Tuesday 21 April 2009

Riding along in our automobile...

The next few days we would travel from Cape town to Port Elizabeth taking a rather round about route at the beginning only to rejoin the Garden Route at Wilderness. Our first stop Franschoek, a lovely wine region founded by the Heugonots. We were lucky enough to get a reservation at La Petite Ferme, where we enjoyed a fabulous meal and lovely wine in a spectacular background of hills and vines whose leaves were turning red and yellow due to the impending autumn spell cast across the region... we enjoyedc teh garden before heading to our next destination. Our car ride took us around sloping hills, green valleys and plenty of curves which of course had me at my seat's edge. Cleber is most definitely a very competant and safe driver but there were defintely moments where his confidence and my position as passenger did not always go hand in hand. I so didn't want to become the nagging passenger so I sat back, took a deep breathe and let Cleber have his well deserved peace.

We were headed to Montagu, which I now kindly refer to as the one chapel town. I chose this little town as it was in the right direction towards the Garden Route, not too far from Franschoek and apparently according to the guide was knwn for its hot springs. We didn't see nor experience any hot springs, but did however manage to stay in one of the largest guest rooms I had ever seen with a bathroom that was quite literally the size of my Paris Apartment. We attempted to enjoy a bath, only to relize that there was no hot water. Romance was scratched for that evening... We headed out to dinner and were told that a must see was a local tree that was home to hundreds if not thousands of birds who resemble egrets. The smell certainly gave it away and the ground was no longer earth but white. Our guest house kindly reserved us a table at a local establishment and as we were exhausted we decided to attempt to get in a little earlier. Apparently a no go, as they only accepted a certain number of people per sitting. Mission aborted we tried a few other restaurants and were kindly denied immediate sitting because they were sooooo busy. It made Paris and New York seem simple. We eventually found ourselves in a simple Italian restaurant across the street and returned home fed and ready to dream our way into the morning. The morning arrived and thanks to the magnificent gardening effort of our patron we were greeted by a cacaphony of birds who were early risers and especially talented in the vocal department.

We had enjoyed our time but were eager to get back on the road as we had more terrain to explore and hadn't the slightest idea where we'd end up.

The adventure continues in South Africa

We made our flight and eventually landed in Cape Town at 4 in the afternoon and made ourt way directly to the Liberty House lodge where we were greeted by Ruth, the eclectic owner of the Inn for the past 4 years. Cape Town was a blur, we raced through taking pictures of the stadium at GreenPoint, where we made friends with the congolese security gaurds and Gertie, a self prounonced protector of the stadium, who lived in a box along the periphery of the stadium grounds. no one was off limits to us, we wanted and needed to know how everyone felt about the upcoming World Cup and did we get an earful.

Throughout our three day stay, we visited Camp's Bay, Long Street, attended a PremierLeague Under -19 soccer tournament as VIPs and enjoyed lunches and dinners at local establishments. As this was my second visit, I had some notion as to where we wanted to go and where we didn't, so I wasn't completely useless. One of my goals however was to make it to the top of Table Mountain, which by chance was walking distance from our Inn. Cleber and I succeeded in making time for Table Mountain, and I learned that my little darling has a small case of vertigo which made the ride up in the cable car that much more exciting. The views from teh top were breathtaking and we were certainly not the only ones with the same idea, you could literally spend hours hiking up there but we made a short loop took loads of photos and made our way back down the mountain. We had the luck of having a roof-top terrace at our hotel, so Cleber and I decided to but a few items and prepared a little evening apero before heading out to dinner. Cape town sparkled from where we stood, down below the city hummed while we enjoyed our bit of freedom from the reality that is South Africa. There were some funny moments, including Cleber leaving the Premier League match to go get his more powerful lens only to realise that he had left the room key with yours truly, during the final game I was joined by a young boy who literally attached himself to my hip and spent the rest of the game staring at me, and chatting me up about the game that we were all enjoying. His parents and friends thought he was out of his mind, but got a kick out of the fact that I was playing along. He was too cute a little curly haired Indian boy with an unsatiable curiosity. We made the most of every encounter and met some truly wonderful people that gave us hope for the future of South Africa and the success of the World Cup. Our latest adventure had just begun but things were looking up...

Thursday 16 April 2009

Da Plane Da Plane!

Over the past two evenings as we sat at dinner, we were entertained by a spectacular lightning shower along the horizon across the channel. Every time thanking Mother Nature that she hadn't rained on our own personal parade. Until of course the morning of our departure, in which the clouds began to form overhead and even though the wind would shift sending clouds scurrying away fromshore, the wind would then turn again. We were in a constant state of cat and mouse with the rain.

Julie had prepared a wonderful morning hike and breakfast at the tip of the island. We were to hike to the end of the island and the boat would join us and we would enjoy breakfast along the shore, followed by a snorkelling session in an area which was perfect for viewing a variety of fish species. We set out on our adventure, walking along the coastline that later that day would be underwater and unreachable otherwise. We admired corals, algae, various fish, snails, rock formations and natural pools formed by deep ravines along the cliffs.

We eventually made it to breakfast which consisted of our standard fare of fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, tea, bacon, etc. We sat protected under a cliff as rain drops flittering down upon the already wet sand. With breakfast complete we continued to walk down the coast where we encountered a group of fisherman who were heading back to Mombassa after having spent 5 months fishing in the local waters. Knowing Julie, we were invited to view their bounty. We were witness to piles of sharks, rays, and other marine lying lifeless and covered in salt along the cliffs and under tents prepared to embark onto the Dau's, which are the local wooden sail boats. All this time, all I could think of was pirates. Somalie pirates had recently had made headlines due to the increased number of highjackings on the high seas. We were literally miles from the Somalie border and visions of me as a damsel in distress floated through my mind, then of course I was saved by Cleber's courageous efforts and we lived happily ever after.

But I digress, as the fun was just beginning as we were to leave later that day and just as we arrived back at the camp the skies opened up and we were living out Noah's arc in real time. It was an incredible show of force of nature, but this posed us with a very serious problem, as our thirteen seater plane would not be able to land on the sand, as it needed a tarmac which was located in Lamu, either reachable by speed boat, which would take 1 1/2 hours and we would arrived soaked and jittery, or by an even smaller plane which would take 10 minutes. Julie went into overdrive calling, negotiating and pleading on our behalf to get us evacuated as we had a 7am flight the next morning to Capetown and although not the end of the world, missing it would create a domino effect that would really interupt our trip. We chose the plane option as it was the simplest and safest option but would end up costing 30,000 schillings which seemed like a fortune but in the end came to about 300 euros and would save us from more headaches. Thankfully Julie assured us that this would be reimbursed.

Enter Charlie. With the skies having cleared Charlie, our adring pilot, agreed to come to our rescue with his little propeller 4 seater. He was a god. He had 30 minutes to spare and we had 20 minutes to get there. We literally flew into the boat, only to arrive at the shore and the "most expensive taxi" was not to be seen, so we quickly diverted our boat to the alternate shore where the more exclusive resort lay along the coast line where we could catch the taxi from there. We waded up to the shore and a comedy of errors ensued.

Julie was losing patience as we were having difficulty getting the boat close enough to the shore to be able to get off without finding ourselves chin deep in water and our luggage held abover our heads. At this point, Julie has located Charlie's plane as is approaching the landing strip and is standing on the boat waving her scarf, it was just like out of the movies. We finally make it ashore, a bit wet but running for the taxi, hand over the 4,000 schillings and race to the sand runway as Charlie would not wait much longer. We arrived of course just in the nick of time and were greeted by a very handsome pilot from South Africa who seemed to get a kick out of the fact that we were stranded and was as jolly as santa claus.

Once strapped in, we took off for the ride of our lives. I sat in the back with the luggage, Julie just up ahead and Cleber as co-pilot. I had never experienced anything as thrilling and beautiful as this plane ride. Charlie made sure to offer us a ride we'd never forget. He dipped down low enough along the waterway for us to wave to the boat that just minutes before had dropped us off at the shore, we continued to fluy quite low qlong the shores and across the mangroves lined up along shore and over wetlands that spread out like spilled milk. Cleber was even given the chance to "fly", needless to say he was estactic and even shared with me after we landed that he was so moved by the experience that he almost cried. I can't begin to explain just how poetic this voyage was, it was surreal, we were viewing one of the most beautiful spots in the world through the grace of this small vehical whichy allowed us to play god for a day. We glided, we swooped, went straight up and then leveled off. Our bodies and our minds pushed to their very limits. Time stood still. And then we landed. Only to be greeted by a family of baboons lying across the runway, this was most certainly Africa.

Sunday 12 April 2009

The Women of Kiwaiyu

We were up at the crack of dawn, I actaully saw the dawn cracking as the open air hut allowed for every anaimal noise and ray of light to enter into our consciousness. Although Cleber had gone to the beach to shoot early morning "teh best light" shots with flip flops and crabs, I wandered down to the main house only to be convinced by Julie to join her for a swim. The water was bathtub warm and left me even more relaxed than my little love hut evening sleep. We grabbed cleber and headed back for breakfast and then we were off.


The women of Kiwaiyu ranged in age but they are all Muslim and dressed in island traditional dress which consists of a few pieces of fabric which serve as a sarong and top. The name of this dress escapes me, but I will find it out as details are everything in this story. We spent the day in their workshop admiring the handicrafts which are for the most part beads, (think small macaroni) which are used to make curtains and bracelets and flowers, where are used as clips, and mobiles. A few children were present and so very very curious as to who we were. Julie took over and was talking business with the women running the shop, while Cleber shot photos and I played assistant. I even was coherced into trying on a pair of orange linen striped pants with a charming fringe, which were a hit and yet another 500 schillings was offered to the workshop. God knows when I'm going use these pants. Should you see them on me, be kind. After the workshop shoot, we followed the women deeper into the villlage to visit with them in their homes so that Cleber could take shots of them in a more domestic setting. The people of Kiwaiyu are not poor, they live simply and there is an important difference as they are healthy and are able to provide for their family while living off the land and from the various products that they receive from Lamu. Any extra money they received goes directly to helping their family build brick homes as opposed to the wooden and metal boxes that some continue to inhabit, as well funny enough they relish the opportunity to buy their daughters or themselves gold earrings. Fancy that.


We were offered coconuts fresh with coconut juice which we gladly enjoyed, it was all a little surreal. Elspecially watching them cut them open with machetes. We slowly made our way out of the village, not before Julie had the chance to talk with some of her key artists that apparently given an order to Mike, even after she had left a deposit but was having difficulty transferring the money. It seems that money transfers are one of the obstacles that Julie faces and which gives her countless headaches. If only paypal existed in Kenya. If anyone has any good ideas, feel free to let me know how we can help her!

Back at the camp, we ate a lovely lunch prepared by the two girls from the village. We were to head off shortly after lunch to view turtle eggs that apparently were hatching along the coast. Due to a comedy of errors, it didn't happen. But we had a wonderful time walking along the beach as night fell. With only the stars to accompany us home. Dinner was a special affair as they had set up a table with the chairs having been set up to resemble a head table at a marriage or state dinner, and mattresses just nearby where we could laydown and watch the stars. We dined on fresh crab and enjoyed fresh fruit juices of mango and papaya that had been made that day.... it felt good to be alive.

The honeymoon before the wedding

We left for Kiwaiyu on Saturday April 4th. Julie, Cleber and I took off into the friendly skies and 1 h and 50 minutes later we were in paradise.

The take off was an adventure in this 13 seater, needless to say I didn't even hint to my mother just what type of airplane we going to be boarding as she would have enjoyed the wait for my return. And what a mother doesn't know can't hurt her right, mom? The pilot had a special suprise for us in that he flew right over the National Park which was filled with animals including ostrichs and giraffes. The view of Kenya from the air is truly breathtaking as you can see for miles across the plains. We flew up along the coast and viewed both Mt. Kenya and Kilamanjaro from our seats. After regaining my breath, I was truly just able to sit back and relax. And then we landed. The airport was a sandy stretch of land with a small open air hut. No lights, no airline employees and certainly no tarmac which would prove our demise come our departure. We exited the plane and got into our waiting landrover only to be taken 1 km away to a waiting boat. It was by far the most expensive "taxi" ride as it cost 4000 schillings, roughly 40 euros. When they got you they got you you just grin and bear it. The motor boat took us to Mike's camp where we would be staying a few hours to allow for the tide to rise so that we could eventually arrive at our camp, Champli. The first thing we did after having descended the boat, was to race to the other side of the mountain to go snorkeling along the coral reef. Julie is a mad woman about water- she swims every morning without fail in Nairobi so here was a literal paradise for her and she allowed herself no limits. We were natually little prunes by the time the three day adventure was done. Dinner at Mike's consisted of a table laid out in this open area with candle light and lovely dinner companions, including Mike himslef, Rosie,the wandering blond who was currently working a season, and Dre, who we believe is on a constant vacation and is apparently married to a man with a helicopter. Dinner was a king fish grilled and marinated in this amazing sauce, which of course only tastes as good when you're on a island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Dinner ended and we were very eager to get to our own camp to call it a night.

With everything reloaded onto the boat we headed out into the night to our camp. It was everything we could have hoped for an then some. It is a community camp run and benefitted by the community of people who live on the island. Simple as it was beautiful due to the nature and animal life that surrounded us. Cleber and I settled into our romantic and luxurious hut and drifted to sleep under the mosquito netting and the sound of the channel waves lapping against the boat in the lagoon. I cannot imagine a more wonderful honeymoon and for all intents and purposes it was to be ours. We had just decided to skip the marriage.

Lip to Lip with Kelly the Giraffe

Moses, Cleber, Moses #2 and I had a little make-out session with Kelly the Giraffe at the Giraffe center in Karen. The center allows you to get up and close and quite personal with the giraffes and is an experience I'll certainly never forget, nor will you after seeing these photos. They speak volumes. We even had the chance to visit with the male zebra, responsible for the two baby giraffes who were carousing with the other giraffe's in the distance. His name, Jock. Again, a site to behold. Yes, I fed him and yes I was so nervous I squealed. Cleber squealed silently but I could tell in his eyes that even he felt totally belittled by this majestic animal. Imagine the tallest man in the world, times by two and his head in dipping into your hand with a very large black tongue (whose saliva is a natural antiseptic).

Introducing Siyana

Cleber and I had heard about an elephant orphanage in Karen, so at the end of teh day we made our way with Amos to discover this nursery for abandoned elephants and rhinos. We arrived and were greeted by a lovely man who naturally proposed us to visit the nursery, as well as the opportunity to adopt an elephant as the entrance fee just also happened to be directly associated with the adoption fee. Cleber and I enthusiatically agreed and set off to choose our child. We were brought to a small open area where the elephants woulf be passing through as they were coming in to eat. Within moments a scuffle was heard and about 9 small elephants charged our way and did a little turn about as if on the cat walk and made their way to their stalls which they all knew by heart. Then the older elephants appeared, ever though only 2-3 yrs old they still gave my heart a jump. The orphange is a part of the National Park and the workers spend the night in the stalls feeding the animals throughout the night. These small elephants are up to 2 years old, any time after 2 years they are then transfered to another area where they are slowly re-introduced into the wild. In a small pen, 3 2-3yr old elephants were gathered together and being fed by the park workers, they apparently are kept together as if separated they begin to cry. It's in this pen where we fell in love with Siyana a young 2 year old elephant who had been found at 1 month in a well. A hyena had bitten off a portion of her trunk as it was the only piece of her to remain above ground. Needless to say we welcome her into our home and are hearts... We have pictures so please enjoy them once we get them posted.