Botswana

This morning we probably saw at least a hundred elephants, giraffes, a buffalo, hippos in the water, warthogs, dozens of beautiful birds, a crocodile eating a bird that it had caught, baboons, huge lizards, herds of various antelope...all in a stunningly beautiful setting along the Chobe river on the border of Botswana and Namibia. Yes, now I am a tourist, a vacationer, driving around in safari trucks with other tourists, capturing animals as fast as we can with the telephoto lens...but the experience is incredible. To sit and watch these animals, to have them watch you, it's unforgettable. We have visited three different areas of Northern Botswana, each with different vegetation, different ecosystems...from dryer bush to the Okavango Delta to the Chobe river...

The transition from the cultural exchange portion of my trip to the tourist part is strange, I admit. My interactions with Africans are now relegated to them providing me services because I've paid a lot of money...not really genuine. I now realize how unbelieveably lucky I was to have the experience I did. But I am also lucky to be able to see what I'm seeing, and glad to have some down time to prepare myself for going back to the US, which is happening a lot sooner than I would like. But I have so much to bring back with me...