The Unpublished "Out of Africa" Post

“I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy”

- Hemingway

Sunset from Camps Bay over the Twelve Apostles.  The picture only begins to do justice to easily the most beautiful sunset I've witnessed.

The statement above is true with the exception of the last day.  But we're hopefully on to happier things in this space now.

I had a post more than 50% completed with every intention of finishing it on the flight to Thailand in December.  As you know, there were other plans and I never quite finished or posted it.

Feeling like it needed some closure, I'll share with you what makes sense and some of my favorite photos/stories that I haven't shared from my time in Africa.

It was going to go a little something like this...

Being in Africa for an extended period of time is an experience I won’t ever forget. From my first encounter in the crazy streets of Nairobi to a month in Tanzania and from the majesty of Victoria Falls in both Zimbabwe and Zambia, to an amazing three and a half more weeks in South Africa.   

I found the "Dark Continent" to be nothing but a sea of color. From the White of the Snows of Kili, to the sapphire seas of the Garden Route; from the technicolor Kikoy, Kanga and Shukas, to the purples of the Jacaranda and Bougainvillea.  It just bursting with color and life.

I saw mountains, waterfalls, enough animals to fill a hundred zoos, as well as flowers and birds with colors that aren’t quite believable.  I ate and drank well, never too much and never too little.  And, I left without having contracted food poisoning or a fungus, while having survived a few weeks with 80+ children/tweens and a dip in the world’s largest waterfall. 

Each country was quite different from the last and with more time, I surely would have explored more of this great continent.   

I guess that I'll just have to return.

This shot is terribly out of focus, but I find it to be one of my most favorite shots from Africa. 

And of course there were some lessons learned, some that may only be interesting to me, but I'll share them regardless:

• Don’t put expensive camera equipment in your checked luggage.  A big thanks to Dave Bowers at Liberty Mutual for a painless claims process.   I’m still hoping the airline will come through and cover my deductible at a minimum. 
• A big THANK YOU to my friend Matana for carrying the new one over to Thailand, around Thailand, back from Thailand to San Fran and finally to New York due to my change of plans.  Seriously, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. 
• I now know that I can go a week with only the clothes on my back if I really have to.  It isn't easy, but I guess a guy needs to do that at least once in his life.
• I will say it helped to have a friend there get me through it.   Jared, sorry for all the “if I only had this” chatter.  I probably would’ve been more of a freakshow if it weren’t for you.
• All that being said, I have since upgraded my day pack.  This one is a little bigger to accommodate bringing a change of clothes and my camera without making excuses.
• Baboons are real jerks.  They are.  They are also real horn-dogs.  I’ll spare you the Discovery Channel worthy shots, but way too much monkey business all around with those guys.
• One of the great rewards of this travel is running into random people and spending a few hours with them.  One of the cooler, and more serendipitous, encounters was with a Conservation Biologist as Jared and I hiked through the forests of Victoria Falls.  The man knew way too much about Dung Beetles to hide his true profession and as we engaged him further, learned a lot more about the Ivory Trade in Southern Africa, Baboons and their behaviors, the aforementioned Dung Beetles and much much more.
•  It’s really fun to say “Super Duper” in fake German/Dutch accents.  (For a taste of what the guys did frequently in the car ride)
• Impalas are the squirrels of safaris.  Boring really quickly.  But when you haven’t seen anything on Safari for +/- 30 mins, they miraculously become interesting and exciting again.
• They call traffic lights in South Africa… wait for it…. ROBOTS!
• South African drivers often pull into the shoulder to allow for cars to pass them.  A thank you is delivered by flashers from the passing driver and acknowledged by the passed driver with a flip of their headlights.  It is really kinda cool. 
• Biltong, American Beef Jerky’s tender cousin, is amazing. 

And now, some photos:

Michelle and I climbed Lion's Head on the second to last day in Cape Town.  Even at 8am it was ridiculously hot.  Needless to say "Sweaty Parker" made an appearance. 

Top of Lion's Head:  Not a bad place to live if you're a lizard. 

Nelson Mandela’s cell on Robben Island, where he was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail, along with many other political prisoners.  It was a stark and powerful place.  It was easy to be taken by the cruelty and injustice while there, but after some time it revealed itself to be a place of freedom and hope as well. 

Goofin' off with the guys

YIKES!

I miss my beard!

  A story I don't think I shared is when we got to the Royal Livingstone Hotel to go on our Devil's Pool excursion.  As we walked through the gates we saw a gent that worked at the hotel looking into the bush.  He motioned for us to come to him so he could show us something. It was a Dazzle (also can be called a Zeal or a Herd) of Zebra.  He then motioned us to walk into the bush with him to follow them. Of course there is only one right decision in a moment like that, so in we went.  There were about 6 Zebra just roaming around no more than a few feet from us when we ran into a Tower of Giraffes, from the adult male to a 6 month old baby Giraffe.    In 4 days of Safari in Africa, I/we saw almost every animal they have here, but this was the most unique of the encounters.     (Note: this picture is not zoomed in.)

Another fantastic African Sunset

And a Full Moon Evening at RVCV.  I swear it was as close to daylight at 10pm as I've ever seen.

The road leading away from RVCV.  Such a beautiful place!

Ok, I could keep posting shots and telling stories for awhile, but that hopefully gives a little more flavor to the African experience.   In the meantime,  I'm in Mumbai for only a few more hours so, I'm going to make like these elephants:

100 Days Later...

In the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend's life also, in our own, to the world.”

- Thoreau

…I begin again. 

The same port of departure.  A different destination. A different person. 

It has been a long few weeks and a fast few months.  But today was a beautiful day.  Got to spend time with family, friends and see Barrett's Mom and Brother in Boston before I took off.

There aren’t many words to sum up the experience of the first 100 days.  To put it mildly, there have been ups and downs.  Big ones of both.

I’ve said all along that I didn’t leave looking for anything in particular.  I wasn’t looking for an answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.  (It’s 42.  Duh.)  

But, as I get set to begin again, I can’t help but think there are other plans in store.

I wasn’t supposed to be here now.  But I am.  It has been weird, nice and sad.   This shouldn't have happened.  It has been crazy and weird. But it did.  

And it will color the trip, and me, differently. It already has and will more once I deal with it all.  

The next chapters of this adventure will include more twists and turns and they will mean something a little different now.  There is a hole that won't be filled inside, but there is unfinished business out there.  And I know he'll be with me the whole way, just in a different form.

It has been both shitty and nice to celebrate his life -- to feel closer to him for a little while -- and now the celebration will continue through living mine and getting back on the road to fulfill this dream that he had a hand in inspiring.  I guess that will be the real "tribute".  

Tonight, I fly from Boston to Zurich.  Tomorrow, I’ll spend the day exploring “Downtown Switzerland” before crashing and waking up early to catch my onward flight to Mumbai, India and APAC until the end of June (give or take).  I’m excited for this next chapter and excited to be meeting up with friends and family at a few points along the way.

To those of you reading this, thank you for your kind words in the wake of recent events.  It's been nice to hear your stories of him.  And thank you being a part of my story.   I have to say it is really cool, and somewhat overwhelming, to know that you all have viewed the page 5000+ times in the last 100 days.  

I’ll try to keep the interest going!

But to do that, I first have to go.  And, hard as it may be, I’m off.  

Love you guys and see you again soon!

Oh, and two more things:

1.     Go Pats! I wouldn’t mind the chore of finding a place to watch the Super Bowl in India.

2.     Good Luck to President Obama on the beginning of his second, first 100 days tomorrow.  We need progress.  Let’s hope he helps us find some.