Jon & Jenn are Home!
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Well, we wanted to give you a quick heads up on exactly that. We have drug you along long enough :) You enjoyed it though, right??? So here we go – our last post. After catching up on the Christmas holiday with our families we thought it was about that time to start our lives again as ‘real world’ participants. Our trip budget just wasn’t going to hold us over very long in the states (esp with the snowboarding trips)...  Jenn on the left and Jonathan on the right Where: We are living in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jonathan is from Wilmington – born and raised. I had visited a few times and fell in love with the Port City. Therefore, we had our heart’s set on finding jobs in Wilmington. Jonathan’s parents have graciously taken us in as we get back on our feet. How: After searching for what seemed like forever (two months) we had come to the conclusion that we would be moving to Charlotte. Jonathan got offered a job in Wilmington but also had a great job offer in Charlotte and my old company was willing to work on trying to place me in their Charlotte office. I didn’t have any leads in Wilmington. And then…you wouldn’t believe it but in the midst of Jonathan and I's conversation about our move to Charlotte I received a call from a company in Wilmington asking me in for an interview. I interviewed the next morning and got offered the job that afternoon! And just like that we were staying close to the beach, family and friends. What: Jonathan is working for RE Mason as an account manager selling process control valves and accessories. He will train in Charlotte for several months before returning to Wilmington for good. I am working as a civil engineer at Cape Fear Engineering. We specialize in site development and so far I have worked on construction plans that include sewer, stormwater and water infrastructure for a residential subdivision. I have been working there for four weeks now and LOVE it! I am so happy to have structure again and an income! And I feel so grateful to have found an awesome job in a beautiful beach side/riverside city. We just wanted to say thanks one last time for all of the prayers, messages and support. We truly enjoyed sharing our experiences as we traveled the world and hope you enjoyed the ride. Love, Jon and Jenn And we of course can't send you off without a few updated photos...(especially so you can see us in our showered/non-backer forms) Fun little statistic - We took a total of 12,328 photos while we were gone...that doesn't include all the 'bad' ones we deleted at the end of every day...  Left: Guess how awesome it was to ride on a real bike...she has nothing on Vietnam's scooters! Right: Happy New Year!!!  Visiting our friends in Virginia  More Virginia friends  Happy St. Patty's Day!!  Downtown Wilmington  Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington 4 Comments South Africa 03/08/2012
Posted by: Jonathan Once I crossed the border into South Africa things began to change rapidly; roads became well paved and even had painted lines, buildings were made of materials other than mud and thatch, and I caught glimpses of organized neighborhoods instead of clusters of shanties. I camped one night between the rows of grapevines at a winery. 
The whole time I have been in Africa I have only purchased one bottle of water (my first day in Kenya). From then on I have only refilled the same bottle with unfiltered and untreated tap water straight from the sink, well, or canal just like the locals. I can safely say that I never got sick once from drinking the tap water (one advantage of what an RTW trip will do to your stomach). However, we will see if I end up contracting some rare disease down the road. Most of the time the water was colorless and odorless, unfortunately this wasn't always the case. 
Showing off one of the dirtier refills I received while in Africa. Yes that is "water" not tea or chocolate milk etc.
From the campsite at the vineyard I rose early and headed for Cape Town. My first view of the city was from across the bay with Table Mountain as the back drop. 
Being in Cape Town was a bit of a shock after traveling through East Africa. You don't even feel like you are in Africa, more of a cross between San Diego, Sydney, and Miami rolled into one. 
The hostel that I stayed in while in Cape Town had a toilet with a world class view equipped with binoculars to help pass the time while sitting on the throne. 
Our second day in Cape Town five of us from the truck went great white cage shark diving. We set out first thing in the morning and drove two hours away to shark alley. From there we loaded into a boat and headed out into the shark infested waters. 
The crew unloaded the cage into the ocean and left several large chopped up tunas in the cage to attract the sharks. Then we drove circles around the cage while dragging another bag with more sweet succulent dead tuna parts. 
This photo is of the cage baited with tuna. Later, once the sharks arrived, the tuna was removed and I got in...
If I were this guy I would tie that bag of chum to a rope and hold the other end of the rope instead of teasing the shark with my hand... but T.I.A. (This Is Africa)
We left the cage for about 45 minutes while we visited a nearby island with one of the largest and smelliest seal colonies I have ever seen or smelled. 
Once we returned to the cage we geared up and jumped into it. To increase the chances of successful shark viewing, the crew constantly chummed the water, used a baby seal decoy, and tossed a large tuna filet into the water with a rope attached that they dangled right in front of the cage and would pull it away just before the shark bit down on it. 
This poor guy had the scariest job of all
Tuna on a twine... yummy
We saw five different sharks over the course of the day. Each shark stayed for a different amount of time, some for minutes and others for hours. Some of the sharks were shy and would just slowly swim past the cage, while others would swim right up to it and bury their teeth into the metal, shaking the cage violently - those were my favorite. Their jaws could come about a third of the way into the cage, pinning you in fear to the back wall. One girl I was in the cage with had a underwater camera, but was so overtaken with excitement/fear when a shark came she never snapped a photo. I noticed this and borrowed her camera to take a few photos while underwater, although her camera had nothing on the late Bianca 2.0. 
As if killer Great Whites weren't enough to have to watch out for, how about adding deadly jellyfish
They would drag the chunk of tuna fish right in front of the cage, giving us a front seat view of the predator in attack mode
He was the smallest one we saw, but I have a good feeling he could still tear you limb from limb if given half a chance
Probably my greatest fear as a surfer is sitting on my board in the middle of the ocean and seeing the shadow in the photo above circling me... I feel for that baby seal cut out.
Notice how the left hand side of the cage isn't even closed, even though there is a large shark with sharp teeth approaching...
Again with the cage door wide open, the top of the cage only rises 10 inches above the ocean, not hard for the shark to climb into the cage just like we did.
Unfortunately, as it sometimes happens, one of the sharks got a bite in, the baby seal decoy just couldn't swim fast enough. 
During lulls between sharks, we would sit on the edge of the cage out of the water to warm up. It was weird sitting so exposed at water level while blood and chum encircled you, attracting the ocean's greatest predator. 
From Right: Alejandro, Chris, and Me
On the drive back to Cape Town from diving with the sharks, we stopped to explore anything that caught our eye. 
That afternoon I randomly ran into an old friend of mine that I lived with in Texas when I worked for Dow Chemical. Now this was no ordinary friend, this was the guy, nay the legend, who originally introduced me to the babystall - which if you haven't learned by now, is the funny looking half handstand I do when posing for pictures in precarious places around the world. After a few minutes of "whoa what are you doing here" conversation, we broke into a tandem babystall on the nearest elevated surface. 
The next day Alejandro and I hiked up Table Mountain, which gave fantastic panaramic views of Capetown and the surrounding beaches. The hike is supposed to take 2.5 hours up, but we made it in one hour flat (my legs were sore for five days afterwards). 
Once we hiked back down the mountain, we hitch hiked to a nearby beach for a refreshing dip. The water was cold, and since it had been less than 24 hours since I swam with great whites, the "dip" was shorter than average for me in the ocean. 
The following day (my last full day of the RTW trip), Alejandro picked his brother up from the airport, and the three of us took a train to Muizenberg to catch some waves. Unfortunately, the surf was small and choppy, so we just enjoyed a day of relaxing at the beautiful beach. This was probably for the better, since the great white shark spotters on the cliffs had set the shark alarm off most every day of the past week. Yes, they have full time shark spotters who watch for the dark shadows of great whites coming into the bays and will radio down to the life guards to signal the swimmers in to shore. 
The next morning I packed my backpack for the last time, had an emotional goodbye with Alejandro, and made my way to the airport to start my long journey home to the good ol' US of A. Africa was an amazing continent, one that I look forward to visiting again (and again) one day. Sitting in 11k on Qatar's 16 hour flight from Doha to Houston, I am flooded with mixed emotions. The epic journey has come to an end, but I now get to spend quality time with family and friends. I get to sleep in a comfortable bed, take hot showers, feel A.C., and enjoy a cube of ice in my drink, but I will have to give up my nomadic ways and have an alarm clock buzz me into consciousness daily to join the rat race of America. Although this is the last travel post, stay tuned for the final update on what has gone down since we have returned, as well as an outlook on what is in store for Jon and Jenn in the near future. Posted by: Jonathan Namibia takes the silver medal in the "most desolate country competition", trailing closely behind Mongolia who secures the gold. Don't be turned off by this as it is probably Namibia's most enjoyable characteristic. The landscape is as varied as the unique tribal people who inhabit it, making it my favorite country in my trip in Africa. I will discuss the varied landscape in detail later, but first I want to describe a few of the unique tribes here. The first are the Herero who wear large poofy victoria style dresses with unique hats that resemble the horns of a bull. They originally were unclothed but as German settlers arrived they decided that being naked wasn't an option for the Herero, so the Germans gave them clothes from their current style which has been unchanged over the years.   The other very distinguishable tribe is the Himba people. They wear only loincloths and smear a mixture of red mud and ochre butter on their skin to protect themselves from the sun. Even their scalps are coverd in a thick layer of dried mud which they never wash out since they never shower. I still struggle not to stand with my mouth agape when I am walking through town and there are peole dressed in dress shirts and slacks and walking just behind them are people in loin clothes, topless, and smeared in red mud.    Now that we have the unique tribal people covered let's talk about the landscape and animals. Our first big stop in Namibia was Etosha Park. The evening we arrived we went on a short game drive before the African rains came and boy am I glad we did. We saw lots of different animals as well as over 300 girraffes, I never imagined there could be so many in such a small area.  I think Impalas are the prettiest of the antelope family.  African Springbok  Baby Girraffe laying down    Cameleon - It was weird watching his eyes move in two different directions at once.   Bat Eared Fox - he got picked on hard in middle school     Check out the horns on these Gemsbok   As we headed back towards camp we ran into bumper to bumper traffic.  Bumper to bumper traffic in the northbound lane  Some congestion causing slow moving traffic in the southbound lane as well That night the rains came and continued most of the following day. Our tent flooded and the truck leaked so I had nothing dry to wear for days.  We spent the day game driving but hardly saw anything since all the animals were seeking shelter from the weather. During a break in the rain we did see a lion warming itself in the sun with weary zebras nearby. Once a lion has lost the element of surprise they often won't waste their energy trying to hunt, since they are usually unsuccessful when the herd is aware of their presence. Since this is the case, herds will often continue grazing around a lion instead of leaving the area because once they leave they will not know where the lion is and if they are being stalked.    Red Hartebeest  The salt flat we visited had about one and a half inches of standing water making the mud feel like mucous between your toes.   That evening the clouds cleared long enough for us to enjoy some sun by the cleaneest pool I have swam in while in Africa.  Our next stop was a cheetah conservation park. Cheetahs from different parts of africa are brought here if they are confiscated from poachers, injured in the wild, abandoned as cubs, or if they venture too close to villages taking livestock. The park has 18 wild cheetahs and three "tame" ones that have been handled from birth.  We spent the first couple hours interacting with the "tame" ones. I put the quotations on tame because wild animals always have instincts no matter how they are brought up. A baby goat was baaaaah-ing near the fence of the property and all three cheetahs raced to the fence steamrolling over the owner in the process. If the fence wasn't separating them, the goat would have been shredded. Once the baby goat wandered off the cheetah's instincts subsided and I was able to play with them.       The craziest part of all was watching the dogs and the three tame cheetahs interact. The dogs didn't stand a chance at getting the ball when they played fetch. Also, I made the mistake of petting one of the cheetahs while it was drinking water and it whirled around and hissed at me showing its long white sharp canines. With that said it was really awesome being so close to such a powerful predator.  Later in the day we rode in the bed of the pickup truck into a field where the wild cheetahs roamed. They had a barrell full of donkey meat which was tossed piece by piece out to the cheetahs as we made our way through their area.      Sunset with a rainbow completed the day at the Cheetah Park We spent the next day exploring the granite domes of Spitzkoppe.        As the sun set Alejandro and I hiked to the top of one of the domes carrying our mats and sleeing bags. We watched a vibrant sunset before finding a sheltered flat area to sleep for the night.     Laying on the warm rock with a light cool breeze blowing by while staring up at the stars was awesome. Although Alejandro was concerned since and I quote, "This isn't in my culture, two men who see the sunset together and then sleep the night seeing stars, in Chile this isn't normal, you must be with a woman of beauty for this."   The next morning we woke up bathed in light from a spectacular sunrise.   Our next stop was Swakopmund, originaly a coastal German settlement that is now Namibia's top tourist destination. The truck parked for three days giving us a chance to explore it as well as sleep in past sunrise. The first two days I slept in before spending the afternoon wandering the town.  German architecture influence  My last day in the town was a Sunday so I decided to go to a local church service. I felt a bit out of place especially since the serman was in Afrikaans, but the pastor summerized everything periodically in English and they sang a few English songs, I think soley for my benefit. Once the service let out a friendly local lady aske me a few questions about where I was from and how I came to be sitting in the church, before demanding I come home with her family and eat lunch. After getting a tour of the house I hung out with her three sons and two daughters who were between the ages of 21 and 30 while she, Carte, worked miracles in the kitchen. The service started at 8, was over by 11, and by 1 we blessed the food and started on the first of many courses. By 4 P.M. I was near puking from eating entirely too much but not wanting to be rude and not try something that my host said was a must while in Africa. I was so full I wasn't able to finish the slice of pie for dessert. It was nice sitting at a table with a large family (mother, father, five kids, two wives (of the kids), and two grandmothers) and eating a full meal. It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to enjoy something like this. The next morning the truck pulled out and left the cool breeze from the coast and headed into the desert.     We paid an afternoon visit to Sossusvlei, a dried up lake surrounded by magnificent red dunes. The trees still stand where they once did thousands of years ago since there isn't enough moisture in the air to support decomposition.          After sleeping under the stars in the dunes we awoke early and climbed a taller dune to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately some clouds moved in and obscured our view but it was still a great way to start the day.   We continued south stopping to stretch our legs at Sesriem, where seasonal rains have carved a 90 foot deep by 15 foot wide canyon.  To make up for the failed attempt at a sunrise, we went to Fish River Canyon to watch the sunset. It is the second largest canyon in the world, second only to ours truly the Grand Canyon, at 1,805 feet deep.       The next day we crossed into my last African country (for this trip), South Africa. Just before the border we stopped for a bathroom break and a chance to stretch out legs from the rolling, bumpy, dirt road. While walking in the brush with my flippy floppies I came across a hornedbill puff adder. It is extremely poisoness and was extremely pissed off since it had just finished shedding its skin. Pretty glad that it hissed, warning me before I accidentally stepped on it.    Posted by: Jonathan The two things that surprised me most at Botswana immigration were that you had to clean the soil off of all your sandles, shoes, and car tires (they are trying to cut down on the spreading of fungi across borders) and the boxes of free condoms available. Botswana has one of the highest Aids infection rates in the world at 25%, that means one in every four people are infected. Turns out most gas stations, stores, hotels, and campsites also gave away free condoms. 
Our first night in Botswana we slept along the Chobe River. Our campsite was separated from the croc and hippo infested river by an electric fence. That evening Alejandro and I scaled the fence to dip our toes in the water and take photos of the sunset. Getting out was no problem however getting back in was far more difficult with both of us taking shocks that knocked us flat on our backs. 
The next morning six of us woke up at sunrise and hired a 4x4 to take us into the Chobe National Park. 
The park covers 11,000 square kilometers and is home to a large portion of the African animal portfolio. It wasn't my favorite game drive but I did see several animals I had never seen before as well as an Impala giving birth. 
Large Kudu hiding in the branches - their horns grow a quarter turn every year
She just gave birth about a half hour before and still had part of the placenta attached
Banded mongoose
Impala getting some hang time
Kori Bustard - World's heaviest flying bird
We returned to camp for lunch and a nap before heading out that evening on a wildlife spotting boat on the Chobe River. 
Water Buck
Fish Eagle
Little tartar buildup there buddy
Hippos kill more humans than any other wild animals - I now see how
That night I used the few precious hours of electricity available to transfer my journal scribbles into typing for a future blog post. I could hardly concentrate over the buzzing of bugs that constantly flew into my face. The photo below will give you a glimpse but you should really watch the video to get a better understanding of what I am talking about. Words don't really describe how ridiculous the bugs are in Africa. 
The 1,430 kilometer long Okavango River delivers 4.9 trillion gallons of water annually that gets lost in the 16,000 square kilometer maze of canals, lagoons, and islands making up the Okavango Delta. Myself and a few others took advantage of the free time and went on a three day/two night mokoro trip into the heart of the delta. From the campsite we loaded into a large overland transport truck and drove for two hours up a sand peninsula into the south western edge of the delta. From there we loaded our personal effects, tents, food, and cooking supplies into mokoros, which are shallow dugout canoes made from sausage trees. 
Locals poling supplies in the delta
We were then poled several hours into the maze of waterways to a two square kilometer island where we made camp. 
After we pitched our tent, Alejandro and I took one of the mokoros out to explore the delta. Standing at the back of the boat and balancing the boat as you poled was a bit difficult at first, but after a few hours we were experts. What proved to be the hardest part was finding our way back in the laberynth of canals. 
That evening a few of us went for a walk around the island where we spotted elephants, zebra, and a few types of birds. Seeing them from the jeep is spectacular but on foot brings in a whole new dynamic. 
It's a much more intimate experience when you stand there and 30 yards away a herd of elephants graze while they keep a curious watchful eye on you. At one point we walked too close and the dominant elephant gave us a warning call with its trunk, flapped his ears, and stomped powerfully...we gave them a bit more space from then on. 
There is an obvious risk in doing game walks on foot in remote wild places. The lions, leapords, and other preditors see you as a microwave dinner, just heat it and eat it. Two months earlier a group of tourists and both of their guides happened upon a pride of hungry lions. When no one returned to camp for dinner that night the cook sent for help. The next day only the skulls were found picked clean. The guides in this incident and the ones we were with didn't carry a gun, knife, or even a stick. They rely on reading the instincts of the other animals in order to give the preditors a wide berth. A herd of zebra gave us a bit of a scare when we were standing at the edge of a field and the herd went from grazing to stampeding by us. We never saw what spooked them, because we immediately retreated into the bush heading back towards camp, but our guide was pretty sure a preditor/s were close by. That night our cook wrestled up a mean dinner over the fire complete with pork chops, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. 
The next morning at 5:30 A.M. we went on a long four hour walk where we crossed from one island to the next spotting wildlife. This time I decided to take photos of both big and small creatures. 
Once we returned to camp and fueled up on egg sandwiches, I decided to beat the heat by immersing myself in the delta, literally. 
Later that evening we took the mokoro out to spot some animals. It was two people per boat plus a local poler. Since I had mastered the skill, my poler Tinay, let me pole while she relaxed up front for the couple hour journey. 
The next morning we had one more game walk before taking down our tent, loading the mokoros, and heading back to civilization. 
Once we arrived to the outskirts of the delta we jumped on a small eight seater plane and took a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta. Flying over the delta really put in perspective how large it is and how little we explored in our three days. 
small city we flew over- notice there is not an inch of pavement
The next morning we left again before the sun rose and headed for Namibia, the second most desolate country in the world. Posted by: Jonathan Our first couple days in Zambia were spent driving long hours. Luckily our early morning departures (5 A.M.) allowed us to arrive at the campsites in time to set up the tent and enjoy the pools and nearby wildlife. 
One campsite in particular had a plethora of animals. In just an hour walk around the campsite I saw Zebras, Gazzels, Impalas, and Water Bucks. 
Later that night between three and four A.M. I was woken up by a loud noise and cracked the tent door to find six to seven zebras about thirty feet away who had knocked over the pot drying stand. After another long day of driving, we arrived at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe where we reached our next big stop, Victoria Falls. Vic Falls is ranked in the top three waterfalls in the world, along with Niagra Falls and Iguacu Falls (which Jenn and I visited earlier on the trip). The falls have different activities on both the Zambian and Zimbabwe side, however our truck only planned to stop at the Zimbabwe side. This was a problem since there was something that I saw photos of on the internet years ago and vowed that if I ever went to Vic Falls I would do it and that was a visit to Devil's Pools. I asked our tour guide about it but she wouldn't give me any information and announced to the group that she was highly agaist anyone visiting the Devil's Pools due to the obvious danger. Being that I have had my heart set on it for years I pressed on undaunted and visited an internet cafe to look up all the neccessary information. That night (the last night in Zambia) at dinner I announced to the group that I was not going to get on the truck the following morning as it crossed the border into Zimbabwe and instead I was going to visit the Devil's Pools. Then later that day I would make my way on my own via local buses across the border and catch up with the truck at the next campsite. I said I was going either way but wanted to know if anyone else was interested. Alejandro immediately spoke up in his broken English saying "If he go and no live I no sleep in that tent alone so I think I must go, right Jon?" Luckily our truck was full of people who "actually enjoy life" and nine of the fourteen passengers pulled their bags and waved bye to the truck the next morning. Now, figuring you have no idea what the devil the Devil's Pools are, let me paint a picture. 
How does one end up in such a precarious position you might ask? You take a boat out to Livingston Island on the Zambezi river just above Victoria Falls. You make your way across the rocks, swimming over deep sections, being careful not to get swept over the falls. T.I.A (this is africa) there are no throw bags, safetly lines, safety breifings, or anything related to words such as safe or rescue. 
Using the above photo as a reference, you get dropped off at "A", swim and climb on rocks at "B", jump into the pool and enjoy yourself at "C", but be sure to not go past "D" as you will surely never be seen again. 
The view was spectacular along the way, especially with the thunder of the falls getting louder and louder
Finally, you arrive at the edge of the falls where a natural rock ledge creates a pool of slow flowing water. The pool isn't contained as water does flow over the edge and the right hand side of the pool is gaping open with water charging over the falls. 
To enter the pool you leap off a rock towards the center of the pool, swim to the edge and hang on. If you jump too short then you hit shallow rocks and if you jump too far to the right you will get swept out of the opening of the pool and over the falls (330 foot drop with a 100% fatality rate for those who have unfortunately gotten sucked over). The guide who took us chose me to jump first, probably because I was doing baby stalls on every rock near the edge of the falls as we made our way to the pools and he figured I wouldn't hesitate - bingo. Our guide said to do exactly as he did and then he jumped in the pool in the most awkward fashion, so I did my best to follow. 
Once all nine of us were sitting on the ledge, we posed for a few photos. 
Leaning over the edge of the falls was scensory overload; water rushing all around you, spray hitting your face, a rainbow rises overhead in the mist, and you can barely hear one another over the deafening roar of the falls. It was incredible, currently the highlight of Africa (thus far) and easily working its way into the top ten best experiences of my life. 
After eating our included breakfast we made our way back to shore and then crossed into Zimbabwe and continued on to catch up with our truck. 
The next couple days most others on the truck did activities such as elephant riding, whitewater rafting, helicopter flights, bungee jumping, and gorge swinging. Since money is tight and I have done all of these activities before, I relaxed poolside most days and fended off wild wart hogs from out truck during the evenings. 
I did spend one day exploring Vic Falls from the Zimbabwe side which is opposite the falls along a narrow gorge. 
The way the trip works is that there is a group who started in Capetown and ends in Nairobi who we meet half way at Vic Falls and we switch trucks (including crew). So our last night in Vic Falls we had a farewell dinner for our beloved truck and crew. 
Left: The driver and I. Right: The cook and I.
The next morning we loaded our things into the new truck, met the new crew, and entered a new country, Botswana. Malawi - The Warm Heart of Africa 02/22/2012
Posted by: Jonathan From Tanzania we crossed over the border into land locked Malawi. Even though it doesn't have access to the ocean, fortunately it is home to Africa's third largest lake, Lake Malawi. It is one of the poorest countries in Africa and , well, the world for that matter. The poorer the country the friendlier the people and Malawi is no exception.       As we drove through Malawi, I spent most of my time with my head out the window keeping an eye out for pedestrian wavers.   Pedestrian wavers  The first night at our lake side campsite I met a local wood carver and he invited me to spend the next day with him at the "shop." The next morning, immediately after breakfast (8 A.M.), I followed his directions to the shop which turned out to be four posts supporting a grass roof with millions of wood chips making up the floor. Steve (the woodcarver) was making masks that day, so I followed his lead. At first I was absolutely rubbish, I hit the chisel too soft or at the wrong angle, but after a while I starting getting the hang of it. It was really fun, especially once the mask started taking shape.   I worked for four hours after breakfast before taking a break for lunch. After lunch I sanded for three hours going through five grades of sandpaper to make it smooth.  Next I applied shoe polish with a toothbrush to give the face luster and color. Some might say that my mask is busted, I like to think of the asymetric face as having character. It took a total of seven hours for me to complete one, where Steve finished his first one in under an hour. At my pace I would be making just under $2 a day for a solid days work - yikes.  I have mentioned before how this country is poor but I didn't even get it until later that afternoon. I was doing some shopping and when I went to pay I was asked if I could barter things (batteries clothes, etc) instead of using the local currency Kwacha. Banks are few and far between, as well as shops selling everyday household goods. Instead of paying money and spending a day traveling to the nearest store to pick items up, everyone preferred to barter. So I bought sodas and snacks with a couple triple A batteries and several souvenirs with things in my bag I don't need.     No matter where you go in the world they are pretty big fans of Obama, especially in Africa  Items that I traded for snacks and souveniers   We then moved further south along the lake to an even prettier bay for several more days of relaxing. We arrived in the afternoon and swam in the clear water until the sun set.    The next morning Tim (an Aussie on our truck) and I were put in charge of buying a pig from a local in town. I was a bit new to this but picking out the pig and negotiating a price went without a hitch. The only issue I had was watching a pig get slaughtered and gutted at 7:30 A.M., it's just a little early.  That afternoon myself and some others swam to a nearby island and jumped off the rocks that surrounded it.  While we were swimming and soaking up the sun, the pig was busy rotating on the spit and after 12 hours of roasting it was dinner time.  I won't lie I felt guilty picking which pig would be dinner and watching/listening to it take place but not bad enough that I abstained from partaking come dinner time. Our last day along the lake I spent seeing how much time I could spend rocking in the breeze in a beach side hammock, turns out I can do it through sunset into the night.   The next morning we woke up early, packed the truck, and headed for Zambia. The only good part of our early morning departures are the sunrises.  A Slice of African Paradise - Zanzibar 02/06/2012
Posted by: Jonathan We set up camp for a night along the beach in Dar es Salaam after two days of driving. I welcomed the sand as an updrade from the dust that has stained everything I own over the past week. 
We were given three free days to explore the coast and Zanzibar islands before the truck continued south. I wasted no time and took the first ferry across the next morning to Stonetown and began exploring the labyrinth of streets encroached by aging buildings. 
Yes that is trash, yes it smelled ripe...
The police in white on either side of the road are there stopping traffic and giving fines (read bribes)
That evening a group of us went out to dinner and watched the sun disappear behind the clouds. 
Being that the restaraunt was tourist priced, myself and one other (believe it or not I am not the only budget boyfriend out there) just enjoyed the company and waited to eat at a local seafood market. At the market, there were tables of every kind of freshly caught seafood you could imagine. Once you picked out several pieces you bargained hard for a deal and then waited while it was cooked on a grill right before your eyes. 
chapati, spicy lobster, tuna, barracuda, and one large claw coming right up, all for less than $4.
The next day I made my way up to Nungwi, the northern tip of Zanzibar island, and lounged on the beach for some time. 
That afternoon our truck group got together and rented out a boat and did a snorkel/sunset/dinner cruise. I am definitely spoiled when it comes to snorkeling but the reef they took us to was less colorful than a black and white photo and less lively than a morgue. I spent my time perfecting my back flip instead of trying to spot a lone fish. 
The next morning Alex (my Chilean tent mate that I was sharing a room with in Zanzibar) and I went on a two tank dive to the marine park around Mnemba Island. The visability was "only" 30 feet, we were told it was closer to 60 feet a few days before, but there were still an exceptional number of fish and a few types of corals tht I have never seen before. Sorry no underwater photos since Oprah 2.0 can't hold her breath. 
Mnemba Island was nothing to scoff at either with a perfect circle of sand and a small green interior. 
The rest of my free time I spent relaxing, reading, and walking on the beach. 
The last free day was spent making the six hour journey back to the truck to camp at the same spot in Dar es Salaam by the beach. That night was one of the worst nights of sleep. For starters Alejandro and I rolled the dice that it wasn't going to rain and at 1 A.M. we were up trying to put on the rain fly in a torrential down pour. To make maters worse, our alarms went off at 3:20 A.M. since we had to pack the truck, make breakfast, and be ready to leave by 4:30 A.M. to head to Malawi African Safari - The Circle of Life 01/16/2012
Posted by: Jonathan I arrived into Nairobi at three A.M., collected my bags, and waited until eight to catch a taxi to my hostel a few minutes outside the city center. I spent the day exploring Nairobi on foot and picking up a few supplies. Nairobi seemed perfectly safe during the day but I must admit it is probably the sketchiest place I have ever been during the night. I walked into a restaurant at sun set and by the time I left darkness had engulfed the city. The streets were frighteningly empty, no pedestrians, no traffic, no parked cars, and no open establishments. I traveled about a block on foot looking for a taxi when I realized that I was about to get the raw end of some unwanted attention. Four guys were standing on the opposite street corner holding pipes, rebar, and wooden rods. The foot chase was on, for five blocks my sandals have never carried me faster. Part way down the sixth block I saw an open club down a side street, the Edge Club. The bouncers at the door smiled and waved me in off the street saying hakuna matata which as I am sure you know (from Disney's The Lion King) means no worries. Which was probably the most comforting thing anyone could have said to me at that moment, especially since they were 6' 6", 300 lbs, cradling AK-47s, and had chains to german shepherds. Being the only white person in a local dance club in downtown Nairobi, Kenya is more than just a fish out of water, maybe more like a fish out of water on the summit of Everest. Luckily, everyone was overly friendly, offering me drinks, showing me the local dance, and even called a taxi to take me home. First thing the next morning I hopped on the overland truck for my 42 day journey south to Cape Town.   The idea is the truck drives through each country stopping in various locations for two to three days at a time and you have the freedom to venture from there to see or do what you wish as long as you find your way back to the truck before it departs . As the truck makes its way between big stops, we camp in tents and help the chef prepare meals. All the packing, unpacking, cleaning, food prep, washing, and tent pitching is divided up and done by those on the truck with the duties changing daily.   The first time Jenn saw this photo she said "Ew that water is not clean" Our first day we crossed the border from Kenya into Tanzania and made camp in Arusha. The truck parked there for three days allowing us to explore the wildlife rich surroundings. Myself and five others took a jeep on a two night three day safari in Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. We woke early (5 A.M.), took our tents down in the pouring rain, and headed into the Ngorongoro Crater. Luckily as we drove down into the world's largest unbroken caldera the rain stopped and the clouds parted for our animal viewing pleasure.   Watching it on National Geographic is cool but seeing a pride of lions bring down a buffalo and fend off the hyenas while they destroy 1,500 lbs of meat in real life is beyond surreal.    I could have spent months watching all the different animals interacting and playing their part in the circle of life.   Cheetah in the distance   Wildabeasts  Warthogs aka Pumbaa  Hyenas     We left the crater that afternoon and drove deep into the Serengeti NP, whose name liternaly means endless plains.  We set up camp for the night in the middle of the Serengeti, no fences, no walls, and no bars separated us from the wild. Once the fire burned out (10 P.M.) we retreated to the "safety" of our fabric tents, clustered tightly together, and listened to the sounds of the wild. The hyenas got the closest and were the most vocal. Twice I woke up hearing them laughing just outside my tent. I flicked on my small torch to see several sets of glowing eyes starring right back at me. A lion came within a couple hundred yards of the camp and cleared his throat sometime past 3 A.M. I think everyone held their breath for the next minute consumed in fear, not sure whether to take a peak or be perfectly still. The next morning we were up and game driving by sunrise.  The planes are so vast that it took more driving to spot animals but with Phil at the wheel we covered an insane amount of ground during the five hour ride. Phil had high octane fuel in his veins and an "if you aint first your last" driving mentality. No corner was taken without sliding the back end at least a little. After several hours of this, it was no surprise that we slammed into a rock the size of a basketball and got a bent rim and flat tire. Phil apolozied and vowed to drive even faster to make up the lost time in changing the tire...  Phil was actually an amazing safari guide. He would be tearing across these rough roads, not slowing for corners, all the while scanning the surroundings and pointing out wildlife we missed. He was even known to whip out binoculars and stare out the side window all the while keeping the jeep dead ahead.     Vulture     Herd of Elephants   That evening we waved bye to the animals and stopped by a Maasai village on our way back to reunite with the truck.       I was completely blown away by the number of animals and mesmerized by how close we were able to get as they went about their typical day.  Something I haven't mentioned was that we were assigned tent mates at the beginning of the trip (two people per tent). My partner was Sheesh, an Indian/Saudi Arabian English teacher currently living in Saudi. We got along just fine (besides his disdain for applying deoderant) but he was only on the truck for four nights before returning to work, making our partnership short lived. This worked out for the better once I met Alejandro (Alex) a Chilean wine barrel maker currently traveling the world. We were walking along a water hole near camp and saw a baby crocodile making its way to the water. The language barrier was not a problem, we glanced at each other and knew we were on the same page. Within seconds we had cut the crocs path to the water off and scooped it up. They are like one solid muscle and, believe it or not, are less than ecstatic about being handled. After a few minutes we released the croc on the bank of the water and at that point knew we were destined to be tent mates for the trip. We camped another night in Arusha before beginning the long journey towards the Zanzibar islands.  The Sky is the Limit, Except for in Dubai 01/09/2012
Posted by: Jonathan To get from Hong Kong to Dubai, the good folks at China Southern routed me through Beijing since it's only 2,500 miles out of the way. Unfortunately, my layover in Beijing before flying to Dubai is not an "international connection" (if that isn't then I don't know what is), so I had to clear immigration. I received a stern warning in Chinese customs for taking the below photo, they tend to be serious about their no photos of government areas in commi land.  But seriously, on the sign for itens not allowed through customs was "used clothes". I will need to declare 6 stinky shirts, 5 dirty shorts, 3 well worn boxers, and five socks (one has been MIA for some time) otherwise I would be guilty of trafficking some serious contraband. Let me begin by giving a little background on Dubai. It is the second wealthiest (behind Abu Dhabi) of the seven states that form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Fun Fact: Dubai is 75% male, felt just like NC State...  With the discovery of oil in 1966 Dubai has been growing at an incredible (some might say unhealthy) rate. Its population has surged over the past 30 years from 183,000 to 2.1 million. Ninety percent of Dubai's population are not native (Emirates) of which, India is the largest contribution to the expat community. What drove the point home was that my flight into Dubai was completely filled with Indians and Filipinos. I sat next to a group of six 20 something year old Filipinos who had secured two year work visas and were anxious about starting their new jobs/lives as building cleaners. They will be paid roughly five times what they were previosly earning, which is why they left their family and friends behind to head to the "promise land." The opportunity comes with a price, the migrant workers can't afford housing which forces them to live in labor camps/slums. They also live in constant fear of losing their sponsored visa so they refuse to speak up if they are victim of any injustice (read sexual assault remember the 75% male statistic). There are two sides to Dubai, what it tries so hard to be, and what it tries even harder to hide. Starting with what Dubai tries to be: an awe inspiring, anything is possible, luxurious vacation destination. Once the plane landed I made my way to my hostel to drop my bags off and immediately began abusing my one day unlimited travel metro card. My first stop was the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world standing at 2,717 feet.   If you look closely at the top you can actually see the mark the building left in the sky when it was erected, literally a sky scraper.  They say one third of all the cranes in the world are in Dubai, I don't know about that... I think it is closer to half.  Everywhere you looked there was construction, with countless high rises going up.  I left the safety of the aircon subway and braved the scorching midday heat to walk severl hours along the beach. My second stop was the Palms Jumeirah. Man made islands in the shape of a giant palm tree, overrun with luxury accommodation. It isn't as impressive exploring on foot since you don't get the perspective, luckily I saw it as I flew in.  Saw this from the plane but had to steal this photo from Google since my camera was in the overhead bin and the stewardess freaked out when I tried to get it as the plane landed They are currently dredging up the sand to create two other man made palms, the Palm Jebel Ali (will be home to 400,000 people) and the Palm Deira (will be home to 1,000,000 people).  Photo courtesy of Google Another cluster of man made islands have been created in the shape of the world and each island has characteristics that are unique to the part of the country it forms.  Another photo from Google What is the world missing, well duh, the universe it is apart of. Don't worry they are also currently building the Sun, Moons, stars, planets and galaxies (with man made islands of course) to keep the world company.  The finished product, photo from Google Below is a picture of the map I picked up from the information center in the airport, it helps to get the perspective.  They are creating enough ocean front property to house the entire country's population three times over. You can read that sentence again if you want. You think that is crazy, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few other projects that are under construction. • The world's largest airport complete with the world's largest parking deck. • The Great Dubai Wheel - will be like the London Eye but it will be the biggest in the world. • Falcon City of Wonders - will house scaled replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa among others • Lyon, Dubai City - a life size replica of the entire French city of Lyon in the middle of the desert • 55 Degrees Time Dubai - the worlds first solar powered rotating skyscraper (the entire building will rotate, not just the top...please this is Dubai) • Hydropolis - a hotel completely underwater and guess what...it will be the world's first, go figure This is just a sample of a published list in an "Invest in Dubai's Future" packet that I found. My next stop was to one of Dubai's very few free public beaches.  Dubai's malls are large and in charge. If shopping isn't your thing then snap the bindings in and snowboard for a bit while the lady gets another pair of black shoes.  Since I landed in Dubai I had been catching fleeting glimpses of its most iconic structure, the Burj Al Arab.  Getting up close and personal with the Burj requires either a lottttttttttttt of money (rooms are $3,000 and a drink in the bar, by reservation only, runs $85) or the ability to sneak through several layers of security. I will let you decide how I made it to one of the most expensive stretches of sand I have ever had between my toes.   I won't lie, I was a little disappointed in Dubai up until this point. I was sitting in a cushioned beach chair watching the sun set and the Burj's multicolored light show when I "got" Dubai, at least the way they intended.  It was late when I left the serenity of my beach chair and began my metro journey back to my "side" of town across the creek. Along the way I stopped back by the Burj Khalifa to see it lit up at night and to watch the worlds largest choreographed fountain show.   So now that I have discussed what Dubai tries so hard to be, lets talk about what they try even harder to hide. Dubai is FAKE. There, I said it. Everthing about it is fake. What it reminds me of is when you are watching a magic trick on T.V. and the magician and his lovely assistant dazzle you by making an elephant disappear. Then they show how the trick is done and by zooming out you can see the big picture. You see the elephant simply walk off stage behind the curtain which is out of site when the camera was zoomed in. You are then upset that you were mislead that easily and most likely change the channel. If you stay in the dazzling hotels, eat at the restaraunts overflowing with atmosphere, and visit the top attactions by organized tour, you will surely be dazzled by everything. The buildings they intend for you to visit are indescribable, the sidewalks they plan that you will walk on are futuristic, and anything they expect you to come in contact with is completely over the top by a factor of ten. Zoom out a bit by walking a few streets off of the main drag, use public transport, or by staying in the low rent district and you will be surprised by watching the elephant walk right off the stage. A futuristic escalator glides you up a flight of stairs where two blocks away you have to stand on a bucket and then a 55 gallon drum to gain access to a building. Confidently walk on intricate tile sidewalks on one street where two blocks away the gap between curb and buildings was never filled with cement and is completely full of litter and waste. Zoom out further and you will find Dubai is actually built in a desert, anything green in Dubai is watered constantly and replaced often. I spoke with a metro security guard at length one day who was from Sri Lanka and lived in Dubai for four years. He said and I quote "Dubai is fake enough to make Vegas feel authentic."  The Holiday Inn parking lot is desert. They water their landscape surrounding the building constantly to keep it alive.  And as I mentioned before Dubai has a darker side with the exploitation of migrant workers who brake their backs making some of the most unique building concepts a reality. With that said I was inspired by Dubai. It is a shining example of an Islamic Nation with western influences not only co-existing or surviving but thriving. A funny example of this was a man who washed his feet and gathered his mat to pray and whipped out an iphone and used an app to get the direction of Mecca so he could properly orient his mat. I believe I saw and experienced more of the "what they try even harder to hide" by walking much of the city, eating with migrant workers, and sleeping on the "other" side of the creek. I would like to come back in five to ten years to see the completed version of several of the current ambitious projects as well as experience more of "what they try so hard to be" (read come back when I am at baller status). From Dubai I fly to Nairobi Kenya with a short stop in the Kingdom of Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Posted by: Jonathan Who would have thought that an eleven hour international flight would not include free on board entertainment (even the 12 audio channnels in the arm rest were different pitches of static), no free meals (not even pretzels), and you couldn't even get a soda (much less water) without parting with $4! At least the toilets were free because I would have just held it out of sheer principal. Jet Star, redefining budget travel. The good news is the Singapore International Airport has a different business strategy, the best layover of your life. They have internet computers everywhere, comfortable lounge chairs in "transfer lounges", multiple gardens from cactus gardens to flower gardens and even a butterfly garden (with real life butterflies flying everywhere), two different movie theaters playing hit movies 24/7, two hour Singapore city tours, massage chairs, and last but not least, designated sleeping areas complete with reclined seats with trickling waterfalls to drown out the airport noises. Best of all, everything that I have listed is absolutely FREE. They also offer a large shopping mall, olympic size pool, and full on spa treatments (at a cost). I have had a few layovers in my day and I would say my layover in the Singapore Airpot was as good as a 13 hour layover can be.  Once on the ground in Hong kong, I navigated the bus system to my hotel in the Chung King Mansion. Yes, mansion was written on the building, however, the center block cell I shared with two others on the 13th floor would have elicited "the look" from Jenn had we been checking in together. Luckily I spent most of my time exploring the city instead of fighting claustrophobia in the room. I forgot to take a photo of the room but I did snap a shot of the restroom.  Yes, our sink hung from a string and yes the fake leaves were doing a tremendous job of camouflaging the pipe from the floor drain of the bathroom above us that empties into our sink. Awesome. My first meal in Hong Kong was shrimp wanton noodle soup, not super filling but delicious none the less.  After eating I crossed over from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island via the Star Ferry. The short ride gave great views of the skyline on either island as well as a brief relief from the heat. To get on board only costs HK 2.5 or around thirty cents and best of all, they don't kick you off once you reach the other side. So you can just stay on board criss crossing the harbor soaking in the views and ocean breeze for as long as you like (I did five crosses before I finally disembarked).   I spent the afternoon wandering on foot between impossibly tall sky scrapers and dodging ritzy malls and shopping centers. That evening I made my way up to the peak affording a birds eye view of the skyline.   On my way back down from the peak I swung by the Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) area for the Halloween Festivities. In the US we confine this holiday to a single day, where Hong Kong searches for its true potential allowing 40 days of celebration (9/22-10/31). LKF was a carnival style street party congested with all sorts of costumes and opportunistic partiers. My imagination led me to believe that the costume selection in Asia would be completely different to what we are used to in the US, however this was largely not the case. All of the standard witches, zombies, ghosts and monsters were present as well as numerous famous Hollywood characters. The biggest difference I noticed were the groups of paparazzi cameramen that would celebritize anyone with a marginally successful costume.   The next morning I started my day with one of the largest blunders of the trip; a haircut from a Pakistani barber shop. The barber never asked me what kind of cut I was looking for, he just assumed that if I came into his shop and sat in his chair he would cut my hair the way he liked. He was fond of short hair and using his buzzer at the time, so that is exactly how it went down.  With my ears lowered several inches, I hit the streets. Hong Kong has some interesting markets besides the usual food and clothing ones. They also have fish, bird, and flower markets. I enjoyed exploring them, however, many of the fish, birds, and plants for sale are endangered or at least protected in other parts of the world. There were fish tanks with live coral, sharks, stingrays, nemos, and turtles, bird cages with song birds and rare flightless birds, and pots with jungle orchids and venus fly traps. I was thrown out of several shops trying to take photos of the illegal items for sale, so I wasn't able to get any quality photos, but I did my best.    After the markets, I continued exploring the streets, temples, and food stalls of the low rent area of Hong Kong.   With all my exploring day and night of Hong Kong, I felt incredibly safe. The only area that made me uncomfortable was Kowloon park. I decided to rest my legs on a park bench and within minutes I was surrounded by suuuuuuuuuupaaaaah (flicking my limp wrist) friendly chinese men wanting to know if I needed some company. To their disappointment I decided my legs could rest later and promptly walked on.  I found myself on the southern tip of Kowloon that evening watching the sun set between sky scrapers.     Hong Kong has one of the most impressive skylines I have ever seen.    The next morning I packed my things and headed for the airport to make my way to Dubai. | Thanks to:
Dale Williams Mary Beth Farrior Evan Shaw Jonathan Williams |
