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Christopher Nelson Anderson
December, 2005torsk
In my incessant pursuit of experiencing the world as it is and not as it appears on the screen, I have embarked on my next installment of travel. This one has abandoned the elements that tend to plug us into one spot for the benefit of a particular society, and embrace the flux and whim of nature, vector and rhythm. What else but sailing? I've clipped the necessary puppetstrings that attach me to the US
(rent, employment, and car, not to mention debt, the greatest hindrance to human movement and the prison warden of society), and am now free to move about as the world wants me to. I've long been drawn to the
seafaring community, some of the world's few remaining nomadic souls, which we never see or hear about precisely because we are so deeply rooted in our own land-locked cities and communities, finely-tuned cogs in the mechanism of society. Believe you me, they are out there and there are many of them.
As you might expect, such a journey cannot be charted out too precisely in advance. We simply must embrace the vicissitudes of the ocean that await us. What I can say is that under the aegis of an experienced
Norwegian, I will be one of four crewmembers on a 44ft sailboat departing from Ft Lauderdale in mid-December and traveling through the Bahamas southward. Around April, we hope to arrive in the Grenadines, after numerous stopovers on the islands in
between. If the prospects of wind and crewmember comity are good, I'll join him on a trans-Atlantic voyage in May to the shores of Europe ("à l'ancienne" as the French say.)
I suppose it's natural to be wary of the ambiguity inherent in this periple. It's that very fear that keeps me where I am. Somehow, societies inculcate us with that fear and a complementary love of comfort and gadgets that, as Baudrillard would say, help us attain
a "simulation" of reality. Sure, you could also say virtual. It's the nature of the world we live in. I'm just trying to reconcile what the real world is, sifting through the BS for some sign of the human experience. I guess my travels, as well as my meanderings in the US, have on many occasions revealed gems of life. I simply can't resist the urge to search for more, which typically happens "on the road."
Travel Blog Posts
The Farm, the Road, the Radio and the Friendly
Published: June 15th 2010Africa » South Africa » Gauteng
June 7th 2010
Irene Country Lodge After a few days in South Africa, I now know what it's like to be an exchange student in the U.S. With limited public transportation options, the suburbs become a sort of prison in spite of the comforts they offer. Fortunately for me, my hosts and I have been able to arrange trips and rides to the Irene Country Lodge where the U.S. team is staying. Now a rustic resort, the farmstead provides a relaxing atmosphere for the Americans as they amusingly watch scrawny chickens scurry past, and all the while ponder how they are going to shut down England's Wayne Rooney. There's also a functioning dairy farm, a shop with specialty goods, and a grill that sells greasy but good sandwiches with names like 'The Kerouac' and 'Mr. Jones' for less than ... read more
June 5th 2010
Driving up the M511 from Fourways to Pretoria, you come upon one of the harsh realities of South Africa, the squatter camp. Now called an 'informal settlement', Diepsloot is one of the largest of them in the Gauteng province with an estimated population of 150,000. Approaching the area, you notice the number of people walking along the side of the road, the makeshift shacks and tables with basic wares for sale, and the feeling of entering into another Africa, one of destitution and poverty. “This is where the government has let them down. All the promises of '94 and this is what they get?” my host points out. We drive past the camp, being sure to avoid the often reckless maneuvers of the many taxi buses turning into the camp. Carrying up to dozen passengers or ... read more
June 3rd 2010
On any trip abroad that involves flying, the first contact with the new culture usually occurs at the airport, if not somewhere in the imagery of the mind. Ours was the last flight out of Munich airport. Once I came to the departure gate, I began to notice an undertone that would follow me throughout the next month in South Africa, the one of race. A predominantly senior crowd of Europeans gathered at the gate ready to board, greeted by an entirely African cabin crew. Once I was seated, the flight video portrayed a stout man with Teutonic spectacles boarding before a towering rotund black man, who clumsily placed his briefcase in the overhead compartment causing another one to fall out on the white man's head. Opening the in-flight magazine entitled Sawubona (a Nguni word ... read more
September 13th 2006
Wieden is also known as the fourth district. The Theresianium basically lies in the center of the wedge-shaped neighborhood. In the first several days, I explored many of the streets and buildings of this area I had never come to. Indeed, it's not very touristy, the only major site being the Rococo Oberes Belvedere palace, the photo of which is below. On the west side of the district, neighboring the 5th is the Naschmarkt, an open-air market four blocks long. It's a bustling place, full of some tourists, some Austrians and many of the internationals that now reside in Austria. Just at the end of the market are two buildings of interest: the so-called Majolika Haus. It was designed by Otoo Wagner, a prominant Jugenstil (aka Art Nouveau) architect. He also designed the Pavilions at the ... read more
September 10th 2006
I'll spare the commentary and let the photos do the talking. I will say that there is nothing like flying India Air, like visiting another culture while in transit. ... read more
July 18th 2006
Scenes from the trip from Liechtenstein to Ftan... more to be written later? ... read more
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