Getting the Show on the Road

All I’ve seen is Airport – gleaming silver and various shades of grey and blue. It would have been depressing, more than a day of flying and sitting in airports, if Southern Africa wasn’t on the other end. Doing that kind of extensive traveling is almost a trial by fire as you’re at the mercy of airlines and the consideration and, most often, the inconsideration of other travelers.

There is almost no reward for doing good these days. Even that feeling of self satisfaction that once was abundant has become elusive. I think we all grudgingly do good because we know that the reward we once got for it, externally and internally, is elusive at best. And even when you help out a fellow traveler, it is often to your own detriment. For example, a couple with a child wanted our seats because the airline had bassinets that could hang from the wall. But it offered us leg room. We could fit in the seats with okay leg room, until the people in front of us lean their seats back. Then we are cramped tall people with knee problems sitting on a plane for 8 hours in pain because we wanted to be nice to a couple with a baby.
I did see two beautiful things. The sun rising over the horizon as we flew to Dubai (the end of a 12 hour straight flight after being on planes for 3 hours total and waiting in airports for 3 hours. The other beautiful thing were the mountains in Africa as we flew to Johannesburg.

Getting to Johannesburg is the beginning of our vacation. A day and a half in Josie before getting 7 days, 6 nights in Botswana divided between two camps and then a day and a half at Victoria Falls on the Zambia side.


The Southern Africa Series - as I'm going to call the next few posts - took place from July 24-August 3, 2008. I started this blog a bit early because I knew this trip would change me. Now I'm slowly adding my thoughts during the journey to this blog. Some will be straight from my journey journal, some will be understanding I came to as I thought on my travels later. Enjoy.