By early August the first hints of scarlet, amber and ocher begin to tint the leaves signalling that gradually the days will become shorter and darker and before too much longer the long harsh New England winter will encase the world with ice. As soon as I see these first sentinels of the changing season my mind begins to turn to thoughts of airplanes, jungles and crumbling ancient cities. The desire to leave the Long Cold Dark behind in favor of some sun bathed land stirs within my chest and I begin to longingly scroll through airfare listings. Most years the fantasy of knowing I could, at least in theory be off into the unknown on an adventure is enough to sustain my mind when it is sickening for green.
This year is different. Due to an incident involving a system-wide computer crash, cancelled flights and lost luggage on my last trip, the airline, along with finding and delivering my bag and apologizing, they gave me a healthy amount of credits to be used for my next flight. Credits that were about to expire at the end of August.
There were only two things that I knew with absolute certainty when I started to compare itineraries: 1) That I would be going somewhere tropical 2) If at all possible I wanted to travel in January or February so as to have the longest possible escape from winter possible. I considered inflicting my mangled Spanish on the citizens of Ecuador on my way to Galapagos, crossing the Wallace Line between Borneo and Sulawesi, Taking in Ankor Wat in Cambodia and then crossing into Thailand to happily scald my taste buds off,or diving deep into the glories of the Amazon Basin. I still intend to do all of these some day. This winter however there was one clear runaway winner. I decided to finally go on the adventure that had been on the top of my list since I was six.
I'm going to East Africa
Africa has captivated me for as long as I can remember. In my childhood topography it fell somewhere between Narnia, Oz and the fictionalized German forest of the Grimm Brothers. It also had the added bonus of being real. To a budding naturalist it seemed everything I could ever want Infinite golden expanses of savanna punctuated with scribbles of acacia trees and cathedral termite mounds. Giraffes, zebras and every sort of antelope you could name (plus a few you couldn't) wheeled through the endless expanse trying to avoid buttery brown lions in the highest stakes game of tag in the world. Everywhere there was life and it was all fascinating, from the drowsing leopard in the branches to the troop of chattering baboons to the massive elephants and rhinos meandering unconcernedly through the land like wandering foothills loose from the cloud-like Kilimanjaro. Overhead the grim reptilian vultures drift in the air, motionless harbingers of doom. The rivers teem with merciless crocodiles and sunburned hippos. Once the plains ended the emerald jungles began with their millions of birds, every conceivable variation of monkey, vanishing chameleons and giant brooding gorillas. Everything I learned intrigued me more. Did you know that there are birds that clean crocodiles' teeth? The crocodile just lets them! There's an animal called a pangolin that looks just like a pinecone! Even the place names for a child are evocative and magical: Limpopo, Okavango, Serengeti, Virunga Tsavo, Congo.
I am no longer a child and know that my storybook version of Africa is at best oversimplified . I know that Africa's history is seeped in the blood of colonial rule and deep seated corruption. I have no illusions that reality will be anything like the Africa of my young dreams. I've learned far too much for that expectation to be anything bu hopelessly naive. I do however know that I have waited all my life to see a lake dyed pink with flamingos and hear hyenas cackling in the night. I have loved these creatures for my entire life and it's now time to see them on their own terms. If I get to see even half of what I want, this will be the voyage of a lifetime!
I land in Nairobi on February 13th
This year is different. Due to an incident involving a system-wide computer crash, cancelled flights and lost luggage on my last trip, the airline, along with finding and delivering my bag and apologizing, they gave me a healthy amount of credits to be used for my next flight. Credits that were about to expire at the end of August.
There were only two things that I knew with absolute certainty when I started to compare itineraries: 1) That I would be going somewhere tropical 2) If at all possible I wanted to travel in January or February so as to have the longest possible escape from winter possible. I considered inflicting my mangled Spanish on the citizens of Ecuador on my way to Galapagos, crossing the Wallace Line between Borneo and Sulawesi, Taking in Ankor Wat in Cambodia and then crossing into Thailand to happily scald my taste buds off,or diving deep into the glories of the Amazon Basin. I still intend to do all of these some day. This winter however there was one clear runaway winner. I decided to finally go on the adventure that had been on the top of my list since I was six.
I'm going to East Africa
Africa has captivated me for as long as I can remember. In my childhood topography it fell somewhere between Narnia, Oz and the fictionalized German forest of the Grimm Brothers. It also had the added bonus of being real. To a budding naturalist it seemed everything I could ever want Infinite golden expanses of savanna punctuated with scribbles of acacia trees and cathedral termite mounds. Giraffes, zebras and every sort of antelope you could name (plus a few you couldn't) wheeled through the endless expanse trying to avoid buttery brown lions in the highest stakes game of tag in the world. Everywhere there was life and it was all fascinating, from the drowsing leopard in the branches to the troop of chattering baboons to the massive elephants and rhinos meandering unconcernedly through the land like wandering foothills loose from the cloud-like Kilimanjaro. Overhead the grim reptilian vultures drift in the air, motionless harbingers of doom. The rivers teem with merciless crocodiles and sunburned hippos. Once the plains ended the emerald jungles began with their millions of birds, every conceivable variation of monkey, vanishing chameleons and giant brooding gorillas. Everything I learned intrigued me more. Did you know that there are birds that clean crocodiles' teeth? The crocodile just lets them! There's an animal called a pangolin that looks just like a pinecone! Even the place names for a child are evocative and magical: Limpopo, Okavango, Serengeti, Virunga Tsavo, Congo.
I am no longer a child and know that my storybook version of Africa is at best oversimplified . I know that Africa's history is seeped in the blood of colonial rule and deep seated corruption. I have no illusions that reality will be anything like the Africa of my young dreams. I've learned far too much for that expectation to be anything bu hopelessly naive. I do however know that I have waited all my life to see a lake dyed pink with flamingos and hear hyenas cackling in the night. I have loved these creatures for my entire life and it's now time to see them on their own terms. If I get to see even half of what I want, this will be the voyage of a lifetime!
I land in Nairobi on February 13th
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