Thoughts on Lions and Africans We did a Lion Walk this morning, a tour organized by Wilderness Safaris which has an office in the hotel. We were picked up in one of the ubiquitous Toyota Combi Busses and driven west of town and down a rough road to The African Lion & Environmental Research Trust's (ALERT) Walk with Lions enclave. This non-profit group is working to rehabilitate the lion population by having a breeding program which is largely funded by these lion walks which cost anywhere from $100 to $125 per person. Our lions' names were Kosy and Kala, 19 month old female and male lions. We were a bit surprised when we saw them as all of the brochures showed much younger animals. Though not fully grown Kosy and Kala were quite imposing, but everything ... read more

We split the day between Kruger in the morning and Swaziland in the afternoon. Myths abound regarding Swaziland, so I will place information on here that I think is the best characterization of how things are. There is just not much happening in Swaziland. It is a mountainous country, at least in the west end. The country's real claim to fame is that at LEAST 30% of the population has HIV. "At least" because that is the percentage of the sample of the million population that has been identified as such but it is likely the number is much higher. The African Experience Ah yes, people walking on the highway, people wearing random items of clothing, but nothing beats the African bureaucrat. We got our taste, without issue, at the Kingdom of Swaziland's Jeppe's Reef border ... read more

So, are the roads as deadly as they say they are? As I said before, ALL roads are deadly, especially those that you take for granted. That said . . . Alexandra We had what hopefully will be the most eventful episode of the trip this morning. Near Sandton is a township called Alexandra which is as rough as they come. We went a different way to the highway this time, which got us lost in the middle of Alexandra. Some people think there are some bad spots in America . . . my friends, Parsons Avenue, Little Creek, Over the Rhine . . . these have NOTHING on Alexandra. I felt like I was on the set of Black Hawk Down driving through Mogadishu. We made it out safely evidently, and in hindsight, it was ... read more

I am in at work today for a half day of wrapping things up, though the phone calls will likely continue right into the flight to Jo'burg. Jennifer is sleeping in and wrapping up the usual program at the house. Musings I've heard and read a variety of opinions on how southern Africa will be. Not entirely certain what to expect, but despite the crime rate, despite the disease, despite the wild beasts, the greatest danger on that trip will be the amount of driving I will do. Driving is always dangerous, especially in what has become the familiar roads of Ohio and Virginia. We will have to be vigilant and keep thinking backwards when driving, thanks to British Colonialism (if only the Dutch and Germans could have kept control of Southern Africa). 2,280 kilometers in ... read more

Waiting for the flight back to Columbus tonight at Denver International Airport, at least it's a direct flight back, but we'll be in close to midnight tonight. We had a great weekend but after yesterday, we slept in (relatively speaking) and opened The Cheesecake Factory in Boulder for brunch. We walked Pearl Street a bit and after checking out from the hotel, headed south. Western Denver We went through Golden, Colorado which only has about one useful thing in it - the Coors Brewing Company, which was not much to look at. The old town is a bit interesting, but did not appear to be worth the stop. The whole western side of Metro Denver seems to be Mexican, there are just tons and tons of them. We went to Colorado Mills nearby and half the ... read more