Nepal

16-23 September

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For anyone, who has actually had the fortitude to read our blogs, we can hope to give you a break on this one, since we are only spending a week in Nepal. No promises, though.

Nepal is a small country with 2 mega-countries bordering it. China is Nepal’s northern neighbor; India is Nepal’s southern neighbor. It boasts 8 of the 10 tallest mountains in the world, including the tallest—Mt. Everest. The country is rich in natural beauty, but very poor by economic standards. The Himalayas, watching over this small country, are surprisingly invisible during the monsoon season when clouds blanket them a good deal of the time. The people reflect their geographic heritage. Some look distinctly Chinese; others look more like their Indian neighbors, and some are a blend of both. The same is true of religion, which is a blend of Hindu and Buddhism. The temples also architecturally reflect Chinese and Indian influences. And most restaurants offer a selection of Chinese and Indian dishes.

16-17 September
We arrived in Kathmandu in the afternoon, were collected by a tour agent and driver, and delivered to our hotel, the Hyatt. It was a really nice hotel and a good way to spend our first night. The next day, we toured two ancient cities on the outskirts of Kathmandu. One was Patan and the other was Bhaktapur. Both featured Hindu temples from the 16th century and very old homes with carved wood windows and decoration. Most people here are Hindu (about 80%), but Buddhists account for about 16% or so of population; their homes are readily identifiable by the prayer flags flying in the breeze.

After our 2 city tours, we drove up into the mountains to a town called Nagarkot, famous for its views of the Himalayas and Mt. Everest on a clear day. It was a beautiful drive. As we climbed higher and higher, views of the emerald green Kathmandu valley were arrayed before us. Rice terraces and forests of pine and bamboo comprised the principle scenes. We knew that the chances of seeing the mountains were slim due to this time of year being the end of the monsoon. So, the sunset was a nonevent. We were told when we checked in at the hotel that we would get a 5:00AM wake-up call if the mountains were visible at first light in the morning. Dave also set his alarm clock for 5:00AM. So, next morning, we did get a wake-up call. We went to our balcony and could see a silhouette of some mountains, but nothing spectacular. So Renee went back to bed, and Dave stayed up to keep monitoring the situation.

About 6:30, as Renee was brushing her teeth, Dave came running into the bathroom and told her to stop right away and go outside. There they were--the Himalayas and Mt. Everest glowing in the sunlight above the clouds and fog that had settled below. The scene didn’t last long; the clouds reblanketed the mountains within a minute or two.

18 September
We met our driver after breakfast in order to drive to Chitwan National Park. It was the only national park within a reasonable day’s drive that was actually open during the monsoon in either India or Nepal. We thought it would be a good idea to see what a safari had to offer in this part of the world. We set off at 8:00AM and drove some of the worst roads that we have encountered on the entire trip. And that’s saying a lot! By the time we arrived at 3:00PM, we felt like we had been beaten up. The scenery along the way was stunning, though. We basically followed a rushing river most of the way. Verdant mountains rose on both sides of the road and river, and waterfalls appeared from time to time.

When we finally arrived at the lodge entrance, there was no record of our reservation. So, we’re not sure who dropped the ball on this one, but eventually, it was sorted out and the reservation honored. We waited at the entrance to be collected. It took over 30 minutes for a huge army truck to come lumbering out of the park. Our luggage was put on board and we sat on benches on the sides of the truck in the back. The drive was a muddy, bumpy one. Then, we forded a river in the truck (not too deep), but soon came to another river that had a wild, swift current. There was a dugout canoe waiting there to load us and our bags on board. We started out across the river, but it soon became apparent that the river’s current was too strong for the little dugout and the 2 men who would be paddling it. So they pulled up to a sand bar in the middle of the river and unloaded everything. We saw an elephant in the distance with a mahoot (driver) coming toward us. We and the bags were reloaded onto the elephant, and the journey was completed to the lodge! Our question of the day was how on earth we were going to climb up onto the saddle box of this massive elephant. Well, first she lay down, then we climbed on her heel, then a loop was made in her tail for the next step, and then up to her back for the next step. Finally, we were up there. Of course, Renee’s concern for animal welfare was aroused at the way we had to climb on the poor creature and by the way the driver treated the elephant to get her to move the way he wanted. Apparently, the safari would be just getting to the lodge.

The accommodation consisted of a wooden bungalow with a bathroom—running water but no electricity. There were solar panels for the water heater, but when the sun doesn’t shine, hot water doesn’t follow. We were given kerosene lanterns for light at night, and a generator ran a ceiling fan for a couple of hours each day. Initially, when we got into the dugout, a chicken was put on board with us. When we transferred to the elephant, the chicken didn’t come with us. It stayed in the dugout to make its way with the boat and crew. Guess what was on the menu for dinner? Chicken! Well, it was fresh, anyway.

As Renee was writing the blog, we felt the bungalow shaking pretty significantly for about 30 seconds. Renee believed we had an earthquake. Dave thought it was an elephant. We had just showered and quickly dressed in case we had to quickly go out of the room. The bungalow is elevated on bamboo stilts, not the best earthquake proof construction. Fortunately, there was no more shaking, but we found out at dinner that it was an earthquake, 6.7 magnitude centered in Sikkim, India. Sikkim is in northern India; we’re in southern Nepal, so probably not too far away. (Lack of internet prevents us from checking it out.)

19 September
It rained heavily all night, so Renee decided to forego the elephant safari this morning. Dave went and saw some deer and a few birds. Later, after breakfast, we attended an elephant briefing. We went to an area where the domesticated elephants are kept when not working. The process of training elephants and general facts about them were explained to us. It was informative and interesting. At least, they seemed to care about the welfare of the animals. Later in the afternoon, we went on a jeep safari in the forest. We really didn’t see anything. The grass and greenery was so lush, tall and thick, that even if there were animals there, they wouldn’t have been visible. That’s the downside of a visit at the end of the rainy season when everything seems to have grown as if on steroids.

Safari
It’s probably not fair to compare a safari here with the ones we’ve been on in Africa. BUT, the safari camps here are very basic and rustic. They’re not that well maintained, either. The staff sits around a table all day rolling dice and playing games instead of sprucing up the landscaping or repairing and maintaining the rooms and buildings.

Since the electricity is on only from 6:00PM or later until about 9:30PM, it’s impossible to get a cold drink. When we went on the jeep safari, the jeep was an old battered vehicle, instead of the comfortable, clean ones we’re used to in Africa. A wild boar was spotted, but the driver had gone a bit too far to see it through the bushes, so we asked if he could back up a bit. Reverse didn’t work! As we were having lunch (chicken), we saw another chicken being brought to the kitchen—tonight’s dinner, no doubt. There was no juice at breakfast, and on and on. Well, at least we know now what a safari is like in Nepal! Tomorrow, we leave for another city, Pokhara.

20 September
“And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining…”
Do you remember the song about the letter that the kid sent home from summer camp? We have our own version:

Hello Jared, Hello Daughta
Here we are at Nepal’s Pokhara.
The lodge is very entertaining,
And they say we’ll have some fun if it stops raining.

Technically, the monsoon should be over. But…it’s not and it seems to be getting wetter. This morning, we were told that the army truck that we rode part of the way to the lodge at Chitwan had broken down, and the boat was not an option due to the swift current and high water level of the rivers (yes, plural). The only option available to get out of the camp, and we were ready for that, was to go by elephant all the way to the gate, a trip of about an hour and a half. So, we got in the saddle box along with all of our luggage and set off. Wow, we have a new respect and admiration for what an elephant can accomplish! She took us and the bags across 4 rivers in the pouring rain, through the jungle, and delivered us at the site of the driver and van. The current in the rivers was roaring, and the river was deep, but she managed to ford all of them with no problems. We were thoroughly soaked despite an umbrella, ponchos and tarps for the bags. We were glad to get into the van. It was cloudy during the drive to Pokhara, and about an hour away from this destination, it started to rain again.

We arrived in a heavy rain to find that the new lodge was on an island in the middle of the lake, and we had to cross in a boat. Now, this experience would have been really lovely on a nice day, but in the rain it wasn’t. At least the lodge/hotel is really a nice one, and we didn’t have to board an elephant to get there. We were supposed to go sightseeing for the rest of the afternoon, but we told the guide we had already been soaked and needed the afternoon to reorganize ourselves. We got laundry together to send out, washed underwear, took showers, dried our wet bags and shoes and now feel better. So, the sightseeing is on for tomorrow.

21 September
It stopped raining! So, we got in our day of sightseeing. There wasn’t really much that we could say was spectacular in this town. We visited a Hindu temple (again), went to a Gurka museum, a waterfall and took a boat ride on the lake. In the afternoon, we found a place to get Renee’s duffle bag repaired. The strap had been mishandled on one of the flights, so the stitching had come loose. There were several places with heavy duty sewing machines making seat covers and upholstery type things. So, we took it to one of them, and got it sewn up. The charge was about 75 cents. Such a deal we haven’t seen! Tomorrow, we’re making an early morning foray to try and see the sunrise on the Himalayas.

22 September
We awoke at 4:00AM and drove up a mountain to a vista, where if was a clear morning, we hoped to have a view of the snow covered Annapurna Range of the Himalayas. As daylight dawned, the rugged peaks started to emerge, and as sunrise approached, we started to glimpse patches of the mountains through broken clouds. One of the largest peaks, Mt. Fishtail, was starkly beautiful. The mountains played hide and seek in the clouds, one minute we had a view of one peak, the next minute it was covered with clouds, but another view opened up. There was quite a crowd of people at the panoramic viewpoint; all with cameras in hand. We watched for about an hour, and then returned to the hotel for breakfast and departure back to Kathmandu for an overnight and flight to Mumbai the next day.

Wedding Couple, Pokhara

Pictures: Due to the additional number of pictures we wanted to post for Nepal, view them at our photo website below.

E-MAIL: dcapouya@comcast.net
VISIT OUR PHOTO WEBSITE: http://reneecapouya.zenfolio.com

India

2-16 September

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NOTE: All comments and opinions contained herein are anecdotal in nature, the thoughts and observations of the authors and results of interviews with guides and citizens. All of the Indian citizens we have met have shown us warm hospitality and friendship.

We flew from Johannesburg to Bombay, where we spent the night at the Courtyard by Marriott, which was close to the airport and more like a 4 star hotel than the vanilla US Courtyard’s. The next day, we flew to Delhi. All the flights were backed up that day (ours was an hour and a half late) due to a Turkish Airlines plane which skidded off the runway and into the soft mud hours earlier. As I write, it is 2 days later, and the plane still has not been extricated, forcing the runway adjacent to remain closed.

Delhi—2 -4 SEP

One of the best surprises of the trip so far has been the city of Delhi. Its avenues are wide, tree-lined and clean with upscale homes and buildings behind walls and gates. Admittedly, I had expected upon arrival in India to be thrown into something like the movie set of “Slumdog Millionaire”, but that didn’t happen. There may well be areas like those in the movie, but we haven’t seen them (yet). Our hotel, Le Meridien, had a beautifully appointed room waiting for us to rival any other 5 star hotel. It’s easy to see why India is one of the up and coming world economies. The middle class is large and growing.

A Tour of Old Delhi

We toured the Red Fort, a massive structure so called because the walls were built of red sandstone. It was completed in 1648 by order of Shah Jihan, mogul emperor. Inside the walls, one can see a complex of the remains of several “palaces”, including the harem, emperor’s quarters and a mosque. After the fort visit, we boarded a rickshaw propelled by a man on a bicycle. We wove our way through the narrow alleys of Old Delhi, passing several markets displaying fruits, vegetables, spices, sari fabrics, silver, and other decorative items. We pedaled our way through a morass of stalls, people pushing carts loaded with heavy sacks, other rickshaws and motor bikes. Overhead, hundreds of electric power lines crisscrossed the narrow opening to bring power to the stalls and buildings nearby. One part of this market area that can’t be appreciated on paper is the scents. The aroma of exotic spices and perfumes permeated the air. The rickshaw ride ended at the largest mosque in India, which can accommodate 25,000 Muslims in the courtyard for worship. We rounded out the tour with a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial. It is in a quiet, serene park and is simply designed and tasteful. Comparisons have been made with JFK’s grave in Arlington Cemetery. It is important to point out that this memorial is just that; he was not buried here. As Hindu custom dictates, he was cremated.

The next day we toured New Delhi. First on the agenda was a tour of India’s version of Washington DC’s Capitol Hill. The government buildings were built in the early 1900’s by the British. They are made of stone and are stately, tasteful and well laid out, set in the midst of emerald green lawns and tropical landscaping. There’s even a green area similar to the national mall in DC, but it’s much greener and appears larger. Set at the end of this complex is the India Gate, a memorial to the 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British in World War I. As an aside, we’ve always heard the expression, “The sun never sets on the British Empire,” referring to the peak of British colonialism. Was that saying true! Of course, the U.S. belonged to Britain. So did South Africa, Uganda, India, Australia and other countries all around the world. After visiting so many places that belonged to Britain, one wonders how one small island could control so much of the world! Apparently, their maritime power combined with all the riches they took from all of these countries just kept piling money into the government and private merchants.

Next, we toured some ancient monuments. Humayun’s Tomb is a sort of predecessor of the Taj Mahal. The Qutub Minar is a minaret over 200 feet tall dating to the 12th century which exists alongside the remains of a mosque from the same era.

Agra—5 SEP

We left Delhi at 8:00AM, expecting the 120 mile trip to Agra to take about 4 hours. Instead, there was traffic gridlock in an industrial area outside Delhi, which lengthened the trip to 6 ½ hours. We shared the road with trucks, busses, horse, cow, and donkey carts, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, not very compatibly. There’s a special kind of taxi here called a “tuk-tuk”. It’s a small motorized cart (about the size of a golf cart), and they’re everywhere. Imagine a golf cart with about 20 people crammed in it driving down the road. About the only positive thing to be said for them is that they run on natural gas which reduces emissions. They provide cheap transport for the populace of the countryside. Not to be outdone, there are also cars, truck and buses made by an Indian company called a Tata. Laugh if you will, but this company recently bought Jaguar.

After finally arriving in Agra and checking into the hotel, we toured the Agra fort and the Taj Mahal. The fort is the second largest in India, built by the Mogul emperor, Shah Jihan in the 1600’s. It is so massive that 50% of the area is still used by the Indian Army and the other 50% is open to visitors. The emperor’s palace is enclosed within the fort. It is built from white Indian marble, heavily carved with inlaid work showing many semi-precious stones original to the structure. It is truly overwhelming to comprehend the magnificence of the artistry involved in building and decorating this palace.

From the palace windows is a view of the Taj Mahal, which rests on the banks of the Yamuna river. Of course, this landmark was next on our itinerary. When gazing at the Taj Mahal, a realization comes over you that you’re having an experience that comes once in a life time. Words can’t describe the beauty of perfection that one sees. None of the photos we have ever seen truly shows the detail of the carvings and inlay in the marble of this tomb. The same Shah Jihan who built the Agra Fort had this memorial constructed to his third wife after her death. She bore him 17 children and died in childbirth at age 39. His first 2 wives had been childless, so number 3 was the favorite. His son was so enraged at the huge cost of the Taj Mahal that he had his father put under house arrest in the fort, where he could gaze upon his wife’s tomb everyday of his remaining life, but he couldn’t visit the grave. When he died, his daughter had him entombed next to his wife.

Holy Cow!—6 SEP

Cows have the right of way on all of India’s roads. They are considered holy by Hindus, and it would be a serious sin to injure or kill one. But the owners of these bovines allow them to roam at will in the villages, towns and cities, as well as on the roads and even in the grassy median strips. I asked one of the guides if this reverence for the cow was extended to other animals. The answer was “no”. It’s ok to hit and kill any of the hundreds of stray dogs which inhabit the same spaces as the cows.

Non-Smoking Hotel Rooms

We arrived in Jaipur, our next adventure, in the afternoon. It turned out just getting a room was an adventure. The hotel we’re staying in is being renovated. We were offered a very nice room, problem was it had just been painted and smelled strongly of paint fumes. To counteract the fumes, they had sprayed room freshener all over, making it even worse. Since we didn’t want to be overcome with paint fumes, we asked for another room. Same thing—paint fumes. So, then we were offered a third room that didn’t smell of paint, but cigarette smoke. Dave tried to explain that we requested a non-smoking room. We were told that it was a non-smoking room. He pointed to an ashtray on a table, and said that ashtrays were only in smoking rooms. The representative then explained that she would take out the ashtray, thus making it a non-smoking room. It was perfectly logical to her that the presence or absence of an ashtray was the definition of smoking vs. nonsmoking room. We take it out—it’s nonsmoking. We put it in—then the guest can smoke. Evidently, there’s no concept of smoke being absorbed into the very fabric of the room. In addition to the smoke issue, the renovation is occurring just upstairs from us and the pounding is constant. It’s now after 6:00PM, and they’re still going strong up there. But at least we now know the proper definition of a non-smoking room!

PS. We did switch rooms tonight after complaining again about the construction noise and other issues.

Jaipur—7 SEP

This morning we toured Jaipur. It’s called the “Pink City”, but yesterday when we drove in, we wondered why the name. Today, we found out. The old city is walled in and everything—all the walls and every building inside are pink. It is all built of red sandstone, but instead of red, everything is pink. One can’t help thinking that this national treasure should be more properly cared for. The trash needs to be cleaned from the streets, and the buildings are in dire need of cleaning and maintenance. Then it would truly be a jewel in the crown.

We visited the amber fort, which is another beautiful complex of palaces walled in by a fort. Instead of walking up the hill to the fort, we took an elephant ride. Sitting high, swinging from side to side, we rode up the hill on the paunchy pachederm. Renee was holding on tight; Dave was videoing the experience. It was an elephant parade up and down the hill, tourists riding up and passengerless elephants coming down. There is a fort wall encircling a gigantic area of Jaipur, which we could only liken to the Great Wall of China (although we haven’t seen it yet). After the fort, we visited a museum on the grounds of the royal maharaja’s palace. Exquisite!

While having lunch, we learned of a terrorist attack in Delhi at the high court. We had just toured the government center a couple of days ago. It seems each country we visit has more security than the last. India shares a not so friendly border with Pakistan, and there is a dispute over Kashmir about who should own the territory. Consequently, every vehicle going into a hotel or tourist sight is searched carefully, and the hotel guests go through a scanning device and a pat down (just as at the airport) before going inside. All bags and even cameras are put through the scanner. Before we left home, we registered our entire itinerary with the state department, so we get regular email updates of problems occurring anywhere in the world.

From Hovel to Palace

In India, a 19th century mansion, sometimes painted with beautiful scenes on the exterior and courtyards, is called a haveli. I have to wonder whether the word hovel comes from haveli; they sound so similar but yet have a very different meaning. Some of these old mansions (havelis) have been converted into small hotels. We stayed in one in a small city called Mandawa. I have to say I was a little taken aback when shown the room. It was a small room with no window, rather claustrophobic, not nice at all. But, I was not sure whether I had selected this hotel or whether it was suggested by the tour company, since it was booked quite awhile ago. We turned on the air conditioning, which was a wall unit. Everything was marginally acceptable in this hovel/haveli until the power kept going off and on. Indian power isn’t very reliable anywhere, and when it cuts off, establishments start up their generators. Problem was, with no windows, you were thrust completely in blackness until someone ran outside and turned on the generator. The room opened to an outside courtyard, but the door going to the room didn’t exactly close.. I’m sure it was the original 19th century door that had 2 parts with a center opening, but it just didn’t come together in the middle. The bathroom door didn’t close either, or if you got it closed, you would be stuck inside. Then, we found out the bedside lamps didn’t work well either; they kept turning off. Sometime after the a/c had been working for a few hours, water started dripping out of it, onto an electrical box underneath and then onto the floor. We called the hovel manager(?) and his favorite answer to everything was “no problem”. Excuse me, but water dripping onto electricity is a big problem in our book. So, they had a “technician” come in and apparently fix the problem while we were at dinner. There was no restaurant at this place; you went to the rooftop and sat at a table (one of only 2), were given a menu, and the manager now became the waiter and ran down the street to give the order to someone, maybe in a restaurant(?) and pick up the food. So, we got through dinner with a couple of Indian beers and 2 orders of vegetarian fare. We should mention that vegetarian doesn’t necessarily mean vegetables, such as one sees in the markets. Vegetarian means ‘no meat’, but typically you will be served something unrecognizable in ‘gravy’. It could be potatoes and cheese, or there could be tomatoes and onions ground up somehow. Anyway, we got through the meal and went back to the room. About midnight, the a/c started leaking again. We decided just to shut it off, worried it would be a fire hazard. This meant spending the night in a stuffy, hot room with just a ceiling fan (when the power was on).

We had requested breakfast at 7:00AM the next morning. We went to the so-called breakfast room (more hovelish than the room). When nothing appeared, we went outside and saw a sort of room next to the breakfast room with a refrigerator that someone was getting some things out of. The whole situation was so unappealing and unsanitary looking, that Renee went back to the room and had a granola bar from her stash. Dave really wanted some coffee, so he stayed and had coffee and toast. All we really wanted was to leave this place, so we called our driver and asked him to come pick us up early. We informed him that in the future, his company shouldn’t send any more clients to this place.

So we left for a city called Bikaner, toured the usual fort and palace and went to the next hotel, the Gajner Palace Hotel. We were approaching the hotel with some trepidation, not knowing what would await us next. We needn’t have worried. It was a real maharajah’s palace that had been converted to a hotel. The grounds were beautifully set on a lake, and the room was very nice. The a/c had been turned on, so the room was comfortable. We looked at the unit, sitting over the bed on the wall, thinking this would be a much better experience. So we went for a walk for about an hour. Upon returning, what did we find? The bed and pillows soaked with water leaking from the a/c!! We called the staff, someone was sent to blow out the line, and the bed was changed and all is well, for now. But who knows what will happen overnight? It is so hot and humid here that these wall units have difficulty functioning well. And the buildings are too old to run central air.

Cultural Tidbits

A couple of days ago, we toured an observatory from the 16th century. It was a large outdoor complex which featured very accurate sundials. Another part of it had all the astrological signs with sundials on those, too. Astrology is a big part of life, here. When marriages are being arranged (that’s part of the culture), the young couple’s astrological signs are still even now analyzed by an astrologist to see if they will be a good match. If not, they won’t marry. We asked our driver, Vadav, if his marriage was arranged. He said, yes. His parents selected a girl for him, then they visited her family. In turn, the girl’s family visited his home. He wasn’t allowed to see his wife until the actual wedding. He indicated that this is the way things are still done in the countryside. Later, one of the guides told us that marriage has nothing to do with love here, and a lot of couples stay together through the years only because of social pressures, not because they are happy. Also, if a bride is selected for a young man, and he doesn’t agree to marry her, he is cast out of the parents’ home for all time, and the bride (who isn’t a bride) goes to live with the man’s family as an honored family member. But, she is free to marry someone else later. In the larger cities, couples might meet, date and develop relationships more as we do in the west, or they can follow tradition, if they wish.

We also asked about Vadav’s religious beliefs. The majority of Indians are Hindu, but a reasonable number are also Moslem. Our driver is Hindu. He explained that at a certain age, a Hindu will decide which god he would like to follow and worship. Then, he will go to a temple that is dedicated to that god. Vadav chose the elephant god, Ganesh, the god of good luck. His father may very well go to a different temple that is dedicated to another god. It’s a matter of personal choice. Vadav is also a vegetarian. We can tell that when he thinks of meat or eggs, he gets somewhat queasy. He does drink milk, however, because you don’t have to kill the cow to get it.

We also noticed at a market selling grain, there were hundreds of pigeons crowding in the square. We were told that pigeons garner much respect, similar to the cows, and the vendors are obligated to feed them. But, it’s ok to kill other birds, except it is bad luck to injure (wild) peacocks. There are some here, and they are really beautiful.

When a Hindu dies, he or she is cremated. This was explained to us as the custom, not because the Indian population is so large that it would be hard to find space to bury people (a popular belief), but because they believe that in cremation, elements in the body are released back into the atmosphere. Many years ago, tradition dictated that when a husband died, his widow would throw herself onto the funeral pyre with his body and be burned alive. Fortunately, the practice was discontinued in the 1960’s. The ashes of the cremated are then taken to the Ganges River on the 4th day following death and poured into the river. A bottle of the holy Ganges River is then purchased to bring home to sprinkle around the house after several days have passed.

There are two questions we are always asked: “What is your profession?” And “How much did your camera cost?” Renee learned early to respond that she was a teacher (speech therapist). The caste system is still in place to some extent, and teachers are regarded as being in a very high caste. Dave, as military, is also well regarded, although a little below Renee. Within the 4 castes, there are many subcastes. We usually answer the camera question with--we don’t really remember, since it’s been awhile since we bought them.

Jaiselmer—10-11 SEP

We drove to the next city, Jaiselmer, in the Thar desert. The roads were good, and we arrived mid afternoon. We had booked another Haveli, this one was owned by a maharaja and was a bit nicer than the other one where we had stayed. The staff showed us all the available rooms, and we chose the “villa”, a bit more spacious than the others, with a bigger bathroom. Among the greeters at the hotel was our tour guide for the following day as nothing was on the itinerary for the afternoon. Before he departed, he asked us if we would like a walk in the town later in the afternoon. Since we didn’t have anything else to do, we agreed.

Whoa, Nelly! India just caught up with us. We started walking through old, narrow streets in a market area. Ok, so far, although we had to side step cows and cow dung pretty much everywhere. Yes, even in the middle of a city. After reaching the fort, we took another series of narrow streets back to the hotel. There were some street side businesses and some middle class multistory homes with beautiful decorative stone work. This was not the ghetto. But the streets! If you’ve heard the expression, “Enough to gag a maggot”, this was it. Open sewers, cow dung and fly invested cows were everywhere; a dog lay dying in the gutter (which only Renee noticed), children played in all of this mess with bare feet, people whizzed by on motorcycles, and people were going about their business in a usual way. The stench was unbelievable. The guide told us there was an award winning goldsmith in the middle of all of this mayhem, and he wanted us to visit his house. We have so far successfully fended off all attempts to get us to buy souvenirs, and we made it clear we weren’t interested. But as we passed his house, the goldsmith came out and wanted us to come in. Renee’s resolve remained strong, and there was no visit. But there will always be a lingering memory of the stench, the utter filth, and respect for the human body’s immune system, as we viewed so called healthy children living in this muck.

We got back to the ‘haveli/hovel’, and guess what? The a/c is leaking. “No problem”, is our philosophy. We put a bucket under the drip and all is well!

Camels in the Sunset

We were scheduled for a camel ride in the desert in the early evening. It was about a 30 minute drive from Jaiselmer toward the west to the camel depot, not far from the Pakistani border (probably not the best place to be on Sept. 11 anniversary). We arrived, chose our camels, and climbed aboard. Renee got Mr. Rocket, who turned out not to live up to his name, thanfully. Dave’s camel name is unknown. We followed a trail toward the dunes. A few minutes into the ride, the man leading the camel handed Renee the reins. She wasn’t comfortable with this situation, but he wouldn’t take them back. Luckily, Mr. Rocket was a calm, docile camel who knew where to go, so “no problem”. We made our way to the sand dunes and beheld a lovely sunset with camels silhouetted against the red-gold orb. All was well, we even picked up speed to a trot on the way back. We’re still intact and had a good time.

Jodphur—12 SEP

Jodphur is known for 2 reasons. The first is that it gave an English name to riding trousers—jodphurs. The other claim to fame, besides the massive maharaja’s fort and palace, is the preponderance of blue painted houses. It is believed that there is something in blue paint that repels mosquitoes, so people paint their houses blue. From the fort high atop the hill, the blue houses lend a particular personality to the city. The hotel we’re staying in here is very much like a maharaja’s palace. It is beautiful!

Udaipur—13-15 SEP

It took a day to drive from Jaipur to Udaipur. We drove through mountains, which was a nice change of scenery. We even stopped to visit an ancient Hindu (Jain) temple, built around the 15th or 16th century.

Next day, we took a day trip to another fort called Chittorgarh, the most massive maharaja’s fort we’ve seen yet. The fort was begun in the 8th century, but the ruins are from the 16th century. It’s mind boggling to witness these massive constructions on the tops of hills when you think about how everything had to be transported and built by hand.

A Tour of Rajasthan

To sum up our India Rajasthan experience is difficult. Next to the absolute massive riches of the maharajas as seen in their forts and palaces, exists another world—the real world. India does have a large middle class, and it does have its very poor. People do what people do everywhere in the world. They work to produce an income; they bring up their families, and they mostly hope for a better world for their children. By western standards, the unsanitary conditions with large amounts of trash and animal dung in the streets are very distressing. We’ve had discussions with guides and our driver about the cows, pigs and goats lounging in the town streets, eating garbage, cardboard and plastic and defecating everywhere. There seems to be a dawning realization that this situation needs changing, but change comes slowly. As the world’s largest democracy, we can only wish India and its people well in the future.

Pictures: Due to the additional number of pictures we wanted to post for India, view them at our photo website: http://reneecapouya.zenfolio.com/

Two Elderly Men

Taj Mahal

Two Working Women

E-MAIL: dcapouya@comcast.net
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Uganda

20-31 August

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In Transit - 18-19 August

Well, it’s been a rough couple of days. Our flights from Madagascar back to Johannesburg went well enough. After landing, we thought it would be a good idea to replenish our spending money for the next safari in Uganda. We went to an ATM at the airport. Someone came up to Renee while Dave was watching the bags and punched a button on the ATM machine with the guise of trying to be helpful. There must have been some sort of card reader in a rigged machine (although next to and part of a legitimate bank.) We didn’t know if anything untoward had actually taken place, but we felt very uneasy about the situation. It was difficult just getting the card back, and no money came out of the ATM. We called our banker immediately, but the system wasn’t in real time, so they weren’t showing any problems. A couple of hours later, however, in viewing our account on line, we discovered several pending withdrawal transactions had been made to the tune of over $2000. We were on the phone at the time with our banker (again) who immediately called the fraud department and had the card cancelled. Luckily, Renee’s card has a different number and is still active.

After the ATM card debacle, we called the B & B where we had a reservation for the night, only to find that there was no record of it, and the person who had made the reservation was off for the weekend. They kindly told us not to worry; they had a room for us, and they sent their van to collect us. They even held dinner for us and were very warm and welcoming.

The next day we had our flight to Entebbe, nonstop. I mention nonstop, because there was no reason why Dave’s bag should not have arrived with all the others. We were delayed getting out of the airport, because he had to file a claim for the missing luggage. When we did exit, we expected to have someone greeting us with our name on a placard. We didn’t see anyone, so a young girl offered to call our lodge to have them send someone. Just before the lodge vehicle arrived, we found the driver who had been sent for us. He was there all the while; his placard had our name at the top of it, hardly visible while he was holding it.

The next morning, Dave got his bag. The thought of shopping for new safari clothes in Entebbe, Uganda, was not a challenge we were looking forward to meeting. We got 2 stories regarding what happened to the bag. The one we believe is that someone mistakenly took it, and when they discovered the contents weren’t theirs, they brought it back to the airport. The locks had been ripped off of both of our bags, but the contents were intact.

Entebbe—21 August

This city looks downright prosperous compared to Madagascar. The streets are fairly clean, roads are paved and wide enough for the traffic, buildings are well made, etc. Security is very visible, however. We have a steel door in the corridor going to our room and another from the porch to the inside. There’s an armed guard patrolling the premises, high walls around the property and a sturdy gate which only opens to allow authorized vehicles inside. When we asked about it, we were told that because Uganda shares their northern border with Sudan, there is a heightened fear (and reality) of terrorism.

Ngamba Island

This morning we went to Ngamba Island, which is located in Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. Bordering its shores are Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Ngamba Island is home to the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Uganda. It is funded in part by the Jane Goddall Foundation. It is home for rescued chimps that live in the small forest on the island. Chimps now have an endangered status due to several reasons: being hunted for bush meat and for the pet trade, getting caught in snares set for other animals, and habitat loss due to deforestation. It seems to be a recurring theme—burgeoning populations are stripping the forests for fuel, and the land is then cultivated for farming, leaving little room for the animals to survive.

We went to a viewing area to see the chimps. We heard their raucous calls as they all came out of the forest. They know that at 11:00AM they will be fed, and their inner alarm clocks bring them to the feeding area a few minutes before 11, in anticipation of a meal. We enjoyed watching them catch vegetables thrown to them, and we took lots of photos. One of them used a stick as a tool to eat a carrot that had landed under the fence. Others hoarded the food, with hands and mouths full as they went back into the forest with their booty. It was easy to see just how strong they were. We were told that the chimps know they are stronger than humans, and care must be taken when dealing with them. The island is also home to a variety of birds, and Renee found a monitor lizard about 4 feet long while walking around taking photos.

NOTE: In keeping with our string of bad luck, a fan mounted to the wall of the hotel room came crashing down after our return that afternoon. Had Dave been sitting at the desk as he was accustomed to doing while using the computer, he would have had a fractured skull or a concussion at the very least. Or, if the computer had been there, it would have been toast. Same if the cameras were there. Lucky for us, none of that happened. Nothing was on the desk. Maybe our luck is changing!

Lake Mburo National Park — 21 August

This safari is the only “group” tour we signed up to do. As it turned out, there was only one other couple traveling with us in the group. They are an Australian couple, Doug and Carol, of approximately the same age as we are, and very pleasant, companions for us. Our driver/guide, George, is also a very personable young man. We are touring in a Toyota Land Cruiser, especially built in Tanzania for safaris.

We left Entebbe in the morning for our first destination, Mburo National Park, about a 5 hour drive away. The roads and towns and sights and sounds are indicative of a poor country, but not so poor as Madagascar. The trip was uneventful, and we arrived safely at the park.

The lodge is very basic—a roomy tent built up on a wooden platform with wood floors and real beds. The surprise came when we saw the bathroom sink—no running water. There was a pitcher of cold water and a thermos of hot water for washing up. The “bush” shower was explained to us. We had to give the room steward a time that we wanted our showers; he then carried hot water and filled a tank which operated the shower. The toilet was pretty normal. We looked back at the itinerary and saw that this camp is marketed as one “in the grand safari tradition”. Mm hmmm. The food is much better here than the last country.

After settling in, we went for an afternoon boat ride around the lake. We were pleased to get our best photos yet of 3 different kingfisher species and the African Fish Eagle, which is very much similar to the American Bald Eagle. Other game spotted here are various other water birds, antelopes called waterbucks, bushbucks, impala, zebra, Cape buffalo, warthogs and mongoose. Tomorrow we drive to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in search of the rare and endangered mountain gorilla.

Gorillas in the Mist AKA Ultimate Bootcamp Experience AKA We Survived the Trek! And Saw Gorillas - August 23-24

We left the lodge early in the morning, but not before gazing at the misty, mountainous forest in front of us where the gorillas live. We arrived at the park headquarters a couple of minutes later and received briefings on how we should conduct ourselves in the presence of the gorillas. (Etiquette, of course) The procedure went something like this. The trackers take a GPS location of the gorillas on the previous day. They then go out on your trekking day and start at the marked GPS site to try and locate them again, according to their movements since then. They pick up their trail, hopefully, and follow them. In the meantime, we received the briefings and were assigned to a particular family group. We then headed out, first by vehicle for about 30 minutes to the start of the trek. There, our first task was to join our guide and 2 guards with guns (AK47’s), which if any menacing wild animals were found, would result in shots in the air to scare them away. We also hired 2 porters to carry the backpack, water supply and lunch. As we turned around, we saw a primitive dirt road, which ascended steeply up the mountain. Our first thought was, “Are we supposed to walk up this road?” Well, yes, that was the idea! And did I mention that this trek was taking place at approximately 6,000 feet above sea level?

So, off we went with a group of 8 plus guide, guards, and porters. We climbed and climbed, stopping briefly to catch our breath and sip a little water. When we got to the top of the road, we hiked some more on a narrow path at the edge of some banana and coffee plantations. Finally, we entered the forest. The path seemed reasonable at first, but then we started a steep descent all the way to a rushing stream, which we forded by stepping on downed slippery tree limbs and rocks. I knew that this descent could only mean one thing. We would have to ascend again. And that’s just what we did, all the way to the top of the mountain. After 3 ½ hours or so of ascents and descents, we received word that the trackers had found the gorilla family. When asked how far away they were, we were told about another kilometer or so. By the time we reached the trackers, they told us the gorillas had moved. By now we had left the trail, the guards having macheted their way down a steep jungle slope for us to follow. To reach the gorillas now, we had to climb hand over foot back up the slippery, steep slope—the hardest thing we’d ever done. We finally found our family after more than 4 hours of trekking.

Imagine sitting in the middle of the forest and all around you are gorillas in the treetops! As they disturb the high foliage to eat the leaves and fruits, it feels like it’s raining, since all the debris from the trees is actually raining down around you. We spotted the patriarch, a huge silverback, at the top of a tree near where we were sitting. He was massive! Eventually, he and a few others came down from the trees and munched some leaves. They were a very active group, munching and moving through the forest. We tried to keep up with them, but our clumsy movements were no match for their agile ones. As if to say, “leave us alone”, the silverback threw down some small trees in our path to make our way more difficult. But at no time did we ever feel threatened or in any danger. We were allotted one hour for our visit. At the end of the hour, we ascended back to the path and had a break for lunch. Then we had to trek back to the starting point, retracing our ascents and descents. We had been hiking for 8 hours by the time we finally reached the vehicle for the trip back to the lodge. We had permits for a second trek the next day if we were unsuccessful in seeing the gorillas on the first day, but there was no way we could have done it again!

Queen Elizabeth National Park—August 25-28

Well, yesterday we learned in an email from Jared that an earthquake struck Virginia, with a 5.8 magnitude. An earthquake? Yes! Virginia, yes! Now today, in another email from Jared, henceforth known as the profit of doom, we found out that a hurricane is imminent in Virginia. I guess we’re missing all the action. Speaking of action, we’re sitting in bed in our canvas tent at 10:00PM listening to the sounds outside. We started hearing sounds from unknown animals a few minutes ago, which we now know are their alarm calls. How do we know? Because we are hearing the roar of a lion nearby. Did I mention that we’re in a tent made of canvas? Hope this one turns out ok!

The drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park only took an hour and a half from the gorilla forest. Upon entering the park, the first sight we beheld was the one that makes this park famous—the tree climbing lions. There was a male and female perched on the limbs of a very large, old ‘fig’ tree. The sun was shining on them in a way that you would wish for all your photos. We’re not aware of any other place where lions climb trees, and we’re not sure why they do it here. On the way to the camp we also saw 2 new species of antelope that are abundant in the park, the topi and the kob. Elephants and warthogs rounded out the drive in to the camp.

The camp is situated beautifully along the banks of a small, rushing river. In the tent, the sound of the rushing water and the bird calls soothe the psyche (except for the lion roar and alarm call tonight). We have another bush shower and a chemical toilet for night use. During the day, we walk to the flush toilets.

Next morning, we awoke to the sound of thunder and teeming rain, not the best weather when you’re camping in a tent alongside a rushing river. Our planned departure of 6:30AM for a game drive had to be delayed a couple of hours until the rain abated. We found on the drive this morning huge herds of Cape buffalo in addition to the animals already mentioned.

In the afternoon, on another drive, we found 2 female lions that we had seen that morning, only this time, one of them was asleep with their ‘kill’, a large topi. The other lioness was sitting guard. Another interesting find was a crested eagle, which we were able to photograph. When we returned to the camp, a hippo was cavorting in the river, turning somersaults in the water and playing. It was quite amusing to watch such a huge, lumbering creature making merry like that.

On the 27th, as we were leaving this camp for another part of the park, we came once again upon our 2 female lions sitting in a tree. Great for photos! Our destination today was the Kazinga Channel, a large channel of water connecting Lake George with Lake Edwards. After settling in a luxury lodge (more like a hotel), we took a boat ride on the channel, which was bursting with animal and bird life. Kingfishers, herons, ibis, yellow billed storks, fish eagles, cormorants, white pelicans, hippos, crocodiles and Cape buffalo all were residents happily residing together on the banks of the channel.

On the next morning, when we met our guide, George, for a game drive, he told us that when he went back to his accommodations the night before (near ours), he drove in to the parking area and saw a lion sitting at the front door. It moved on when it saw him, and he carefully went inside. We drove by there first and caught a glimpse of it as it ran into the bushes. It was still in the neighborhood. When we got back from the drive, we noticed that there were lion prints outside our building near our room, too. This lodge is the only one that didn’t provide an escort to us back to the room after dinner. Maybe they should start!

Kibale National Forest—August 29

After a 4 hour drive yesterday, we arrived at The Primate Lodge in Kibale National Forest. This national park has one of the few remaining wild chimpanzee populations. In addition, there are several monkey species here, including colobus, mangabays, bush babies and others. The lodge is situated in the middle of the forest. We were assigned our tent but had quite a walk to reach it in its secluded location. Although most of this safari has been spent in the forest, this was the first time we truly felt that we were completely surrounded by the jungle. Bird song was our music, and fluttering, flitting butterflies were our entertainment. We could also see some monkeys from our tent and the dining room.

Next morning, we went to the forest park office for a briefing before heading out to seek the chimpanzees. After about 45 minutes of walking, we heard their calls. Chimps are probably the loudest animals in the forest. They have several different calls, which humans have learned to interpret. When we found them, they were in the treetops feeding. Then, some came down to ground level and quickly disappeared into the foliage. They were just as active as the gorillas, so trying to photograph them through the trees and leaves was a challenge. After about three and a half hours of trekking through the forest (not quite as difficult as the gorilla trek) following the chimps, we returned to our camp. It was a beautiful, gratifying experience to see these totally wild chimps in their natural habitat living life as they all should be. In the afternoon, Renee was able to find and photograph a large, beautiful blue bird with a yellow and red bill and a crested head that she had seen.

Tomorrow, we head back to Entebbe to spend the night before flying back to Johannesburg for another night, and then, it’s on to the next adventure in India.

Final Thoughts

Uganda is a developing country much like others in Africa. The chief industry here appears to be farming. We’ve seen many more banana plantations than anywhere else. Coffee and tea are grown in quantity at higher elevations. There are also lots of herds of long horn cattle. As we’ve traveled here, we’ve seen many nongovernmental microbusiness development foundation offices. They give small loans to individuals so they can buy a cow or some chickens or seed to plant crops. We know that giving money doesn’t usually work out well. But, aid which helps people establish in some small measure a business interest of their own should do more good, since it helps them not only feed their family but gives them some pride and self assurance in their ability to succeed in work and life. There are also numerous organizations throughout the country making an effort to provide clean water for drinking. We’ve seen many schools, public and private, and many health clinics. The people here have been warm and friendly and helpful. Our guide has been superb. We found out that he was a soccer star on Uganda’s national team. The last group he guided was a BBC film crew. The safari camps were basic and not as luxurious as in Botswana. But, they seem to be good enough to satisfy most of the tourists who come here.

Chimps at Ngamba Island - Children on a Banana Plantation

Gorilla Trek - Hippo

Malachite Kingfisher - Yellow Billed Stork

Wild Chimpanzee - Taking Bananas To Market

Tree Climbing Lions

E-MAIL: dcapouya@comcast.net
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Madagascar

8-18 August

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The Land

Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world. Over many years, the beautiful, primary forests of the country containing rich, endemic plant and animal life, has been decimated. The trees are harvested for fuel and building materials. Then, the cleared slopes of the hills and mountains are cultivated for farming to feed a growing population, which now has reached about 20 million.

There is now a semblance of realization regarding how much has been lost, and some effort is being made to preserve some of the forests that are left, through a National Park system. This may be due in part to the fact that tourist money is coming in from those interested in seeing the beauty that is left.

The People

Around the capital of Antananarivo, most of the population appears to be of Malaysian descent (confirmed by our driver). In the south, there are mainly African inhabitants. And, the north of Madagascar finds many of Chinese heritage.

The people, for the most part, are extremely poor by western standards. They get around by walking, many barefooted, others wearing only flip flops. It’s almost painful to watch people walking or running on rock strewn paths with no shoes. Most work at very hard labor, chopping down forest trees and burning them in pits to make charcoal, which is used for fuel. Smoky fires and charcoal for sale are the norm. Our driver even asked us if we used charcoal in the states as they do here. What a great divide!

We haven’t really noticed people going hungry. There would appear to be sufficient crops to feed the populace. There are rice patties everywhere; rice is a staple here. The markets contain lots of fruits and vegetables, dried beans and grains. There are lots of cows, chickens and ducks around for dairy, eggs and meat.

Antananarivo Arrival – 8 August

We departed the Cape Town airport at 6:00AM to make a connection through Johannesburg to Antananarivo. All went well, except for a fracas at Jo’burg airport security. A young Chinese diplomat carrying a diplomatic pouch refused to let the pouch go through the scanner. Suddenly, shouting ensued, then pushing and shoving between the diplomat (oxymoron, don’t you think) and the security folks. In the meantime, the people right behind us (we would have been next in line to the scanner) started yelling to let others go ahead while the fighting continued. In the end, the pouch went through the scanner, and the young diplomat earned herself a pat down.

We arrived in Tana (nickname for Antananarivo) picked up our luggage, and quickly located our driver. We had to exchange money (dollars for ariary) before leaving the airport, because out in the countryside where we were going, no credit cards are accepted, and only local currency can be used. At 2000 ariary to the dollar, we thought we might need a wheelbarrow to carry the money out. Actually, most all of our trip had been previously paid, but we needed money for park guides, incidentals and tips.

We were pleased to discover that we had a Toyota Land Cruiser in the parking lot for our adventure, and the driver turned out to be a very pleasant individual and a safe driver. We started driving, going first through the capital. All of our senses were quickly overwhelmed with the scenes before us, so much so that we were at a loss to even pick up the camera and take photos. People and more people: cramming 30 to a taxi van meant to hold 15 ( there are no public buses or trains), lining the sides of the road at little shops and kiosks, washing babies in plastic tubs in a canal that looked like a sewer, and massive amounts of laundry hanging everywhere that fabric items could be hung or draped. It turned out to be like this everywhere in the country. Do things not dry here? Or are they just airing out? I haven’t figured out the laundry yet, but I’ll let you know if I do!

For about an hour we snaked our way through the city before finally arriving in the countryside. We passed through small villages and climbed mountain roads, usually behind large trucks belching black smoke. We passed through one small town with hundreds of rickshaws taking people for rides, and there were Chinese restaurants and a large pagoda. Did time suddenly fast forward? Are we already in China? Well, no, but, we weren’t at the lodge yet, either. So, we kept on going, and after about 4 hours from the start of the journey, we turned off the main road to the lodge road. But, we still kept going and going. We saw lights a few times and thought we were there, but we weren’t. We still kept driving.

Tired and hungry, we finally arrived at the lodge about 7:30PM. The lodge’s dining room was warm and inviting with a large fire in the center of the room’s fireplace. Dinner and a hot shower never felt so good! Next morning, we actually saw the lodge in daylight. In a very pretty, serene setting, the rooms were individual bungalows with 2 bedrooms and a bath. There was even a hairdryer in the bathroom, which I found unusual for a remote lodge. We had breakfast and then set out for our first adventure.

Montadia National Park- 9 August

We went to the park office to pick up our guide, then drove to the trails, which were about 18 kilometers away (11 miles or so), or about an hour by bumpy dirt roads. When we arrived at the trail and started walking, we were struck by the primeval scene resembling a setting from Jurassic Park. We could hear the plaintive wails of the Indri Indri lemur. Giant 400 year old trees and huge tree ferns merged with vines that Tarzan could have used, and epiphytes were growing in all available spaces. We almost expected a dinosaur to appear!

We hiked for about 2 hours when our guide left us to scout an area. He was gone for about 15 minutes, and we were starting to think he had left us in this awesome forest. At this juncture, we heard an unearthly screeching and thought something was coming to get us. It was the call of the black and white ruffed lemur. Our guide appeared momentarily and led us to the lemurs in the treetops. They were really beautiful. We observed them and photographed them for several minutes. We actually got a triple feature as just nearby the diademed sifaka appeared. This lemur has long silky hair in shades of white, orangey beige, gray and black—gorgeous! As we watched and photographed them, the bamboo lemur appeared. This little guy is small and brown with soulful eyes. It was a banner morning!

NOTE: Lemurs are the main reason tourists come to Madagascar. They are a member of the primate family. When Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa, these primates evolved very differently from the other members of the ape family in Africa. They are found in Madagascar and nowhere else. Some zoos have a few of them, but most of them don’t do well in captivity. They live in trees and eat leaves and fruits as monkeys and chimps do.

In the afternoon, we visited Lemur Island, a lodge attraction for its guests. The island is home to 3 lemur species, which coincidentally were the same that we saw in the morning. After dark, we took a hike above the lodge into its forest to look for night creatures. Dave caught a glimpse of a mouse lemur, but it was gone in a second. The mouse lemur is the smallest species and a nocturnal lemur. We also saw chameleons, geckos and moths. It’s amazing how the guides with just a flashlight can see so many things!

Analamazaotra National Park – 10 August

This morning’s quest was to see the Indri Indri, largest of the lemur species. It is found only in this area of Madagascar, nowhere else. As one enters this park, the wail of the Indri fills the air. It’s a haunting, eerie call that fills the air and travels for 2 or 3 kilometers (about a mile and a half). No other animal makes a sound like this. Dave likens it to the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn) on the Jewish high holidays. So, again we walked and climbed, traveling through dense thickets of vegetation, stumbling over tree roots, and sliding down slippery slopes of wet leaves and mud until we found them. They are black and white with rounded, furry ears, looking like pretty stuffed animals with glossy eyes and button noses. But, they’re real! During our hike, we encountered 4 separate family groups, as well as brown lemurs and a wooly lemur (nocturnal), sleeping in a tree.

Andasibe

After the hike, we had lunch at a local hotel and then drove through the village of Andasibe to see the local people and take some photos of their homes and lifestyle. Their houses are made of wood, and their lives are very simple. The children were on the streets, not in school. We took some photos of the children, and they had fun posing and looking at the photos on the camera.

Tomorrow, we’re off again…Two days of traveling to get to lodge #2. I’m not sure how far it is, but not as far as you’d think. It’s the roads and traffic that make it seem far.

The Road, Again… -11 August

Today’s drive is to take us to the town of Antsirabe (don’t ask why all these towns start with An or Am; I don’t know). This town is halfway to the next lodge and about 7 hours by road. Mountain roads, villages, people on foot, bicycles, Zebu (type of cattle) drawn wagons, and manpowered rickshaws (all the larger towns have them) make for a very challenging drive. Houses change from the wood style to adobe and then, finally, to brick. The house style depends on availability of building materials.

When digging out dirt to make a rice paddy, which is a sunken rectangular field, the surplus dirt (rich in clay) is mixed with water and put into molds. It is then dried. When the product comes out of the mold, it is then baked in makeshift ovens on the spot. The result is bricks, which are then sold and made into houses. Next, the plot of land so treated is ready to be flooded and planted with rice. There are endless farm lands planted with rice and vegetables, stretching all the way from the road to the mountains. The farm fields even go up onto the slopes of the mountains in terraces which are reminiscent of the ones the ancient Incas made in Peru. And all of the cultivation, all of the work from start to finish, is done by human labor. There are no tractors or other modern farm conveyances, only humans with spades. Upon harvesting the crops, they are carried on the heads of the women out of the fields in baskets. So that the crops can be irrigated, trenches are dug at regular intervals that fill with water from local rivers or runoff from the mountains. In this muddy water, the women wash the family clothes and bathe the children.

We arrived in Antsirabe in the afternoon and checked into our accommodation, Couleur Café, which means ‘coffee color’. We never did find why it had this name. There was nothing there that was coffee color, except the coffee we drank at breakfast. It’s a charming, small hotel and the rooms are actually individual bungalows set around a pretty, green courtyard. Between the bedroom and sitting room is a large, wood burning fireplace. An employee came and lit the fire for us after dinner to take the chill out of the air, which made for a very warm, cozy room.

NOTE: It’s technically winter here in Madagascar, but it’s a tropical country, so the term ‘winter’ is relative. Days have been sunny and pleasant, nights a bit cool.

After we checked into the room, we toured around this city of 2 million inhabitants. It was an important city when the country was a French colony. It boasts some fine French colonial architecture and a large colonial style hotel that Charles De Gaulle once visited. The architecture is all still here but has seen better days. In the center of town were the usual hordes of people, shops, rickshaws and markets. We visited the food market, which not only was a visual experience, but an olfactory one as well. There was one basket of something like tiny crayfish, or maybe even krill (teeny shrimp like creatures), that were covered with flies. I thought immediately of the old Chinese restaurant item, ‘flied lice’. I now know what flied lice really is!

The next morning, 12 August, we were on the road again. It was another long day in the car driving through much of the same terrain. We arrived in Ranomofana at the lodge late in the afternoon. As we were going to our room, 2 gardeners pruning a shrub found an amazing chameleon about 8 inches long, not including his tail, in the bush. They took it out for us to take photos. It was the type we’ve seen on nature documentaries and hoped to see here with bright green coloring and eyes that rotate 360 degrees in their sockets. About that time, a British couple came along and mentioned that they’d also seen them in the forest, too, so it sounds like a promising start. I had to ask them if they’d encountered any leeches, which are also supposed to live here and jump on your clothing and suck your blood while you’re hiking. They had and had a bite to prove it. The next eerie, haunting call in the forest will not be a lemur, but Renee finding a leech on her leg!!

Lost in Translation

It would be very helpful if we were fluent in French, which we aren’t. French is the second language here, spoken by most. Until meeting the British couple here, no other tourists have spoken English. All the others are French, Italian, German, Dutch and Spanish. Our driver speaks English, sort of… We try hard to understand him, and he tries to understand us. Our National Park guide tried to speak English, but Malagasy kept creeping into the conversation. We had a guide at our last lodge who attempted English, but every time we asked a question, he answered with a number. “What kind of tree is that?” Answer: “10”. “When do the young crocodiles join the adult ones?” Answer: “27”. OK! Last night we were asked if we wanted a cocktail before dinner. I replied, “Do you have rum?” Answer, “no alcohol.” OK, I give up!

Food

It’s just not a great idea to gripe about the food here when portions are large, we’re given the best of what’s available, and most of the population subsists on the minimum sustainable. BUT…Spoiled as we are, it is difficult to eat much of the food. Since Madagascar was a French colony, you’d think the French would have given these folks some cooking lessons. Didn’t happen! Attempts at French cuisine miss the mark in a big way, and Malagasy dishes are just plain scary. Dave ordered a Malagasy dish for lunch a few days ago. It turned out to be beef (or zebu, the ox-like/buffalo-like animal that’s plentiful here). The meat had been boiled for hours, shredded into thin strands the width of a hair, then deep fried and served with rice. On the side was a bowl of something like soup?

The worst of the worst is the meat. Chicken is scrawny, tough, stringy and bony. And it’s cut into unrecognizable shapes. Likewise, duck, which we had for dinner last night--I got a scrawny drumstick portion with something else looking like the beak, maybe. The man next to me got the same kind of drumstick with the addition of a neck. I guess nothing is wasted. I ordered beef one night and got something almost black in color, tough, stringy and totally unappealing. I believe the cows are only slaughtered when their years as beast of burden are finished. I normally order fish in most restaurants but can only guess which sewer they might be coming out of here. So, Renee has become a vegetarian of convenience way earlier in the trip than originally planned.

Actually, we’d been hoping to see some of the really fresh looking vegetables being sold along the side of the road show up on some of the menus. That actually happened today at lunch when I ordered a vegetarian pasta dish. Really nice stir fried fresh veggies showed up in a light curry sauce on top of ramen noodles. Best dish yet.

Ranomafana National Park, 13-14 August

Our first morning foray into the national park was a 4 hour intensive cardio workout. There are no level trails here. We walked up steps and steep slopes for most of the morning. Fortunately, it was worth it. We spent time with greater bamboo lemurs, watching them as they stripped the tough outer shell from the bamboo and ate the soft, fibrous center. As we watched them, they watched us. We were told that the 2 lemurs we were watching were the only ones of this rare species in the part of the forest where there are trails. Quite lucky for us! In order to breed these lemurs, they will have to bring in some others from more remote areas of the park. We were also fortunate to observe a family of Milne Edwards Sifakas. The parents and a baby sat on a limb playing and grooming while we watched and photographed them. We also saw some red fronted lemurs and caught a quick glance of a golden bamboo lemur.

At sunset, we drove to a roadside area for a night walk. Soon, van after van and small tourist buses arrived and dropped off more and more tourists, all in a very small area. There must have been about 200 people congregating in the same spot. At exactly 5:50PM, a mouse lemur (tiniest of all lemurs and nocturnal), made an appearance on a tree branch for all to see and photograph. We found out later that someone comes around and puts banana on the tree, so the lemur comes every night to this spot to eat as hundreds of flash cameras are going off. Every night, he comes at the same time, just as it starts to get dark. After this spectacle, we walked along the road, finding tiny tree frogs, chameleons and geckos.

The next morning we hiked a different area to see birds, frogs and whatever else presented itself. We did see and hear several different bird species, but the dense vegetation made it difficult to get any good photos. Some red bellied lemurs did make a surprise appearance close to us; they appeared to be curious about what we were doing, since this part of the park doesn’t get as many visitors. As we were preparing to leave, we mentioned to the guide that we really wanted to see the very large Parson’s Chameleon. He told us they didn’t live in this forest, because the altitude is too high for them. However, he did know where some were—on a plantation about 12 miles from there. So, off we went to the plantation to gaze upon these unique, fantastic creatures. They’re so colorful and huge. We had seen several chameleon species, but nothing like this. The male was about 2 feet long; the female about 15 inches or so. We encountered no blood sucking leeches on our walks, and no rain in the rainforest. The weather has been great! Tomorrow, we’re off for another 7 hour drive and our last lodge.

Isalo National Park 15-17 August

The drive from Ranomafana to Isalo was more of the same scenery until we reached a high plateau. Except for zebu grazing on dried grass, the area was arid and desolate. We could see the Isalo Massif in the distance—a line of sandstone mountains that stretched for hundreds of kilometers. As we neared the lodge, we came closer to these eroded, rocky outcroppings, and as the sun set, its rays warmed the rocks with a golden glow. The lodge itself is built with local stone, in harmony with its surroundings. Careful planning and execution went into the placement and construction of this hotel. It’s truly beautiful.

Boot Camp, Again

We set off early the next morning to explore the area. We drove to a parking lot to start the trail hike to a natural swimming pool. After 2 hours of climbing, descending, and some level ground, we reached this pool. Instead of the desert-like environment surrounding it, the pool was enveloped by lush, tropical palms. A large group of British women in their 20’s appeared, and announced, “strip and go.” They all stripped to their tiny bikinis and plunged into the cool, refreshing spring water. They posed for photos, and there, behind them, was an elderly white haired gentleman, with hands outstretched, as if embracing the group. He was living his wildest fantasy!

After leaving the pool grotto, we headed for the campground where we would rest and have a snack. After an hour of walking gradually uphill on hot rocks in the hot sun, we discovered that it would take another full hour to reach the campground. So, up and down we went, and then we started our real descent to the campground. Very steep rock steps covered with slippery sand greeted us as we went down. There must have been 1,000 steps. It was probably the most exhausting hike we’ve ever done. We had to be thankful that neither of us has any knee issues. The terrain here is extreme in its ruggedness. When we reached the campground, we rested and had a snack. A curious red fronted lemur decided to join us and sat on the picnic table bench, waiting for a handout. We don’t feed wild animals, because it makes them dependent on humans and because they can become aggressive. So, we resisted the temptation to give him some of our bananas.

After our rest, we were supposed to go on for about another 3 hours, but we called it quits for the day. We both had enough! So back to the hotel for a shower and rest. When we arrived, we noticed all around the entrance to our room were large boxes of photo equipment, even more than we’re carrying around with us! Dave went out on the patio and sat down, when there was a huge commotion in the room next to us. Girls were running out of the room with only towels on; men dressed as gendarmerie were running around holding their crotches; a film was in progress. The director motioned to Dave to be quiet. Us, be quiet? We weren’t the ones making the noise! Well, I guess it’s not every day that a porn film is being made in the hotel room next to yours while you sit on the patio! Luckily, after the scene was shot, they all left.

As we prepare to leave Madagascar, there are some closing thoughts. The problems here are common to most areas where there are treasures of nature. Overpopulation*, resulting in habitat loss, is pushing the lemurs and other endemic species to the brink of extinction. They live on small islands of protected forest surrounded by farms, villages and people. There will soon be, if not already, a tipping point where the decline of these beautiful animals and unique plants will be irreversible.

*We did see some family planning clinics in the larger towns. In the cities, most couples are limiting their families to 3 children, but in the country, sometimes there are still 10 or more children in families.

Malagasy Family (left & top) and Natural Swimming Pool at Isalo

Black and White Ruffed Lemur and Greater Bamboo Lemur

Ring-Tailed Lemur and Giraffe Necked Weevil

Belted Chameleon and Parson's Chameleon

E-MAIL: dcapouya@comcast.net
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South Africa

1-7 August

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We’ve been wined, dined and entertained in royal fashion here in South Africa. David’s cousins in Cape Town, Joe and Karen, are always ready to show us around the city or the country, whenever we come for a visit.

Since we’d already seen most of the tourist attractions in Cape Town, we branched out into the countryside this time. On a day trip up the west coast, we visited a beautiful little coastal town called Langebaan. Our hostess for the day was Shirley Albert, cousin Joe’s brother in law’s sister. She lives in this picturesque town with its aquamarine lagoon and endless beach. Surrounding Langebaan are wetlands and rivers with lots of water birds, including flamingoes in a salt pan nearby.

We took another longer venture into the countryside of South Africa, traveling along the garden route. We made a stop in the small, pretty town of Oudtshoorn, known for its ostrich farms. There are about 1100 ostrich farms In South Africa. The birds provide meat which is low in cholesterol and high in protein and other nutritive values. The skins are tanned and made into leather goods. The infertile eggs are cleaned of their contents and made into delicately painted souvenirs. And, the feathers are used for dusters and other household items. In the same area are the Cango Caves. They are caves with huge “rooms”, containing stalactites and stalagmites. The dripping water containing limestone transforms the caves into fanciful and dreamlike scenes.

Our destination on this trip was Knysna, pronounced with a silent ‘k’. This town is on the Indian Ocean coastline and is very popular with vacationers from Johannesburg, England and other European countries. Some residents live there year round, as did our hosts, Elaine (Karen’s sister) and Ian, a delightful and fun couple. They have a lovely home with wonderful water views, and their community, we were surprised to find out, is modeled on the concept of Seaside, Florida, a planned community in Northern Florida. The aura of peace and quiet and warm hospitality enveloped us for a couple of relaxing days. And their pets, Odie and Ziggy kept us laughing and entertained with their antics. Odie is a 9 month old Borzoi (Russian Wolf hound) who is already about 4 feet tall when standing on all 4 legs. He doesn’t realize how big he is and loves to cuddle while sitting on your lap.

The Indian Ocean coastline of South Africa is truly breath taking with wide expanses of beaches meeting huge half moon shaped bays. On the way back to Cape Town, we took a different route, passing by emerald green fields. Patch-worked in between were sunny, brilliant yellow fields of canola seed flowers. The wildflowers were just beginning to bloom along our routes with patches of pink, purple and yellow, holding forth the promise of more spectacular shows of color to come in the next few weeks.

As we prepare to leave Cape Town, our thoughts turn to how we can possibly top this experience for Karen and Joe when they come to the states. Tomorrow we leave for Madagascar and lemur encounters in the national parks. Renee was able to get her hair done today, so she can face the next month free of gray roots!

Blooming Cacti & Golden Weaver

Cacti & Wild Protea

Coastal Scene at Knysna & Small Boat at Langebaan

Egyptian Goose & Ostrich Face on Farm

E-MAIL: dcapouya@comcast.net