Embarking

Colorado gives only the most appropriately splendid goodbyes (with the exception of freezing drizzle): snowfall. In no other place can you enjoy the frosted tint of alpineglow; the distinct blue hue that stretches across the foothills and spills into the city. Before enjoying 6 months of more temperate weather, the chill is welcome. It offers clarity. The promise of the peaks is that they’ll be there when I get back – and Avery will probably have climbed most of them by then.

            For those of you who don’t know, I leave tomorrow morning for South Africa, Mozambique, and possibly Tanzania. My journey will span just over 6 months: studying at the southern tip of the African continent in Port Elizabeth at NMMU, conducting fieldwork on agricultural investments in Mozambique, volunteering for the Ogoni Solidarity Forum (which is dedicated to the cause of Nigerian refugees) in Cape Town, and possibly having a go at Kilimanjaro. Who knows? I do believe firmly in the spontaneous (safely spontaneous), but will not do any “cowboying” (note of disclaimer intended for mom). Apparently there is an impassioned Backpacker’s Club at NMMU. On a notice for one of their excursions, it read: “No need for the chainsaws this time.” Sign me up! I’ll be itching to find folks who are tuned to 4WD.  Starting with South Africa.

            On a final note, you may be confused as to why there is a picture of a mountain goat gracing the page. This is the goat that shyly followed Rachael and I up the summit of Gray’s Peak last summer. According to another hiker, he was simply out for our urine, but I’d like to think we’d attracted a companion.  I consider the mountain goat to be the most magnificent animal, especially among the few that frequent higher altitudes of 13,000 feet or more. Ancient pagan traditions preceding the takeover of Christianity in Europe used to center their worship on the goat. He was a common sight at fertility festivals. “Tragedy” in Greek technically translates as “goat song” and “goat” itself means “mountain nymph”. With such finesse do they scale the ridges of fourteeners in high winds and frigid conditions.

            Along my journey, I’d like to inherit this sure-footedness of goats, making my ascensions to new summits with certainty and precision. But do expect the picture to be soon replaced by that of the goat’s distant relatives (antelope, gazelles) or perhaps a giraffe. I will also post information and news about post-Apartheid politics and race relations, my findings on the attempted commercialization of agriculture in Africa, the quirks and oddities of travelling, and more. Hopefully less blather and more images. Please do comment, ask questions, interrogate.  Au revoir!