What We Did
Blakely Downs
Palau: A Scuba Fantasy

Palau.  Where we swam with a mob of jellyfish, free dove to hidden lagoons, Kayaked caves, and had the best scuba diving we’ve ever done.

 

Palau: A Scuba Fantasy
What We Did
Blakely Downs
Bolivia - Our Quest to the Salt Flats
Bolivia - Our Quest to the Salt Flats
What We Did
Blakely Downs
The Holy Sites of the Old City
The Holy Sites of the Old City
What We Did
Blakely Downs
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
What We Did
Blakely Downs
The Christian Sites of Galilee
The Christian Sites of Galilee

Our Victoria Falls Adventure

Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and stretches 5,604 ft across Zambia and Zimbabwe.  While the Zimbabwe side offers much better views, Zambia has more adrenaline activities.  The only answer was to do both! 

The Zimbabwe side of the Falls offers a few activities like zip lining and bungee jumping.  We opted for the Gorge Swing.  It was just what we hoped—the gorge was gorgeous and the drop was terrifying!  We decided to go together on the tandem swing so we could squeeze each other on the way down.  The swing starts with about six seconds of free-fall (which feels like six years).    Then as you swing, you get to take in the beautiful surroundings for an otherworldly experience.  It was breathtaking in every way!  Words won’t justify it so we recommend you check out the pics and watch our video!

Real skeptical...

But we did it!

The Zambia side held two attractions for us- The Micro-Lite and Devil’s Pool.

The Micro-Lite is a motorized paraglider that flies over the Falls.  It is gorgeous and so fun!   The only downside is cameras aren’t allowed, but each paraglider is fixed with a GoPro so your ride can be remembered.

Devil’s Pool- Only available during the dry season when the swell of the falls is low, Devil’s Pool is a natural infinity pool at the top of the falls.  You first ride a boat to Livingstone Island (“Island” being a broad term for the small patch of land closest to the pool) and then swim (YES, SWIM) across part of the falls to get to Devil’s Pool.  The excursion comes with breakfast, lunch, or sundowners.  We opted for sundowners, as a cocktail would be necessary after the swim!

"Just jump!" our guide said.

The view over the edge!

Oh yea, we're getting along great!

So ends our Victoria Falls Adventure.  Click Here for the full photo gallery.  Next up: Tanzania!

Botswana or Bust- The Okavango and Chobe

The Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park are two of Botswana’s greatest treasures.  We decided to do both and had some incredible experiences (and learned a lot too!). 

In the Okavango, we stayed at Old Bridge Backpackers and loved it.  The tents are simple and clean, the food delicious, and the views aren’t bad either.  You can even watch hippos from your lounge chair!

We decided to experience the Okavango by Kayak Safari and weren’t disappointed. Kayak Botswana boated us 30 miles deeper into the Okavango wilderness where we had a better chance to view wildlife.  The Delta is full of hippos and crocodiles (only ten feet long, don’t worry!) with chances to spot elephants and other animals as they come to the river to drink!

We set up camp deep in the Delta and our local wildlife guide, Oddie, took us on a walking safari.  Without civilization in sight or a vehicle to hide inside, we really felt close to the animals.  We tracked leopards, lions, zebra and elephants.  And we learned that nature is really cool.   We took an evening and a morning walk with Oddie and highly recommend a walking safari to acquaint yourself with tracking and an intimate perspective on the animals.

Blakely's face sums up our opinion on nature!

No camping trip is complete without a fire, but our kayak guide and cook, Jardis, went above and beyond in cuisine!  As the stars came out, we feasted while gazing at the Southern Cross, and then headed to our tent for the night.  The second day was just as eventful and we felt like we got an up-close look at the Okavango.

The next stop was Chobe National Park, which is known for having more elephants than any other park.  The elephants are also of abnormally large size and look like they’ve been stretched!  For our safari, we picked Kalahari Tours and took a three day trip into the heart of the park.  

We saw lionesses and their cubs, zebras, giraffes, and elephants galore.  We even spotted two different leopards lazing in the treetops!

The camping was a delight with great food, wonderful company, and a chorus of animal noises to sleep to every night.  We feel very lucky with our first safari experience and can’t wait until the next one!  Now, onto Victoria Falls!

That's What We Did in Botswana.  Click Here to read What We Learned.  Or Click Here for the full Botswana Photo Gallery!

Our Favorite Animal Facts from Botswana

1.  Elephants have terrible eyesight (even worse than humans), but they make up for it with an incredible sense of hearing and smell.

2.  Leapards rarely fight back.  These cool cats hunt alone so, if they’re injured, they’ll almost certainly die.  The result?  They go for easy kills and stay above the danger in trees.

3. As soon as her eggs hatch, a crocodile mother puts her babies in her mouth.  There’s a pouch in there and she can carry her babies the short distance from the nest to her “nursery.”

4. When we asked our guides what animal they most fear, both separately said the African Buffalo.  One explained that “you never know what they’re thinking.”  The other simply said “they’re crazy.”

5. A close second in fear factor: the hippo.  The hippo is scary because “they don’t know what they want.”  They’re humongous herbivores who are notoriously aggressive.  They’ll charge at the least provocation and you don’t stand a chance if you stand between them and the water.

6. Girraffe males duel each other by standing side-by-side, swinging their necks wide and whacking each other in the chest.

7. To cross the river, elephants join trunk to tail.

8. Ostrich tastes like steak.  Crocodile tastes like fish.  Yes, we speak from experience.

9. Folks here are serious about poachers.  A military force patrols the park and, when they find a poacher, they shoot to kill.

10. Zebras are the national animal of Botswana!  Our guides informed us why this is a fitting partnership.  One:  In Botswana, blacks and whites live in harmony.  Two, zebras have a diamond shape between their eyes that perfectly illustrates Botswana’s booming diamond industry.

Bonus Fact:  When asked about Cecil the Lion's death, our guides didn't blame the American dentist in the least.  However, they're emphatic in their condemnation of the dentist's Zimbabwean guide.  Their reason?  The American likely didn't know he was outside of the law while the guide absolutely knew.  This debate is of course separate from the moral question of African laws allowing these killings in the first place.

Go to the Blog to see full details on our Botswana adventure.  And Click Here for the full photo gallery!

An Orphan Walks a Lonely Road

There are a few things you should know:

-There are an estimated 3.7 million orphans in South Africa today and close to half of them have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS related illness.  

-Many orphans live in child-run homes (think of the show “Shameless” but not funny).  The communities help raise them.

-Children’s Centers are safe places kids can come during the day to play and learn.  The centers are mostly run by the grandmothers of the communities, but on their own, so the centers lack basic funding and the sophistication to source funding.  Enter Lonely Road.

The Lonely Road Foundation is not a charity.  One of Lonely Road’s excellent team members, Karabo, told us her view: Charities give help and then leave.  They create dependence.  We empower.

The difference is paramount not only in the results, but in the effort required.  It’s gratifying and fairly easy to donate clothes to a community in need.  But what happens when charities lose interest and the people still need clothes?  <Insert inevitable "Teach a man to fish" parable> 

Lonely Road works with the Children’s Centers in rural areas outside Johannesburg.  The centers provide one meal per day to the kids as well as a safe place to play and learn.  The centers also offer a gateway to the communities and, through the centers, Lonely Road is able to identify needs and address them.

We visited two of the centers in our short time working with Lonely Road.  The children are sweet and mischievous and silly.  They clung to Ryan the entire time (males are hard to come by).  They were rowdy until mealtime when they sat quietly to finish their food.  They listened to the grandmother teacher unlike any child I’ve ever seen and they danced like maniacs during dance time.

This is  my favorite pic.  Those kids are like "WHO is this guy and WHAT is he doing on my rug?"

This game went on for a while...

Meal Time = Quiet Time

Then they fell in love.

Until meal time called!

These kids play hard!

The donated toys stay safe in the cupboards so they don’t get messed up.   The kids play games and sing songs without them.  These kids don’t need toys. These kids need food.  The government funding has just been revoked without explanation (South Africa’s government has made great strides in our lifetime, but is still an incredibly frustrating and complex mess) so the one meal that the Centers offer (and often the only meal the kids get) is currently in limbo.  These kids are easy to help because they need so little and it’s not their fault. 

We spent time with the people behind Lonely Road and were moved by their kindness.  These people are the real deal.  They work tirelessly with the Children’s Centers and the communities to help in responsible and effective ways.  The good kind of giving is complicated and I’m grateful there are smart and effective people in the world like those at Lonely Road to do it.  I trust them. 

Go to their site to learn more and give what you can.  They’ll do the rest.

See the Full Lonely Road Photo Gallery Here.

Johannesburg- A City for Locals

Johannesburg is not great for tourists because there aren’t many notable attractions or worthy museums.  Plus, it has a terrible reputation for crime.  However, Jo ’Burg is home to very welcoming and warm people who’ll gladly open their lives (and even homes!) to you.  If you go to Johannesburg, we recommend you find some locals and live like them for a week (that’s what we did and it was fantastic).  Also, there are three notable attractions that would be a shame to miss.

The Apertheid Museum- An absolute must-see.  The museum tickets randomly divide patrons into non-white and white and then each "race" uses a different entrance.  For the first stage of the museum, non-whites and whites are split by a chain fence and must proceed alone.  Ryan and I were given different races and therefore separated which drove home the reality that many families were abruptly estranged when the government classified everyone by race.   The museum proceeds to use video, photography, antiques, and letters from Nelson Mandela to educate its patrons on South Africa’s long history of racial unrest.  And beneath the heartbreaking tales, the museum somehow teaches a lesson of overcoming evil and forgiveness.  The layout is a bit jumbled, but the content is superb.

Neighborhood Goods Market- Every Saturday, food stalls of all cuisines imaginable and fun local musicians crowd into a multifloor warehouse to make a market of delight.  Be warned: the market is full of locals and you’ll feel decidedly uncool.  It’s as authentic as it gets for real Jo ‘Burg life.

Now that's some Paella!

Soweto- Townships are urban areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites (Black Africans and all “Coloreds”).  They’re usually located just outside cities where they could ensure a cheap workforce for the whites.  Now, many of the townships offer tours and show firsthand what life was like. 

Soweto is the largest and most famous of all of the townships and is located just outside Johannesburg.  Most of the resistance to Apertheid started here and today many cultural trends begin here.  As our tour guide put it,  “When Soweto sneezes, the whole country catches a cold!”  Plus, the name Soweto stands for SOuth WEstern TOwnship and, as New Yorkers, we love geographically informative names.

We took a bike tour through Soweto Bicycle Tours and thoroughly recommend it.  The city that was once was a demonstration of racial division and oppression now has prospered and and is proud of it’s place in history.

Trying the homemade beer!

It was Interesting!

The Root of (Most) Evil

While traveling, we learn as much about ourselves as we do about the cultures around us.  Each new place forces us to examine facets of life from a new perspective.  Thank goodness.

South Africa forced us to think a lot about racism.  Not a subject for polite dinner conversation and certainly not a normal post for the blog.  But South Africa doesn’t allow the subject of racism to hide and, when brought into the light, we were forced to reexamine our hearts and minds on what is the deal?!?!  With the U.S. boiling over, it became even more imperative to scrutinize racism within our world and within each of us.  

Read our thoughts in The Root of (Most) Evil.  And, if serious isn't your style today, here's a children's poem we wrote to help discuss racism with little ones.  We hope you enjoy the story of a very brave Panda from an Indian Zoo.

The Dark Side of Dreams

We know we’re lucky.  We not only identified a dream but, even crazier, we’ve made it a reality.  It’s an honor and a responsibility, because many people who are more worthy and more able don’t get this chance. 

It’s also terrifying to bring a dream out into the light.  Dreams are much safer locked in our minds since you won’t know what a dream will really be like until you’re in it.  What if you dream to live in a cloud, but you get there and all you can see is fog?  Or you dream to live in a sunbeam, but once inside it’s only a glare?  It’s easier to put dreams on a pedestal instead of letting life smudge the ideal.  Safer.

Not this time.  Not us.  We still can’t believe it.  And maybe it’s because we knew of our dream’s disadvantages that we haven’t been disappointed.  We knew it would be dirty and uncomfortable.  We knew we’d get tired and hungry.  We knew we’d fight.  We knew we’d be scared.  And we know we may still fail.

In knowing the dark side of our dream, we’re able to revel in it’s light.  And in the lowest times of our dream, it’s still an honor to live it.

Taken in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa