Well, things have been a bit crazy in past months, but now it's time to get back to business.  I last posted only a few days into my Africa adventure and I've got so much more to share-  But before we rejoin the safari group, I want to share an adventure in my own back yard (or living room, if you will).   In January, I was fortunate enough to be host to two of my good friends from the UK for two weeks.  Andy had never been to America and his girlfriend Nikki had been once, but had not had a chance to explore the sights and nightlife.

But first, some background.  Before their visit, I'd never met Andy or Nikki before.  We'd never even talked on the phone.  I met Andy through facebook, and we'd been chit-chatting randomly online for about two years.  He's a top notch individual, so when he said he wanted to come out to California and see Hollywood I said I had a couch and he was welcome to it.  They had planned the trip with plenty of time to prepare, and explaining the accommodations to friends and family proved to be grounds for skepticism.  For example, a conversation Andy heard as he was coming down the stairs of his parents house for breakfast (he's 35, no he doesn't live with them):

   mum:  Do you know who Andrew is sleeping with in America?
   dad:    No, sleeping?
   mum:  A MAN he met off the internet, who is a criminal.
   dad:    What?
  mum:   Hasn't he shown you the picture of him from his book face, or whatever it's called?
   dad:    Facebook, mum.
  mum:   Yes, well, he will go and get him and Nikki murdered if he isn't careful... meeting
              strangers in chat boxes.
        ::Andy enters the room::
mum:   Morning Andrew, would you like some toast?

Regarding the "criminal" comment, I believe Andy's mom is referring to this photo, found on my facebook page.

Ahh the wonders of working at a prop house in Los Angeles.

Andy and Nikki arrived Jan. 5 and were immediately awestruck by Los Angeles.  We cruised up and down Sunset and Hollywood blvd., walked Venice Beach to Santa Monica and back again, ate and imbibed at many hollywood haunts... so many things to do in such a little span of time.  My sister Melissa helped with the tour guiding and getting them set up on the bus system for the days I was at work.  They managed to see and do quite a bit in the two weeks.  I was very impressed.   There were many things we take for granted in the states that they had never experienced.  Testament to this was our excursion to the Ralph's grocery store down the street.  Andy and Nikki's minds boggled at the 6 varieties of M&M, the HUGE bottles of Jack Daniels and Jagermeister, and this thing of wonder, seen in the movies but never experienced.... the Twinkie.  

One of the first questions they asked as we drove from the airport was, "what do those numbers mean at the gas station sign?"  This was the price, they were referring to, but in particular, why there is a fraction after the "cents" place.  I explained to them that it was in fact a fraction of a penny.  We have no coins for fractions of pennies.  Hmmm... curious.

Andy looking confused and befuddled, freshly off the plane at LAX.

Andy and Nikki hit the ground running in Sunny Los Angeles.

Eating at the infamous Barney's Beanery, where Joplin had her last gin and tonic, and Morrison peed on the bar.  Kids in a candy store...

Andy's first American burger and fries.  This would not be the last- 

In those two weeks we packed so much in, as I showed them the usual tourist fanfare as well as the lesser known gems of the city, and shared with them my own little slice of life.  I couldn't begin to convey how much fun we had those two weeks.  As thanks, Andy had bought tickets to a show at the House of Blues, featuring Velvet Underground, Tom Morello, Cheryl Crow, Steven Stills and Maroon 5.  A fantastic outing, to be sure.

A couple Jack and Cokes in and having a blast.

Scott Weiland and Slash.

Andy looking surly, though I'm pretty sure he was squealing like a girl just seconds earlier.

Nikki's feet were killing her so Andy carried her a while.  Parking on Sunset is never where you want it.

They say that houseguests are like fish- they start to really stink after 10 days.  This was a case to the contrary.  It was sad to see them go home.  I hope to visit them someday soon and they can share their world with me.  I will bring twinkies with me, and multiple flavors of M&M to trade.  But for now I have so many amazing memories from this adventure.

Awww... his first corndog.

The workers would not let him wear their hats.

Andy considered a career as a cameraman, until he saw how big the cameras were.

 Enjoying the Santa Monica sunset from the pier.

Rockstars at the Hard Rock on Hollywood Blvd.

Enjoying Venice Beach with Melissa.

Just days later, a severed head in a plastic bag would be found near where they're standing.  

Ahh Hollywood...

And now a few of my favorite photos of two of my favorite people.

Our quarters while at Baobab Safari Lodge consist of individual thatched huts (not tents) that stretch across the edge of the hillside, following a rock-lined path.  We were issued a key and told to be sure to lock our doors when we leave our rooms.  Apparently the baboons occasionally play with the door latches and if they manage to jiggle the door loose, one might find one's undergarments, or "smalls" strewn across the property.  Each room is fully equipped with a bed, flushable toilet, running water to a sink and shower, as well as a small desk.  More importantly, each room comes complete with a can of mosquito repellant called Peaceful Sleep, a bug spray called DOOM, and a compressed air boat horn for medical emergencies.  Thankfully the only one I didn't have to use was the horn.

I'm fairly certain the Peaceful Sleep was so named not only for it's ability to deter mosquitos from disturbing ones sleep but also because spraying the cloud of heavy, chemical mist onto ones body causes immediate gasping, drowsiness and eventual loss of consciousness.

Our mornings began at 5:30 with a "wake up call."  The lodge hostess, a woman we called Auntie would walk along the path, stop at each room and play a drum until we yelled back with a cheerful "Good Morning!"  Our breakfasts are hearty and delicious, and after we eat, we jump into our safari vehicles and head to the Chobe National Park, just a few minutes down the road.

The game drives are amazing.  While there are designated roads, they are far from flat or smooth, and occasionally the vehicles will bog down to a slow, bumpy crawl in the fine Kalahari sand.  Our guides and trip leader refer to the experience as an authentic "African massage." While in the park, we're treated to many animals.  Elephants, baboons, groups of impala (called a "rank" of impala), kudu, warthogs and sable, to name a few.

A yellow baboon foraging for seeds and other goodies commonly found in elephant dung.

 The male impala will keep a harem of up to 45 females.  It's no wonder that he may be thin and exhausted by the end of the mating season.

The greater kudu- the male has horns which reach one full twist at around two years of age, and do not reach the full two and a half twist until they reach the age of six.

Both male and female sable antelope have long arching horns, reaching one meter in females and slightly longer in males.  When threatened by predators they can use their horns quite effectively to protect themselves, occasionally killing big cats who hunt them.

Warthogs get their name from the "warts" on the sides of their face that act as shock absorbers when they butt heads during a fight.

Elephantidae Loxodonta

... commonly known as the African elephant.  The African elephant can be distinguished from it's Asian cousins by it's larger stature, bigger ears and by having two "fingers" or "lips" at the end of their trunk, as opposed to the Asian elephant's one.  They can eat up to 450 kilos of plant matter per day but their digestive system only processes about 40% of it.  In parts of Africa there is an overpopulation problem with elephants.  Quite a quandary... what to do with an overpopulation of car-sized mammals that we went through so much effort to protect.

As many elephants as we saw, I never tired of watching them.  The way they use their tusks and trunks to break down trees was fascinating- many of them had an expert understanding of leverage.  Sadly we saw many areas where the elephant population had decimated  the vegetation.  There were entire orchards of indigenous trees that had been broken down to leafless stumps of brush that stood 4 feet high.  The baobab tree in particular is a prime target for the elephant.  During the dry season they become a staple because the soft, corky trunk stores large amounts of water.

Chewed up trees were a common sight in Botswana.  Interestingly, elephant dung looks nearly identical in texture and color, owing to the fact that 60% of its makeup is undigested vegetation.  We learned much about animal dung on this adventure... but that's a separate post in itself.

Elephants can live up to 80 years, with child bearing years being between the ages of 20 and 50 years on average.  The mother generally carries the child for 22 months with each pregnancy bearing one calf.  Time between pregnancies can range from two to four years.  A group of elephants is called a "parade of elephants" and the little ones are usually in the center, protected by the adults.  As a general rule, if a baby elephant can still walk under the adults' bellies, it's less than a year old.  

We've all heard that elephants never forget.  While that may not be entirely true, they do in fact have quite extraordinary memories.  The ivory trade nearly wiped out the elephant population, bringing it's numbers down to only 600,000.  In 1990, ivory sales was banned, but in some of the areas hardest hit by poachers, the elephants are still hostile toward humans.  Twenty one years later, they would still flap their ears in irritation and trumpet angrily as we passed.  I don't blame them.

Notably, the African elephant's ear mimics the shape of the African continent.

Interestingly, I learned that the legend of the elephant graveyard is generally a myth. It is true that the bones of old elephants are commonly found in groups, but the reason is not because they have some sense of burial rite or tradition.  Elephants have 6 sets of teeth and as the forward set wears out, the next ones move forward, much like conveyor belt.  As the elephant wears out it's last set, it must seek out softer foods, usually around bogs and marshes.  The elephant will stay in that area until it can no longer eat, at which point it will starve to death.

I wish we had these signs in Los Angeles.  It would make driving more interesting.

Botswana

In the morning we officially embarked on our Ultimate Africa experience.  We flew from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe where we were met by our trip leader, Vitalis, who would be with us for the next 15 days.

This is Vitalis saving us from a falling tree.  Okay, not really- but he would if the situation arose!

From Victoria Falls, we boarded a bus headed across the Botswanan border to the Baobab Safari Lodge.  There we were greeted by the staff with a song and a warm washcloth to wipe the day's travel and dust from our brows.  The main lodge was open, with a thatched roof, comfortable furniture and a beautiful view of the Chobe River.

The sun was low in the sky as we drove up and by the time we made our way to the main meeting area in the lodge, it was beginning to set.  Suddenly the weight of that moment in time brought such joy to my heart.  I watched zebras come to graze and frolic, and cape buffalo wade across to the islands in the middle.  I heard the elephants grumbling and snapping young trees, and baboons calling to each other as they settled in the trees for the night.  That moment was a milestone in my world and a quintessential African experience.  I was suddenly very aware of where I was... and it brought a tear to my eye.

Johannesburg part II

Our first hotel (the broken shower one) was not to be where we would meet the rest of our party.  We had arrived a day earlier than the rest, and due to the hotel being full, we were shuttled to another for a night.  The next morning we arrived at the O.R. Tambo Protea Hotel where we would eventually join the rest of our group, who were just arriving from their layover in London.

Clean, simple rooms at the O.R. Tambo Protea Hotel

The whole hotel is designed and decorated around air transport with wooden packing crates, airplane parts, even a flight simulator in the lobby.  The bathrooms showed a hint of humor- I appreciated that.

There's an oxygen mask hanging near the toilet... NICE

Indeed- Oh Sheet!

We spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool and watching the airplanes come in to the airport across the highway.  This was just the beginning of our Africa adventure.

But first things first . . .  

Good Morning South Africa

And we're off!  Met my dad and stepmom Mary at the airport so that we could embark on a glorious adventure.  But first things first.  A sandwich and a beer.  Okay, Mary had a soda, but you get the idea.

 

Bright eyed and bushy tailed in San Francisco before the first 10 hours.

I watched the sun rise over the top of the world from the plane on en route to Amsterdam, our half-way point.  Watching the sun rise from a point of origin not officially on earth (thousands of feet above) while perhaps not what astronauts or space aliens experience, is a pretty phenomenal sight.  We spent all of two hours in Amsterdam, waiting for our flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was overcast, but green and lush, from what I could tell looking from the airplane window as we landed.  I'll have to come back sometime.  Dad and Mary have done this before- they're seasoned travelers. I couldn't ask for better travel mates, thought the joke we all shared while awaiting our flight is that after our trip, we'll not want to see or hear each other for a bit.  Somehow I doubt that.

Post flight in Amsterdam, looking at the next 11.5 hours on a plane. Are we there yet??

Safely in Johannesburg, I slept like a baby in a plush, clean bed.  My shower spit brown water at me shortly before stopping altogether, but the problem was quickly rectified and I was able to wash the airplane travel stink off of me.  I'm sure dad and Mary are grateful.  I watched the sun rise again, this time over the city.  At first glance it is not unlike any sunrise I might have seen before, but upon careful inspection it is very different in subtle hue and intensity.  Probably a different flavor of smog over here.

Good morning South Africa- It's a pleasure to meet you.

Regarding Africa

So, a year ago I received a phone call from my dad, and the reason for his call was basically this (I'm paraphrasing, of course).  He says to me, "Hey!  Mary and I are planning a trip to Africa and we were wondering if you'd like to go with us.  Well?  Wanna go?"  Of course I gave it some serious thought for all of about 30 seconds and replied with a hearty YES.

And so began the planning process.  Having never left the U.S., with the exception of a few drives down into Mexico for a handful of possibly unsavory reasons, I needed a passport and a barrage of vaccinations.  Of course the passport was painless, a few forms, a few photos and a chunk of money later I received my first passport in the mail.  The handlebar mustache I had at the time really tied the thing together.  The shots were not as painless, though not horrible.  There were enough needles however, to warrant switching to the other arm after a couple jabs.  I asked if there was a vaccination against bazooka fire or at very least, bullets in the event a random pirate attack should occur.  The travel nurse was not amused.  

Packing made me anxious- especially packing for a place I've never visited.  The key to this was pack light, and make sure everything dries quickly.  I won't pretend I didn't fret for quite a while over what to have/not have, but it occurred to me that I could go equipped with my passport, a good pair of walking shoes, my camera and a spare change of skivvies (optional) and I'd be okay, because you know what?  I'M GOING TO AFRICA.  Once I settled with that, it was easy.

...and there it is- ready to go to Africa.  Of course my cat knows what happens when I start putting my things into bags... he was not pleased.  Augusto, or "The Goose" went through my stuff anyway just to make sure I didn't forget anything.  Apparently I forgot the cat hair, so he helped me out in that department.