Sent:
May 11, 2005

SEA LIONS

Well, a lot has happened. Can't really encapsulate all of it, some of it not worth retelling some has to be shared. Spent most of last week in Mozambique, a beautiful country full of green rolling hills that dot the horizon, lush forests and numerous blue rivers that one passes while moving. But moving can be trying. I will not exaggerate when I think it has been the worst actual travel experience (that is in terms of the sheer logistics of moving oneself from one place to another) but makes for good story telling. In brief.....Harare to Mutare(border) 3hrs in car...tolerable (though the guy sharing the backseat counted for two). Spend the night. 6am the next day off in a taxi to the border. No problem crossing and we hitch a ride with a guy traveling to the next town of Manica...about 45 mins. Busy market area with the ubiquitous money changers and cigarette vendors, waiting inside an oven/combi (minibus...main form of transportation in most of the world I think, they pack around 16-19 people in each around here) for about 30mins and we are off to Chimoio. Get off and into another combi to Inchope, another 45mins or so. Drop there and now the waiting begins. We are trying to get to Vilanculo, a heavenly destination from what we are told, blue/green waters, coral reefs, clean beach...all that good stuff. We wait by the side of the road….. transport trucks, buses and cars all pass us by and leave their exhaust and dirt in our midst. My white shirt is turning brown. Late morning sun is searing and my ass is getting tired of the ashphalt seat. After 4 hrs of this a bus finally comes. We board. It waits. Sun sets. We wait. Rumors that the bus isn't traveling. Frustration brews. We wait and another bus does pick us up. Finally we are moving but it is short lived. After traveling in stiff vinyl seats with crying babies on that bus, we are told that it will not be traveling after 9pm (something about no crossing of a certain bridge) so the whole bus stops at a small roadside town and all hands have to "sleep" on the bus. I spend most of the time outside of the claustrophobic tube and enjoy the shower of stars above. Finally, at about 3am we start to move. Eventually we drop at the junction to Vilanculo, manage to get a ride in the back of an open pick and arrive in town. Strange town in fact. The residents rarely smile (unless they want something from you), have an odd business sense (they would rather lose a customer than bargain at all), want money for the slightest favor for anyone, foreign or local, and view most outsiders with suspicion instead of welcoming. Perhaps a long war for independence and colonialism will do that to a country. And the whole town gets enshrouded in black when night falls as there is possibly less than 12 street lamps and none in the areas we stayed in. But that part was okay. A pretty low key existence was had, spent a lot of time with some Zimbabweans we befriended and enjoyed some local drink, playing mbira under the stars in the blackness of the night...and fish, LOTS of fish. Everyday in fact as it was so cheap and abundant and usually nothing else (besides chicken or beef) was on the menu. Luckily I was brought up in Newfoundland. Anu wasn't so lucky. Anyhow, the best music I heard was probably that of the fisherman singing a rowing song to coordinate themselves coming in from the sea in the afternoon. From what I could gather, people in this area have lost touch with their traditions to a degree, perhaps a hangover from the Portuguese colonial rule. But the main reason we came was for the ocean and it was worth every ounce of energy. For the first time ever, I went snorkeling and found myself in another world. It seemed like each direction was a different fish, a plethora of colors, shapes, sizes....so much diversity and wonder. They don't swim away but you swim with them, I guess they see you as another fish, albeit much larger and with odd gills. Schools of angel fish surround you, large parrot fish beneath you. I have no idea what half the things I saw were...and like it that way. You could easily reach down and touch them if one wanted. And bizarre and beautiful outcrops of brain coral and other weird and wonderful things I have no clue about. And all the while shimmering rays of sunlight penetrate the ocean surface and light your way and add a gentle hue to everything. I have found an expensive pastime. I can only imagine scuba diving. So that sort of nullified the voyage to the place. A nice place to turn 28. But getting back....that's another one. Basically 15 hrs of travel on buses, combis and pick-up trucks. But the kicker is that I had to carry two small, fragile timbila (xylophone-type instruments) in my arms the whole time which restricted both my freedom to move and relax. Eventhough they cost about $3 each, they have now become priceless.

And though this e-mail is long enough now, I must relate what experience was had today. If I didn't have video footage of it, no one would believe me. Ask me to show you. Lions...big and small. Handling lion cubs on my lap, gnawing at my shoe, picking them up like kittens. The cutest things ever. Big paws which they drag when they walk, heads too large for the body and curious, naughty eyes. We spent hours with them at a lion park. But before meeting them we drove to an enclosure with the real deal mature hunters. 6 of them about 5 feet from the car (leaving the car was not encouraged). Luminous yellow eyes tracking our movement. These cats are not to be messed with. Bones lying around the area as you drive slowly by. They eye you lazily and sleep and yawn or stretch out over a rock. But when they get up and move I could only imagine being chased by one. Those huge paws and claws and the teeth!!! We whimpered in the safety of an automobile. But of course the cubs made us forget that. We also got a little guided tour of the premises which included an offer to go inside the enclosure of some 9 month old lions (do NOT think that means small, they were still about 5 feet long and a couple high. Entering the compound it was surreal....about 8 lions coming slowly towards us. I would lie if I said I wasn't scared shitless but we were told they were "harmless". They nudged themselves against my leg, I could touch and pet them…. unbelievable. And then it happened. I had my video camera dangling from my hand behind me. Next thing I know one of these huge beasts has its mouth around it and yanks it from my hand and runs with it. I did not put up a struggle. Being mugged by a baboon for a bag of potato chips last year is nothing compared to this. The guide chases after the lion and eventually gets the camera back with no harm done, just a bit of dirt and some lion teeth marks(!!!!!). Then he asked if we wanted to go meet some larger 2 yr old lions. I trembled a little but again they are harmless (except for the one female who is "naughty" meaning she will stalk you when you are close enough). So previously I was in a car viewing these carnivorous giants and in awe. Now I was in a pen with two of them at arms reach, rubbing their manes and almost not believing it.

I have no words to explain this.

Only in Africa I suppose.

I also made friends with a 250+yr old Galapagos tortoise named Tom. Gentle fellow.

Curtis