The biggest snail I've ever seen

Climbing on our table at an open-mic night in Livingstone, Zambia. Pretty awesome!

The End of the World.

Good Hope

That is, the Cape of.

European sailors dreamed of finding new worlds, so they set off to the south. Africa was strange and powerful, but the Europeans couldn't conquer it (thanks to malaria, though that was fixed in the 1800's by the gin & tonic concoction many explorers sipped). So they kept on going, and going. Finally, the rounded the edge, the Cape of Good Hope. It was the first sign of rounding Africa on their way to India and the spice islands. The Suez Canal wasn't built till the mid 20th century, and Columbus couldn't find India, so for centuries sailors passed the Cape.

I've been to the end. The extreme.

Fire & Ice

What a strange hotel. This was where we stayed in Cape Town. The lava carpet and themed elevators were charming after a couple of days. The window to the shower In the bedrooms never really grew on me, though...

Richard Branson?

So, we're studying entrepreneurship, and this strikes me as quite the story.

Richie Brans went to a weightlifting competition and saw our man Tumi. Tumi won the competition and talked to Richie afterward, who found out that Tumi was from Alexandra (see my other post). Richie decided to pass along a set of weights so Tumi could actually prep for competitions. Tumi lives in Alex, though, so he doesn't have a lot of space. Instead of hogging the goodies, he's decided to start a gym called Ikasi Gym, in Alex, where he sponsors & trains local weightlifters. It's 100 rand to join and 70/month thereafter. That's like $10.

All thanks to Richard Branson. What a guy!

Floating in the Clouds

From where I sit, the earth is miles away, and the trees, fields, farms, buildings and even mountains people squabble over are insignificant. A tree might as well be a fleck of dust. I feel closer to outer space than I do Africa, though she sits beneath me only 7 miles. I see the darkened sky and dream of the clear lights I see at night. It certainly gives the rat race a bit more perspective.

Need I say more?

Driving

Listening to Waka Waka by Shakira—written for the World Cup to commemorate the rise of Africa, the triumph of the individual as a part of a community. Its about overcoming the past and rising to a new future.

We're going to a game park, so I'm listening to all of my Africa songs, from Africa by Toto to the Circle of Life.

I like driving—it's one of my two great releases. The other is reading (I am still infected with a severe case of OCBB—obsessive compulsive book buying. I plunked down more than I've ever paid for two thick tombs on modern South Africa this morning, and it energized me to start reading them).

When I drive I feel the rush of the ground passing by silently beneath me, the flow of the wind in my hair, brushing over my hands and past my face. I downshift and the rumble of power surges through the engine, climbing mountains, sailing over bridges and running through the forest.

It's a good life.