In his acclaimed novel Walden, Thoreau calls for us to return to nature and advises us to “Simplify, simplify” as a means to cleanse our lives. I’ve had this book on my list for years and only started reading it this week. Maybe it found its way to me at this junction in time as part of some cosmic design. Maybe it’s kismet, or perhaps it’s just dumb luck and random coincidence. Whatever the case may be, it couldn’t have come to me at a more appropriate time. Allow me to explain:
Ten days ago my bus pulled up to the GVI base in Karongwe Game Reserve, the place I’ll call home until mid-August. We pulled up to the bunkhouse just as the sun set, and my fellow expedition members and I concluded that this would be no vacation. For starters the place was dark as the small solar panel out front was no longer of use in the early African evening. And, the generator out back can only provide enough electricity for our necessities like the refrigerator and the computer from which I am typing to you (it’s supposed to be used to enter data from the expedition, but if we finish our work early we can shoot off an email or two.) Not to worry though, we all have headlamps to light our way to the bathroom and to ensure that we spot pests like snakes, mice or whatever other nuisance crawled into the house. During the last expedition, someone forgot to close a door and a hyena walked in, not good.
We all sleep in one dorm in bunk beds, which I can tell horrified the sorority girl who sleeps in the bunk below me (As a chivalrous guy, I offered to take the top bunk). As long as I have my earplugs and eye mask I am good to go. The only thing that concerned me is the fear of ripping one in my sleep, but then I thought, “Who are they gonna tell?”
The place is rather Spartan, a simple concrete structure that looks kinda like a prison in some sense. It’s low tech, we wash clothes by hand and have to get hot water from the side of the house to do our dishes in a tub. We operate like a quasi hippie commune complete with a division of labor and smelly people. Peoples’ belongings are strewn about and we share most everything. It’s actually quite nice.
The daily routine can be quite gruelling at times. The day starts before sun up at ~5AM but there can be quite a bit of down time too. To pass the time and entertain myself, I persuaded the seven other guys to join me in a moustache pact. Basically we all agreed to grow them over the next 5 weeks and not shave, the more ridiculous the better. As I type to you I’m rockin a James Hetfield style handlebar complete with soul patch. One of the women said, “You look like a pedophile or a porn star.” To which I replied, “Or?” While I do look like a moron, I was trumped earlier today by Stuart, who grew muttonchops connecting to his moustache (Crap!).
I wish I could post pictures, but the infrastructure here in the bush is limited and I am lucky to be able to get this post out at all.
Now for the business part, here’s what I am doing out here on a game reserve in Africa. The first few days were dedicated to training, it felt good to get back into an academic curriculum. Plus, I am now able to tell the difference between 7 different varieties of antelope by species, age and sex. And, I can identify a good 10 species of animal by their poop and tracks.
The experience has been amazing, I go on 1-2 game drives a day lasting approximately 4 hours a drive. It is our duty to track animals to identify their location, if and what they have eaten and observe their behavior. Inputting these data in to databases allows the Reserve Manager to identify trends, determine the best way to manage the reserve and publish papers to help other reserves optimize their populations.
While it is difficult to articulate, I can best describe the experience, as “It’s everything you’d dream wild Africa to be.” This week alone; I’ve been charged by a bull elephant in musth (it’s like being in heat for dudes), I’ve saw a black mane lion carrying a Kudu to his family then eat it. I’ve seen baby everything; lions, hyenas, giraffes, cheetahs, zebras, elephants. There’ve been crocodiles, impala, kudu, civets, bush babies, leopards, etc. We have a leopard, Shiloweni, who lost his canine teeth while trying to chew his way out of a farmer’s trap. They are making him implants and we’ve been told that we will sit in on the surgery. As a bonus, the Discovery Channel will be on hand filming a documentary. Cool!
Beyond the game drives the animals and living like a flower child of the sixties, I’ve had some other great experiences too. I won the giraffe poop spiting contest (for all of you who have told me to eat shit…actually I only spat it). I volunteered to have scorpion put on my face and I held a tarantula (I HATE SPIDERS!!!) I figured I didn’t quit my job, give up a sweet Hoboken pad and fly 18,000 miles away to play it safe. I’ve taken up a philosophy of taste life (and giraffe shit) I figure, when will I get these opportunities again?
I do have to say Thoreau seems to be right. Life is simpler, my soul feels cleaner. Now if I only read the damn book 2 months ago I could have gone to New Hampshire and saved myself butt-loads of money. I’ll be back with another post in a few weeks, hopefully with some pics. I’ve got tons of awesome shots.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
WILDLIFE!...reserve
So I never did make it to East London as I mentioned in my previous post. Due to some crazy bus schedules and high fuel prices I wound up back in Cape Town, back at Paul's. It wasn't a total loss though as I helped Paul maintain - as he calls it - his "stasis of post-collegiate hedonism." Let me explain; Paul will be 42 next month, he doesn't work, he mainly does what he wants to do on his schedule. God I admire him for it.
Now allow me to illustrate: The scene is last Saturday July 5th, 4:00 PM. I am sitting on the couch reading my book and in enters Paul.
PAUL: Hey Chris, was Lawrence of Arabia raped in prison?
CHRIS: I don't know, I never saw the movie.
PAUL: No, I mean the actual guy. He spent time in a Turkish prison, don't guys get raped in Turkish prisons.
CHRIS: (inner monologue, "Lawrence of Arabia was a real guy?") I'm not sure, I believe rape is a service provided in all prisons regardless of if they are Turkish or not. Why do you ask?
PAUL: Dave's party is a costume party and the theme is famous traitors and revolutionaries. I have this sweet costume I bought when I was in Turkey so I'm going as Lawrence of Arabia.
CHRIS: When is the party (thinking it was next week)?
PAUL: At 5 tonight.
CHRIS: Am I invited? And who's Dave?
PAUL: Yeah come along. Dave is the British guy from the other night.
CHRIS: Oh yeah, he's a cool guy. What am I supposed to wear? (thanks for the advanced notice)
PAUL: Oh, the guy who owned my flat before me in 2001 was in the navy or some shit, he left a bag full of uniforms and shit in the attic.
Paul walks out for a moment, returns with a ladder then ascends through the attic hatch. Thirty seconds later a big duffel bag falls from the ceiling and hits the floor with a resounding thud accompanied by a cloud of dust. Like when the Wile E. Coyote hits the desert floor. I'm thinking, "There is no way in hell I'm putting anything in that crusty bag on, there's gotta be some toxic mold or ebola in it (this is Africa)"
But after looking through the bag and closely sniffing the garments for deadly pathogens (great way to detect them by the way) I found the perfect ticket. Along with a cheesy drawn on mustache and that little bottom chin hair thing that douche bags grow in, I was ready to rock. Here we are heading to the party.
Now I have no idea what type of uniform I was wearing; FARC rebel, neo-nazi, a member of the South African Village People, but I need the answer to the question, "Who are you supposed to be." Scanning the hilarious part of my brain that houses my wit I came up with, "I'm a deserter from the Salvation Army." Lucky for me the Salvation Army is an International organization so no translation or explanations were necessary. Everyone understood clearly that I'm a putz with a corny sense of humor.
Dave's party started at 5, and quickly filled with tons of people. By 4:30 in the morning, I was DJing, a water fight had been going strong until someone broke out the garden hose in the living room and Paul was nowhere to be found.
In the next 20 minutes he reappeared having been on the upstairs balcony "meditating" as he proclaimed to be doing. I imagine the mantra he repeated was something close to "Blaaaaachhhh!" As we headed out I made plans to rent a car and visit wine country with Anthony (pronounced On-Toe-Knee), a French guy who is a friend of Paul's friend's friend (making him a friend of a friend's, friend's, friend of mine).
The next morning I woke up and I knew instantly that I would not be going wine tasting, nor renting a car. Then again it wasn't morning either, more like late afternoon. So I took the day to reflect. I thought how arbitrary is it that I just dropped in on these peoples' lives. If I never left the US all of this would have gone on with out me. I thought of the nuances I've incorporated into my diet and language. Do you know that they call traffic lights robots here? I saw a sign a few day earlier that said "Robot 100M ahead" I thought, "Awesome!" as I expected to see C3PO thumbing a ride up ahead... what a let down. Then I thought, my head is pounding, I need to curtail the partying, it's been non-stop since I left, I think I may be dying.
So with Sunday as a recovery day I decided to head to near by Stellenbosch on Monday with Anthony for some mild wine tasting and to get out of Paul's apartment. We had a map with a nice country route plotted along with a place to stop for lunch. While it was rainy, the landscape was beautiful.
We took turns driving and almost running angry fist shaking locals off the road. Who drives on the left side of the road? Over the 4 hours we only stopped at one winery, to be honest I was not in the drinking mood and there was something odd about going wine tasting with another dude.
It would have made for the perfect afternoon with a female companion (there's a bunch of guest houses and B&B's in the area), but Anthony, or Tony as I defaulted to, being from Jersey, was just fine. I enjoyed a nice ride through the country, driving a car for the first time in weeks and my conversation with Anthony. He is a laser welder that makes precision parts for Formula 1 race cars and jet planes.
We got back to Cape Town and headed to the water front for another cafe and some coffee. The next morning (Tuesday) I packed my stuff, headed to the airport and flew to Johannesburg or Jo'burg as the cool kids call it here.
I'm staying with Iris with whom I've been friends with since 6th grade. I'd post a picture but I haven't taken one yet and she is in the shower right now and probably wouldn't appreciate the intrusion. While she went to work yesterday I went to the Apartheid museum. I highly recommend you visit if you are ever in the Jo'burg area. It was sad and somber but informative and uplifting. It really helped to put much of my South African experience into context.
In closing, Thanks to Kelly the web chick back at Quest for teaching me how to track my blog. My last entry with the shark vid was wildly popular. In fact, the blog as a whole is attracting way more people than I know. If you were expecting some wild kingdom shots in this post rather than my musings into my; decent into alcoholism, hedonism and veiled homophobia I apologize.
I am heading into the bush tomorrow to embark on my 5 week volunteer project to track top level predators (lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs), so the next post should have some sweet pics and videos like the last one.
Now allow me to illustrate: The scene is last Saturday July 5th, 4:00 PM. I am sitting on the couch reading my book and in enters Paul.
PAUL: Hey Chris, was Lawrence of Arabia raped in prison?
CHRIS: I don't know, I never saw the movie.
PAUL: No, I mean the actual guy. He spent time in a Turkish prison, don't guys get raped in Turkish prisons.
CHRIS: (inner monologue, "Lawrence of Arabia was a real guy?") I'm not sure, I believe rape is a service provided in all prisons regardless of if they are Turkish or not. Why do you ask?
PAUL: Dave's party is a costume party and the theme is famous traitors and revolutionaries. I have this sweet costume I bought when I was in Turkey so I'm going as Lawrence of Arabia.
CHRIS: When is the party (thinking it was next week)?
PAUL: At 5 tonight.
CHRIS: Am I invited? And who's Dave?
PAUL: Yeah come along. Dave is the British guy from the other night.
CHRIS: Oh yeah, he's a cool guy. What am I supposed to wear? (thanks for the advanced notice)
PAUL: Oh, the guy who owned my flat before me in 2001 was in the navy or some shit, he left a bag full of uniforms and shit in the attic.
Paul walks out for a moment, returns with a ladder then ascends through the attic hatch. Thirty seconds later a big duffel bag falls from the ceiling and hits the floor with a resounding thud accompanied by a cloud of dust. Like when the Wile E. Coyote hits the desert floor. I'm thinking, "There is no way in hell I'm putting anything in that crusty bag on, there's gotta be some toxic mold or ebola in it (this is Africa)"
But after looking through the bag and closely sniffing the garments for deadly pathogens (great way to detect them by the way) I found the perfect ticket. Along with a cheesy drawn on mustache and that little bottom chin hair thing that douche bags grow in, I was ready to rock. Here we are heading to the party.
Now I have no idea what type of uniform I was wearing; FARC rebel, neo-nazi, a member of the South African Village People, but I need the answer to the question, "Who are you supposed to be." Scanning the hilarious part of my brain that houses my wit I came up with, "I'm a deserter from the Salvation Army." Lucky for me the Salvation Army is an International organization so no translation or explanations were necessary. Everyone understood clearly that I'm a putz with a corny sense of humor.
Dave's party started at 5, and quickly filled with tons of people. By 4:30 in the morning, I was DJing, a water fight had been going strong until someone broke out the garden hose in the living room and Paul was nowhere to be found.
In the next 20 minutes he reappeared having been on the upstairs balcony "meditating" as he proclaimed to be doing. I imagine the mantra he repeated was something close to "Blaaaaachhhh!" As we headed out I made plans to rent a car and visit wine country with Anthony (pronounced On-Toe-Knee), a French guy who is a friend of Paul's friend's friend (making him a friend of a friend's, friend's, friend of mine).
The next morning I woke up and I knew instantly that I would not be going wine tasting, nor renting a car. Then again it wasn't morning either, more like late afternoon. So I took the day to reflect. I thought how arbitrary is it that I just dropped in on these peoples' lives. If I never left the US all of this would have gone on with out me. I thought of the nuances I've incorporated into my diet and language. Do you know that they call traffic lights robots here? I saw a sign a few day earlier that said "Robot 100M ahead" I thought, "Awesome!" as I expected to see C3PO thumbing a ride up ahead... what a let down. Then I thought, my head is pounding, I need to curtail the partying, it's been non-stop since I left, I think I may be dying.
So with Sunday as a recovery day I decided to head to near by Stellenbosch on Monday with Anthony for some mild wine tasting and to get out of Paul's apartment. We had a map with a nice country route plotted along with a place to stop for lunch. While it was rainy, the landscape was beautiful.
We took turns driving and almost running angry fist shaking locals off the road. Who drives on the left side of the road? Over the 4 hours we only stopped at one winery, to be honest I was not in the drinking mood and there was something odd about going wine tasting with another dude.
It would have made for the perfect afternoon with a female companion (there's a bunch of guest houses and B&B's in the area), but Anthony, or Tony as I defaulted to, being from Jersey, was just fine. I enjoyed a nice ride through the country, driving a car for the first time in weeks and my conversation with Anthony. He is a laser welder that makes precision parts for Formula 1 race cars and jet planes.
We got back to Cape Town and headed to the water front for another cafe and some coffee. The next morning (Tuesday) I packed my stuff, headed to the airport and flew to Johannesburg or Jo'burg as the cool kids call it here.
I'm staying with Iris with whom I've been friends with since 6th grade. I'd post a picture but I haven't taken one yet and she is in the shower right now and probably wouldn't appreciate the intrusion. While she went to work yesterday I went to the Apartheid museum. I highly recommend you visit if you are ever in the Jo'burg area. It was sad and somber but informative and uplifting. It really helped to put much of my South African experience into context.
In closing, Thanks to Kelly the web chick back at Quest for teaching me how to track my blog. My last entry with the shark vid was wildly popular. In fact, the blog as a whole is attracting way more people than I know. If you were expecting some wild kingdom shots in this post rather than my musings into my; decent into alcoholism, hedonism and veiled homophobia I apologize.
I am heading into the bush tomorrow to embark on my 5 week volunteer project to track top level predators (lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs), so the next post should have some sweet pics and videos like the last one.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Swimming with Great White Trash
I write to you from an internet cafe in Hermanus (Hair-man-oos) South Africa. This place is beautiful, set along the southern coast on the Indian Ocean where the mountains meet the sea. The vistas are breath taking and so vast it's impossible to describe or capture on film. I've spent a good amount of time hiking the rocks along the beach and watching Southern Right Whales breach a few hundred yards of shore (OK meters, man this metric thing is a pain in the ass) .
Hermanus is famous for whale watching and cage diving with Great Whites in near by Gaansbai (don't ask me how to pronounce that one) . The purpose of my stop here was to fulfill a life long dream of diving with the top of the food chain himself the Great White Shark. My dream has been fulfilled and here's a picture and a video (I'm mouthing "WOW!")
After spending some time with these giant predators you realize that there is nothing vicious or frightening about them (Yeah, that's easy to say when your in a reinforced shark cage) they seem docile almost dopey, swimming around as to say ,"You through fish blood in the water? OK here I am what's up...oh a giant hunk of tuna...do-dee-do-dee-do" Kind of like if you were to ring the dinner bell. I would walk over sniffing the air saying ,"Hey is that pizza? awesome!" (those of you who know of my lactose intolerance know that sadly I can't eat pizza anymore)
Speaking of intolerance, the locals here are something else. The town of Hermanus is a resort type place with shops and restaurants geared for tourists.
However it's winter down here so I'm one of few non-locals around. The backpackers (or hostile as you may call it) I'm staying at has a bar which is a local jaunt. It's a working class blue collar type of place. And while the people have their charm, the place is rife with racism, you wouldn't believe some of the things that come out of these people's mouths! Last night I had a grime covered guy "Andy" who looks like Don Vito (Bam Margera's uncle...Google it if you aren't familiar) buy me a birthday drink at midnight (oh yeah it's my birthday) as he told me in his broken Afrikaans accent that he wants to move to the states, Mississippi so he can join the KKK. Ah yes we all have aspirations. So you'll understand that when I was asked, "Are you Jewish". I said "hell no!"
But there have been a few gems like Gail and Mark
They met and fell in love on the internet. She is from Tennessee and he is from South Africa. After realizing that CT was Cape Town and not Connecticut, Gail found Africa on the map (having never left Tennessee) and moved here 6 years ago. The two work at a travel/computer shop around the corner and have adopted me as their American compadre. I've spend quite a few pints talking with them at the end of the bar.
Understanding that I am a guest here, I maintain my manors and just nod as many spew their political and racist rhetoric. It's not my place, although as many of you like Sapienza know, I love arguing with morons. I do have to say that in spite of their ways, the locals have been very warm and welcoming, choosing to speak English rather than Afrikaans regardless of how bad their English is.
I don't want to paint the people of SA in a poor light, I am only referring to the group of locals who populate the bar in the place I'm staying at. To the contrary, the folks in Cape Town were very worldly and metropolitan. I met some great folks like Paul who is friends with my friend Iris. He reminds me a great deal of Jakes, my friend in Amsterdam.
He picked me up from the airport and hosted me in his apartment (flat) for 4 days. He not only opened his home to me, but he opened his life. He introduced me to his friends, took us to the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain and enabled me to live like a Cape Townian rather than a tourist. I was invited for a proper home cooked dinner at his friends house.
Paul is an American who's been living in Cape Town for the past 10 years and a very adventurous traveler. He's lived on almost every continent and over dinner on my last night in Cape Town he shared his amazing and horrific story of getting caught in the tsunami while staying on the beach in Thailand. Having been swept out to sea and having had his clothes ripped off and having lost friends during the ordeal, Paul has a very centered view of the event and himself. I give him tons of credit, while It makes for a sexy story "Hey I was in the tsunami" it is something I would never wish on anyone. He has been instrumental in helping me plan my trip, sharing his experiences and insights. Thanks again man, if you ever decide to return to the states you've got a place to crash.
I am having a great time on the road. Again the people are great, the scenery is awe inspiring and my soul is soaring. I am off to East London shortly to begin seeing what the local Afrikaans call "the real Africa" I believe that's the one that comes to mind when someone says Africa, with the lions and tribesmen and all. It's tough to load pictures from here but I should have complete albums up in the next week or so.
Til then here's a few
Ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope
Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain (elevation 1000 M)
Hermanus is famous for whale watching and cage diving with Great Whites in near by Gaansbai (don't ask me how to pronounce that one) . The purpose of my stop here was to fulfill a life long dream of diving with the top of the food chain himself the Great White Shark. My dream has been fulfilled and here's a picture and a video (I'm mouthing "WOW!")
After spending some time with these giant predators you realize that there is nothing vicious or frightening about them (Yeah, that's easy to say when your in a reinforced shark cage) they seem docile almost dopey, swimming around as to say ,"You through fish blood in the water? OK here I am what's up...oh a giant hunk of tuna...do-dee-do-dee-do" Kind of like if you were to ring the dinner bell. I would walk over sniffing the air saying ,"Hey is that pizza? awesome!" (those of you who know of my lactose intolerance know that sadly I can't eat pizza anymore)
Speaking of intolerance, the locals here are something else. The town of Hermanus is a resort type place with shops and restaurants geared for tourists.
However it's winter down here so I'm one of few non-locals around. The backpackers (or hostile as you may call it) I'm staying at has a bar which is a local jaunt. It's a working class blue collar type of place. And while the people have their charm, the place is rife with racism, you wouldn't believe some of the things that come out of these people's mouths! Last night I had a grime covered guy "Andy" who looks like Don Vito (Bam Margera's uncle...Google it if you aren't familiar) buy me a birthday drink at midnight (oh yeah it's my birthday) as he told me in his broken Afrikaans accent that he wants to move to the states, Mississippi so he can join the KKK. Ah yes we all have aspirations. So you'll understand that when I was asked, "Are you Jewish". I said "hell no!"
But there have been a few gems like Gail and Mark
They met and fell in love on the internet. She is from Tennessee and he is from South Africa. After realizing that CT was Cape Town and not Connecticut, Gail found Africa on the map (having never left Tennessee) and moved here 6 years ago. The two work at a travel/computer shop around the corner and have adopted me as their American compadre. I've spend quite a few pints talking with them at the end of the bar.
Understanding that I am a guest here, I maintain my manors and just nod as many spew their political and racist rhetoric. It's not my place, although as many of you like Sapienza know, I love arguing with morons. I do have to say that in spite of their ways, the locals have been very warm and welcoming, choosing to speak English rather than Afrikaans regardless of how bad their English is.
I don't want to paint the people of SA in a poor light, I am only referring to the group of locals who populate the bar in the place I'm staying at. To the contrary, the folks in Cape Town were very worldly and metropolitan. I met some great folks like Paul who is friends with my friend Iris. He reminds me a great deal of Jakes, my friend in Amsterdam.
He picked me up from the airport and hosted me in his apartment (flat) for 4 days. He not only opened his home to me, but he opened his life. He introduced me to his friends, took us to the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain and enabled me to live like a Cape Townian rather than a tourist. I was invited for a proper home cooked dinner at his friends house.
Paul is an American who's been living in Cape Town for the past 10 years and a very adventurous traveler. He's lived on almost every continent and over dinner on my last night in Cape Town he shared his amazing and horrific story of getting caught in the tsunami while staying on the beach in Thailand. Having been swept out to sea and having had his clothes ripped off and having lost friends during the ordeal, Paul has a very centered view of the event and himself. I give him tons of credit, while It makes for a sexy story "Hey I was in the tsunami" it is something I would never wish on anyone. He has been instrumental in helping me plan my trip, sharing his experiences and insights. Thanks again man, if you ever decide to return to the states you've got a place to crash.
I am having a great time on the road. Again the people are great, the scenery is awe inspiring and my soul is soaring. I am off to East London shortly to begin seeing what the local Afrikaans call "the real Africa" I believe that's the one that comes to mind when someone says Africa, with the lions and tribesmen and all. It's tough to load pictures from here but I should have complete albums up in the next week or so.
Til then here's a few
Ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope
Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain (elevation 1000 M)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Touchdown! and the fans go wild
OK sports fans the journey has begun, here's the recap. On Tuesday night I headed into NYC to catch Pearl Jam one last time before heading out. After what seemed like a sleepless night with only a weird drawn out jam session and conversation with Eddie Vetter to let me know I was dreaming, I headed to Newark and boarded my flight. Hung over with 2 hours of sleep, or jamming with Vetter under my belt, I sat in my seat and popped an Ambien for the first time. I figure if I land in Amsterdam at 8:30 local time, I can sleep the whole way and convince my body that it's been a whole night and negate the effects of jet lag. WRONG!! I now understand why the commercial recommends you have a full 8 hours to sleep. To my chagrin the pilot announced the flight time at 6 hours and 40 minutes, 30 seconds after I took the sucker.
So I landed in Amsterdam still a little loopy from the Ambien experiment and I took public transport to my buddy John Jakes' flat. I feel like I crammed a week long European vacation into 24 hours; did some walking around the city, ate some fries with mayo (Do you know what the call a quarterpounder with cheese at McDonald's there? Royale with Cheese.), we rented a boat and cruised the canals, went for a drink on top of a plush hotel with a view, caught the Russia v Spain "football" game at a bar with some rabid fans, hit a Turkish place for late night grub and I ended up passing out on an air mattress on the floor wasted just like the previous night after the Pearl Jam concert. Except this time I had no doubt I slept, it was one of those dreamless deep coma type of sleeps.
I haven't figured out the picture thing too well, but here's an attempt. Here's some pics from the canals.
So I woke up from my deep slumber in the morning and took the same public transportation in reverse back to the airport to hop a 9 hour flight to Cape Town (sans Ambien this time). My friend Iris set me up with her friend Paul who picked me up from the airport, took me to his flat to drop off my stuff. And like Jakes took me to the bar as my first stop. We went clubbing with a group of French ex-pats. After getting humiliated at a couple of games of foosball we hit the dance floor. The DJ was spinning the same songs I used to when I was 19. It was nostalgic and cheesy at the same time. The ugly American inner monologue in my head was laughing and saying, "Hey, in two years this white rapper named Eminem is going to come out and blow up the charts." And then, like the night before at Jakes' place...I crashed at Paul's, which brings me to right now.
I've been shot out of a cannon up to this point and now I am chilling. Paul is off playing paint ball, I just did not have it in me to crash at 2:30AM and wake up at 7:30AM to go shoot some Afrikaans with paint. I opted to sleep in, organize myself and write to you good folks. So here I am in Paul's computer room with his 2 really loud parrots (Hey shut up already!!!). I've been in Africa for about 15 hours and most of it has been in a bar. We're supposed to go surfing this afternoon with some of the French guys from last night. I'll be back shortly with my impressions on Cape Town. For now, I leave you with a view from Paul's balcony.
So I landed in Amsterdam still a little loopy from the Ambien experiment and I took public transport to my buddy John Jakes' flat. I feel like I crammed a week long European vacation into 24 hours; did some walking around the city, ate some fries with mayo (Do you know what the call a quarterpounder with cheese at McDonald's there? Royale with Cheese.), we rented a boat and cruised the canals, went for a drink on top of a plush hotel with a view, caught the Russia v Spain "football" game at a bar with some rabid fans, hit a Turkish place for late night grub and I ended up passing out on an air mattress on the floor wasted just like the previous night after the Pearl Jam concert. Except this time I had no doubt I slept, it was one of those dreamless deep coma type of sleeps.
I haven't figured out the picture thing too well, but here's an attempt. Here's some pics from the canals.
So I woke up from my deep slumber in the morning and took the same public transportation in reverse back to the airport to hop a 9 hour flight to Cape Town (sans Ambien this time). My friend Iris set me up with her friend Paul who picked me up from the airport, took me to his flat to drop off my stuff. And like Jakes took me to the bar as my first stop. We went clubbing with a group of French ex-pats. After getting humiliated at a couple of games of foosball we hit the dance floor. The DJ was spinning the same songs I used to when I was 19. It was nostalgic and cheesy at the same time. The ugly American inner monologue in my head was laughing and saying, "Hey, in two years this white rapper named Eminem is going to come out and blow up the charts." And then, like the night before at Jakes' place...I crashed at Paul's, which brings me to right now.
I've been shot out of a cannon up to this point and now I am chilling. Paul is off playing paint ball, I just did not have it in me to crash at 2:30AM and wake up at 7:30AM to go shoot some Afrikaans with paint. I opted to sleep in, organize myself and write to you good folks. So here I am in Paul's computer room with his 2 really loud parrots (Hey shut up already!!!). I've been in Africa for about 15 hours and most of it has been in a bar. We're supposed to go surfing this afternoon with some of the French guys from last night. I'll be back shortly with my impressions on Cape Town. For now, I leave you with a view from Paul's balcony.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Crescendo
Oh..... my..... God
I can't believe I actually did it. AAAHHHHHHH HAAAAAAAAA HAA HA HA HA!!!
I can't believe I actually did it. AAAHHHHHHH HAAAAAAAAA HAA HA HA HA!!!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The storm before the calm
I hit the halfway point between leaving my job and leaving my life today. The past 2 weeks have been, have been...it's difficult to describe, kinda like catharsis meets "Holy Shit! I'm backpacking around the world!"
Did you ever have a moment in your life when you feel everything at the same time? There's the sadness of saying good-bye, the fear of what lies ahead. You've got the release and forgiveness thing going on coupled with reflection and introspection.
Then there's the thrill of pending adventure, the guilt of leaving friends and family, especially nephews who, aren't old enough to realize that you're leaving and won't recognize or remember you when you return.
Add to it the anxiety of getting every last thing buttoned up to sustain you out in the world as the clock ticks louder and louder while time runs out and everyone wants a few moments. Lastly, there's the overwhelming joy accompanied by dancing through your mother's house when you realize that you've broken orbit and you're free!!!!
So, here's a quick update. I...finally bought a camera, booked my trip to Hermanus to go shark diving on my birthday (July 3rd), figured out Skype, have all of the medical supplies I need, registered with the State Department so they know where I am, and set up communications and contingency plans just in case poop happens. I've got my absentee ballot, and I think I am almost ready to roll.
Thanks to all of you who've wished me well and shared kind words. I never would have anticipated the response I received. In closing, I want to share an interesting observation. Over the past 2-3 weeks I asked a bunch of people, "If you can wake up tomorrow and do anything you want, N...E....thing, what would it be?" Most responded by giving me a constraint that's preventing them from doing whatever "it" is, rather than answering the question I asked them. I found it interesting. I think it's an important question to ask yourself, people should ask it of themselves regularly. And they should answer it honestly, regardless of how long it takes to answer.
Next up Geronimo!
Did you ever have a moment in your life when you feel everything at the same time? There's the sadness of saying good-bye, the fear of what lies ahead. You've got the release and forgiveness thing going on coupled with reflection and introspection.
Then there's the thrill of pending adventure, the guilt of leaving friends and family, especially nephews who, aren't old enough to realize that you're leaving and won't recognize or remember you when you return.
Add to it the anxiety of getting every last thing buttoned up to sustain you out in the world as the clock ticks louder and louder while time runs out and everyone wants a few moments. Lastly, there's the overwhelming joy accompanied by dancing through your mother's house when you realize that you've broken orbit and you're free!!!!
So, here's a quick update. I...finally bought a camera, booked my trip to Hermanus to go shark diving on my birthday (July 3rd), figured out Skype, have all of the medical supplies I need, registered with the State Department so they know where I am, and set up communications and contingency plans just in case poop happens. I've got my absentee ballot, and I think I am almost ready to roll.
Thanks to all of you who've wished me well and shared kind words. I never would have anticipated the response I received. In closing, I want to share an interesting observation. Over the past 2-3 weeks I asked a bunch of people, "If you can wake up tomorrow and do anything you want, N...E....thing, what would it be?" Most responded by giving me a constraint that's preventing them from doing whatever "it" is, rather than answering the question I asked them. I found it interesting. I think it's an important question to ask yourself, people should ask it of themselves regularly. And they should answer it honestly, regardless of how long it takes to answer.
Next up Geronimo!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I've been expecting you
Hello world,
WELCOME TO MY BLOG! This is the first opportunity anyone has had to read my musings on my upcoming trip around the world. The seven post soliloquy below provides historic background, but here's the quick and dirty...
I'm leaving for Cape Town, South Africa on June 25th, following a 24hr lay over in Amsterdam I land in S. Africa on June 27th. I leave Africa for Delhi, India on Sept 7th and in mid-October I fly from Kathmandu, Nepal to Bangkok, Thailand. On January 16th I catch a flight home from Sydney, Australia via a 1 day stop in Hong Kong.
If you want the deets read on.
PS. Start from the beginning, it makes much more sense that way (click on the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page). Oh and pictures will be accompanying the posts shortly. I still haven't bought a camera...just start reading from the bottom, you'll see
Oh yeah, if you want to be notified when I add a new entry, add a comment to any entry with your email address. I won't post it, so your anonymity will be spared. I'll just add you to my distribution list then delete the comment containing your email address. I will post all other comments however. (unless they are disparaging and make me look foolish ((like I need your comments to accomplish that!))
WELCOME TO MY BLOG! This is the first opportunity anyone has had to read my musings on my upcoming trip around the world. The seven post soliloquy below provides historic background, but here's the quick and dirty...
I'm leaving for Cape Town, South Africa on June 25th, following a 24hr lay over in Amsterdam I land in S. Africa on June 27th. I leave Africa for Delhi, India on Sept 7th and in mid-October I fly from Kathmandu, Nepal to Bangkok, Thailand. On January 16th I catch a flight home from Sydney, Australia via a 1 day stop in Hong Kong.
If you want the deets read on.
PS. Start from the beginning, it makes much more sense that way (click on the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page). Oh and pictures will be accompanying the posts shortly. I still haven't bought a camera...just start reading from the bottom, you'll see
Oh yeah, if you want to be notified when I add a new entry, add a comment to any entry with your email address. I won't post it, so your anonymity will be spared. I'll just add you to my distribution list then delete the comment containing your email address. I will post all other comments however. (unless they are disparaging and make me look foolish ((like I need your comments to accomplish that!))
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Mama I'm coming home
Today I moved out of my Hoboken apartment and back in with my Mother in Old Bridge. Leaving Hoboken has been an odd experience. While I really enjoyed my time living there, I'm not sad to go. No bouts of nostalgia as I packed my stuff, no montage of "the good times" set to some crappy Celine Dion song running in my head. Nothing. Previous moves were different. Both my move away from New York to Texas and from Texas back were sad or bittersweet or something. Leaving Hoboken is matter of fact. Not sure what to make of it.
So I play this game in my head I call, The Tao of iPod. I turn on my iPod, set it to shuffle then play the first song listed alphabetically, in my case A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn. As soon as the song starts, I forward to the next song. The idea is to see if the random song that plays, jives with the flow of what I'm experiencing (the setting, situation, my mood, etc). As I drove out of Hoboken tonight playing The Tao of iPod, Freebird by Skynard came up and I thought, " Yo iPod, you feelin' me man, you feelin' me"
Now for an update. So, we are just 58 days away; I moved out of my apartment, booked the flights, got some gear, got my shots, read my guide books and I am feeling...everything at the same time. I play the trip through my mind and imagine Rajastan, Indonesia and Africa and I want to go now. I also realize that I am going to the other side of the world; for 7 months by myself, away from my family and friends, to experience places where I am separated from the simple comforts I take for granted and where my language is not the native tongue (sans Australia) and with only a 50 L backpack and what ever fits in it. That's some scary shit, but exciting as hell too!
I've got to get in gear on a few items. I need to apply for visas, book the "Cage dive with Great Whites" trip in South Africa. and I need to resolve the hem-haw fest I'm having over buying a digital camera. Lastly I need to figure out Skype (Iris, hang tight I swear I'll sign up and learn how to use it this week. I look forward to our trans-Atlantic VOIP convo.)
That's all for now. I leave you with a felicitous quote (today's word of the day calender word):
"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain." Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption.
So I play this game in my head I call, The Tao of iPod. I turn on my iPod, set it to shuffle then play the first song listed alphabetically, in my case A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn. As soon as the song starts, I forward to the next song. The idea is to see if the random song that plays, jives with the flow of what I'm experiencing (the setting, situation, my mood, etc). As I drove out of Hoboken tonight playing The Tao of iPod, Freebird by Skynard came up and I thought, " Yo iPod, you feelin' me man, you feelin' me"
Now for an update. So, we are just 58 days away; I moved out of my apartment, booked the flights, got some gear, got my shots, read my guide books and I am feeling...everything at the same time. I play the trip through my mind and imagine Rajastan, Indonesia and Africa and I want to go now. I also realize that I am going to the other side of the world; for 7 months by myself, away from my family and friends, to experience places where I am separated from the simple comforts I take for granted and where my language is not the native tongue (sans Australia) and with only a 50 L backpack and what ever fits in it. That's some scary shit, but exciting as hell too!
I've got to get in gear on a few items. I need to apply for visas, book the "Cage dive with Great Whites" trip in South Africa. and I need to resolve the hem-haw fest I'm having over buying a digital camera. Lastly I need to figure out Skype (Iris, hang tight I swear I'll sign up and learn how to use it this week. I look forward to our trans-Atlantic VOIP convo.)
That's all for now. I leave you with a felicitous quote (today's word of the day calender word):
"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain." Morgan Freeman, The Shawshank Redemption.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The mountains win again...
So I spent last week in Denver and for the third time altitude proved to be my kryptonite. At 5,200 feet I felt light-headed, my breathing was labored and my lips blew up like Angelina Jolie's then peeled off. Last year I passed out in the airport the morning after my pal Buck took me to a Nuggets game then out for a drink or 8. A few years ago in Ecuador, I thought someone drugged me and that I was dying (Those of you who were present...Shhh!!!!) I am beginning to rethink the idea of Nepal. If Denver kicks my ass, Kathmandu might destroy it. Someone in Denver told me there are pills you can take before you leave. I think I may look into that when I go back in June for my anti-malarials.
Aside from the whole altitude sickness Colorado was really nice. I drove up to Ft. Collins to see an old friend from college. The view and the feeling were awesome, they pulled my mind 6 months forward onto my trip. If that wasn't enough to psych me up, I watched "Into the Wild" on the flight home.
I figure if Nepal is anything like I've read, I'll have to get there. Perhaps I'll win this one. T minus 2 months and counting... Next up I'm moving back home with my mother!!!!
Aside from the whole altitude sickness Colorado was really nice. I drove up to Ft. Collins to see an old friend from college. The view and the feeling were awesome, they pulled my mind 6 months forward onto my trip. If that wasn't enough to psych me up, I watched "Into the Wild" on the flight home.
I figure if Nepal is anything like I've read, I'll have to get there. Perhaps I'll win this one. T minus 2 months and counting... Next up I'm moving back home with my mother!!!!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
More prep for my trip blah, blah, blah
Hello imaginary friends (remember I haven't published this blog yet so I am talking to nobody right now) For historical reference, I went to Kampy's wedding last night, awesome.
With my flights out of the way I've spent the last 2 weeks concentrating on gearing up. If you read 10 different guidebooks, you'll get 10 different opinions on how to outfit a backpacking trip around the planet. I'm taking a 4 day weekend to shop around, visit various camping and outdoor sports stores, and to jump start my fat toochas back into a good exercise regimen. I want to be in shape for potentially grueling conditions or just look good for the sexy traveling ladies that exist in my imagination (If reality is anything close, this blog is going to get much better in a few months : )
Shopping has been an experience the folks that are on shift at outdoors stores are interesting. I went to EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) The woman working there had crazy eyes, kind of like that runaway bride who was in the news last year, you can see the whites all around her irises. She saw me coming from a mile away. It's amazing, my specific trip calls for the most expensive pair of boots and backpack they sell. What a coincidence! The she tried selling me her water purifier at a bargain price before she put it on ebay. I got her number, we are going out next weekend (just kidding)
So I've decided to go bare bones and travel very light. One of the main reasons for this trip is liberation, plus I think the Buddha said something about a truly happy man can fit all of his possessions on his back, or something like that. If I really need something I can likely find it along the way. Last I saw they sell clothes and supplies in Africa. I intend on using a climber's back pack, they are small and light, if I don't have the space, I can't over pack. It will keep my load light as well.
So here's the trip as it stands:
I will be in Africa until September 7th when I will fly out to Delhi India (stop over in Abu Dhabi,cool!) . I intend on spending a month in Rajastan/Golden Triangle area then going overland to Nepal. I'll fly from Nepal on October 15th to Bangkok Thailand then my next flight is booked for January 16th from Sydney to Newark. So what to do with 3 months between Thailand and Australia? Here are some thoughts. 1) Obviously the Great Barrier Reef is a lock. 2) I'm reading up on diving Indonesia, I think I may be interested in making my way by water through Indonesia and Malaysia to Australia diving some awesome places on the way. 3) I think I may also be interested in staying for a while and honing my surfing skills. I tore it up in Costa Rica on the breaks of Playa Hermosa, but I think I am ready to try waves bigger than 2 feet high : ) 4) Perhaps a home stay at a monastery? 5) Maybe teach English to Buddhist monks? 6) Bali? I'll be doing some more reading and posting on boards to learn more as the weeks go by.
With my flights out of the way I've spent the last 2 weeks concentrating on gearing up. If you read 10 different guidebooks, you'll get 10 different opinions on how to outfit a backpacking trip around the planet. I'm taking a 4 day weekend to shop around, visit various camping and outdoor sports stores, and to jump start my fat toochas back into a good exercise regimen. I want to be in shape for potentially grueling conditions or just look good for the sexy traveling ladies that exist in my imagination (If reality is anything close, this blog is going to get much better in a few months : )
Shopping has been an experience the folks that are on shift at outdoors stores are interesting. I went to EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) The woman working there had crazy eyes, kind of like that runaway bride who was in the news last year, you can see the whites all around her irises. She saw me coming from a mile away. It's amazing, my specific trip calls for the most expensive pair of boots and backpack they sell. What a coincidence! The she tried selling me her water purifier at a bargain price before she put it on ebay. I got her number, we are going out next weekend (just kidding)
So I've decided to go bare bones and travel very light. One of the main reasons for this trip is liberation, plus I think the Buddha said something about a truly happy man can fit all of his possessions on his back, or something like that. If I really need something I can likely find it along the way. Last I saw they sell clothes and supplies in Africa. I intend on using a climber's back pack, they are small and light, if I don't have the space, I can't over pack. It will keep my load light as well.
So here's the trip as it stands:
I will be in Africa until September 7th when I will fly out to Delhi India (stop over in Abu Dhabi,cool!) . I intend on spending a month in Rajastan/Golden Triangle area then going overland to Nepal. I'll fly from Nepal on October 15th to Bangkok Thailand then my next flight is booked for January 16th from Sydney to Newark. So what to do with 3 months between Thailand and Australia? Here are some thoughts. 1) Obviously the Great Barrier Reef is a lock. 2) I'm reading up on diving Indonesia, I think I may be interested in making my way by water through Indonesia and Malaysia to Australia diving some awesome places on the way. 3) I think I may also be interested in staying for a while and honing my surfing skills. I tore it up in Costa Rica on the breaks of Playa Hermosa, but I think I am ready to try waves bigger than 2 feet high : ) 4) Perhaps a home stay at a monastery? 5) Maybe teach English to Buddhist monks? 6) Bali? I'll be doing some more reading and posting on boards to learn more as the weeks go by.
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