The allure of the Kalahari is the beauty of the land. However, the wildlife – while less dense than in other parts of south africa – is still amazing. steenbok. these beautiful antelope almost look like they have make-up on. african wildcat. a rare daytime sighting, as they normally are only active at night. long ago, the egyptions domesticated them. they’re related to our house cats! i forget what these guys are called. 🙂 a running family of gembok gembok springbok
The colors of the Kalahari are remarkably dynamic. Depending on the time of day and the weather, the “redness” of the landscape shifts. Since there were scorching 100F heat waves and explosive thunderstorms during my stay, I got to experience the whole range. 🙂 early morning overcast bright morning sun sunny afternoon brief cloud cover morning after thunderstorms late morning after thunderstorms
After a tricky car rental process (turns out automatics aren’t common in south africa) and figuring out (sorta) how to drive on the left side of the road, I arrived at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. A few minutes into park, three wild ostriches appeared from behind a hill on the left side of the road… and ran across the road about 15 feet in front of me. These giant 8 ft birds run with remarkable grace. And for a second, I had this “OMG – I’m in Jurassic Park” moment – i swear, those ostriches had a velociraptor aurora to them. …
We ate REALLY REALLY well on this trip (and so inexpensively!). 🙂 Here are a few yummy examples… first night in oaxaca: best enchiladas I ever had. and i wasn’t even hungry before i started eating. the famed chapuines. turns out grasshoppers taste like…. crunchy insects. mole negro! vino tinto salsa pasta steak! mole negro we made in cooking class sorbet we made in cooking class
Located near the city of Oaxaca, the ruins of Monte Alban date back to as early as 500 BC.
photos for a quinceañera outside of santo domingo selling outside of santo domingo the afternoon’s batch of fresh tortillas sauce cooling streets of oaxaca street performers streets of oaxaca
Last weekend, I went to Sundance Resort with my friend Beany. It was beautiful. We caught the mountains right as the leaves were starting to turn… sundance mountain the sun peering through red leaves dried ferns dried grass the mountain sides leaves! an elk hunter overgrown contrast
Yesterday, I went to my second Sounders game. I grew up on baseball and tennis – and have been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy soccer games. My one real complaint is that both games I went to ended in ties. I found out the rationale behind why they don’t just force a shoot-off (to reward defensive playing), but… it still seems weird to have a sport where there isn’t a winner. 🙂
I ended the trip with some much needed time on the beach. 🙂