April 3, 2010 - Camping in the Chobe - In Camp

After our game drive we found our campsite and set up our home for the next two nights. Tents, cots with bed rolls, and a toilet tent! Home sweet home! We'd stay in camps for a night or two and then move our home to the next camp site. Each had their own charm.

KB cooked marvelous meals for us every night as well as making yummy breakfasts and lunches. We were never hungry!

A bug decided he liked Mary!

John gave Mary camera lessons around camp as we waited for the vehicle issues to resolve. The shot dung and dragonflies.

Enjoy!
John & Cheri

April 3, 2010 - Camping in the Chobe - Morning

We awoke the next morning and trundled off to breakfast. Our guides from Audi were due to pick us up at 8.30 so we wanted to be sure we were ready when they arrived.

Well, the guides were as we lumbered in for a sunny breakfast on the banks of the Chobe. In the sunlight all the bugs had retreated!

We met Jessica for the first time and were duly impressed. She was a native of Botswana, who had recently spent a year working for Walt Disney in Orlando.

She gave us the good news and the bad news. The rains have been plentiful this year, in fact they had been at record high levels. The drive from Maun to Chobe had been hair raising with flooding that was so deep it had soaked the trailer. And....the trailer contained all of our bed rolls as well all the other things necessary to camp in the bush for 9 days! The bed rolls were the biggest issue. So - Jessica - taking things into her own hands had found a lodge who could launder the gear. So - we'd start off a bit late, but at least we'd start off!

It turned out the laundry would be finished by early afternoon so we left Jess with the laundry, stopped by Choppies to pick up drinks and snacks and we were on our way! Off we rode on the tar roads, knowing soon we'd be on dust roads in the bush! Happy!!

We turned into the park and the truck we were in, 'The B1tch' started to over heat. Sigh! The crew were worried so they called back to Maun to see if they could bring our favorite truck to us, 'Sally'!

That first game drive....wow! Right out of the gate we saw warthogs, a big herd of buffalo, giraffe, Marabou storks, banded mongoose and we were in Africa!

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

April 2, 2010 - LHR to JNB to Kasane

Well, we struck off for Africa and got into Joburg without issue! Just as we thought we were going to board the flight to Kasane on Air Botswana we were told that it was cancelled. The agent gamely informed us that we were to fly to Gabrone instead. Once in Gabrone he told us we'd take a second flight to Kasane. In typical African style, there was no new boarding card issues, nor was there any real detail given about the second flight. We were told to board this plane and pick any seat we wanted. Once we got to Gabrone someone would tell us what to do. So - off we went, hoping our luggage was following!

So instead of landing at 1.30 we arrived around 3.30. Africa being Africa, the manager at Kubu Lodge knew the flight was late and was there when our Air Botswana flight landed. Knowing tourist, the manager knew all we'd want to do was get onto the Chobe River and start watching animals! So - we went directly from the airport to the boat for our sunset river cruise. As we stripped off our London clothes, the real world began to fade away....the journey was well underway.

There really is something special about cruising down the Chobe in the late afternoon sun. You can almost always be assured of seeing bathing ele's along with territorial hippos. Depending the time of year, any number of bird species will be on the river just waiting for you to take their pictures!

This time we were also treated to kudu eating dirt right at the water's edge. You may be wondering why such a majestic animal would be eating dirt on the banks of the Chobe...well there is magnesium in that there dirt and they know it and need it. So there he was munch, munch, munching away.

This time we are lucky to see a few 4 to 5 year old crocs and monitor lizards. All in all a great welcome into Botswana! And a good shake down cruise for our camera equipment.

By the time we docked the boat on the swollen river bank it was nearly dark. The van picked us up and whisked us away to Kubu Lodge where we got showers. After hours on international flights, domestic flights and the river...oh it felt so good.

The dinner that night may have been the worst dinner Chris had ever been treated to. We were meant to each under the stars a few hundred yards from the Chobe. Sounds romantic! As we sat for dinner, the lights on the table began to attract bugs of all description; who promptly staked their claims on the bread, did the back stroke in the water glasses and doubled as protein in the salad! Poor Chris was turning paler by the minute and wondering if he would survive a week of buggy rations! Luckily dinner was over quickly and off the bed the weary travellers went....

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

April 1, 2010 - Preparing for Botswana

Safari....when you hear that word what do you think of?

Animals, adventures, the bush, heat, bugs, tents....yes, a safari is all that and more! You may not know, but safari actually means journey. Each time you venture into the bush you are journeying to a place where you are confronting yourself, your boundaries, your fears and hopes and in the process you test yourself and learn a tremendous amount about yourself and the world around you. For us, each day in Africa is a gift as is each animal encounter we are treated to. It's best if you have no expectations at all, that way what ever you see will be a treat for you! This time was no different than the 8 previous times in this regard.

One must always remember Africa is Africa. It's a place where anything can happen on any given day....and often does. It's a place like no other.

It is probably obvious by now that we love safari because we love the journey. As we prepared to go back to that primal, soul-nourishing place we packed all the bits and pieces we thought we'd need and headed for Heathrow to begin this new leg of the journey. This time Chris (our 14 year old nephew) and his mother Mary made the trip with us.

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Gib and Andalusia - March 16, 2010

Finally we were on the last day of our 3 day adventure. This day was really windy - 27 mph. It was just what we had been hoping for. The reason we wanted to go bird watching in this area is because it is the closest place to North Africa and hence the raptors migrate by soaring above the Mediterranean each Spring and Autumn. Even though the wind was strong, the raptors didn't make the journey that day.

Instead, we spent the day exploring again. This time we made it Medina-Sidona where there is a cool castle and wonderful food! This time we ate at a little place in the town square. Cheri had a wild boar stew and John had a meat platter. Yummy!!

We turned back to Algecrias and returned the car. We decided to take the ferry over to Gib, but the wind was making the seas/waves too rough, and so we cabbed back. Once in Gib, we found a nice cab driver who took us one last time to visit the macques! What a way to end the trip!

Enjoy!
John & Cheri

Gib and Andalusia - March 15, 2010

We awoke to another fine day and decided to go exploring again. This time we got up past Cadiz. It was very relaxing to poke through the little towns and see the country side. Again the food was outstanding. We stopped in El Puerto Sainta Maria and ate at Romerijo (www.romerijo.com) right on the sea side. The abundance of seafood left us both full and very content! We ate outside with the sun shinning on us.

We passed back through the mountain region and found some red-legged partridges. They sure did run fast!! Very pretty birds. John kept asking, "Can you eat these?". We were looking for raptors, but only saw a hand full of vultures.

We headed back to Gib again at the end of the day for more fun with the tail-less monkeys! Each day they got to know us a bit more. At one point John was leaning on the stone railing, when the alpha-male decided he needed to pass. So the alpha, pushed John's lens out of the way and ran right on past!

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

Gib and Andalusia - March 14, 2010

The next morning we slept until we woke and then grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel. Great coffee!

We struck off to the Hertz office to pick up our 6 speed BMW and roared off into the country side. We elected to explore the coast before heading in-land. North Africa is clearly visible from the coast, even though there was mist in the air above the sea. We were pretty lucky that we had sun all three days. Up until that weekend it had rained since Christmas!

There is lots of renewable energy in this region and we saw windmills all over and solar panels in a few places. Being power engineers...they were beautiful to us!

Towards the end of the day, we made our way to Gib to commune with the Barbary Macques. They are really something; what personalities!! We arrived around 4 so we could get the good light. Fun!!

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

Mary Fuller visits London! March 5-7, 2010

How lucky was I?? My friend Mary Fuller came to visit whilst John was off in Greenville.

On Friday night when she arrived we had dinner with Ellen at the Fishworks. Yummy dover sole!

On Staurday, we had a blast running all over London...into Leicester Square to buy theatre tickets, Into the Strand to see the office, down the Thames to Greenwich, into the Painted Gallery, up to the GMT prime meridian, tasty Indian for lunch, back into central London, tried to get into St. Paul's but just missed the last entrance time, over to Buckingham Palace, up to Digaon Alley, a tasty bite of Italian, before seeing Hairspray! Whew - what a day!

Sunday morning she was back to the States.

Enjoy!
Cheri

Gibraltar & Andalusia March 13, 2010

We headed to Heathrow for a quick 3 hour flight to Gibraltar in the afternoon. We had both been working like crazy with John in Greenville and Cheri delivering a conference for the top 60 leadership team. A little R&R was just what we needed.

Gib is a small place with the main road running right through the airport. Traffic literally stops while planes land! When we landed we literally walked across the border with our bags and hopped into a cab.

We elected to stay in Andalusia in a town named Algecrias. It was a very good choice! The AC Algecrias is a very comfortable hotel and they recommended this wonderful tapas restaurant. It was so yummy we ate there all three nights. You can check it out at www.laposadademillan.com.

Enjoy!Cheri & John

John goes to Greenville - March 1-11, 2010

John headed off to Greenville for 10 days of work. On the weekend he was lucky enough to have a visit with his cousins - Joe, Sandy, Ann, Tommy and Stephen. It was Joe's birthday and John got to spend it with him. Joe is an accomplished pilot and has a really cool little ultralight airplane. After much deliberation, the two engineers decided that the plane could withstand the weight of the two of them and up they went! What a rush!

They had a yummy breakfast of grits and sausage.

Joe is also into trains and has built quite a track. He is also into cars and has won trophy's for his mustang! A good time was had by all.