Coming Home
Within days of being in Africa (disclaimer – this continent is huge and I am taking great liberties when I talk about Africa and almost as great liberties when I talk about any single country given that I am only in each for a few days – so let’s just roll with the generalizatons) I noticed that I was too comfortable and too in tune with the continent. I didn’t just like it, but rather I could feel the place in me. I soon decided that Africa is inside of me just as it is in all of us. We all originated from here and our DNA was formed here. The sounds, landscapes, scents, textures and peoples are deep within all of us. Watch all the documentaries, read all the books on Africa and you will never know what I am talking about. You can fall in love with Hawaii or Paris or the Andes, but you’re already in love with Africa. Africa is us. We are Africa. Africa is HOME.
I’ve run this past some of the other folks visiting and living here and they seem to agree or at least get what I am talking about. Some had also come to the same conclusion or have heard others suggest the same.
I visited Olduvai Gorge with Team Tanzania (I’ll get to them when I discuss safaris and no they do not have anything to do with the World Cup). That’s where the Leakey’s made their major discoveries regarding evolution (in case you’re still lost in biblical time, they sealed the deal on the planet not being just 6000 years old and we did evolve from a common ancestor with the chimps – pygmy chimps are our closest cousins). Standing over the gorge and seeing the five layers of Earth clearly produced over millions of years and knowing that each of these layers contains bones from different hominids, I was awestruck. I am absolutely crazy about Tanzania and I really love the idea that this is the place where the jungle disappeared and our ancestors had to climb down from the trees in order to survive. I may find a more beautiful country than Tanzania on this journey, but I definitely will not find one that has as much meaning. I have fallen in love with the baboons that I have seen in Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia and I am really excited to see the gorillas and other primates in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo. One has to be blind to not see us in them and them in us – all the good and all the bad. I look forward to being with the gentle highland gorillas and having the best of humans reflected in them.
NOTE: I’m not a hundred percent sold on this bootsnall blog format, but we’re sticking with it for now. You will see a link under this article which says “previous entries”. Please click on it too see the most recent articles. I think this is an Aussie site so maybe that is why the entries are appearing oldest to newest and “previous” means most recent. It’s all upside down when you’re down here!
Tags: Travel
vagabondrick
Look forward to hearing about the gorillas! Be careful. One of them might decide to adopt you. Bibi
What a great job you are doing with this blog – I have even learned how to read it.
Keep up the adventure – but please be safe.
David
Hi
Thanks for the info about the blog and how to “work it” as I didn’t understand why it went from old to new. I printed it and will run it up to Mom as I know she is enjoying reading your entries. Sounds like Tanzania was great.
Your right about that deep feeling about home in aFRICa. I know exactly what you mean…it’s real. Keep the letters coming as they are sooo interesting and fun to read. Julie