Halfway 'Round the World

Blog 5 - The Eastern Coast of South Africa

I'm sure you all think I've given up on blogging.  Not so, it's just that WiFi access has been very lean lately.  I could use my cell phone sometimes, and our computer rarely.  But we have a rainy morning and an hour before we have to leave for our Robben Island tour, so I've snatched the computer and will do my best.

After our sojourn in Johannesburg and Pretoria, we set off for Ladysmith - in Zulu country to tour the battlefield sites of Islandwana and Rorke's Drift. Really, when all is said and done, one has to admire the Zulus.  Under a very ambitious and smart king, Shaka, they developed a very disciplined and Spartan civilization that until the age of guns was almost invincible. The English truly underestimated them, and like Custer, suffered the consequences at Islandwana.  When you look across the battlefield and see all the cairns of rocks, where the British soldiers fell, you understand the scope of this tragedy.   In the end however, modern technology defeated them at Rorke's Drift.  Guns simply, well, "outgunned" them. 

We hired a wonderful guide, Anthony, who was a great story teller as well as historian and brought the tragedy to life.  In the process we also got a bit of the Voortrekker history, Shaka also tangled with the Voortrekkers and Anthony's wife after all was the granddaughter of one of the concentration camp survivors, so little bits of that history crept into his presentation.  We would highly recommend hiring a private guide - Anthony Coleman - if you come to this part of the world.  

When Anthony asked for our plans after Zulu country, we said we had given up on our plans to visit Lesotho - "the Mountain Kingdom" next and decided to take Lonely Planet's advice and head for the eastern coast and St. Lucia Estuary - a World Heritage Site instead.  Oh no!  We MUST visit Lesotho according to Anthony.  He called a friend who had a B and B in Heimville, just below the pass and asked him to put us up after we left St. Lucia and arrange a 4x4 tour up Sani Pass.  Anthony's friend had no rooms as there was a polo match that weekend so he contacted another B and B - KarMichael Farm who called us with all the arrangements made.  As we said, we do recommend Anthony!

But in the meantime we headed to St. Lucia Estuary.  What a beautiful site.  It's on the Indian Ocean and in off season has hippos roaming the streets at night, we saw one ourselves but couldn't get a picture to prove it.  We took a boat ride up the estuary and captured pictures of hippos, alligators and many different birds then headed out to the point - saw Rhinos and Zebras and wandered an almost deserted beach to dabble our feet in the Indian Ocean.

My hour has run out... I have to run, so I will publish now and leave Lesotho for the next blog.  One last comment before I leave.... if you choose to come to South Africa please take our advice.  Rent a car, get a copy of Portfolio - a listing of approved B and B's and go the individual route.  The rates are the same or less than hotels, you get to meet the locals on a personal level and they are SO willing to help make your visit wonderful and always have great advice on places to see that you might not get from a tour book.

Off to Robbens Island..... will blog again soon.

Patrice 

Half Way 'Round the World

Blog 3 - Istanbul

A quick reprise to Blog 2 - Larry was quite incensed that I did not share HIS picture of the Statue of Liberty.... so here it is:

We had taken the Staten Island Ferry out one evening to see if we could get some great sunset shots of the statue and Ellis Island.  I must admit it's a pretty good shot.

On to Istanbul

Our plane was 1 1/2 hours late, the luggage seemed to take nearly that long to crawl to the carousel, but our driver was still patiently waiting for us outside the international terminal and quickly escorted us back to the van for our ride to the hotel.  The Turkish people are really friendly, they make every effort to welcome you to their country, and actually seem to like having you there. In fact, Istanbul is one of our favorite cities.  Apart from Bangkok, it makes the biggest impression on the senses quickly.  You drive into Old Sultanahmet and to one side of you is Hagia Sofia, to the other the Blue Mosque and down the hill, the Sea of Marmara. 

Our attempt at taking a picture in front of
the Blue Mosque.

A friendly tourist captures us there.

Our room was a fourth floor closet, it had the necessary amenities but not much floor space. So we freshened up, and headed back out to marvel at the Blue Mosque again, then find some Turkish Coffee and Baklava, and finally dinner. (Life IS uncertain, you must always eat dessert first.) After all we had only 2 1/2  days to explore the city again. 

A colorfully dressed Japanese group
 awaiting their tour bus.

On our second day, we discovered how crowded Istanbul can get in the tourist season and the tour boats are in port.  AND it was May Day so many

Turks had the day off and were either marching around celebrating Labor or taking the opportunity to see some of the sights themselves.

We decided to take a chance on seeing the Dolmabachi Palace built by the last Sultan of Turkey anyway since it was only open 3 days a week and we'd missed it the last time.  The wait was interminable, but we finally got in and it WAS spectacular.  It reportedly has the largest crystal chandelier in the world in it's reception hall.  I know it was beautiful.  (Sorry, no pictures were allowed in side, so I have nothing to show you.)

Afterwards, starved and looking for some fish from the fish market, we hopped back on the metro train and headed towards the bridge.  There we hopped off and wandered down a street full of stalls selling tools, auto and plumbing supplies.  Want a muffler?  There was a stall for you.  How about a faucet? A drill? A flexible pipe? The street was teeming with locals looking for just the right part to fix their problem. But we were hungry so we jogged down the blog to the waterfront and settled in at an outdoor restaurant.  Fresh fish, fresh green salad and the panaply of ferries going up and down the channel to top it off - wonderful!

Wandering back to the hotel, we strolled through the spice market. We marveled at the variety of spices available.  Saffron is cheap here, can't imagine how, but I may just have to buy some to take home when we pass through Istanbul on our return journey.

The last two nights we ate at the same restaurant, Karadeniz.  The first time we collapsed into a chair after having eaten fish at the market, wanting only a bottle of wine to wind up the day before we headed back to our tiny room.  But we made friends with Saffet, the owner and Antonio the hawker (all restaurants in Istanbul have a hawker out front it seems, trying to drag you in) they called us Colorado we called Saffet Clint Eastwood because he admitted he love his movies, and we ended up eating Baklava with our wine then, well, we might as well share a soup.  Remember - Life is uncertain, eat dessert first.  So the next night we went back and were treated like long lost relatives.  We ordered our meal first and Saffet insisted on treating us to baklava, a fresh batch he'd just bought that he swore was the best ever.  We agreed. To top it off, we  were offered tea or a hookah.  I chose the tea, Larry the hookah.  He and Saffet took turns huffing on it while I  sipped tea.  I tried the hookah once and just choked on it, so I let the guys enjoy it.  

We found Istanbul to be a thriving metropolis.  The Turks seem to have been able to balance their religious beliefs with the the desire to be part of the 1st world.  It may not be that way in the rest of the country, but in Istanbul you find traditional Muslims living alongside the tourists, the forward thinking members of their religion and even the "infidels" without too much conflict.  It's too bad they can't export that to the rest of their part of the world.

Half Way 'Round the World Blog 4- Jo'burg and Apartheid

Half Way 'Round the World

Johannesburg and Apartheid

(No I didn't forget how to count,  Blog 3 is still a work in progress.}

We came to South Africa with some trepidation.  Everyone seemed appalled that we intended to travel on our own, by car, in a country that was purportedly dangerous to wander around in on your own and where everyone one is subject to carjacking and warned not to drive at night.  What?  We have been here over a week now, and frankly haven’t felt at all threatened.  Yes we lock the car every time we get out, but we do that in the States too.  We try not to drive at night, but we’ve discovered you don’t do that because there are potholes even on the main highways that might swallow you whole or cause a broken axle, and hippos and people  wearing dark colors walking on the streets at night you might not see until run into or over them.

South Africans seem genuinely glad to see Americans travelling around on their own and really willing to help you have a great experience here.  So far we have.  Our first day here we struggled to find our B and B with the little map we’d printed out from our booking reservation.  This was exacerbated by the fact that poor Larry was driving on the wrong side of the road (the left) and with a stick shift also on the wrong side of the steering wheel.  He’s left-handed, so that helped a little, but… within the first hour we found ourselves going down the street the wrong way twice.  Now whenever we turn, we both chant left left left to make sure we’re in the right (left) lane.  And we bought a rather frayed atlas of South Africa printed for the World Cup and looking at least that old that has gotten us everywhere we wanted to go with only a few minor mishaps.

Surrendering to our uneasiness over driving into Johannesburg and on to Soweto, day 2 found us waiting at the gates of our B and B for the ride to Lebos Soweto Backpackers, the sponsors of our biking tour.  And waiting, and waiting, and waiting.  We had Jean, our B and B manager, call again and found that they’d sent the driver to the wrong place.  Not to fear, he was on his way.  Jean said this was a good introduction to Africa and seriously, don’t worry.  The bike tour will most likely be at least a half hour late starting anyway.  She was right.  We pulled up just ahead of the other driver bringing a German girl for the tour and the fourth member – a girl from Portland had spent the night at the place, now THAT’S brave, and was just cooling her heels in the cabana till we all arrived.

Rosebank Cottage

"Cottage" in West Orlando

Everyone was kitted out with helmets and bikes, except me – no bikes my size, so the tour director  pulled out a tandem, put me on the back and off we went.  Soweto is an eye opener.  We had just arrived from Rosebank, an obviously well heeled area of Jo’burg where plumbing works perfectly, water runs all the time and everyone lives behind high walls, locked gates and concertina wire. Here everyone lives behind fences and locked gates too…. If they can afford a house.  Some people were living in tents, some in old trucks they’d converted to bedrooms. 

We started in West Orlando where  there is no running water nor is there plumbing.  Water has to be hauled from the central distribution point and there’s a sink there where you can wash your clothes if no one else is using it.  Trash lines the streets - they’re not paved – just dirty alleys really, although every so often a police car drives through.  That was seriously the only car I saw in the area. Yet everyone greeted us gaily when we biked through, wanting us to take their picture and waving goodbye as we moved on.  I felt a bit like a voyeur,  peeking in to someone else’s living room, glad that I didn’t have to live that way but getting “cheap thrills” from someone else’s misfortune.

We left there for East Orlando, a community of block houses of about 4 rooms, again fenced and gated, but here they have running water and sewer systems it appeared.  Still it appeared to be a very poverty stricken community.  There is 25% unemployment in South Africa, and it seems apparent that the majority of those unemployed are in the black community.  Young and old men walked up and down the streets out of work and at a loss as to what to do with their time.

We saw Nelson Mandela’s house when he lived in Soweto and where members of his family still own a storefront opposite his old house, and Desmond Tutu’s as well.  They’ve moved on of course to the nicer neighborhoods of Jo’burg or elsewhere. And while I can’t blame them, I do feel that that along with the  government, they  need to work on providing services for the people of Soweto  and the many other townships created by the Apartheid government to segregate the black community from the whites.

Day 3 – and we braved driving again to get to the Apartheid Museum.  It may be the majority government’s influence, but they pulled no punches on the practice of Apartheid.  It was appalling to  see what white men can do to blacks, coloreds and Indians in the name of preserving their security.  We left their sobered and wondering how the much had really changed here in South Africa, other than the opportunity for blacks to infiltrate the white society that dominates this country-  if they have a dogged determination, enough wherewithal to get a decent education, and lots of luck. But admittedly only a few days into our exploration of this country, we still see a society where the whites own the businesses and the non-whites work in them. 

Half Way Round the World...

Blog 2 - New York City

New York City - what can I say?  It's the heartbeat of America, people are on the streets day and night, it's vibrant, it's ethnic- and I've never heard so many non-English speaking speakers anywhere in the US.  Yes in Chinatown - any Chinatown - you hear lots of Chinese but most everyone else is speaking English.  The same with East LA  - they're all speaking Spanish, or some form of English.  In New York City, you hear just about every language under the sun.  French, German, Russian, Chinese, Italian, Lithuanian, Arabic ....  And you really feel like a minority at times just walking down the street. 

View from the Brooklyn Bridge

We went to the must sees - The Empire State Building, Ground Zero, The Brooklyn Bridge, a Broadway play, then we started trying to see sites we'd not seen before.  There are many Art Museums in NYC.  Want to see one that's not nearly so crowded?  Go to the Frick.  It's a one block square site with a mansion in the middle built by Henry Clay Frick to house his art collection.  It was eclectic but tasteful.  He had statues, artwork from many centuries, including Chinese Art from the Sung dynasty and Renoir.  It's a lovely, quiet palace of art. Or if you're into books, go to the Morgan Library.  Among other rare treasures, it has THREE Gutenberg Bibles.


Want to see NYC from the ground?  We took a walking tour of downtown New York.  Six hours - and we only scratched the surface.  We saw St. Paul's Chapel - where the victims and rescue workers of the 9/11 disaster were brought in or rested.

Badges of police officers from around the world who have visited Ground Zero left in tribute

And at Trinity Church we found the gravestone of one of Larry's more famous antecedents William Bradford, and were celebrities for a minute - the Israeli girl on our tour even offered to take our picture in front of him. (Even on our tour we had French, Chilean, Russian, Israeli and even American tourists) We visited So Ho, No Ho, Tribeca, Little Italy - where we had a great pizza lunch with Cannoli for dessert, then China Town, the High Line Railroad Park and finally ended up back at the subway for the train ride back to our hotel. Did I mention we stayed out in Jersey?  A very nice Hampton Inn in Linden that provided free van service to the train station for the 35 minute ride into Penn Station, NY.

We tried to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but.... the line was more than 3 hours long.  After you had a ticket.  I talked to the Park Rangers a bit about Castle Clinton (where the ticket window was for Ellis Island and the Statue) while Larry browsed the few exhibits inside the castle and discovered that this was actually the site of Castle Gardens, the precursor to Ellis Island, that they kept very loosey goosey records and any that might have gone to Ellis Island would have burnt to the ground when the first Ellis Island did, so other than for historic reference neither Larry (who's relatives came over on the Mayflower or with the French trappers) nor I (whose relatives mostly came through New Orleans or Castle Gardens) had any chance of finding anything of genealogical importance there. Instead we took the Rangers' advice and headed for the free, half hour or less wait, Staten Island Ferry.

We spent the last day there checking out Teddy Roosevelt's childhood home and walked through Central Park to the Met stopping on the way for lunch at one of the street stands, which we ate  watching the bikers and runners and horse drawn carriages vie for space on the walks.  The Met had a crowd -  it's only April and already you felt like a sardine in the European exhibits.  Walking through them, they were worth the crunch - the Met has some gorgeous Renoirs, Sisleys and Van Goghs on exhibit,  I was entranced with an unknown (at least for me) painting of Salome. 

Two special exhibits caught our fancy, the Gertrude Stein travelling exhibit and the visiting exhibit of Japanese Scrolls.  Hardly anyone was in that section and we were able to stroll past several Buddhas and other exhibits before entering the special exhibit.  What a nice way to end your visit in New York, appreciating the art collections available there.

From the Gertrude Stein Collection

From a Japanese Scroll

Our next blog will cover the attempt to reach JFK and the short stay we had in Istanbul - we wish it had been longer.

Hope you enjoyed some of the pictures and are having good times and good thoughts back home.

Larry and Patrice Stevens