sunset

this is real. this is beautiful. this is bazaruto island, mozambique...and i was here in december...

take your time

tonight i visited the sfMOMA with some friends. i was completely enamored by the olafur eliasson exhibit. i have never felt all of my senses so engaged in art as i did tonight.

artist olafur eliasson refers to this notion -- "seeing yourself seeing" -- as the process by which we actively evaluate our experience when engaging with art and the world. The environments eliasson creates with light, color, and water call attention to the ways our senses shape our everyday life.
--eliasson exhibit details

post river rafting...

all i can say is that as much as i enjoy doing my travel research before i visit a country, i am quite relieved i did not read this lonely planet article about rafting down the zambezi river. wow.

here is a snippet:
If you're looking for a bumpy ride, bypass the suicide drop and jump on a raft somewhere east of the Victoria Falls. This is white water rafting at its very best and keen thrillseekers certainly find what they seek down the 26km (16mi) strip of intense rapids....Hitting the white water along this stretch of furious river isn't a family day trip - it's for experienced lunatics only.
Lonely Planet



and pictures are coming soon!

book worming

one of many things i look forward to doing on vacation (other experiencing the people and eating local food) is the act of escaping into the pages of a captivating book.

i had the pleasure of encountering many good reads over the span of my long vacation. here they are, in order of my favorites:
What is the What, by Dave Eggers
Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini

i must admit, i am a sap when it comes to sad movies and books, and these are no exception. my boyfriend often wonders why i select these types of books when i know i am going to find myself in tears lamenting the tragedies of the characters on paper.

but what is the what was not just on paper, the events in this book are true accounts. the pain and suffering was very real and incredibly well recounted. local bay area author dave eggers collaborated with valentino achak deng to tell the story of this sudanese man; from his separation from his family as a boy to his walk from sudan to ethiopia with the "lost boys", to his long awaited arrival to the united states. the last page of the book i felt relived to have finished the epic memoir, but also sad to no longer be a part of valentino's life.

but wait, there IS more...there is a foundation where one can be a part of all the great initiatives that valentino is involved with. so the memoir continues, in a different medium, with less tragedy and more hope - but still the memory of a brilliant story of a young man in very real situations.
http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/

un-doing...

we have all felt the pull of jet lag in varying forms; from heavy eyelids to the second wind too late at night to the voracious appetite in the off hours....

but what about the transition from sharing experiences with others - meals, daily vacation rituals, reading times... to being back home and residing with my crazy cat?

it's oh so quiet. the return from the great continent of africa not only left me with jet lag, a golden tan, and brilliant memories, but it has also left me with a tinge of sadness.

here kitty kitty

i had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a cheetah cub called zulu at a cheetah reserve (on the property of spier winery) close to cape town. actually, i had the please of meeting this cheetah after an afternoon of wine tasting in gorgeous franschoek.

after the cub love fest we spotted young *not ugly* ducklings marching across us on our way to get our ice cream treat...

african adventures

so i embarked on my three week adventure to southern africa not knowing what to expect. all that i knew was that it would be hot, according to my friend jason, africa hot.

and it was, although the trip was kicked off with more cool weather and rain. little did i know that the weather that awaited us was a blessing for the three day safari drive experience.

here is the trip in a nutshell:
>sabi sans, south africa (djuma bush lodge) 4 days of incredible viewing of the big five (leopard, elephant, lion, buffalo, and rhino)
>bazaruto island, mozambique (bazaruto lodge) 3 days of nothing but laying around and about on untouched white sand beaches wrapped in green and blue waters. did i mention africa hot? let's just say it was not safe for the body and mind to be in the sun for too long. i am still peeling here!
>victoria falls, zimbabwe (victoria falls hotel) i think we had 3 days here...anyway, can i start by saying i felt out of place here? i had not a single thread of propriety or formal dress that this establishment exuded. i learned to just be me and not let the propriety of the brits put me in a stitch. but it was in this beautiful surrounding that i test myself. i went white water rafting down the zambezi river - the 4th longest river in africa. this river meets with the phenomenally impressive victoria falls. here my group and i embarked on a class 5+ rafting experience.
wow
>chobe national park, bottswana (name of hotel is forgettable) we SO missed the private game reserve experience here. let's just say we came to see, hear and smell more dushbags human variety more than the local animals.
>cape town, south africa (de waterkant house) here now until another couple days. this is the longest leg of the trip as well as the end of the road. this is where we celebrated the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 with a four course FOUR hour meal. it was tremendous. it was more than satisfying. more than anything it felt very adult. i am not sure how i feel about that. and yes, i am 30. sometimes it just doesn't feel that way. on january 2nd i tested myself yet again. i thought why not...shark diving could be interesting. so i did it. no fear (yes, i was in a cage with 5 others gasping and choking on gross stinky salty fish bait water. let's just say when in rome...

the adventures and stories continue. some with more vivid details. but more than anything the pictures will tell more.