South Africa: Days 10 - 12 (Clarens, Oldenberg, New Bethesda, The Karoo)

After breakfast the inn keeper advised us that we had to get our stuff immediately and head down the mountain. We had already packed and loaded everything so we jumped in and made it to our normal truck and transferred everything. We had no idea what the big hurry was - but perhaps it was to try and avoid what we actually ran into, or rather, through -- the fire.

It had continued to burn the night before (almost 72 hours now), and all the picturesque countryside we saw coming into Drakensberg had all burned. Everything was black for miles. It was unbelievable. Then on the highway things started getting really smoky and then all our visibility was gone.

I didn't realize until we hit the other side how easily we could have had a head-on crash with oncoming traffic.

After we made it through the fire breathing a collective sigh of relief, we made a quick stop at the Ingula Dam which supplies almost all of the drinking water to South Africa. It was beautiful and blue, and next to it was a field of slaughtered cows. Yes, it kind of ruins the moment, but the cows are there to feed the struggling vulture community. The local farmers give their cows hormones and such to get them to grow stronger (and fatter) for sale. These chemicals are toxic to the vultures, which die if they eat a cow who's been supplemented. So these are au natural, organic cows that they can eat safely.

Then we came upon the city of Clarens, a quaint little art community reminiscent of Sausalito (for those of you in the SF area). Except this really is small, and encompasses the town square and about one block in each direction off of it. I went promptly to one of the many candy stores and struggled with a balance of getting something without overdoing it. So I settled on a small bag of cookies and an even smaller bag of chocolate covered macadamias. YUM.

The rest of the first day was spent driving to Oldenberg, just a place for us to sleep while heading to the Karoo. It was fairly cold at the inn for the first time during our trip, and our guide told us not to worry, that the Karoo was semi-desert and should be great. The inn had 5 dogs which ranged from lab to jack russel, and there were horses and a parrot too.

We met promptly at 6:30 for breakfast where we discovered one of the dogs in the giant fireplace, and others all curled up for warmth. It was VERY cold illustrated by the frost on the ground and ice on the car windows. We wanted to just eat and get our tea so we could start warming up. When we left we pulled out our sleeping bags and got in them for the drive to the Karoo. On our drive we saw remants of snow on the ground in any place that was shaded along the road. I couldn't wait for the semi-desert.

Before we made it to our remote camp in the Karoo we stopped in the nearest town (45 min drive from the inn) of New Bethesda to see Miss Helen's Owl House. Now Miss Helen was a bit of a crazy woman. If you live in the SF Area you have heard of Sarah Winchester and the Winchester Mystery House. Well Miss Helen was nuts too and she locked herself in her yard making crazy statues, mostly religious in nature, out of concrete, old beer bottles, and other stuff lying around. The "Owl House" name comes from the many owl statues that are on the front porch of the house. She was supposed to be "arty" but even the greatest artists have a little crazy in them. Miss Helen's stems from having to take care of her ailing father who was pretty mentally abusive towards her. When he died she painted his room all black and left it that way. Its now the reception area to the museum.

Now on to the remote in deep in the Karoo. It was a very bumpy ride and it seemed like we just kept driving and driving, until we finally reached the inn which was probably the most remote area I've ever been in. Yes, it was semi-desert. But it was FREEZING. It had snowed the day before we arrived and the pipes had frozen over. So we were told to take showers that afternoon/evening so that if it happened again we wouldn't be stuck. What was great about this inn was that being in the middle of nowhere you could see more stars then you've ever seen in your life. It was awesome. The other thing was that the main house (where we ate and had a lounge) was haunted. Apparantly the guy who originally owned it was hung in the dining room and people have reported very strange phenomena. One was the office, which always was 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the house, no matter what the conditions where. Our innkeeper reported hearing footsteps in the hardwood floors when there was no one in the place but her. So naturally I wanted to go into the office. But I made Alex go first, and I took a picture of her (to see if there would be anything wierd on it - I believe way too much Sci-Fi channel stuff) and you can judge for yourself. I noticed it right away and didn't say anything to AJ, and when he saw it, he thought the same thing (and he's not easily persuaded by the paranormal).
After Dinner, AJ went to bed and I stayed in the lounge with the Johann and Seb and Pietrie, and we were joined by the innkeepers for some drinks. More like shots. I thought, "eh, a few won't hurt". Well suffice to say I was completely sick all night and most of the next day and will likely never do a shot again (famous last words - but even the thought of it as I write this make me want to gag). I forgot that for the most part we have really cut back our drinking on this trip (very limited to beer and wine), so I was very much out of practice. And further, I should know better than to drink with an 18 & 24 year old and think I can keep up.

So AJ left me to suffer the next morning for the hike our guide had prepared - I thought that the boys would have been just as wrecked as I was (I was wrong - they showed up for the hike!). From what AJ told me (and the picture proved it!), they came across and ostrich nest and you can actually STAND on the eggs and they won't break. (Note to PETA - this nest was abandoned). Also fascinating, apparantly an infertile female lays a bunch of unfertilized eggs around the eggs that are fertilized, so that if you get any egg stealers, they'll likely take one from the edge that isn't fertilized and therefore making it more likely that the fertilized eggs will hatch. There were also fossils that they came across that are just sitting on the ground. They don't collect them for museums but leave them out so that people hiking through can see them in the state in which they are discovered!

After the hike I had felt better and before dinner the group hung out in the lounge filling me in on their day before dinner. Then it was early to bed for us as we were again starting for the coast on the final week of the tour.

South Africa: Days 8 & 9 (Durbin & Drakensberg)

We woke up the morning of Day 8 (those of us who went to the Bush Tavern) a little hungover, but piled into the truck to go to Durbin and Ushaka Marine World. It is a combination water-park, aquarium, and dolphin/seal show (similar to Six Flags Marine World/Discovery Kingdom - minus the roller coaster rides). It was the first time I'd seen very large sharks in a tank that would swim right up to the glass - ragged tooth sharks. They would come VERY slowly and you could see all their teeth - it was really cool and got me more psyched about the shark diving I was planning for Cape Town. You could even dive there at the park.

After lunch we drove for the rest of the day to arrive in Drakensberg, which is situated in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains. When we arrived we had to switch cars to a smaller truck because the road to the inn was very small and very bumpy and we had to drive VERY slowly. We noticed that all the grass seemed to have been burned recently around the road and the innkeeper told us that the night before someone had lit a wildfire. They don't have firefighters in the area so local farmers and the innkeeper had to fight it themselves. It was still smoldering in some places, but it had burned around the inn already so we weren't in any immediate danger - thankfully we got there when we did. The inn was amazing - it was very remote and quiet on the hillside, with the high mountains right behind us. We got settled in and relaxed in the common room before dinner, and as the sun went down the wind picked up and we started to notice the fire was burning again - and it started spreading fast. It was pretty spectacular to watch, its hard not to be somewhat mesmerized by it. Although when we woke up there was a thin layer of ash that had blown in under our door and settled in the bathroom, and our guide and innkeeper had been out during the night to help the local farmers fight the fire. It had really spread.

We had a hike scheduled on Day 9 to the top of the mountains behind the inn and we started trudging through the scorched grass to some original bushman cave paintings. There was ash and dust blowing everywhere. The cave paintings were amazing to see in their natural habitat, not inside a museum, not covered by glass. The paintings are 2,000-3,000 years old and depict bushman life, including hunting, and encountering the Zulus, who ultimately exterminated most of them.

After this, we continued up the trail and up the mountain, almost at a climb. As we neared the top we had to climb the rock face at the top of the mountain in order to reach the flat peak. And once on top we encountered the full force of the wind, although it wasn't dusty and ash-filled like it was down below. Once on the top we rested and Pietre took us 2 at a time to the edge of the cliff where we got a chance to view a vulture colony tucked up into the rocky cliffs of the mountain. It was really impressive.

Once on top we were going to walk along the top of the mountain and around the valley but because the top isn't very wide we were in danger of being blown off so we climbed back down the mountain the way we came and after choosing an alternate route for a lower hike, we backed out because the wind and dust had reached a point where you had to stop and shield your eyes from the bits of dirt and ash that were stinging your face. Once back at camp we saw just how black, ashy, and covered in soot we all were. We actually had black ash in our ears and up our noses for about 3 days after. We watched the wind also flare up hotspots on the mountainside above our trail and take out some more trees and grass.

The wind continued to howl for the rest of our day and throughout the night as we slept - we could only imagine what the fire was doing.

New Pictures

For those who may have missed, there are TONS of new pictures uploded. Follow this link while I prod AC to finish writing about our trip to South Africa.

South Africa: Days 6 & 7 (False Bay, Hluhlue and Dolphin Coast)

The morning of Day 6 we awoke to a freezing cold shower situation before breakfast. Then we departed for a morning hike to False Bay (really an expansive estuary we learned). Along the hike we learned about plant life (such as the Buffalo Tree and Fever Tree) and some old Hyena Dung with some bone fragments in it - thankfully no hyenas. Upon arriving at the Bay we learned there are lots of sharks and crocodiles so you can't (well, you shouldn't) swim there. But it is popular for fishing. The bay was completely FLAT - it looked frozen over. It was low tide too, and lots of molted crab shell fragments littered the muddy shore.

Upon return from the hike we had lunch and a few hours to hang out (I worked on the next batch of postcards) and then at 3:00 we took off to Hluhlue Imfolozi Park where we took an afternoon game drive in the mountains of Zululand. Here we saw many Rhinos, including a BIG male and a mother/baby duo. The mother & baby were feeding next to the road and when we came up we startled them and the baby made like it was going to run right to us and then realized it was the wrong way and turned around. Then it proceeded to get stuck with a tree limb underneath it and we laughed while it tried to get out.

We also saw the 4th of the Big Five, the water Buffalo. We saw one by itself and we learned that it was an old male who was kicked out of the herd - he had once been the dominant male and a younger male had challenged him for the top spot and succeeded. So he was left to fend for himself the rest of his life. One of the standouts was a Zebra who looked drunk or asleep that wouldn't get out of the road after 15 minutes, so we had to carefully edge past it and you could have reached out and pet it. It was beautiful country and we didn't want to leave (especially since we were determined to find a leopard!) except it was going to be dark soon. Our open air truck was quite breezy (a major understatement) as we headed back to camp - now I know why they told us to dress warmly!

The next day we went into the village of Hluhlue itself to visit the local high school and sangorma (female witch doctor, or bone thrower). This part had us all really wondering what was up. After meeting the principal of the high school he walked us into the village where a few pantless babies ran into their houses giggling at the sight of us before we got to the hut. The sangorma sat on the floor with a blanket around her and after removing our shoes we sat in a half-circle in front of her. It was very mysterious and we had no idea what was about to happen. What I did notice was that there were no actual bones in front of her. There were some rocks, coins, shells, and even a bottle cap. So I guess that's what they throw now. So she gathers everything up and tosses it in front of her and she was holding a pipe and proceeded to chant and ask the bones to do their magic. Justin and I both noticed the green bottle cap rolled WAY off to the side and thought, "uh oh - what does THAT mean??" Then came question time. Everyone kinda looked around and silently said, "you first!" Johan asked what nationality his wife was going to be - she said white and you already know her. Then she told his younger brother to stop drinking when he asked how old he was going to be. Justin surprised me big time with his question - and her answer surprised me even more. (We are not going to tell you until we see if it is accurate - it will just make it cooler if it actually happens!) I couldn't think of what to ask so I just blurted out, "how is my health going to be?" and she said, "no problems". Does that mean I don't have to watch my cholesterol anymore?

We thanked her (and tipped her) and then walked back to the school to meet one of the classes. The day before we had each bought some school supplies to donate on our visit. Pens, paper, art supplies, etc. Alex brought some lollipops so we picked a class where the size would be adequate where everyone would get one. After we reached the classroom the principal had the class stand up and we sat in their seats. They actually sit 3 to a chair, which if Justin and I had to share it would have been tight. Then they sang for us - which was UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE. They're singing in their native Zulu tongue but it was moving just the same. It was cute that some of them were shy and kind of hiding in the back but then their friends would push them out front and center and we would give them an applause for their bravery of taking a solo. I could have sat their and listened all day. Alex even joined in with the dancing and I wish I had too - I just wasn't sure if they would have thought I was mocking them.

After that we were back on the road this time to Dolphin Coast, and our first trip to the Indian Ocean. It was a small coastal town and were were most excited about the laundry service at the inn at first. We had a nice seafood dinner then the guides took us to a local pub called the Bush Tavern where we learned about African shooter specialties from Lize, who did "the giraffe".

South Africa Tour: Days 4 & 5 (Kruger National Park to False Bay)

This was the most eagerly anticipated part of the trip for most of us - Kruger National Park. We started early from Hazyview to get the most amount of time in the park before sundown. As soon as we entered the park we saw Giraffe and Elephants. We were told that we wouldn't stop at things we had already seen so that we could get a chance to see the rest of the animals there were to see. I was actually surprised at how many Giraffe we saw - they were everywhere, including along the highway! We drove to one of the watering holes and saw a group of animals, predator and prey: Hippo, Crocodile, Tortoise, Zebra, Impala all getting water and then heading back to the bush. At one point we stopped to see a bunch of animals I never would have thought would hang out with one another: Rhino (that's 2 of the Big Five), Elephant, Impala, Kudu, and Warthog. I guess you will only hang out with those that won't try and eat you. At a rest stop we came across a gazebo where the underside was COVERED in Fruitbats! After lunch we got a tip that there were lions so we headed over and found them. There were 1 Male, 4 Females, and 1 cub, who kept poking its head up to look at us while the rest were asleep in the shade. We watched for about 20 minutes when one of the cars who was watching started their engine and it spooked the pride and they bolted suddenly - very disappointing, but the male turned back and looked at us for a while before following the rest.

We spent the most rustic night of the trip that night in a campground in tents surrounded by an electric wire fence with only 3 wires. High enough for an elephant, but with a 3 foot gap in the middle that any smart lion or hyena could jump through. The night before a female leopard had been seen walking around the perimeter. And our tent was 10 feet from the fence. We kept hearing something walking around the perimeter during the campfire, and our guide thought it could be a leopard (or maybe a hippo) which I don't know was to get us all riled up or what. But it worked.

The next morning we were in the Park at 6:00 am so that we could try and find a leopard on the tail end of its evening (no pun intended!). What we did see was 100x better. Apparently the rarest of all the animals you may ever see in ALL of Africa are Wild Dogs. And 5 minutes after we entered the park there was a pack of them. Our guide Lize said she hadn't seen them in 8 years. Our guide Pietre was actually on a task force that was trying to track their progress and we all have to send him our pictures for his research. They were awesome - they never ran into the bush but kept running down the paved road. We got to watch them for 15-20 minutes before they went on their way and there were 7 of them in total. We felt very lucky to have seen them! As we continued our search for the elusive Leopard we went to a watering hole and stumbled across a hyena. They look like wild dogs but are bigger. This one was alone but they are never alone, the head of the pack is always a female and is always nearby - we just didn't see her. At the watering hole I counted over 100 impala around it. WOW. There were also many crocodile waiting for a baby to get too close. Our search for the leopard turned up fruitless and it was time to head to our next destination, Zululand by way of Swaziland, one of the two countries completely surrounded by South Africa. We drove across the border and cleared immigration before hopping back on the truck and driving the 2 hours it takes to get through the country. We stopped for lunch on the highway and then crossed the border again into South Africa in Zululand on our way to False Bay, our next stop.

South Africa Tour: Day 3 (Balule to Hazyview)

We awoke to the sound of Wildebeest and Zebra at the watering hole and were packed at 7:30 for our next leg. After breakfast we hit the road for a short drive to Hazyview where the people who ran our lodge also ran a local reptile park. We learned about all the indigenous snakes to Africa, including the infamous Black Mambo, and I got to hold an Albino Burmese Python. Next we went to the lodge to check in and it was like we were in Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse. The lodge was built around these huge trees that came up through the upper deck. The Sabie River was rushing nearby and we would later be walking by in search of Hippos and Crocodiles. It was also home to some pets, including a vicious dachshund, a very friendly Pig (Napolean), 2 Warthogs, 2 Ostrich, and 1 famous Zebra (Gilbert), who was an extra in the film, "Racing Stripes" about a zebra who thinks he's a racehorse. There were also HUGE Golden Orb Spiders in nests underneath the carpark that were as big as my palm.

On our River Walk, we did see a crocodile but no hippos. This is the dry season in Africa so there wasn't much water flowing for the hippos to submerge in.

After the walk we had the rest of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We played with Napoleon, and just as it was getting dark we went on the search for the Warthogs, who are supposed to be friendly. We found Napoleon on the lawn and then all of a sudden Gilbert had come by. We were warned that Gilbert loved Caroline, the innkeeper but that he would likely trample and stomp us to death (seems to be a theme in Africa). So we kept our distance but there wasn't really a place for us to run too. Plus we couldn't really see anything but vague shapes and the faint stripes. Then out of the bushes one of the Warthogs (Meatloaf) come flying out and starts chasing Napolean around. Then Gilbert charges Meatloaf and it we are stuck on a small deck with no way out and we weren't sure the Zebra was going to come after us. So we're half laughing, half screaming as all this is going on and as soon as Gilbert turned his head we ran across the yard and go through the gate to safety. Then we hear the Warthogs chasing Napolean underneath us on the first level and decide to investigate. We find one of the Warthogs trying to raid the downstairs outdoor bar and refridgerator and we approach slowly, making noises you would use to lure a cat or dog over. We couldn't quite see it, because it was so dark so I tried to coax it into the light and make it think I had some food. So I squat and hold my hand out and it comes into the light and I get a start. It was UGLY and not like anything I'd ever seen. We pet it and its hair was like steel wool, with 2 tusks jutting out of its face. It wasn't really interested in us once it realized we didn't have any food and left to search some more.

South Africa Tour: Days 1 & 2 (Johannesburg to Balule)

We spent 2 nights in Johannesburg (or Jo'Burg as the locals call it) and the night before our trek began we met some other people in the lodge bar who would be on the trip with us. It turns out there are 8 of us total - a father (Andy) and 2 sons (Johann and Seb) from the U.K., a Spanish gal (Alex), a German-Swiss mother (Brigitte) & daughter (Sonja) and us. We would be led by Lize and Pietrie (who was on his last tour as a guide). We got our instructions for the 6:00 am breakfast call and went to bed.

Everyone was excited getting up and we started chatting about where we were from, etc. We had a long drive that day (12+ hours) so we got right to it. I was excited to see animals, but for the first 3/4 of the day we didn't see anything except cows on the highway. We stopped for lunch in Pilgrim's Rest, a former gold rush town - and immediately I went for the postcard stand. AJ told me to relax but I wouldn't listen. I act the same when I go to Disneyland. After lunch we headed to Bourke's Luck Potholes where TONS of school children were visiting this natural wonder. They were messing around and thought it was hilarious when one of their schoolmates fell into the water.

After walking around we headed back for the truck and almost all of the school children we passed on the trail said "hello" to us. And not in the "hello (I want money)" way we had become so used to on the trip. But just "hello (I'm being friendly)"! We also had our first monkey sighting there!!

From there it was on to Blyde River Canyon, the third largest Canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. A quick stop to take in the beautiful view and take some pictures. At about 7 p.m. we finally made it Balule at our first campsite, the Bushveldt Camp. We would be spending two nights here in suped-up tents with a deck. It as completely in a wild game reserve with no fences - so that meant no walking around in the middle of the night. Apparantly a few days before we arrived an elephant came to drink out of the pool during the night! There was a watering hole that had a light on it for night viewing, and we saw some Kudu drinking from it. After a meaty bbq of lamb and beef we chatted around the campfire and commented on how many stars there were before heading to bed.

Day 2 started with a breakfast show by some local monkeys who had been chased out of the outdoor kitchen and were eagerly awaiting our leave so they could check for scraps. We were heading on a game walk into the bush where we could at any moment come upon animals, including the Big Five (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino). We asked why they were called the Big Five and Lize said that they are the deadliest animals if you don't kill them with your first shot. Great, and we're not carrying a gun? I wanted to stay the middle of the group. Well, we lucked out (or did we?) and didn't see anything larger than a bird, although a game driver came by to say there were lions nearby. But we learned all about dung, the different types, how to tell between male and female giraffe dung, how you can squeeze water out of fresh elephant dung if you are about to die of dehydration (that's the only way I would do it), and also how elephant dung was smoked by bushmen to get high. The elephants ate marijuana that grew naturally and I guess they didn't realize you could just smoke the plant and not the poop!! We also learned about termites, ant lions and even tried to coax a Baboon Spider out of its nest (think Tarantual on steroids - thank GOD it didn't come out).

After our walk we took a nap and met up for our afternoon/evening game drive - this is where the real fun would begin. The guides would report sightings through a central PA system so it would allow everyone to get the best chance of a sighting. Our guide tried to keep it real by saying that while all Big Five were in the reserve you never know what you're going to see. Sometimes you'll see all five in a day, other times you'll be there weeks and never see all five. But you know we all were expecting the best. The first thing we saw was a herd of elephants. We weren't too close, we were actually across a dry river bed but it was still amazing. There's just something that stirs inside you when you see something in its wild habitat that you don't get when you're in a zoo. We watched in silence for about 10-15 minutes. The only sound you could hear was them eating. We kept driving and came across giraffe, impala, zebra, and pheasant. We would be heading for a break at another camp for "sundowners" (African Happy Hour) before driving back in the dark to see if we could find some nocturnal dwellers. On the way we came across the herd of elephants again, although this time they were all around us. Including the road we were on and there wasn't anything to do but watch. Which was awesome until one of the males was getting a little ancy. Our guide starts telling us about charging, and mock-charging, and how the elephant could turn our truck over and easily stomp us all to death. Meanwhile this male is about 15 feet away from me not looking very pleased. I keep looking in front to see when the young female is going to get her butt off the road and she's busy taking her time eating. Finally the male decides to walk away - apparantly we only received a mock-charge (he was wiggling his ears so apparantly that means, "I'm kidding"). All our hearts were racing a bit but it was cool because we lived.

Now it was time for a beer. After sundowners we worked our way back to camp with the strong hope of seeing a leopard, lion, or cheetah making a kill but managed only some more impala trying to avoid being dinner and a rabbit that kept running on the road in front of us for about 5 minutes instead of just running into the bush. Just before camp we came across a Civet Cat. At camp we were still reeling from our elephant experience while we enjoyed dinner.

Dubai

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot to write about Dubai. Looking back, we came at the totally wrong time. The wrong season (many things were closed because it's the low tourist season due to the heat) and the wrong year altogether.

As we've all seen on The Discovery Channel, there is a lot of development going on in Dubai. But essentially nothing is finished. The Palm Islands are not accessible, many of the huge buildings are just getting started. So there is really nothing to do except hang out at hotels and shop. Since our backpacks already runneth over, there simply isn't room to pick up anything else.

The highlight was going to the indoor skiing area in one of the malls. Neither of us ski, but it was so fun being surrounded by people who had never seen snow in their entire lives. They were losing their minds!

Anyone who's thinking about it - feel free to skip it for now.

Beijing Olympics

Of all the places we were excited about on our trip, we were so pumped to attend the Olympics in Beijing!

Although I had been there before, the city was transformed for this event. I was accustomed to terrible air quality, dirty streets and lots of hassling in tourist areas -- they were all gone. The traffic was terrific (no one was allowed to drive) and everywhere we went was clean and hassle-free! I don't know if the government killed all the trouble makers or just temporarily relocated them, but it was terrific.

It was a poor time, however, to sightsee in the city. We were able to catch The Great Wall before the games, but found that most other places of importance were closed or severely restricted (or closed for private viewings for dignitaries).

But it was the games we were there for after all, so we didn't mind! We originally had tickets to gymnastics, archery and handball. We ended up selling the archery and handball and buying weightlifting instead. Gymnastics was great to watch, if not a little difficult. Watching on TV spoils you -- you miss all the crappy people and get a nice close-up shot of the good stuff. Watching live takes some getting used to. Everything happens simultaneously and you really have to pick what you watch and what to sacrifice. We were constantly going "floor," "look at beam!" and "holy cow that guy has big muscles!" ... sorry, but it's true.

We also watched the US women's team totally melt down during the team prelims, but not without a lot of screaming and cheering on our part (some news articles even mentioned our rowdy section.) That coupled with China's cheating lead to a silver. :(

Weightlifting was very fun to watch - women's no less. You get to sit very close and it's very intense. The gold wasn't decided until the very last lift and the crowd went nuts. We also get to see the medal ceremony which was neat.

The bad side -- the food! I guess McDonald's has an exclusive contract to provide food in the Olympic villiage so there was one, and only one place to eat -- Mc'Ds. Having nothing but fast food while watching the best athletics in the world is an odd experience.

In the future, we'd like to attend more Olympics, but Beijing will always be our first.

Allah says, take two steps forward ...

Islam is a topic that I (or maybe all of us from the US) try to avoid. I will admit I have only a basic understanding of their beliefs and history, most of which I find interesting and disturbing. I am no fan of any organized religion, but my heart really breaks for the women of Islam.

We were intrigued by the various levels of covering required for women. Most at least covered their heads and wore loose fitting robes to hide their figures. The next group wore all black (I'm sure that is delightful in the hot sun) and only had a slit for their eyes. The last group bothered me the most - absolutely nothing was shown. Their eyes were guarded by a mesh screen and also wore long black gloves.

The only time I almost lost my cool was while we were staying by the pool at the hotel. We had some free time our last day, and decided to actually enjoy the sun for a change. Other families joined us, an interesting mix of locals and Westerners. One particular woman emerged through the hotel doors loaded down with all her family's pool supplies (I have no idea how she saw where she was going). Her husband promptly stripped down to a speedo and lounged in a chair barking orders at his black-clad wife as she ran to fetch food, drinks, take care of their child and essentially act like a servant. All the while she ran around the pool in 100+ degree heat wearing all black and not a inch of skin showing.

I later read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, which fictionally details the lives of women in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, which was simply heart wrenching. I find it so interesting that in most major religions, "God" (be it Christ, Allah or Tom Cruise) sure seems to have it out for the ladies. They either have to honor and obey, or cover their whole bodies or maybe have their genitals mutilated -- all because God commands it. Too bad all the Gods are dudes, huh? If there were chick Gods, you know guys would be the ones dealing with periods, childbirth and menopause ...

Cairo

Nothing in life is for free - and this lesson is constantly by spending time in Egypt. Our first day out, we were simply amazed at how friendly the people were. As we waited for our guide to pick up our tickets, one of the was waving to us and posing for pictures - pretending to mow down a group of people with his machine gun no less (oddly, AC didn't actually get the picture). When we tried to leave, then came the outstretched hand asking for his "fee" for voluntarily posing for the picture we never really asked for. We obliged, and it was the first of many.

This made taking pictures anywhere very difficult in Cairo. You can try to pose and the next thing you know you have a smelly stranger with their arm wrapped around your shoulders gumming for the camera. Do you still take the picture? Do you shoo him away and try again (likely only to be attacked by yet another "friend")? Maybe you're just taking a picture of the Spynx. No no, that place is a terrible place to take your picture, they'll say. Take one here, it's much better (outstretched hand).



One poor tourist was having difficulty with the heat in one of the temples. His family made a quick exit to prevent him from vomiting on an ancient treasure, when they were swarmed with people offering water, a cool rag, some hard candy and a cool place in the shade. "I hope she brought a lot of money with her," commented our tour guide. It's a rough world, I tell ya.

The pyramids and Sphinx are amazing when you can get past all the hassling. Our guide insisted they weren't built by slaves, but by a happy group of volunteers who loved the king so much they took several decades from their everyday lives and lugged around multiple-ton stones in the hot sun. I mean, who wouldn't volunteer for a gig like that?

We later went to a huge Islamic mosque. I must admit while an American in the Middle East, hanging out at a mosque is a little unnerving. We had just gotten used to the five-times daily call to prayer that is broadcast over loudspeakers to be heard throughout the entire city. In the days before speakers and microphones, our guide explained they would only employ blind people for the prayer announcements. Because they were done from a very high tower in the mosque, they had to be blind so they didn't see any "naked ladies." I'm sure by 'naked,' he meant they might see a sexy ankle or maybe a forbidden kneecap and spontaneously explode due to lust. He also tried to explain the difference between Sunnis and Shiahs, saying that one group was crazy and the other was peaceful (I wonder which group he was a part of?). We smiled meekly and tried to change the subject.

Another fun fact - you may notice from the pictures that most the buildings in the city are the same, drab grayish brown color. That's because you only pay property taxes if your home is painted. I'll send that idea over to George W and see what he thinks.

New Pictures

I am working furiously on getting our blog caught up from here in Delhi. For those of you who are more visual, I have uploaded a bunch of pictures of the rest of Europe trip. See the 'photo' link at the top!

Not Dead

Hi All-

We're not dead, just finishing up in South Africa. The opportunities to connect to the Internet have been few and far between, but we hope to catch everyone up soon!

Stay Tuned!