brighter excerpts

Some more cheery excerpts from my journal, to leave you with a better taste in your mouth than snake venom.

18 October 2009 - Off the coast of Gansbaai, South Africa

It's not until the great white's teeth are wrapped around the tiny cage you're in, the cage shaking wildly, you doing your best to keep your face out of the hulking beast's gaping maw, yeah, that's just about when things start to get seriously nuts.

19 October 2009 - Cederberg, South Africa

We drive into the mountains further and further, and the road gets smaller and smaller, as we wind our way back and forth slowly up the seemingly sheer faces. Across the plains are wheat fields upon wheat fields stretching far until they fade into distant misty mountains. We drive until the road becomes a dirt track, leaving a rooster tail of dust trailing behind us. We drive until the road becomes nothing more than a scarce rocky path, the car barely clambering up the slope. We drive until the end of the road.

At the end of the road a pale orange house sits, far from civilization. The house is ranch-like, low and wide. Completely off the grid; solar and gas powered, and fed water from a mountain stream. Nearby rock pools provide fresh, natural, swimming. The peaks surround us, the African scrub our carpet.

Even though we're pretty high up, a warm breeze keeps our company well after dark as we cook our simple evening meal over the fire.

16 November 2009 - Nkhata Bay to Chizumulu Island, Malawi

Yet another lazy day spent in the lodge, but as evening fell, we packed and escaped. We made our way aboard the Ilala, a steamship over one hundred years old. The bowels of the powder-blue beast were frenetic with human bodies and cargo of every variety, crammed into every cranny until not even a breath could pass. We crawled and inched our way through with out unwieldy packs, slowly ascending the mountain of humanity and its infinite creations. Upon reaching the top deck, the air was clear, the crowds thinned. We sprawled out for the journey.

A four hour steam through the dark waters of Lake Malawi, under a star filled sky, brought us to our destination. We crept our way off the ship in the dead of night.

21 November 2009 - Chizumulu Island to Likoma Island, Malawi

A blistering hike with all our gear took us over the mountain to the other side of the island to catch the local boat over to Likoma. Parked in the shade and waited for favorable winds as local children harassed us (marveled at our strange hair and my tattoo and piercings). A few hours of waiting, and we joined a small local boat with about forty others for brutally shadeless hour-long ride in the heat. Songs broke out initially, but as the unrelenting scorch of the sun set in, the huddled masses became more subdued. Upon gaining the far shore, we sought shade for a brief respite. If the morning walk was blistering, then the afternoon was fatal. Matters did not improve when we ran out of water half way along. The midday African sun and no water. Fucking brilliant. We arrived just on the brink of death, gasping for water. A bit of furious gulping and a quick swim, and humanity was restored.

25 November 2009 - cruising on Lake Malawi

Me: "Are we driving through that?"
Captain: "It's too big to go around."

-----

I'm well, spirits high. The current plan is to head to Namibia shortly, where I should be able to upload some more photos. Hope you're all well, and I miss you so.