese I had ever tasted—and I am a big fan of limburger. I did enjoy several of the wines. As one of our group said, “I only like one kind of beer…cold.” I would say, “I only like one kind of wine…wet.”


I have read about Victoria Falls. I have seen pictures. I have even seen them on video. I was not prepared for Mosi-oa-tunya—the smoke that thunders. We were on the Zambia side. It was the dry season. From the visitor’s views at the falls, they were not as spectacular as I had hoped. We had been told that this time of year you can see what is really behind the falls, the gorges, the drop, the natural beauty. That alone was worth the time we spent there. It was very hot on the day we were there. There were signs warning us that the trail, the steps, the overviews were ‘slippery when wet.’


I have never liked heights. During my swim team days, I enjoyed the low board but never liked the high dive. Walking the trail at the Grand Canyon with its steep drop offs is not something I would do every day. I will avoid standing on a ladder more than 10 feet. As a principal, I once had to go onto the flat roof of a one story building, along with inspectors, to ensure that a repair job was completed. I was fine, until I had to go near the edge.

The drop at the falls is between 260 to 350 feet. That is like looking out a 17 story to 24 story building. In the area where the water was falling, it was hard to tell how far that actually is. The mist covers so much of the fall. In the area where the falls are dry, the drop is breathtaking. Since the falls are over a mile wide, when running full, there are many places to view them.

Dr. David Livingstone saw the falls for the first time in November 1855, just about the same time we were there. The falls had been known as the ‘smoke that thunders’ by the locals. We got into small boats and took a ride to Livingstone Island, formerly known as ‘the place of rest and shade’. The river was very low, and they had to use very small boats to navigate the river. A few weeks after we left the visits to the island would end due to the rapid rise in the river. We walked across the rocks. We walked to the edge of the gorge. There was no fence, no trail, just natural black basalt rock. I was happy to stand about 3 feet from the edge. We wandered around on the rocks, found several beautiful spots for pictures. We walked to the river where it was cascading over the edge. This was the Victoria Falls I had heard about and seen in so many pictures. Had I gone to the Falls when they were running full, I never would have had this thrill, this experience.

I have to mention Andy at this point. Andy celebrated his 88th birthday while on our trip. Andy is amazing. He flew a bomber in WWII. He got into real estate in California after the war. His son married Elvira Mistress of the Dark—the TV icon. He has led an incredible life. He was the only one in our group who went swimming at the falls. He was swimming, with lifeguards, only a few feet from the falls drop off in a natural pool. The next morning, while I was in a helicopter, Andy was doing the ultra-light. That is like a flying lawn mower. One is harnessed in, with feet dangling, as one flies over the falls with a pilot who is also just harnessed in. Andy really reminded me of my own grandfather. He worked hard and now he is enjoying his life. He would lecture me about how I shouldn’t be drinking Coke, then would buy me wine. He never forgot anything. He would tell great stories to anyone who would listen. He could be very stubborn and while he was a great guy and a lot of fun, he and I never could have worked for him. He was way too stubborn.

Thanks to UNESCO for making Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls* a world heritage site for all.

Before I end my African story, I need to again thank so many people. First is Hamdy and HLO Tours. Without his hard work and planning, this trip would not have happened. Ellie needs to be thanked, again, for finding such a diverse group of travelers who travel so well together. Theo was such a hoot on this trip. I can’t wait to get her trip presentation. And then there is Wyoma. She got bumped at DC and found us two days later in South Africa. How she ever got the DC Passport bureaucrats to work on a Saturday, I will never know. I hope no one was injured. She is just such a tiny pistol. Tamzin was always there with a good comment and a smile. Andy and Arlene kept us all on our toes. Arlene has some great stories, and I do hope I will be able to visit her home on my next trip. Tom and Bonnie were with us for much of the trip, and they sure added some great times to our adventure. Bryan and Debbie were great too. Bryan always had a good line to add, and Debbie just smiled. Last, but not least were Roberto and Rita. They were able to find humor and laughter in even the hardest of situations—especially the bug/snake issue.

The other people who made the trip so enjoyable were those who work so hard at their jobs everyday to make our visit enjoyable. I have become facebook friends with Greg and Richard from Honeyguide. Turns out we were the last group Greg worked with there. He is headed for Belgium to be with his gal. Richard too has fallen in love. Ah, to be young again. Brett, our guide at the private reserve, taught us so much. He grew up on a farm, learned to speak Zulu at a very young age, and really enjoys his job. He really wanted us to see the male lion. I don’t know which was most impressive about him—his stopping and assisting in tracking and coming back pumped or helping his fellow guides when they got stuck. In both cases he was so professional. Of course, parking next to a sleeping leopard at dusk, or near several lions that had just finished a meal was pretty cool too. At Chobe, Hamdy and I were on our own, but I got to see wild dogs at a fresh kill. The guides there were good, but simply picked people up, took them on the drive, and then dropped them off at the hotel. It was the only time on the trip that I felt like just another tourist. Still it was worth it to see the wild dogs and of course the huge herd of elephants. And the walk in the town, while hot, was very enlightening.

I was able to meet a cab driver who had come home from elementary school to find his house had been leveled during Apartheid. I met a young Zulu cab driver who taught us about the Zulu courting procedures and what has to be done to marry. It was not that different that traditional Navajo courtship. I learned about class—if not caste—systems. We met a hotel asst. manager who was leaving Zambia to work at Disney’s Epcot Center in Florida. She was so excited to be getting a job that paid $8/hr. She will be part of the culture exchange that Disney does there. I do hope that she has a good experience. It will be so different than Africa. I visited a small school that reinforced that kids are kids and little kids are little kids, no matter where you travel. These kids, despite their difficult lives in poverty, had an enthusiasm, a light in their eyes, and a joy for life and learning. I saw lots of billboards regarding AIDS, contraception, safe sex, and heard stories of how that disease has destroyed so many lives.

I will never have a trip like this again. I saw so much and so many totally different aspects of Africa. I saw nature that was unbelievable. Animals of all sizes and foliage waiting for those desperately needed rains. I saw the necessity of the rivers as I traveled by various sized boats. I saw the footprint that man has placed on this continent where all mankind began. I saw the destructive side of man when one group wants to control another. I saw how many are working to make that footprint as unobtrusive as possible. I saw that many traditional customs can and do continue. I saw how technology has changed poverty. I have a much better understanding of Africa. I have a much better understanding of history and I have had my eyes opened in ways I never expected. All of this, I believe, has made me a better person. Thanks to everyone for this experience.

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To see the full presentations of my South African Adventure Click Here
There are three videos, soon to be four. I hope you enjoy them.

About Me

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I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.