I should have started this blog many months ago. I'm not the biggest fan of technology so have neglected to spend much time figuring out how to blog, but beter late than never.
I'll start from the beginning. I came to Africa with no real set plans. One day I decided I wanted to leave Vancouver and within a couple weeks I left the insecurity of my false security in that city.Off to do some walking around and talking around amoungst the people of Africa. I am fortunate enough to have cousins in Mozambique here with the mission of serving the people by assisting in there spiritual,medical and educational needs in the bush of Mozambique so this was my first stop.
I arrived in Johannesburg after numerous layovers and delays on random tarmaks in South Africa. The air was sweet and warm as I deboarded the plane or mabye it was just the nervous excitment and anticipation of the adventure to come or the smell of coffee.After being told we couldnt collect our luggage for hours being it was so late the airport was shut. I decided to wander about. Without signs and conventional warnings of leaving a traditional customs exit, I accidently walked right out and through customs with no warning of my exit and without my luggage. Collecting my items proved to be arduous excercise of humouring and befreinding customs officers and police on the side of freedom which resulted in them escorting me back into the secure side through customs for me to collect my baggage.Telling me how fortunate I was for them to help me but still being to nieve to realize they were looking for a nice tip, and I didnt clue into untill mabye a month later.
Next stop was Beira, Mozambique where my cousin inlaw would be picking me up to bring me back into the Mozambique bush close to Zimbabwe where they work out of.Once we greeted and hugged I was up in the air once again in my 6th airplane since leaving Vancouver but I was quite at ease as I sat with my cousin and he pointed out why it seemed cloudy in the region all the time and that being because of the constant bushfires that are a constant in Mozambique.
We landed,exchanged greetings with my cousin Lynne (Dwights wife) and being in the enviroment of family on the otherside of the earth in a 3rd world country labelled as one of the poorest in the world is an extremly peaceful feeling. It felt like home away from home at once.
Time progressed and I helped out where I could for a couple of months absorbing the sights and sounds of the enviroment. Making freinds with the locals. Watching women carry water buckets the size of small cars on the heads.Gawking at the goats tied to the roofs of cars and chickens to handlebars of bikes. Hearing stories from locals of giant chickens in the sky that cause thunder and lighting and of a man who was dragged to the bottom of the river by a crock only to reemerge years later to rejoin his family. Hearing the rythmic beats of a witch doctors drum in the distance at night only to be shocked back to reality as I hear a Jumbojet in the heavens above cut through the night sky, this really impacted me, being in the heart of the bush where theres so much poverty and zero technology almost, people grind away for hours a day to fetch water or pound corn into maize only to look in the sky and see one of the pinnacles of human achievment fly over in complete ignorance as to whats going on below.The beutey in the people is what amazes me though because no matter how poor they are they are always so eager to show hospitality to you. There intellect and values are from another time and place which took myself time to appreciate being I looked at them at first as though they were a simple people,but after putting thought to the daily accomplishments I came to realize there intellect is reflected through there knowledge of the envirment in which they live. Everyday simple tasks which to survive, put before these before me and I'd fail completely in carrying these daily rituals out,.
Anyways enough rambling.BAck to some more stories. The simpliest of things here can turn into something of complete seriosness and I'll take an entry from from journal as an example.
"We had an inncident this evening. The guard caught some thieves stealing cabbages, 18 (cabbage!?? yes Cabbage!).Later on in the evening one of the theives went to the home of the guard and held his wife captive under threats of violence as retribution for making his identity known. Thats where we came in. He asked for help in resolving the matter and off we went to his simple mud hut in a village set umounst mud huts. We crept in stealth as to not alert the thief of our arrival. All my senses were active and I was in a mode of fight or flight yet basking in the feeling of the unpredictablity of the situation. Put me in a situation of happy songs and sing alongs and I feel awkward but put me in a situation of potential chaos and I feel at peace and focused for some reason. We desended into a blanket of darkness beneath an impossing tree and couldn't help noticing how intimidating its limbs were in the little clearing we were situated in and wondering "why am I noticing all these little things.. Is that a spider!!??". An arguement ensued and an old assault rifle was present which neithier my cousin nor I were in possesion of and this made me feel somewhat anxius. I mean I would feel more comfortable with it in my hands than others, or mabye not... mabye its just I dont like the feeling of depending on others skills with things such as a gun in situations such as this, mabye no gun would be better. I dunno this is africa, dont they have guns here like we have blackberrys?. It was a strange surreal experience and the odor of humans penetrated the night air sharply, sweat and breath mixed in one. I'm not very good with tolerating body odour, Bhaaa.!!!. Anyways Dwight was able to difuse the situation and all went home safe and sound."
Anyways. Everyday isnt a day of chaos like this and I've had some of the most memorable experiences of my life. Going down to South Africa, visiting Kruger Reserve and seeing all big 5 animals. TAking off on my own into a completely differant jungle known as Johannesburg which I found not at all a destination that was fun and lighthearted. It always was an eyes on the back of your head event, especially driving and driving at night which I ended up doing daily.Car jackings are a common events, as are murders and other violent events. People dont stop at red lights at night because of the risk factor and caused a lot of wonder and dismay for me as I sat there patiently waiting for the lights to turn green untill I noticed a group of men creeping up on me one night. I scooted pretty quik after that and now I drive faster and better through a redlight than any local Joburg'r. I had someone attempt to rob me during the day, or shall I say forced tipping to a random man but myself and the french couple I was travelling with were able to leave safely and without tipping.I met freinds in a random store in which we had no intentions of meeting with eachother. Them from Turkey and I from Canada. I'll pull another page out from my journal of the day.
" Lastnite proved to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I have some freinds on facebook who were coming to Mozambique and were asking quetions and travel advice which I did my best to accomadate. I didnt know there exact travel iternerary, so upon walking into a store and seeing the 4 of them standing there behind the till caused me to take a double take and asked timidly who they were being I knew I recognized her yet could not process in my mind this was actually possibly, because c'mon what are the odds in a city of 7 million (I think) to have a random encounter such as this.We were all taken aback the hand of God or destiny dealt us so it was clear to everyone a celebration was in order.We went and had dinner over laughs in the trendy arts district of Melville and strolled the street full of people and university students. We parted our ways and there 6 hours or so in Joburg had drawn to a close. I started my drive home and got stopped by police. They didnt like I had no seatbelt on. The cop decided to be quite intimidating holding my license for what was an eternity in my mind of thoughts racing of African prison cells. He asked if I had the money to pay for the fine and I responded with "I dont keep that sorta money on me sir" He stood longer pondering my license with periodic "Hmmffss" expressing his arrogance and authority through his hostile demeenor, Then suddenly in is thick African accent which I stressed to understand he said "I GIVE YOU WARNING NOW" to which I responded " thank-you thank-you sir" I put the car in gear and he raised his hand quikly. "WHY ONLY THANK-YOU SIR YOU GIVE ME!!" in his thick accent.Now I had clue of his motives, he went on "THIS MAN IS THIRSTY ON HOT NIGHT LIKE THIS, HOW BOUT U BUY ME DRINK". Me "UMMM O..k.." I pulled 10 rand from my wallet cause "I think this is how it works", yet I was careful not to expose the cash I had.He saw the 10 Rand and said "THIS MAN HUNGRY TOO" I pulled another 10 rand and shoved it into his hand and his response was one of false shock and responded with "HEY!!!! I COULD HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR THIS!!!!!.... NOW GO!!!!" EISHHH theres no winning I thought. I put the car in gear and didnt look back, sped to the hostel I was staying at to drift off to sleep then awakened by 3 Germans at 3 am screaming and playing the guitar to a Violent Femmes song only to have there noise drowned out by a French man SCREAMING "SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP YOU STUPID GERMANS!!! and throwing rocks at them through there open window. Finally all fell silent and I fell into a deep sleep with dreams of Dolly Pardon and Kenny Rogers singing duets. This morning, woke up, laughed at my hair yet made no adjustment cause it looks as funny and ridiculus as my mustuch went back down to Melville to comb my hair with a few espresso's and watch people watch the Uni students in a buzz as the chased away lastnights punishment with some hair of the dog.BHAA. I dont wanna write more today, im done."
I'll start from the beginning. I came to Africa with no real set plans. One day I decided I wanted to leave Vancouver and within a couple weeks I left the insecurity of my false security in that city.Off to do some walking around and talking around amoungst the people of Africa. I am fortunate enough to have cousins in Mozambique here with the mission of serving the people by assisting in there spiritual,medical and educational needs in the bush of Mozambique so this was my first stop.
I arrived in Johannesburg after numerous layovers and delays on random tarmaks in South Africa. The air was sweet and warm as I deboarded the plane or mabye it was just the nervous excitment and anticipation of the adventure to come or the smell of coffee.After being told we couldnt collect our luggage for hours being it was so late the airport was shut. I decided to wander about. Without signs and conventional warnings of leaving a traditional customs exit, I accidently walked right out and through customs with no warning of my exit and without my luggage. Collecting my items proved to be arduous excercise of humouring and befreinding customs officers and police on the side of freedom which resulted in them escorting me back into the secure side through customs for me to collect my baggage.Telling me how fortunate I was for them to help me but still being to nieve to realize they were looking for a nice tip, and I didnt clue into untill mabye a month later.
Next stop was Beira, Mozambique where my cousin inlaw would be picking me up to bring me back into the Mozambique bush close to Zimbabwe where they work out of.Once we greeted and hugged I was up in the air once again in my 6th airplane since leaving Vancouver but I was quite at ease as I sat with my cousin and he pointed out why it seemed cloudy in the region all the time and that being because of the constant bushfires that are a constant in Mozambique.
We landed,exchanged greetings with my cousin Lynne (Dwights wife) and being in the enviroment of family on the otherside of the earth in a 3rd world country labelled as one of the poorest in the world is an extremly peaceful feeling. It felt like home away from home at once.
Time progressed and I helped out where I could for a couple of months absorbing the sights and sounds of the enviroment. Making freinds with the locals. Watching women carry water buckets the size of small cars on the heads.Gawking at the goats tied to the roofs of cars and chickens to handlebars of bikes. Hearing stories from locals of giant chickens in the sky that cause thunder and lighting and of a man who was dragged to the bottom of the river by a crock only to reemerge years later to rejoin his family. Hearing the rythmic beats of a witch doctors drum in the distance at night only to be shocked back to reality as I hear a Jumbojet in the heavens above cut through the night sky, this really impacted me, being in the heart of the bush where theres so much poverty and zero technology almost, people grind away for hours a day to fetch water or pound corn into maize only to look in the sky and see one of the pinnacles of human achievment fly over in complete ignorance as to whats going on below.The beutey in the people is what amazes me though because no matter how poor they are they are always so eager to show hospitality to you. There intellect and values are from another time and place which took myself time to appreciate being I looked at them at first as though they were a simple people,but after putting thought to the daily accomplishments I came to realize there intellect is reflected through there knowledge of the envirment in which they live. Everyday simple tasks which to survive, put before these before me and I'd fail completely in carrying these daily rituals out,.
Anyways enough rambling.BAck to some more stories. The simpliest of things here can turn into something of complete seriosness and I'll take an entry from from journal as an example.
"We had an inncident this evening. The guard caught some thieves stealing cabbages, 18 (cabbage!?? yes Cabbage!).Later on in the evening one of the theives went to the home of the guard and held his wife captive under threats of violence as retribution for making his identity known. Thats where we came in. He asked for help in resolving the matter and off we went to his simple mud hut in a village set umounst mud huts. We crept in stealth as to not alert the thief of our arrival. All my senses were active and I was in a mode of fight or flight yet basking in the feeling of the unpredictablity of the situation. Put me in a situation of happy songs and sing alongs and I feel awkward but put me in a situation of potential chaos and I feel at peace and focused for some reason. We desended into a blanket of darkness beneath an impossing tree and couldn't help noticing how intimidating its limbs were in the little clearing we were situated in and wondering "why am I noticing all these little things.. Is that a spider!!??". An arguement ensued and an old assault rifle was present which neithier my cousin nor I were in possesion of and this made me feel somewhat anxius. I mean I would feel more comfortable with it in my hands than others, or mabye not... mabye its just I dont like the feeling of depending on others skills with things such as a gun in situations such as this, mabye no gun would be better. I dunno this is africa, dont they have guns here like we have blackberrys?. It was a strange surreal experience and the odor of humans penetrated the night air sharply, sweat and breath mixed in one. I'm not very good with tolerating body odour, Bhaaa.!!!. Anyways Dwight was able to difuse the situation and all went home safe and sound."
Anyways. Everyday isnt a day of chaos like this and I've had some of the most memorable experiences of my life. Going down to South Africa, visiting Kruger Reserve and seeing all big 5 animals. TAking off on my own into a completely differant jungle known as Johannesburg which I found not at all a destination that was fun and lighthearted. It always was an eyes on the back of your head event, especially driving and driving at night which I ended up doing daily.Car jackings are a common events, as are murders and other violent events. People dont stop at red lights at night because of the risk factor and caused a lot of wonder and dismay for me as I sat there patiently waiting for the lights to turn green untill I noticed a group of men creeping up on me one night. I scooted pretty quik after that and now I drive faster and better through a redlight than any local Joburg'r. I had someone attempt to rob me during the day, or shall I say forced tipping to a random man but myself and the french couple I was travelling with were able to leave safely and without tipping.I met freinds in a random store in which we had no intentions of meeting with eachother. Them from Turkey and I from Canada. I'll pull another page out from my journal of the day.
" Lastnite proved to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I have some freinds on facebook who were coming to Mozambique and were asking quetions and travel advice which I did my best to accomadate. I didnt know there exact travel iternerary, so upon walking into a store and seeing the 4 of them standing there behind the till caused me to take a double take and asked timidly who they were being I knew I recognized her yet could not process in my mind this was actually possibly, because c'mon what are the odds in a city of 7 million (I think) to have a random encounter such as this.We were all taken aback the hand of God or destiny dealt us so it was clear to everyone a celebration was in order.We went and had dinner over laughs in the trendy arts district of Melville and strolled the street full of people and university students. We parted our ways and there 6 hours or so in Joburg had drawn to a close. I started my drive home and got stopped by police. They didnt like I had no seatbelt on. The cop decided to be quite intimidating holding my license for what was an eternity in my mind of thoughts racing of African prison cells. He asked if I had the money to pay for the fine and I responded with "I dont keep that sorta money on me sir" He stood longer pondering my license with periodic "Hmmffss" expressing his arrogance and authority through his hostile demeenor, Then suddenly in is thick African accent which I stressed to understand he said "I GIVE YOU WARNING NOW" to which I responded " thank-you thank-you sir" I put the car in gear and he raised his hand quikly. "WHY ONLY THANK-YOU SIR YOU GIVE ME!!" in his thick accent.Now I had clue of his motives, he went on "THIS MAN IS THIRSTY ON HOT NIGHT LIKE THIS, HOW BOUT U BUY ME DRINK". Me "UMMM O..k.." I pulled 10 rand from my wallet cause "I think this is how it works", yet I was careful not to expose the cash I had.He saw the 10 Rand and said "THIS MAN HUNGRY TOO" I pulled another 10 rand and shoved it into his hand and his response was one of false shock and responded with "HEY!!!! I COULD HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR THIS!!!!!.... NOW GO!!!!" EISHHH theres no winning I thought. I put the car in gear and didnt look back, sped to the hostel I was staying at to drift off to sleep then awakened by 3 Germans at 3 am screaming and playing the guitar to a Violent Femmes song only to have there noise drowned out by a French man SCREAMING "SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP YOU STUPID GERMANS!!! and throwing rocks at them through there open window. Finally all fell silent and I fell into a deep sleep with dreams of Dolly Pardon and Kenny Rogers singing duets. This morning, woke up, laughed at my hair yet made no adjustment cause it looks as funny and ridiculus as my mustuch went back down to Melville to comb my hair with a few espresso's and watch people watch the Uni students in a buzz as the chased away lastnights punishment with some hair of the dog.BHAA. I dont wanna write more today, im done."
So in anutshell that was my time in Johannesburg. SOmewhere in there I got the idea to ride a motorbike across Africa so I went and bought one. Drove it through the border into Mozambique. Broke down, ran outta gas,got lost,got scared,broke my clutch cable, battery died, got the bike stripped by thieves, hobbled to my cousins, refabricated parts you cant buy anywhere and now I'm off tommorow to go make through Africa Northbound except I'm going South bound to do this cause I want to go surfing for a couple weeks in Tofo. So I'll do this first. Anyways I'm tired and frustrated with figuring out how to blog. I will attempt to update every saturday. OK I'm DONE!
3 goats & a chicken on the roof
locals doing laundry
Tofo beach
Excellent.....when on a trip of this nature, the big question always looms, when am I done my soul searching, when will my trip come to an end, when is the right time to go home....in your case I have read the bones and they say, afro and handlebar mustache....do not come home without either!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year in Africa, Markus !
ReplyDeleteWe are glad you decided to start a blog too.
Take car, "kiffe grave mec",
Best wishes from the french couple ;-)
Aurélie et Rémy
PS : Would you mind if we make a bridge over your and our blog ?
PS 2 : Did somebody steal your hair ?