LucyEthel Takes a Trip

Photos: Russia

anita_81 — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 01:08:00 GMT

Moscow/St. Petersburg 2013

Trip to Moscow/St. Petersburg 2013

anita_81 — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 01:01:00 GMT

Visited with Clint for 2 weeks in August 2013. Most of the time was spent in Moscow but we did get to spend a weekend in St. Petersburg. It was a great trip. My favorite tourist sites were:

Peterhof in St. Petersburg

The Armoury at the Kremlin

The cemetary at the convent Novodevichy

Gorky Park

About my trip to China 2011

anita_81 — Thu, 7 Apr 2011 17:45:00 GMT

This trip will include Beijing, a cruise along the Yangtze River, Xian, and Shanghai. I will visit The Forbidden City, see many venues from the 2008 Olympics, Three Gorges Dam, The Great Wall of China, and several other sites. It should be interesting!

Trip to China 2011

anita_81 — Thu, 7 Apr 2011 05:56:00 GMT

Photos: Chobe Nat'l Park Safari Ride

anita_81 — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:34:00 GMT

Photos: Soweto, Mandela's House, and Hector Pieterson Museum

anita_81 — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:33:00 GMT

Photos: Sunset on the Chobe, Vic Falls, Petting a Lion, The Bomar Restaurant

anita_81 — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:31:00 GMT

Photos: Swaziland, Burk's Potholes, Pilgrim's Rest, and Hazyview

anita_81 — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 09:58:00 GMT

Photos: Africa Gallery 2

anita_81 — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 11:31:00 GMT

Wild Life in S. Africa and Swaziland, including Market

Photos: Africa Gallery 1

anita_81 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:23:00 GMT

Capetown, Cape Point, Stellanbosch, and Vineyards

Day 14

anita_81 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:28:00 GMT

Day 14 started with a morning trip to Victoria Falls. We were told to be sure to have a raincoat, umbrella, and shoes with rubber soles. I would sugges that a person visiting the falls wear a bathing suit, tennis shoes, and bring a towel. There is nothing that is going to keep you from getting drenched unless it is a wet suit. The Falls are so intense that it is like walking in the worse rainstorm you can imagine. The mist is so dense and high that you can see it from a great distance; it looks like a cloud. Because the water was high, it was hard to get a good impression so I just bought a postcard later to see how it really looked. Some folks took a 15 minute helicopter ride over the Falls and I would have but the copter only seated 4. Darn it! haha

After the trip to the Falls, we stopped at a craft market. This was the worst part of the entire trip. Zimbabwe has an unemployment rate of 90% and the people are desperate to sell anything. They attacked us like flies trying to negotiate a price. Every stall had basically the same stuff in it so there is no need to walk through the entire area. I bought stuff that I didn't want or need but they don't want a handout as much as to 'sell' their products. When I ran out of my $30's, they would ask to trade for an ink pen or sadly, my socks. My socks were soaking wet from the falls and I just wasn't going to do that. It was so difficult to be there.

The money of Zimbabwe is worthless. The tyrant Mugabe has totally demolished the economy. Everyone pays to go to school. It cost $20 per child per quarter but very few can afford it. We learned about sponsoring children/schools from a man from England (formerly of Zimbabwe). It takes bags full of 'money' to buy a bit of bread. He printed 100 Trillion Dollar currency. I purchased a 50 Billion Dollar bill. I can now feel free to spend any money I have because I'm leaving the 50 billion to Clint as his inheritance. I paid $1.35 (1 South African Rand) for the bill. We were told to NOT take any pictures of government buildings or police or our cameras would be confiscated. There was no interest in taking pictures of either, so it wasn't an issue. The staff at the hotel was wonderful and friendly with a great sense of humor. I don't know how they are able to withstand such living conditions. Most of us left clothes, pens, medications like aspirin and benedryl, shoes, socks, cookies, basically anything we could leave for the housekeepers to take home. Tips were generous because they are pooled among all the staff.

So, anyway, later in the day, several of us went to the Lion Adventure. This was one of the best parts of the trip. We visited a project to increase the lion population <http://www.lionencounter.com/>. the lions are kept in a natural environment. They are not penned up or on leases. There are some folks that work with them that accompanied our visit (one had a big gun). We were able to pet a 10 month old lion and a 4.5 month old cub. You may think that it's not a dangerous thing but if you see their paws and teeth, you think differently. There isn't a reason to worry about them attacking you because they aren't afraid of humans. But they like to play by swatting at you and nipping, which could result in some bad injuries. We were all very careful to not pet their foreheads because they don't like that. We were told not to rub their bellies because they act just like our housecats and raise their paw to our hands. It was great fun and I will have a picture of my personal encounter.

When we returned from the lion walk, we ate at restuarant called The Boma <http://www.thebomarestaurant.com/> Upon entering, our faces were painted just a little and we were wrapped in a nice piece of batik, which turned out to be a pretty good napkin! The menu included lots of game meat--wart hog, kudu, crocodile, impala--and a huge salad bar. The entertainment was very fun and energetic. We were all given drums and had an interactive dance. There was probably 200 people there and it was really something to hear the drumming.

By the time I finally got to go to bed, I was exhausted from all the activities of the day but I doubt I'll ever forget them.

Day 15

anita_81 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:28:00 GMT

Our final day of fun was going to Botswana for a safari ride in Chobe National Park. We had to cross the border and so again, we were reminded not to take any pictures. We had to walk across the border to the immigration offices in Botswana. We were instructed to walk through some kind of liquid stuff to remove any possible contaminants on our shoes. There is a concern about hoof and mouth disease. The fact that Botswana has one of the highest incidences of HIV/AIDS in Africa seems like something to be more worried about. It is obvious they are trying to affect the infection rates but many myths exist about how to 'cure' the virus, which only leads to perpetuate it. There are billboards with warnings and condoms for both men and women (the men rarely will wear them). Economically, the country is better off because it has diamonds and coal and a good president who bases Mugabe every chance he gets. Not that it does any good.

We went first to the Chobe River and took a boat ride. It was so much fun. We saw a herd of elephants playing and fighting in the water. They are fascinating to watch. The babies are so cute BUT don't let mama catch you looking at them or try to get between a mom and child. That's asking for trouble. In the afternoon we were in open air vehicles and since Chobe has about 100,000 elephants in the park, you can't help but run into them on the roads. We always stopped if there were many together and we got a little intimidated by a growling mama about 8 feet away from us. Seriously, we thought she was going to charge us. Another major sighting was about 40 hippos in the water. They are very dangerous and kill more huimans than other wild animals but they don't mess around with things that are bigger than them, like boats. The guide says that when they yawn they are showing distress so we kept an eye on them and if they started yawning, we'd move on. They are of course, very unattractive, but again, the babies tend to be cute so we all ooh and aah over them. In addition, we saw crocodiles, lizards, the ever-present impalas, and huge storks and vultures. Three lions sauntered by but none of us got a good picture of them.

All in all it was a fabulous trip. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would go to Africa. Now that I have I know that my thoughts and feelings about that continent will be much different. It has many, many problems but it also has a wonderful beauty, fantastic people, and well, I just can't say enough about the food--even warthog.

Day 13

anita_81 — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:47:00 GMT

I don't really know what day of the trip this is. Actually, on Sunday, 3/21, we flew from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Zimbawe. The airport in Zimbawe is a long runway and an old concrete building. It's a little unsettling. But anyway, the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is great and my room has netted beds to keep the mosquitoes away and shuttered balcony doors to keep the baboons out. Cool.

67
About an hour after checking into the hotel, we loaded up and went for a sunset cruise on the great Zambezi River. It was a beautiful evening and I have some nice pictures of the sunset. We didn't see any animals but one riverbuck, which looks like a deer with interesting stripes and antlers. There are many birds flitting around and making interesting sounds. Some are a little scary looking.

Tomorrow we go to see Victoria Falls, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, and a couple of other exciting options. I'll try to get caught up asap.

Day 12

anita_81 — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:02:00 GMT

Day 12

Today was the last day for the entire group to be together. Tomorrow, 26 of us are going to Zimbawe and the rest are heading home. It has been a good and interesting time with people from various parts of the States. We are very different!

Early this morning we set out to Soweto. It is 55 square miles and has 3.5 million people living there. The socio-economics are deep poverty to more millionaires per square mile than any other city. We were able to take a walk through the streets; everyone was very friendly and seemed to be fine with our intrusion. We went to our 'local' guide's home. His wife was mopping the floor but said it's ok, she'd finish later. So 44 people traipse through the 4 room matchbox house and the wife is just smiling like she's so happy we're there. The living/dining room was combined with the dining room table took up most of the space. There were twin beds in one room (3 children) and a single bed in another. The kitchen was small but equipped. The backyard was very tiny.

Our next stop was Nelson Mandela's home, which became a national site in 2009. He tried to live there when he got out of prison but it was impossible. The media was causing problems in the community so he moved to the upscale gated community of Haughton. He is 90 and very frail so he doesn't get out much. Desmond Tutu has a house down the street but he stays mostly in Capetown. It was a great experience to visit this community that I heard about in the '70's.

Next we visited a museum of memorial for the students that died on June 16, 1976. This was the beginning of a revolutionary time and unrest traveled to many other communities in South Africa. This memorial has a specific dedication to a 13 year old boy named Hector Pieterson. He was shot by policemen and was picked up by another young man and carried away from the riot. He is the representative of all killed that day and the community agreed that his death and memorial service would be considered the service for all. The young man that carried him away from the riot left South Africa and has never been seen again. The memorial facility is very moving. I had a chance to talk to a native teacher that was visiting the memorial and I learned from her that the hope is that education will open the minds of everyone. She recognizes that some people want revenge (Winnie Mandela) but most want to reconcile and just move forward. She said that many whites stood with the blacks but it was impossible to do anything against the government. The whites were afraid too. So in the end, she believed there are just good people and people that want to be angry.

Finishing up the a.m., we went to a curio distributorship and bought stuff we didn't need. Later on, we met for a farewell dinner (or welfare dinner, as some call it). The food was excellent again. Since we leave very early in the morning, we bid our fellow travelers good-bye and packed for the early flight to Zimbawe.

Day 11

anita_81 — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:20:00 GMT

Day 11

We left Kruger National Park around 7:30 a.m. and began our trip to J'burg. It's only 320 miles but we had many stops. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy/foggy to see God's Window, which is a rock formation that frames a canyon. We were able to spend time at Blydn River, which is really fantastic. The swirling water has formed 'potholes.' Since this has been going on for hundreds of years, there are holes high above the water and it's just cool looking. I have a lot of pictures, which I hope I can get uploaded at some point. Leaving the potholes behind, we went to a place called 'Pilgrim's Rest'. This is a very nice little town where gold was discovered and of course brought many settlers. Two women, dressed in the traditional garb of the married, were 'beading' in front of a store. This is the first time I saw anything that fit in to my mindset of Africa. The terrain changed from mountainous to practically prairie along the route. Seriously, it looks just like Kansas, with corn and soybeans stretching for miles. One area looked just like the Flint Hills.

Johannesburg is a cosmopolitan city of 8 million. They speak all 11 languages here, unlike Capetown, which only speaks 4 of the official 11. Our hotel is very nice and is in a new suburb with two major shopping centers. We walked next door to a bistro and each of us had different but very tasty dinners. The twelve hour day was long but we saw so many interesting places.

Tomorrow we are touring Soweto, which was a central player in the end of apartheid. We are also visiting a 'curio' warehouse so the serious shoppers in the group will be excited (I'm not so much into the shopping this time).

Day 10

anita_81 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:35:00 GMT

The open air game ride this morning resulted in a seeing a herd of elephant cross the road (to get to the other side, of course) and it was wonderful to watch the babies hanging on to mamas. An additional surprise was an African Wildcat, which is rarely seen. I think he was attracted to Willie the K-State Wildcat on my shirt. Anyway, he was also very hard to photograph but his orange ears are visible. In addition, we saw a Goliath Heron, some really cool looking birds, some more monkeys, cape buffalo, but no giraffe today. Some in another jeep saw a leopard but from the picture I saw, it was as hard to photograph as the wildcat.

We are going out again at 3 so hopefully, a leopard is in my future.

No leopard. Again. However, we did see another lion sleeping under a tree. He was probably six feet long, all stretched out on his side, with his back legs spread out, like he wanted a belly rub. A wart hog sauntered up the road, posing for all the cameras. We saw a bush buck, which is kinda like a deer or impala, but just a little different markings. They mate for life and both the male and the females fight off potential homewreckers. In the deserted termite mounds, which are huge, we saw dwarf mongeese that take up residence once the termites leave. They are small like chipmunks and not very attractive but anything that small and furry is going to be determined to be ‘cute’ by the tourists. We decided that zebra and giraffe have Thursdays off as we did not see any all day.

I noticed again how beautiful the terrain is, so much different than I imagined Africa. It’s lush and green and the weather is perfect. I am so glad to see this country.

Tomorrow we leave for 2 days in Johannesburg before flying to Zimbawe and a day trip to Botswana.

Days 7, 8, and 9

anita_81 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:57:00 GMT

I’ve had some Internet problems so I wasn’t able to post for a few days. I hope I can remember all that we have done. We did a game ride in Hulhulwe Park where we saw elephant, rhino, zebra, giraffe and a variety of birds. It is a lot of fun to go on the open air rides where I can hear everything and unfortunately smell everything but most of the time the air is so fresh and fragrant, I love it. I have taken many pictures but I’m not sure anyone can enjoy them the way that I do because some animals are hard to see. They blend in so maybe I can get the face or the tail (I have so many ‘moon’ shots, it’s unbelievable!). Day 8, we left Hululwe and headed to Swaziland. We stopped at a roadside market and walked through the many stalls. The items are handmade in the traditional style and I picked up a mask and a cloth painting. The people are very nice and negotiate prices that are probably the real price but they say “you’re killing me. Please, 80 Rand ($10).” The hotel in Swaziland was nice and the food was fine, especially the breakfast. We have all the amenities of any hotel in the States, the beds are comfortable, and there is always tv, with at least 8 sports channels. Day 9 took us back into South Africa. As we crossed the border, we got out of the bus for passport inspection and then walked across to wait for the bus. A patrolman at the gate said he was ‘mad’ for the American national anthem and asked us to sing it. We explained that we DID know the words but it is very hard to sing. He persisted and eventually we gave him a horrible rendition. He said we sang it like it was a sad song and to put some spirit into it sooooo we sang it again, with feeling.  Then he and our guide sang the South African anthem. Very nice. At the gate of Kruger National Park, we split up with some going on an open air game ride and some staying in the bus. Since I didn’t budget for the open air ride, I stayed in the bus but took a front seat. We saw more giraffes (they are becoming my favorite), a huge rhino, many impalas and deer, monkeys, a crocodile, wart hog, horned bill (bird), but the winner was a lion enjoying a lunch provided by a lioness. My picture is going to be good if I can get it enlarged. Obviously, we can’t get out of the jeeps to get a better shot! It started to rain very hard so we got back to the hotel here at Kruger. My room is excellent but it is far away from the main entrance so I got soaked. I was shaking like a leaf when I got into the room (it isn’t hot here) so I got rid of the clothes, made some hot tea, and crawled under the comforter. Later, security came and banged on my door wanting to know if I was coming to dinner. I told him “no” and went back to sleep. I wondered why they just didn’t call me if they wanted to tell me something. I moved my phone a little and saw that it was unplugged. When I got to breakfast at 5:30 a.m. today, everyone asked if I was ok and they worried about me, etc. It was just the stupid phone, which is the third hotel with a phone problem for me. Minor point but I don’t want anyone getting worried about me.

Days 5 & 6

anita_81 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Day 5 was an entire day of travel by plane and bus. We arrived in Durban and then bused up to Hhluhluwe Game Preserve. There are 200,000 acres of preserve.

Day 6, we left at 5:30 a.m. for a 3 hour safari. It was raining but we still saw giraffe, rhino, zebra, lion, buffalo, and many birds. We're keeping a sharp eye out for Black Mambas! Afterward, we went to a Zulu village, where we were treated to a tour, performance, and lunch in traditional Zulu. I tried to video the dancing so we'll see how it goes.

Capetown, SA--Day 4

anita_81 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:26:00 GMT

Today was the day to get out of the city and do the wine country tour. The wine was not remarkable but the towns and vineyard grounds were totally beautiful. Two towns were especially nice--Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The Dutch influence is pretty obvious by the names of these towns. I guess I could call them charming little places. They are on the order of Carmel and Monterey, although they are inland. The Houtentot Mountains is the range running through this area. We ate lunch at French Connection, where I had a smoked salmon and chive cream cheese sandwich along with fresh onion rings and a soft drink called Aqua Peach. Again, the food was plentiful, delicious, and inexpensive.

We visited three wineries: Haute Cabiere, De Lei Wen Jagt (The Lion Hunt) which has been purchased by a German and is now called Sidleberg, and Saxenberg. They had beautiful gardens and lovely views. The last one was having a festival and was pretty crowded. It was nice to see so many families having fun and enjoying the perfect weather (although it was a little windy; like a normal day in Kansas). In addition, we stopped by Drakenstein, the prison that held Mandela after he left Robben Island. Although he was there only 6 weeks, there was a huge sculpture of him at the entrance.

We had a very interesting guide who told many stories about living in Capetown during apartheid. I think she attempted to sugar-coat things a little, in terms of the way things are now. She said everything is just perfect now and in just a couple more years, all the shanties will be empty and torn down. All the people will have new state-built homes that aren’t great but much better than they had. The shanties stretched for miles and were worse than anything I have ever seen in Mexico or any European country. It makes our ‘slums’ look inviting.

In regard to the wild life, I mentioned yesterday that we were flashed by a baboon. Today, I was ‘mooned’ by 3 white springboks. I guess they’re just sick of the tourists. We also saw eland, wildebeest, zebra, and brown springboks.

Tomorrow is a 5 a.m. wake up call and then off to the airport. All the cyclist are biking around the area and I hear that it’s going to be a nightmare for the locals and the tours. I have enjoyed my time in Capetown but I’m ready to get out of the city and see more,

Capetown, SA--Days 1, 2, and 3

anita_81 — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:15:00 GMT

Capetown: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

My baggage arrived Wednesday night so once that occurred I was able to put the 20 hours of travel behind me. The hotel, Protea President, is fine. My room has a view of a pretty street and the ocean. I am really glad to have a room to myself. I have cable tv that gets US shows from last season, news from Africa and Europe, a hot water kettle with instant coffee and tea bags. The water if fine to drink from the tap. We are in a very nice section of the city so it’s ok to be out in the evening although we tend not to go beyond the terrace since everything is so nice.

Capetown is a very modern, busy city. It reminds me of San Francisco. The climate is very cool and breezy and I see people doing the same things here that I see in most cities—jogging, biking, walking their dogs, reading in the lush parks. There are 11 official languages, including English, so there really isn’t any communication problems. The food is excellent and pretty inexpensive compared to Europe. The official currency is the Rand, which has a conversion of 1R=.13 or $1=7.4 Rand. When you get a lunch bill for 110R, it can be a little unsettling but it’s really only $14.85!

They are careful to keep us from the proverty areas although we saw many metal shacks on the way in from the airport. The population is 9.7% white, the remaining is people of color. Unfortunately, the income and opportunities for people of color hasn’t risen since the abolition of apartheid. It’s only been about 20 years, which is pretty short when trying to change a cultural bias.

I have toured the city, visited a museum, gone to the top of Table Mountain to see beautiful views. Again, very California looking terrain. The Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet to the east of Capetown, so the water is cold here but warmer to the east. Today (Friday), we left early and went out of the city to a place where we boated out to look at seals then bused to the Cape of Good Hope for a short hike and many pictures. Leaving there, we went to another town to see the Jackass penquins (they bray like mules) and then had a terrific lunch of sea bass, rice, and vegetables. The next stop was the botanical gardens. Although it is way past blooming season, the foliage is rich, verdant, and nicely fragrant. It was a very nice tour.

One of the highlights of the day was when traffic had to stop to accommodate the group of baboons playing in the center of the road. They were heading up to the ostrich farm to try to steal eggs. They are funny but aggressive so we have to stay away from them. Everyone laughed at the one sitting at the exit gate “flashing” the tour buses. I got several pictures and am considering using it for my facebook profile pic.

Tomorrow, some are taking the wine tour, which promises 3 vineyards and incredible scenery. Since the Giro d’Capo (Bicycle race around the Cape) starts on Sunday with 35,000 participants, we are escaping the city at 6 a.m. to go the airport. From there we will go to Durban and Kruger National Park.

This is really an amazing trip.