Savannah in South Africa

Today was our first day in South Africa ! (January 10)We arrived yesterday after a very long two days traveling. It took thirty hours in total! We are staying at a very nice hotel in Cape Town that has a balcony looking out over a market called Greenmarket Square. The market is really cool because at night none of the stalls are there and it becomes an empty courtyard. It looks like this:

View of Greenmarket Square from our Apartment

In the morning we went to look around the market. In the stalls they sold beaded, stone, and wooden African animals, soccer jerseys, touristy t – shirts, paintings of animals and Masi Mara people, and all sorts of things made out of recycled soda cans, including; little mini guitars, toys, and pictures. We found this one unique stall though, that had animals made out of scrap metal, and my parents really liked them, so we purchased a couple for our new house.

Later in the afternoon, took a ferry to an island just off of Cape Town called Robben Island. Robben Island is famous because that is where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 of his 27 years in prison for trying to stop the apartheid in South Africa.

            On the island, we had a guide took us around the island. (We later learned that our guide was a former prisoner, which is really cool.) Before the island was a jail it was a leper colony, and we drove past the graveyard where they buried them. We also went past the place where they would take the prisoners during the day to work. We also went to the jail where Nelson Mandela and many others were imprisoned. When we got to the jail, we had a different guide (who was also once in jail here) who showed us around there. He showed us the room where the prisoners slept, the exercise courtyard, and the very small cells where the leaders like Nelson Mandela slept. They told us about a policy that they had called “each one, teach one.” That policy is where the prisoners would split themselves into small groups, and everyone would teach everyone else everything that they know. That was really good because there were a lot of very smart people in the prison, and a lot of doctors, lawyers, etc.

They told us about a punishment called solitary confinement, where they put them in a small cell away from everyone, and the guards were forbidden to talk to them and vice versa.

Nelson Mandella's Cell on Robbin Island

            The next day we went to Table Mountain. Table Mountain is a really cool mountain which is also pretty famous. It got its name because from the ground the top looks flat like a table top. We took a cable car up to the top. In the cable car, it was really cool because the floor spun around very slowly in circles so that everyone could have a good view of everything. Up at the top it was very windy. We had our picnic lunch, before walking around the mountain trails. The only animals we saw where bugs and lizards, even though there was a sign that said there were baboons, dassie, lynxes, and antelope could be seen up there. The view was amazing!

Savannah on Table Mountain

The next day, we went to the tip of Africa!! We had to drive down the west side of the tip of Africa along the coastline. When we were driving, we stopped a few times. One of the stops was at a place called Bird World. Bird World was kind of like a zoo, but the cages where completely open. All the different types of birds were kept separate except for a few big cages where there were a couple types all together. In one cage, some wild birds from outside had made their nests on top of the roof which was sagging from the weight. We saw many different types of birds, and my favorite was a mother and baby egret. In another cage it was really funny because there were two owls sitting on a branch over the door, and they were glaring down at us like they were deciding between attacking or pooping on the first person who walked past them and out of the door. Dad finally went for it, and we all ran after him. They also had other animals, and my favorites of those were the honey badger, the meerkats, and a room where there were monkeys running in circles around the perimeter of the room along tree branches and logs nailed to the wall. There was even a mother with a baby hanging on her back.

View at Cape Hope

The other stops we made where just parking the car and getting out and looking around. The views were amazing! We could see mountains and ocean. When we got to Cape of Good Hope, we drove down to Cape Point. All the way through to Cape Point, we saw signs warning about baboons, but we didn’t even see any!  At Cape Point we took a funicular up a hill to the tip of Africa! When we got up there, we climbed up to the lighthouse and looked out at the ocean. There was a sign showing what direction and how far away a bunch of places were. After Cape Point we went back up the coastline of Africa, but this time of the east side.

Our next and last stop was at Boulder Bay, where there was a whole African penguin colony. There were tons of them, and they were really cute! Most of them were just lying around keeping warm because it was really windy, but there were a few that were quite active, and waddled around the group. We saw a few juveniles, and even some babies and some parents sitting on the eggs. There was also a couple where one of them was digging a hole and throwing out a lot of sand, and the other one was wandering around by the hole like, ‘what’s going on’? After we left the penguins, we went back across to Cape Town.



Boulder Beach African Penguin Colony



The next day, we left Cape Town and drove first to Spier, and then to Franshook, which are both part of the wine country. In Spier, we went to two places. The first place was a cheetah sanctuary. At the cheetah sanctuary, we first walked around the outside of the cages and looked at all of the cheetahs. Then, we got to pet one! A really nice person took us to pet a cheetah named Joseph. He was really soft. We learned that cheetahs use their tails as fly swatters, they can run up at about 80 kms/h, and that cheetahs have an average of 2000 spots. There was a sign that said that once there were two sisters that lived at the sanctuary named Zaza and ………………. Savannah! When we asked about her, they said Savannah died last yearL.

After the cheetah sanctuary, we went next door to the bird sanctuary. At the bird sanctuary, we saw lots of different birds of prey, and we got to hold an owl and an eagle. When we held the owl, we went into a big cage and put on a glove, then someone put held a chicken foot on the glove, and then the owl jumped up onto our arm! The owl got bored pretty fast though. After that, we took turns holding the eagle. The eagles name was Wallie, and he was a Wahlbourg eagle. He was much heavier than the owls. I stroked him, and he nibbled my hand with his beak, but it didn’t hurt. When we were leaving, we pet some smaller owls which were really soft. My favorite bird that we saw was a teeny tiny baby owl with huge eyes!

After that, we drove down to Franschoek, where we stayed at a little cottage in the middle of a big farm. It was really nice and pretty. There was a little swimming pool, and everything was green and pretty and there was even a little creek. When we were done being showed around, a big black and white sheep dog came bounding at us with a stick in his mouth. The woman showing us around said that his name is Joey. It turned out that Joey loves heaving anything of any shape or size (even an acorn) being thrown for him, but his favorite is sticks. We played with Joey and swam all afternoon. We also met our neighbours, a family with a little girl and a little boy and two jack russels. That night, when I looked outside, I saw Joey lying down outside our door. The next morning, we took Joey on a really long walk all the way to the end of the property. On the farm they grew grapes, plums, squash, pears, and more. When we got back, I was really sad to go.

Savannah & Jackson with Joey

After we left Franschoek, we drove to Mossel Bay. In Mossel Bay, we stayed in a really nice guest house, where we shared a huge downstairs with a pool table, huge bar, two eating areas, kitchen area, and sitting area. We took a walk along the beach, which is only a few minutes walk from us. After that, we went to look around town and get a pizza. We took the pizza and drinks back to the hotel and played pool.

The next morning, Jack and I went swimming in the Indian Ocean while dad and mom found some really cool and pretty shells. After the beach, we jumped in the pool, had breakfast, and then left Mossel Bay.

Mossel Bay to Point Elizabeth – Garden Route

            After driving for a while, we arrived in Knysna. We had a really nice apartment. On our first full day, we went to the Kynsna Elephant Park. At the elephant park, we first saw the separate, really big cages where they put the elephants at night so they don’t pay a visit to the farmers nearby. Then we drove out to where they go during the day. They have a huge field that they can graze in. There is one wooden bar that they herd the elephants behind so that they are easier to control while we fed them. The smaller elephants kept stooping down and under the bar to get closer because the older elephants trunks pushed theirs out of the way. We got to put fruit and vegetables into their trunks, and then they moved it to their mouths.

       After we fed them, we got to walk around with them and pet them. Behind their ears is really soft! They are really wrinkly too. I think that was my favorite part of South Africa! 

After the elephants, we went to a Monkey Land.  We had a guide as we walked through a huge enclosure where all the monkeys live together that is part of the Kynsna forests, and all the trails were made by elephants. There were 40 types of monkey all together! I think my favorite type were the Capuchin, who look like they have Elvis hair, and are often trained as pick pockets. We saw a baby one of those.

After the Monkey Land, we went next door to Birds of Eden, which is a self guided tour through a huge avery. We saw many pretty and colorful birds like parrots and golden pheasants, and even some animals like a few small deer and a little chipmunk that came right up to us and bit dad’s sock! The best bird was a cockatoo that followed us around a little bit and two ladies said that he like to steal things like jewelry and watches.

 The next day we drove to a beach that had huge waves. The water was freezing cold, so Jack and I swam on and off. After we were done swimming, we had really good fish and chips for lunch, before going back to the apartment.

The next morning we had to get up really early and drive to the airport. We then took a plane to Johannesburg, and then to a really small airport near Greater Kruger, which is where our safari is going to be.

In Greater Kruger we stayed at a lodge called Africa on Foot, which was really nice. It is pretty small because there is a limited amount of people who are allowed to stay there. There is a boma where there is an eating area (everybody sits together), a fire pit, a bar, and a lounge area with a library. There are also the kitchens, the staff’s houses, a few other huts for the guests, and a swimming pool. Our hut was called Moaroela. They also have a really cool tree house that is actually out in the bush! In the morning, we had to get up really early at about quarter to five and then we had tea and coffee before going on our morning safari. After the morning safari we had breakfast and then free time until a three o’clock lunch and then a four o’clock night drive. After the night drive, we had dinner and then time around the fire before bed. Our guides were named Ryan and Jason, and they took turns, one driving and one sitting on the tracker and spotter chair on the front of the car. The manager was named Lorrain. On our last day it was Ryan’s turn to go on break for two weeks, so we had Jason and another guide named Richard. Everybody was really nice.

            On the safaris, we saw a mixture of plants, birds, and of course, animals. We also learned a lot of cool facts. The terrain was very long grass and a lot of trees. Everything was completely green.

·         The birds we saw were: rollers, (European, lilac breasted, and purple.) magpie shrikes, grey go-away birds, eagles, (brown snake and fish.) pearl spotted owlet, barn swallows, buffalo weavers, quail, and hornbills, (red and yellow billed.)

Red billed Hornbill

·         The plants we saw were: a tree called a magic gwarrie which if you cut a small branch off and then chew on it; it goes very soft and forms “bristles” that you can use to brush your teeth. Another plant we learned about is called the devils thorn that has leaves that when you rub some together in your hands with a little bit of water, it goes very soapy and you can rub it in your arms and neck and it soaks in – a little bit like moisturizer, and it doesn’t smell. It got its name because the little thorns on it look a bit like cartoon devils. My favorite one was the buffalo thorn tree that has edible leaves and a lot of hooked and straight thorns all over it. The leaves are so good! the story about the buffalo thorn is that when someone in your family dies, you go to their grave and put the hooked thorn over it, which is supposed to mean that you are taking out their soul, and then however you are getting home, (bus, train, taxi, plane, etc.) you pay for an extra seat for the branch with the hooked thorn (their soul) facing up. When you get home, you put the straight thorn pointing up on your roof, which means that now that they are home, their soul can go to heaven. Ryan showed Jackson and me how to make bracelets out of a tree called the white or silver raison. You have to cut off a branch and strip of the bark into long strips. Once you have three strips, you braid them together and make a bracelet of necklace out of them. The other thing Ryan showed us was how to make “bush” tea. First you get about nine seed pods off a tree, and then you grab two sides opposite each other and pull until it splits in half and then you pick out the seeds and throw them away. After that, you have to put the halves of seed pods into a sieve and boil some water. Then you hold the sieve over a cup and pour some hot water over the pods and into the cup. It is not a strong flavor at all, but with sugar it is really good! J

·         The animals we saw were: impala, (in nursery groups (a lot of babies and females and one male) and in all male groups) hyenas, zebras, foam nest frog, (which are apparently a little rare because they like open planes) giraffes, a little glimpse at a cheetah and her cub (which are also really rare for the same reason) a few kudos, a vervet monkey, wildebeest and a baby, African wild cats, duikers, a rabbit, spring bock, a leopard tortoise, and all of the big five - one female, one male, and one baby white rhino all together but as soon as the male came near the female and her baby, the female charged at him, chasing him off, lots of elephants, (and lots of really cute babies!), two male lions (brothers, friends, or cousins) laying in the middle of the only tarmac road together, and twice we saw two very full female lions just lazily sleeping in the shade of some trees, a whole herd of about two hundred water buffalos that the guides think had a fight with some lions that night because they had fresh gashes and chunks taken out of them L, and (this was our very favorite thing we saw) an adorable baby leopard sitting up in a tree! One of the safari vehicles spotted tracks and the person sitting in the very front seat got off and tracked the cub up to the tree. The mother and other cub were in the bushes. The cub was only four months old and was about the size of an average full grown house cat. When he climbed down the tree it was really cute because he was really clumsy and practically fell out.

Baby Elephant

Clumsy 4 month old leopard

Mom and baby white rhino

Mother and baby warthogs

Dwarf Mongoose

·         We learned: that the female foam nest frog makes the nest by secreting a liquid and beating it with her hind legs until it becomes foam. The inside is not hollow. She then lays her eggs in there and when the tadpoles hatch, instead of going straight into the water, they get a head start and they get to swim around in the foam until they become too heavy and fall out of the nest.

Foam frog nest

We also learned that there is a “small 5,” which consists of the elephant shroon, the ant lion, the rhino beetle, the leopard tortoise, and the buffalo weaver.

When we left Greater Kruger, we went to Johannesburg, or J’burg, as South Africans call it.

On our first full day in J’burg, we went to the Cradle of Humankind. The Cradle of Humankind is where scientists think that humankind started to evolve, and where they found some of the earliest homo skeleton fossils. We first went to some caves that they found a really old fossil called “Little Foot”, one of a few hominids that fell in through the cracks in the ceiling of the caves and died. In the museum they had many different exhibits. My favorite one was a video where they showed the earth’s creation as twelve hours, and the most interesting part was that humans came in the last three seconds! There was also a boat ride that showed the creation of the earth, and there were fake volcanoes and two parts of the wall would move back and forth like plates shifting. My favorite part of that was when we went through the ice age part; the walls were actually made out of ice!



Caves at the Cradle of Humankind



            The next day we had a guide who took us around Soweto (Southwestern Townships) which is a famous township where the whites made the blacks live during  apartheid. We went to the Hector Peterson Museum, the freedom square, the house where Nelson Mandela lived for many, many years of his life, and the place where a lot of Soweto residents live, including our tour guide, and we even went to her house! It was all really interesting, and I learned a lot!

South Africa – Facts                                        

Main/unusual dish(s):

·         Pap: a sticky rice pudding

·         Bobotie: spicy mince meat in a pan topped with an omelet type thing, with vegetables and rice on the side.

Other:

·         They call their traffic lights robots!

·         Baboon signs everywhere

Saddlesore in the Sahara (by Anne)

Marrakech was first on my list of places I have always wanted to go.  I was not disappointed.  It is an exotic and fascinating place.  You could spend weeks getting lost in the Souk and never get bored.  The Riads were we stayed were beautifully decorated.  There was no escaping the permeating smell of spices anywhere in the Medina.   

Fez (at least the Medina) was similar but even more ancient and primitive.  Walking through the markets we saw a camel head hanging on a stick.  At the butcher stall they had cages of live chickens so that you could pick your chicken for the butcher to kill and pluck on the spot, or you could take it home to do it yourself.   Jaws and the intact teeth of some dead animals were discarded on the street for clean up at the end of the day.

The most interesting thing I saw was what can only be described as a “chicken bouquet”.  An elderly man on a motorcycle had about 40 chicken tied neatly by the feet.  The white chickens spread out evenly to form a large, perfectly round bouquet.  The most amazing thing is that these chickens were still alive but docile and did not appear to care that they were hanging by their feet riding down the street.

The mosaics were extraordinary.  In Fez, we had a driver take us around the outside of the medina.  One of the stops was at a pottery factory where they did mosaics as well as pottery.  We walked through the area where the artisans worked.  They sat on the concrete floor and either hammered small pieces of unbelievably evenly cut tile or worked piecing together the mosaics by laying the pieces color face down.  There was no space between the pieces of tile and therefore very little grout was needed.  The finished product was table tops.  I wish I could have taken one home with me.  The marble table tops were even more stunning than the tile.

 

Several people asked me if I was of Moroccan descent.  One man even started calling me Fatima.  Jackson thought I might be upset by this and told me when the man was not within hearing distance that I was not a “fatty ma” but I was a “thinny ma”.

We thought a night in the dessert would be a great experience for the kids. It was a 10 hour drive through the higher Atlas Mountains.  The scenery changed constantly and we stopped several times on the journey, so it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.  One stop included a Kasbah were we had a brief tour of a Koran school that had an ancient library.  We were able to view books kept in open air protected only by glass fronted bookcases that were over a thousand years old.

When we finally arrived at camp it was already dark.  Fortunately, I was well prepared with flashlights. (I know no one will be surprised by this) I used to think Bermuda was such a wonderful place for viewing stars as there is little light pollution, but in the Sahara, there is NO light pollution whatsoever.  I don’t even know how to begin to describe how much you could see with the naked eye.  Our driver showed us our tent and then drove off to meet us the next morning.  The camp had maybe ten tents total, but only two others were occupied.  We were given one candlestick and that did not last long, so we were glad to have the flashlights. For those of you who are envisioning SATC2, which was filmed near where we stayed, you would be mistaken.  Boot camp would be a more accurate description.   And for the middle of summer, it was freezing.  I slept in several layers of clothing along with my fleece, my winter gloves and four wool blankets.  The loud banging of African drums kept Jackson and I awake for a long time.  Paul and Savannah can sleep through anything.

We woke at dawn to watch the sunrise from the top of the sand dunes.  The colors were subtle making it difficult to capture in photos. At 8:00 am sharp we were loaded on the camels. This was after Paul had put on all of our turbans that we had purchased the day before.  He actually did a nice job, and they stayed on the entire journey.  I think we were expecting the Disney Land version of a camel ride -  get on the camels for a fifteen minute ride, take photos and then move on.  We were not prepared for a three hour journey on camel to the next town to meet our driver.  To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement.  But the good news was it made the thirty hour journey ahead of us to South Africa not seem so bad after all….

Anne & Jackson overlooking "camp"

 



Savannah & Anne on Silly Billy



Savannah in Morocco

Thursday (Dec 29) was our first day in Morocco. We are staying in a hotel in Marrakech. In the morning we had a really good breakfast, before doing a little wandering around and then entering the Medina, which is an ancient city. The walk to the medina is really pretty because there is a big clay wall and in front of the wall there is a pathway with roses and orange trees on the side.  In the ancient city we saw La Koutoubia. La Koutoubia is a minaret above a mosque. The devout Muslims go to a mosque five times a day to pray and today at lunch we heard them called to prayer over a loud speaker.

Outside the walls of Marrakech Medina

In front of La Koutoubia

There is also a huge market called a Souk. In the souk there were all sorts of Moroccan things sold, and small narrow streets crowded with people, motor bikes, donkeys, push carts and bicycles. Most of the things sold were rugs, clothes, lamps, plates, scarves, jewelry, slippers, and all sorts of unusual foods and spices. In the square there were restaurants selling local Moroccan food like tajine and couscous, juice stalls with freshly squeezed lemon, orange and grape fruit juice, people selling spices such as saffron, sweet curry, cumin, paprika, and pretty much any spice that you could possibly want, people selling food, (like dates, dried apricots, figs, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanuts) monkey tamers, and snake charmers. Some of the snakes were cobras and the snake charmers were moving their heads around and the snake copied. I was so scared! The monkey owners had the monkeys on leashes and if you paid them they would put the monkey on their shoulder and you could take a picture. The spice stalls smelled so good!

Marrakech Souk



 Spice Stall

In Spice Square (which is a world heritage site) there were many woman wearing kaftans and head scarves and giving henna tattoos so I decided to get one. It felt really good! It is a beautiful design and is suppose to last two weeks. For lunch we went to a good restaurant that had a lot of cats running around under the tables. We had couscous, chicken on a stick, and an omelet. Later when we left the square and were heading home, we saw a man selling macaroons, so we tried one, and it was really good!

Henna Hand

Our second day in Morocco was just as good as the first! The temperature was colder in the morning then it warmed up to 50-60 degrees. First we went back to the souks but this time we had a tour guide named Najib. Najib told us that the souks we went to yesterday were the ones mostly for tourists, and he took us to the souks that the local Moroccans shop at. He told us there were 18,000 stalls in the souk. Something really cool about those souks is that on any one street there are only stores that sell the same thing. For example, one street sells slippers, one street sells lamps, one street sells scarves, one street sells bags, and so on. We went to the slipper street and went into a store were Mom and I bought some really nice Moroccan slippers. We did a lot of looking around before going into a huge store that sold Moroccan antiques. There was a really nice guy named Achmed who showed us around and helped us pick stuff out. We ended up with some really nice things for our house. He also gave us Moroccan tea which is green tea with fresh mint leaves and sugar. It is really good! Najib then took us around a little bit more before taking us to a dinner place that he recommended so we could make a reservation for that night which was New Year’s Eve.  Najib dropped us at a restaurant for lunch and we said goodbye.

That night we went out and had a traditional Moroccan dinner. The table was set with popcorn, green and black olives, pickled green peppers, and peanuts. We ordered one of the few set meals especially for New Years. First we had a selection of Moroccan salads. There were six bowls with different things in them and you take what you want and mix it together. In the bowls there were cold boiled potatoes, pickled cooked carrots, chick peas with creamy tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes and green pepper, fresh beets, and aborigine. We also had puff pastry with rice and mince meat in deep fried phyllo dough, (like a mini samosa) and deep fried phyllo dough stuffed with sticky rice dipped in sugar and orange flower. (It tasted like a dessert!) For a main meal we had chicken tajine with olives. For dessert we had green tea with fresh mint like before, macaroons, biscotti, pastry crescent, and a HUGE “make-your-own-fruit salad” which consisted of four apples, about seven tangerines, and four huge oranges. During the dinner there was a belly dancer, and guys on instruments; one on a drum and one on what we think is a loot.  

Later, we went out to the square for a few hours to wait until midnight. We saw people in the middle of the square selling food so we went to go check it out. The main stalls were selling things like calamari, fish, vegetables, and meat on skewers, but other stalls sold more unusual foods. One stall sold whole lamb heads, lamb brains, (which went quickly, so they must be pretty popular) lamb feet, and mostly every part of a lamb that you can imagine. That same stall also sold eels. A few stalls sold snails. When we left the food area, we went to look around the rest of the square. They still had the same things as during the day, but this time they also had guys selling false teeth.  There were people dancing out stories and street magicians. One magician kept spitting up table tennis balls and putting them in his bag and but after he spat up like ten of them, he shook the bag and they were gone! There was also a guy with a hawk. When we were leaving, they did the countdown to midnight with a bugle. When we got home we all fell asleep instantly.

On our third day in Morocco we slept in late because we were so tired. When we got up we had breakfast and in the late morning we went swimming. Jackson and I only jumped in a few times because it was too cold! The pool was really cool because it had stepping stones across it.

When we finally left, we went to the Bahia Palace. It was really pretty! There were ornate ceilings, incredible mosaics, beautiful fire places, and many courtyards, each prettier than the last.  The courtyards had trees, plants, and flowers with a crossroad pathway that had a fountain in the middle, and little open rooms outlining it. The “main courtyard” was huge! We were only allowed on about a fifth of it, but there was a really old fountain, and wheat growing on the roof. The whole palace was beautiful!

Our next day in Morocco was spent driving all day, but with a lot of interesting stops along the way. We had a driver named Josuf who was taking us to the desert where we were going to spend the night. First, we went through Marrakech really quickly before entering the mountains. In the mountains the terrain changed a lot! It went from red rock to grey rock, and no plants at all to completely covered in green. We went up and down the mountains and wound around the sides of them. When we stopped in the mountains there were people by the sides of the rode selling fossils and crystals. We saw mountain goats and sheep, and a lot of herders with them. In the mountains Josuf told us a little about the Berber people. He told us that they live up in the mountains and farm goats and sheep. He said that all of the kids in the Atlas Mountains go to school from age seven to fourteen, and some of them have to walk up to an hour to get to school. 

When we got down from the mountains we were driving through a rocky desert, which was really different from what I expected. When we got to a town, we bought some turbans for the camel ride the next day. Then we had lunch at a hotel which was really good – meatball tajine.

We also made a few stops. A lot of them were at the side of the road in the mountains because it is so amazing, but we did go to one famous site, Ouzerate, which is the place where a lot of desert movies were filmed, like Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiators. There are a few poor families still living there. There was also a 200 year old town there that we went in a little bit. The other place we stopped was really cool because all there was were palm trees as far as the eye can see! It was nice because it reminded me of Bermuda.

Making pottery

Kiln for pottery

After lunch (really good meatball tagine which we have never had before) we drove a little before going to a village named Tamgrote. There we had someone show us around. There were many kids of all ages running around and following us. First he took us to a graveyard. We could only see in, not go in. he told us that tall and thin stones were for the males, and the short and round ones were for the females. Then he took us to a school where they only study Koran, which is their bible. In the school there was a library that held over 4000 books, the oldest was a 1000 year old Koran! Some of the other books were: more Koran and Koran explanations, math, astronomy, medicine, animal dictionaries, and more. The coolest thing though, was that they were all collected by one guy! We also learned that if you make a circle with your thumb and forefinger and let your other three stick up, (sort of like an ok sign) that is the Islamic sign of their god, Allah. The school also had dorms and a cafeteria. After that we went to where they make pottery. They dig up clay from three feet down and they mix it with water and leave it to dry a little bit, then they form it into the shape that they want, then they bake it in the oven, take it out and decorate it, then they bake it one more time before it is complete. When they are forming the wet clay into shapes, they sit in a hole in the ground that they dug where there is a foot pedal that spines the stick that the clay is wrapped around, and when they are spinning the clay they use their hands to smooth it out and shape the clay. Then they showed us their store. We couldn’t get anything since we couldn’t carry it.

After that we kept driving until we got to a town where we could get water bottles for the night, before driving to our campsite in the desert. When we got there, it was already dark and really cold! They showed us the food tent, the bathroom tent, and then our tent. The food tent had two tables with couches for seats, and two tables with the floor for seats. In our tent there was a candle and two beds. They gave us extra blankets. The bathroom tent was a few tents away from ours. The stars were beautiful! Since there were really no lights, we could see thousands more than usual. We still had two hours until dinner, so dad and I decided to go for a little walk in the dunes. The sand was really fine. We basically just walked up and down a few dunes. For dinner we had tajine and fruit salad. We met a couple who were visiting someone in Morocco. They were really nice and they told us that they had come in on camels and left on camels. After dinner we went to our tent to sleep. Our candle had burned out so it was completely pitch black other than our two little flashlights. Someone came and gave us extra blankets, but it was still really cold. When we about to fall asleep, some people started playing drums and it echoed of the surrounding mountains.

Savannah at Sunrise in the Sahara

Savannah in dinner tent

The next day we got up really early, went outside, climbed some dunes, and watched the sunrise. Jack and I climbed to the top of the highest one, which was really hard. The sunrise was beautiful, but the pictures didn’t turn out that good. On our way down, Jack and I slid, our shoes got full of sand. We saw some little critter tracks, that we weren’t sure what they were, and we also saw some tracks that we thought were snakes, but later a guy told us that they were beetle tracks.

After breakfast we put on our turbans and got on some camels. Dad, Jack, and our luggage were on a dark brown camel named Lasan, and Mom and I were on a tan camel name Silly Billy. They were both boys. It was really uncomfortable! Once, the camel I was on shook like a wet dog and we had to hold on really tight! Silly Billy was in front and Lasan was in the back. Lasan kept going forward a little bit so that Mom could pet him. The ride was pretty cool because we got to see what the desert was like. There were lots of dunes and little oasis’s almost, where there was all of a sudden a little bunch of bushes or trees in the middle of all sand. There were some bushes and trees dotted here and there as well. After about two and a half hours, we got off the camels, said goodbye, and got back in the car with Josuf. Then we had a big long drive home only stopping for lunch and a few times for pictures. At the first picture stop we emptied our shoes which were full of sand. When we got back to Marrakech, we said goodbye to Josuf and went to our ryad (like a Moroccan bed and breakfast). At the ryad the manager, Said, took us to the square and helped us find a good place for dinner. Then we walked around the square before going home for bed.

The next day we took got up early again and took the seven hour train to Fez. On the train we met a just engaged couple, and we were talking to them. When they got off on the third to last stop, another guy named Achmed whose family owns a tannery. He organized a guide for us for the next day.

When we got off the train, we went to our ryad. The name was Ryad Hala, and it was amazing! The walls were mostly completely ornate. It was built in 1394 and it was only made into a ryad three years ago. Our room had a big bed, two small beds, a huge wardrobe, and a bathroom. It was really pretty as well. We also went up to the terrace, which had an incredible view.

The ryad is inside some souks, so we decided to walk around them a little bit. In the souks there were lots of cats, a lot of fruit and veg sellers, a lot of the same things sold as in Marrakech, a wild rooster, a few shops were you can buy a live chicken, sheep feet, and even a store that had a whole camel head in it! The streets were a lot narrower than in Marrakech, so it was harder to weave around.

Then we went to the restaurant part of the souks. We had dinner at a Moroccan place, but they didn’t have tajine and fruit salad. We had harira soup and chicken skewers, french fries, and rice. There was a little back cat that was under Jacksons chair but eventually came out and slept on Dad’s shoe, even sticking his head up Dad’s pant leg. After dinner Mom and Jack went back to the ryad, and Dad and I walked around a little bit more. We found a carpet shop that had really nice carpets, so we went inside. The owner showed us a lot of carpets which were all really nice, so we decided to come back with mom the next day.

The next day we met our guide named Mo mo that brought his wife along. He took us around Fez, and some of the places we went were:

·         A place where they make wedding chairs that the bride sits on and men carry her in.

·         The tannery that Achmed’s family owns. They sold jackets, poufs to sit on, bags, slippers, (they had a giant one to hang on the wall.) and little pots. They took us up to the roof where you can look over and see the process and gave us mint to sniff on because it smelled so bad. They told us that the colors they used were all natural, saffron – yellow, cobalt – blue, poppy – red, coal – black, and magnesium – green. We could see all the leather drying. I ended up getting a little purple and black pot.

Leather Tannery

·         A fabric shop. At the fabric shop, they had some really nice fabric and scarves. They also had three looms run by foot pedals, and Jackson got to try it a little.

·         The university. The university is the oldest university in the world. We didn’t get to see very much, we only saw through an archway. We learned that to get accepted into the university is memorize the whole Koran which takes eight or nine years, then you get into the university and study it for thirteen years, and then when you come out you come out you are considered an iman, which is a spiritual and holy leader.

·         Spice shop. At the spice shop there were tons of spices and a man who showed us some. He had frankincense, mer, saffron, sweet cury, a special mix of spices that goes in a tajine, rose hand cream, and a black colored spice that you sniff and it clears your sinuses. Mom got some rose hand cream.

 

·         Brass works. At a brass works place there was a guy with a flat gold plate which he was putting designs in. he used a needle, a tool, and a hammer. It was amazing! When he hit the plate lightly, it made a bell sound that went on for about forty seconds. There were some earrings of Fatima’s hand that mom bought. Fatima’s hand looks like a hand covered in henna with an eye in the middle, and the guy in the store told us that Fatima’s hand is supposed to warn off the evil eye.

After that, Mo mo dropped us off with a driver named Abrahim. Abrahim took us to a few places as well like:

·         A pottery and mosaic factory and store. There were many beautiful things there. The mosaics were fountains and table tops, which were very nice. They way they were made is called reverse method mosaics, which mom said is very hard. You put the pieces for the mosaic upside down on a flat surface, and when you are done, you pour the grout on the bottom and when it dries and you flip it over you have a flat mosaic. The pottery was just as nice, and they showed us where they make it. They use the same method as the people in Tamgrote. When they paint the pottery, the light purple comes out dark blue.

·         On top of a hill there were some tomes that kings were buried under. The view was amazing! The grass around the tomes had drying leather from the tannery we went to.

After we went to those places, Abrahim dropped us of a few minutes from our ryad, so we walked back. Closer to our ryad, we saw a man selling candy. He was selling nougat. We got some chocolate and some vanilla with nuts in. It is really good. Later when we went out to dinner we saw some school girls and they were trying to talk to me, but I didn’t understand them. For dinner we went to the same place as the night before, but the little black cat wasn’t there.

The next morning Dad and I went out for a last walk and we found a doughnut stand so we bought some doughnuts for breakfast. After that we took the same train back to Marrakech. When we got there, it was already really late so we went to the same ryad as before, had dinner, and went to bed.

The next day was our last day in Marrakech. We had breakfast and a little later, and then dad and Jackson went out and Mom and I stayed in because we were tired. At lunch time, Dad and Jack came back for us and we all went out for lunch. We went back to a place in the square that we had gone to before. After lunch Dad and I went out and Mom and Jack went home. Dad and I walked around a little bit before Dad decided to go back to Achmed’s store so he could tell us about the pieces we had bought again. When we left, we found a scarf store and I bought a very beautiful scarf.

All of the things that I saw and did in Morocco were amazing, and I really hope that one day I will go back.

The next two days were spent going to from Marrakech to London to Dubai to Cape Town.

Egypt Exodus

I interrupt the chronological order of our blog to report on our time in Egypt.  Interesting to say the least..

Well, we landed in Egypt on the worst possible day – January 27.  The demonstrations against the ruling president – Hosni Mubarak (who had been in power for 30 years) started to escalate.  I guess Egypt Air’s mandatory shrink wrapping of our luggage before boarding in South Africa should have been our first clue.

Since we arrived early in the morning, we slept most of the first day and went on a Nile dinner cruise the first evening. The next morning our guide, nicknamed “Sheco”, an Egyptologist  now working on his masters degree in Egyptian Mythology and the driver Mohammad, picked us up at the hotel.  We were fortunately able to go to the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, Sakkara, the Papyrus museum and the perfume factory.  The kids also got another camel ride at a place they called the “panoramic” which was a fabulous view of the three pyramids in Giza.  At this point we knew the cell phones were not working and that this would be a big day for demonstrations as it was Friday – which is considered their holy day and part of the weekend.  I found it completely bizarre that everyone would participate in the noon prayers and then turn around start fighting. On the drive back to the hotel, Sheco told us that the Egyptian museum was closed today in anticipation of what might happen. We did have to go through several police blockades during the day, but it did not seem that out of the ordinary and they let us through without a problem. 

When we returned to our hotel at 5:30pm, that is when we knew things had gotten worse.  The one thing I will say about Egyptians is that they are a very nice and friendly people.  They bend over backward for their tourists (40% of Egypt’s income) and want to make sure you have been satisfied with everything.  On the other hand they do not want to tell you bad news.  This was the only time I felt at a disadvantage for not speaking Arabic.  We could see that every TV in the city was on and people gathered around to watch the news.  They told us there was a curfew starting at 6:00pm and that the country’s internet had been cut off by the government, along with the cell phones.  There was only about five minutes until curfew, so they moved us to a new hotel nearby (we were supposed to be on an overnight train to Aswan) and told us the train station was closed.  The hotel was about a block away from our other hotel, but it was safer as our first hotel was on a major road and was under construction so really had no doors.  The hotel staff were extraordinarily  accommodating, considering that they themselves were not able to travel home to their families and their country was in such turmoil.  Our guide for the transfer to Aswan (also named Mohammad) stayed at the hotel overnight and while he was not updating us as frequently as we might have liked (presumably as the news was bad) he and the operator of the tour guide company, Samuel, did work hard behind the scenes to make sure we had a plan.

Fortunately we were able to get CNN and BBC in our hotel room, so we were up to date on what was going on. That first night that we were stuck in our room the violence started to escalate, but we felt safe and not at all worried even though we could hear the tear gas going off.

The next morning after waiting to be contacted by the tour company, they were only able to tell us that the airport and train stations were still closed and that they would contact us again at 5:00pm.  However, around noon, we got another call.  We were told that the best thing to do was to get out of Egypt.   We were trying to decide where to go, but the tour company arranged for us to go to Dahab, which we were told is a resort city about an hour and a half farther than Sharm el Sheikh (which is where we were planning on going) in Sinai.  They arranged for us to take an 8 hour bus ride tomorrow (Sun Jan 30) at noon.  The plan (“God willing” as the Muslims say) is that the riots will be over before we fly to Israel on Feb. 7.  I do remember my friend Carol telling me that she went from Sinai to Israel and walked over the border, so presumably that is a viable option if things do not calm down in Cairo.

We managed to get out at lunch to go to a nearby restaurant.  There were groups of people (generally four to eight people) congregating on every corner.  We could see stores preparing against looters by building brick walls in front of their shops.  We saw people hording food which reminded me of preparing for hurricanes in Bermuda. The grocery store near our hotel was full of people and trying to close, but people were still just pushing in past the poor guy that was trying to tell people they were closed.  The ATM machines were out of order and we learned later that the banks had closed.

Later, as we sat in our hotel (in Giza which we didn’t realize was so close to the action) we were able to hear more frequent and louder gunfire as well as occasionally hearing the chanting and cheering of protestors. We were able to get a glimpse of military vehicles from our hotel room.  The kids were very good about being stuck in a hotel room for so long.  About every 30 minutes or so we would hear a loud noise and someone would yell “tank” and we would all run to the window to try and see it. We were not at all concerned about the protesters as we understand their frustration with their government, but we were concerned about other armed looters and criminals that this kind of unrest brings.  We have heard on CNN that 1000 inmates from a Cairo prison have escaped.  So we sit in our hotel room watching the news, listening to the gunfire and hoping the death toll does not rise any higher.  Sadly, we see on TV that some antiquities have been disturbed, but they did manage to get the military to guard the museums. The kids are very disappointed to leave Egypt as this was the favorite destination, but they do not understand the gravity of the situation.  We are looking forward to leaving tomorrow and will post this and write again when we get there….

We woke on Sunday around 7:00am to the sound of a large angry group of people that we could not see but we knew were nearby.  We could see a few individuals with sticks walking around. About a block away was the intersection of two major streets so we guessed that is where they were gathering. But by 7:15 we could not hear anything. We are still hoping to leave in at 9:00am today.  We saw on CNN last night that there are 1500 tourists stuck at the airport with no flights leaving.  Jackson is sitting on the bed playing his DS and Savannah is still sleeping.  I am glad they seem to be mostly oblivious to the situation and do not appear to be worried despite us having CNN or BBC on 24/7.

9:30 am Sunday Jan 30 – oops.  We are not able to leave as they are not allowing tourists to leave the area as they say it is too dangerous.  Plus we have to drive through Suez which is dangerous and the Suez tunnel is apparently closed.  We are to wait in our hotel room until they come up with a plan B. (bummer as the first night we drank them out of Stella and the second night we drank them out of Heineken – admittedly this is not hard to do in a mostly Muslim country)

9:45am Sunday Jan 30 – oops.  Looks like our driver may get here at 11:00.  They are going to drive another route so as not to go through Suez.  Who know how long the bus ride will be now.  We are also trying to look into going to Israel now (8 days early) but there is conflicting information as to whether or not the international flights are running.  Everyone seems sure that Egypt Air has shut down but that is not how we are flying to Israel.  For now we wait in the hotel lobby to see what is next. 

As we are sitting in the hotel lobby, I had an interesting conversation with Savannah.  We have seen Hilary Clinton on TV both on US, British and Arabic TV.  Savannah and Jackson had heard of her and I explained what she did as Secretary of State.  Savannah asked me what Hillary Clinton’s husband does, with her tone suggesting that he might be like the Queen of England’s husband, Prince Phillip.  When I told her she said, “BILL CLINTON WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES??? – REALLY????”  I guess if we ever get to Dahab, I may have to consider adding American history to the very little amount of home schooling I have been doing on our trip.  And this now replaced my most depressing  “you might be old if…”  which formally was my Duke TIP teenage students being too young to remember 9/11.

11:15 Sunday.  A driver shows up. We assume he is taking us to the bus, so we cram our suitcases in his tiny little car and put the last suitcase across me and the kids in the back seat.  Eventually we figure out that our driver (who is named Mohammad  Ali) is taking us all the way to Dahab.  So eight hours and many police/military blockades later we arrive in Dahab.  The Suez tunnel was not closed and that is the route we took.  It was quite cool to see the Suez Canal.  The policy/military personnel at the blockades seemed sympathetic to our plight and many of them gave us a nice wave to say hello.

Monday morning January 31, 2011 – We all got a good night sleep listening to the sound of the waves of the Red Sea / Gulf of Aqaba crashing against the breakers rather than gunfire and protestor chants.  It is actually a beautiful beach  resort area, but mainly for divers as there is not much sand on the beaches.  We can see Saudi Arabia from the porch of our hotel rooms.  No CNN or BBC in our hotel, but we can see from the Arabic channel coverage that it looks much more peaceful today than it has the last few days (of course if you ask anyone here they tell you “everything very fine – no problem”).  We were told the internet is to be restored today, so we’ll see.  We are happy to stay here an entire week or go back when we can.  We are very close to Mt. Sinai and St Catherine Monastery, which coincidentally were the last two items to be struck of our list of places we wanted to visit.  If we don’t go directly to Jerusalem from here, I am hoping we will be able to go back to Cairo by Feb. 6 as there is pretty much no chance of me seeing the Packers win the Superbowl in Dahab. 

9:00pm Jan 31 – well, still no internet.  The kids are kept occupied by the countless cats that are everywhere (they will even sit on your lap in restaurants, most of which are Bedouin Style seating ).  Today they even found a puppy wondering the hotel premises. Dahab is a dead. It is already low season for them, but most tourist coming to this area have cancelled their plans or their plans were cancelled for them due to lack of planes to get here.  I don’t believe any supply or delivery trucks are getting through either.  Today we all went to have a massage, which was a first for Savannah and Jackson.  I can’t say they were too keen. Anyway, I had an interesting conversation with the owner of the “spa” (a term I use loosely).  As a small business man and he says he likes the President and that he is a very good man.  He has kept them out of war and built good relationships with other countries.  He says people’s memories are short.  The people protesting represent only 10% of how the population feels. He says these are people looking for an easy life and they don’t want to work hard.  He said he is educated as an accountant from Alexandria and since he is not currently able to work in his profession, he came to Dahab with nothing and in three years built a nice business for himself.  He says there are opportunities for Egyptians who want to work hard, but that most people do not want to work hard and want to blame the government.  In any case, I found this extremely interesting as this not a perspective that I am seeing reported on CNN or BBC and it appears that half of the story may be missing…

Tuesday, Feb. 1 (Happy Birthday Beena!!) Well, we celebrated our two month anniversary on the road without knowing what is going on.  Still no internet and the banks are still closed.  We were told that the President has agreed to hold elections in 3 months and that everything has quieted down, but it does not appear that the country is getting back to business as usual just yet.  We finally found a working ATM (National Bank of Egypt provided one armed ATM in Dahab – I was told they took the money from the surrounding ATM machines and put it in this one ATM)  We were very glad to get some Egyptian pounds as we were running low and no one was smart enough to agree to accept foreign currency. I only say this because as I mentioned, Dahab is deserted and the few people remaining are hounded to come to the approximately 100 restaurants that remain open.  Everyone has a better deal than the next – free Egyptian salads!  Free dessert for the kids! Half price whatever!

I spoke to the “marketing” person for the spa we went to the other day.  He tells us he is in charge of marketing, but basically he stands outside one of his employer’s three spas and hassles tourists for thirteen hours a day and also takes a cut for himself that his employer does not know about. During the high season he is a masseur.  After we had our massages, he was hassling me the next day to do another and again trying to get himself a cut of the deal.  I told him I was done with the spa and that I met his boss and that he seemed like a nice guy. He said he was not a nice man and he treated the employees like slaves. He said he was paid 25 LE a day (about US$4) with no days off.  While I do feel bad for anyone earning that little bit of money, I could see that it was better than nothing. There was no reason for his employer to keep him on in the low season as they do not have enough business. The one thing I have noticed here is that Egyptians are chronically underemployed. No one has enough to do and the division of labor is strict and unbending.

In the afternoon, we were having a drink at our favorite restaurant/bar called The Jasmine. The kids have their favorite cats there and they have cold beer.  The proprietor was kind enough to turn on CNN and we were able to get an update on the situation.  It appears that the President has now agreed to not run in the next election to be held in six months.  We were told that this has appeased some, but not all of the people, so we are waiting to see what will happen now.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 – still no internet.  We don’t know any more than last night, but everyone we ask keeps saying “one more day” (until the banks are open and the internet comes up) I do not believe them.  At this point our plan is still to go to Taba and walk across the border to Israel.  Savannah is particularly keen on this option.  It will take about the same amount of time as going back to Cairo and flying to Israel.

Things are quiet and calm here, but as I went to the ATM machine this morning (they only let you take out 500 LE at a time about US$80) there was a police patrol going up and down the main street.  Jackson and I had to go to a clinic as we both had an unusual skin condition.  Jackson’s started right after his massage and mine started in Morocco and continued to get worse in Kruger and then unbearable in Dahab.  We waited about 20 minutes to see a doctor. It was immediately apparent that you do not question your doctor in Egypt.  He told me “both you – allergic reaction.  I give you (pointing to me) allergic reaction injection and cream and I give him (pointing to Jackson) allergic reaction syrup and cream.” So I asked him what kind of injection it was and he said with finality “allergic reaction injection”.  I tried to explain what kind of medicine I was already taking and he cut me off saying “no problem”.  When I kept trying to get a better idea of what he was prescribing for us, he said, “you two – you have allergic reaction of the skin, but not of the throat or breathing (which he did check) which is very good (which I already knew) so no problems you take allergic reaction medicine and be OK”.  Well, I am sure my friend Nate will scold me for this, but for the first time in my long history of visiting doctors, I decided that Jackson and I would go with the flow and just take what he was giving us.  So far neither of us have died, so it looks liked the right decision.  Also, I did work out that one of Jackson’s two  “creams” was Calamine lotion.

So another day and another escape from eating at the Funny Mummy Restaurant.  Their  “ marketing guy” has hounded us relentlessly when we have to walk past several times a day.  When we went out for our walk today, Paul and Savannah were far ahead of Jackson and me.  He said when the Funny Mummy guy started at it, he almost told him that he wanted to eat there but his wife wouldn’t let him.  He is damn lucky he did not do that! Jackson and I decided that the “Merry Christmas” sign over the front door was a signal as to how old the food was and the last time the place had been cleaned.

5pm INTERNET BACK!!!  Oops.  Was up for a few minutes, down again – but this is the most hope we have had all week.

6pm trying again….

Now that our ordeal appears to be over,  I can tell you about the time we did spend in Egypt.  We slept the first day and that evening we went on a Nile dinner cruise.  The cruise itself was a bit lame, and for a moment I thought I was back in the U.S. as people crowded the buffet like a herd of cattle that had never seen food before.  The good news is you can always find a greek salad, hummus, baba ganoush and chicken.  The kids were disappointed that the deserts were gone before we even had our salad. Paul was desperate enough to drink a nonalcoholic beer, but I stuck with my lukewarm “coca light”.  The kids had their usual “Fanta orange”

After dinner, the entertainment started – and we were definitely entertained.  First there was a belly dancer.  She was remarkable,  a very good dancer but her excellent form was far surpassed by her amazing endurance.   The live music kept going and going and so did she.   The next entertainer can only be described as a “very short twirler”.  He came out and twirled around in circles, with what must be traditional Egyptian folk attire.  It was a long colorful skirt and what appeared to be bo-peep pants underneath.  The “dress” formed a complete circle and all he did was go in circles.  Another act of pure endurance.  I was dizzy just watching him.  While twirling he took the first layer of his skirt off over his head.  Then layer two.  

Next came twirling man no. 2.  He was of average height and was even a more spectacular twirler (and of course a good spotter).  He twirled nonstop for I would guess 20 minutes – at two times as long as the first man.  In addition to removing his colorful skirts, he did a few other tricks such as twirling while pouring and then drinking a glass of water.  The belly dancer returned for round two and the night was over.

The second day we saw all the Egyptian monuments in Giza. We were very lucky to see them as the Egyptian museum was closed down by then as were most other tourist destinations.  While our time was short in Egypt, it was very enjoyable.  The people were helpful and friendly and prided themselves on pleasing the tourist. (honestly – to the point I feared a breakdown if we told said and unpleasant word) While they were persistent salesmen (emphasis on the “men”) they were not at all as aggressive as we found the salesmen of Morocco.  We all agreed that we enjoyed our time here enough to want to come back and properly see it in a few years.