A dismal attempt at a recap

Landing in JFK was a bit of a surreal feeling. My travels ended up being about seven months  at least internationally. I am still not quite ready to make it back home. There is still have some fun to be had. I am not sure it has fully hit me yet. JFK was just another airport and flying into it wasn't anything too exciting. It was so cloudy you couldn't see he city flying in and there hasn't really been anything distinctly American I have encountered yet. 

I am occasionally faced with the question of what have I have learned on this trip. I think because I went partially on this trip under the guise of needing to find myself or at least wanting to learn new things. I am sure the lessons are there. Hidden amongst experiences and people and places. Here's a somewhat random list:

 I have learned to hale a cab and negotiate a price. How to sleep under almost any conditions. I have learned how to take control and how to let others take control. You don't have to fight all of your battles. If someone else wants to champion your cause let them sometimes. I have seen acts of compassion and seen examples of acts of cruelty and hatred through historical contexts. I have seen some of the wonders of the world. I think some of them are places but most of them are places and experiences. I have learned to live with nothing but what is on your back. I have learned how to survive bus rides I never thought would end and have learned to enjoy them. Whether it be the people I meet the solitude you can experience despite being packed into a small area with others or the ability to just laugh at a situation the would otherwise cause discomfort or concern. I have learned that you usually find things when you aren't looking for them. That people are good.... Everywhere. That's kids carry a light no matter what their circumstances or living standards. That it is worth not caring what others think sometimes and to just having fun. That tuk tuk drivers In Cambodia and almost everywhere offer a lot more than just a ride. That not all stories are meant to make it home to the family. That I was born into great privilege. White and speaking English is a good place to be in a lot of the world. It affords opportunities others may never hope to have. It's better to not be able to see the driving when you are on a bus. Just trust they've done it before. Physical fitness ebbs and flows but it will never dictate wether I get the ice cream or fruit shake. I am going to get them. People from the rest of the world know more about the political climate of our country then most of the people on our country do. That wipes sometimes feel like a waste of time to carry until you need them. People value different things. That's true of travelers and locals and everyone. Traveling can be so fulfilling and so lonely at the same time. Wifi is a blessing and a curse. Asians have perfected the use of motorbikes. I have seen them used for mass transportation to pull trailers to cart objects that are far to large for them. It's worth it to take the road less traveled sometimes. Sometimes it's fun to party on the path with everyone else. Sometimes when you aren't looking for things is when you find them.  Places are incidental to a good vacation people are requisite. Street food is almost always better than the food you get from a sit down restaurant especially if you try to get western food. They make one food all day everyday. They are good at it. Hospitality of Thai people rivals that of anyone in the world. I experienced this first hand and feel like I could never really repay the kindness I have been shown. Smiling is infectious. I learned that through the kids. Roller bags may have their place but it's not traveling through Asia.  Good luck towing that across a dirt road or any road in Asia for that matter. Police and many people of power are not above bribery. I had a few example of this. Temples are all sacred but are not all created equal. Beauty is everywhere. Happiness is not contingent upon a salary or possessions. When your livelihood is threatened you can get pretty creative to protect it. This is evident in the state of some of the transport they continue to use. Cleanliness is relative. So is expense. I leave things everywhere. A lot of the countries of the world knows how to travel. They have jobs that allow for it and have it within their culture. You don't have to leave your country to travel. I say that tongue in cheek. Food is better when you eat with the locals. Sometimes comfort food like McDonald's is what is called for. Ice cream is a daily event. It's easy to get a little calloused to things that would otherwise be unusual when you travel. Everything becomes usual. When survival is still a concern environmental impact is not. Further if the government doesn't care or the infrastructure isn't there you Can't expect the local people be stewards of their lands. It's a learned behavior. It's not innate. Religion whatever it is sets a tone for a country and how it lives. People are not that different. Animals even dogs are not always pets. Choose your battles wisely. Everything is negotiable.... Unless it's  not. Temple fatigue is a real thing. What constitutes a bed differs greatly. If planning is your thing them in hope flexibility is as well. Things rarely go as planned and you won't always want to follow the plans you make. If you take time to learn another's culture and language it makes the biggest difference when interacting with them. Ideas about roads and transportation vary greatly. The importance of good company on a long hike. Everyone has a story and it's almost always worth letting someone tell theirs. 

There are thousands of stories behind these lessons and I feel like it's a pretty surface list of some of the things I learned. 

I grew in ways I could have never hoped to. I found things I wasn't really looking for and I think in other ways came with ideas or hopes that never really materialized. I wouldn't change the experiences I had for anything. I met people I will always hold dear to me and had experiences that change the way I look at the world and have shaped the way I look at the world and my future. 

Travel was a great experience and one I am grateful I had a chance to experience. The lessons I learned will go with me as I transition to new opportunities in my life. 

Kruger park and Johannesburg

I last wrote about leaving the village. That was not fun. Amy had to stay as she still has a couple months of service left. She really is doing great things so that's exciting. We continued to drive to Kruger park. It was like a 10 hour drive so that wasn't so fun. I learned how to drive a manual in South Africa where they drive on the left. I wonder what it will be like going home where the shifter is on the opposite side. I am so screwed up with traffic from the travels I never know where traffic is supposed to be coming from anymore. 

So we went back to a lodge I had stayed at before. It's near the south end of the park just 8km from the crocodile bridge entrance. It also about 10km from the Mozambique border. Last trip with Brandt we almost ended up in Mozambique whole looking for the park. 

We got into the park and saw lions pretty quick. We didn't ever get the best view of them but we saw them. We would see lots of animals. Tons of impala, elephants, rhinos, kudu, zebras, monkeys, baboons, giraffes, hippos, cheetahs(which are pretty rare sight), an we even caught a turtle. 

The cheetahs were cool. The mother had been out hunting and the mother and her two cubs had been separated. The cars in between made it difficult for them to reunite but we were able to see them reunited. We saw all of the big 5 except a leopard this time around. It was really great seeing these things with my parents. It was something they hadn't seen. It was a great experience to be able to share a piece of my travel with my parents. 

We went back after a long day of animal watching and had a really nice braii at the lodge we stayed. 

The next day we would go back to Johannesburg. It was a bit of a pain finding the place we were staying. The day we got in we just stayed at the hotel. The next day before I had to be dropped off we went to the apartheid museum. It's a beautifully done museum about the segregation that was a part of south Africa's recent history. It gave me perspective on some of the issues facing the country. It also gave me appreciation for the man Nelson Mandela was and the impact he had on the country. It's cool to see changes taking place in South Africa and it was fun to talk to my parents about the future and some of the issues they continue to face. 

Museum

Cool sculpture of Mandela 

I was supposed to fly out on the 7th and get there on the 8th but my flight took off and about 45 minutes minutes was turned around for technical difficulties. It was a long night as they initially thought they were just going to take the same plane and continue on. That didn't happen. We ended up in a hotel near the airport and I caught a flight from Johannesburg to JFK to LA. I am here a day later but it took 10 hours off my travel time. I was looking forward to getting out of the airport in London but that never happened. 

Cape Town the garden route and the Wild coast

I haven't been very diligent about writing for the blog but it's been hard with parents and only having so long before Amy is back in the village. So we met my parents in Cape Town. It was my dad's birthday the day we got in but it was late so I was able to catch dinner with my parents. It's great seeing them again. It was fun catching up. The next morning we went to the old biscuit mill to see the local food market. The food was all really good. Tons of fresh foods. Then we went to Groot Constantia the oldest wine estate in South Africa. We took a tour and found out how wine was made. The barrels they age the wine in cost about a thousand dollars and are only used three times and they turn around and sell them for 22 dollars. After that me and Amy caught some local taxis back to the hotel. It was fun being back in Cape Town. I spent enough time that it brought back memories of when I was there before.

Old biscuit mill. A shopping area and also had a wholes section for local food all of which was incredible. 

Groot Constantia vineyard

Barrels. Real expensive barrels. 

The next day we were leaving Cape Town down the garden route. We first went to cape point and to the cape of good hope. Both I had been but it was really fun to show my parents and to check them out with Amy. From tree we headed down to Robertson where we stayed. We stopped at a olive farm there and then for lunch we went to a cheese farm. They were nice places. 

Scenic Route to cape point

Penguins in Simons town. Appearantly I neglected to take pictures at cape point this time. 

Lunch at Montangu cheese farm 

From there we went to Mosselbaii where we dove with great white sharks. They put you in a cage on the side of the boat and the sharks come crashing into the cage. The cage has all these bent bars from other shark encounters. It was fun and the whole thing was really impressive. 

Dad looking gangster ready for some great white action. 

Seal island where the sharks come to feed and where they shoot a good portion of shark week each year. 

Nom nom nom

Shark got a hold of the bait fish

Knysna heads

Bwahahahaha. Angry face

We then had a kind of long drive to Cintsa. Here we had views of beautiful beaches. We stayed at a place called buccaneers. It was a bunch of cottages. We had a really cool view of the ocean.  

View of the beach from the bungalow in the morning. 

From there we went back the Amy's village. Mom and dad stayed outside of underberg and went up Sani Pass. They went up into Lethsoto a country contained within South Africa. I spent the day with Amy in the village. All in all it was a great trip with Amy. I saw some beautiful country and was really excited to spend time with her. She went back to the village as my parents and I continued on to Kruger. 

The lovely ladies at Amy's village. Tey are all so sweet. Such great hosts. I will miss them all. Siabonga!

Birthday celebrating

Ubaba and umamas

Dancing!

This was her 'my best friend just asked me to be a brides maid happy face.' Worth contrasting against  angry face above. Great lunch in underberg before picking up the parents. 

Waiting for our shakes. 

So I got to spend four incredible weeks with Amy and I am beyond grateful for the hospitality she showed, her unyielding planning, and unending patience to put up with me. She is an incredible person who is doing amazing things in circumstances that are so foreign to most. I am glad I was able to get a glimpse into what she and other peace corp volunteers do.  I had experiences I will never forget and met the  most incredible people. I can't wait to see her after she completes her service in a couple of months. 

The Ampitheater Gorge and Tugela Falls

So for Easter we went to Mass at a Catholic church in Durban. It was in a regular church rather than a giant barn. It we still very full. There was still dancing but it was toned down a little. It was a really good time and was cool to see. The people were extremely excited to worship. 

From there we rented a car. It's a VW polo but it's a hatchback. It's been my favorite car so far. 

Dinner in Durban

Views from the beginning of the hike

The amphitheater near Tugela Falls

View from the top. Two days later we hiked through the valleys. 

The roaring Tugela falls

Amy on the chain ladders

We are staying at amphitheater backpackers. It's the same place I stayed last time I was in South Africa and met up with Brandt and Toto and Pablo. This time we have been able to do some hikes. We did Tugela Falls on Tuesday and it was a really nice hike. Tugela Falls is the second tallest in the world but wasn't much more than a trickle. It's fall here so the river isn't exactly moving quick. It was a nice hike. I think only 12 km return trip. The roads were something awful to it though. It was a 2 hour drive just to get to to the sentinel peak parking area where the hike started. It went well. The hike was nice and ends with you standing on the top of the amphitheater walls looking down into the valley below. 

Wednesday was a rainy day so we spent it at the backpackers just hanging out. It was fun. Not anything but got to hang out with Amy which is always nice. She's a huge part of why I came back to South Africa and I am really glad she is able to take some time away from the village to travel. 

Sunset on the Maluti Mountains

Our next hike was the gorge hike it was a bit longer 23km round trip and had views more from the bottom up. It really was pretty and a really nice hike. 

The Ampitheater on the left to the point. Tugela falls is in the back corner but was just a trickle. 

Heading into the tunnel. Very similar to slot canyons. 

Steep trail down. They used bailing wire as a hand hold. 

A huge part of our hike was hopping boulders up the creek.