Dagny's Recap

        My summer was truly incredible. With every new place we went I talked with and learned from so many different people. I have stories to carry with me for the rest of my life. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we would talk with locals and share stories and bits about our different cultures. 

In Morocco we visited this beach town called Essaouira. This was the last stop in Morocco so we had already been there for two weeks. At this point we had eaten so much  couscous and tagine. It had become a kind of joke everytime we sat down and someone would ask what we were having. We all knew what it was going to be. On this particular day we didn't have any activities planned and so we were just gonna hang out on the beach. My mom found us a spot on the beach that was just a private stretch that belonged to one of the hotels. We met up with a woman from our group and layed out by the beach. Maggie and I spent the whole day in the ocean. A girl swam up to me and Maggie and started talking to us. She was from a town close by called Marrakech. She was visiting Essaouira on vacation with her mom and her moms friend. The trip was to celebrate her finishing her final exams and graduating from high school. We talked about if we were planning on going to college and where. She said that she would like to leave the country and study elsewhere but would need to apply for scholarships. In Morocco all college is free so another option for her would be to stay at home. We talked about the food we were eating and the places we were going. It was amazing talking with her to be able to connect with someone my own age. Our whole trip we were mostly talking with adults. When we got the opportunity to talk with people closer to my age I felt like I was able to understand better how life there was because I could compare it to mine. This girl we met lived pretty similarly to me. She went to high school and hung out with her friends. In Morocco the driving age is 18 so she drove a moped to school and around town. She asked me if my parents let me go out and have parties with my friends because hers did not. For the most part we were very similar. 

Morocco was maybe my favorite place that we visited. It was just so different then any place I'd ever been. The food and the culture and art and especially the architecture. There was so much to see and learn about and our group did an incredible job of covering all of Morocco and seeing everything there was to see

Another one of my favorite experiences was when we did a walk with locals in Malawi. Malawi for us was right in the middle of a bunch of drive days so we were all pretty grumpy. On this day we got to pick from a few different things to do. We could go swimming and fishing in the Malawi lake, we could go on a bike ride, or we could take a walk with locals. We chose the walk. The campsite we were staying in was surrounded by this kind of gate. When we walked out of the gate to meet with the people, someone came up to each of us and shook our hands. We each had our own buddy to walk with and talk to. For me this was pretty uncomfortable at the start. I don’t like talking to strangers, especially by myself but after a little while I really began to enjoy myself. I was walking with a guy only about two years older than myself. HIs name was JB, he worked selling artwork and making bricks in order to support his family and pay for school. Along our walk we learned about the school system, we learned about the crops most every family grows, we learned about how they built their houses and the family structures. We learned about the lives of the people we were walking with and their personal struggles. The kids in the village were on holiday from school. They liked to walk with us and hold our hands. They liked to answer all our questions. At the end of our walk we went into the shops of the people we were walking with and they showed us their artwork. Paintings and sculptures and things like that. Once we saw it all my family met up and we decided what we wanted to buy. Addie and I wanted this game we had played called boa. With the game you move rocks around the board and try to steal the other players. Alastair wanted to buy a sculpture of an elephant and Maggie wanted one of two elephants. My dad bought a painting of Africa and all the places we had been and my mom asked these guys to make her two paddles for a game we were playing. With everything we bought we had to negotiate the price. So we all talked and figured out what would be reasonable and then we bought our stuff. They told us to come back in a couple of hours and they would be ready. When we did we all hung out outside the gate and talked and hung out. We had a great time. In the end we exchanged contact info with a few of the locals and went back to the camp where we spent the rest of the night playing bao. 

This trip was truly amazing and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with my family learning and seeing parts of the world. I am going to continue traveling all my life meeting new people and having new experiences. I will take the lessons I've learned this summer with me forever. The memories we made will forever be some of my favorites. Thank you Africa.

Dagny McLain

Adelaide’s Summer Recap

This summer was absolutely the adventure of a lifetime. I feel incredibly fortunate to have a family who is willing to dedicate the time and effort to embark on a 76 day journey away from home. While we visited 10 different countries and saw some incredible things, the most important part of this summer was the quality time that I was able to spend with my family. Even if we were being thrown around in the back of a truck or sleeping on the ground or getting blasted by sand in the desert or using some of the worst bathrooms known to humankind, we were doing it as a team. I love my family more than anything and this summer wouldn’t have been the same without them.

With that being said, here are my favorite memories from this summer:

Morocco - While riding camels in Merzouga, we faced a sandstorm that was wildly painful and very funny. Even as we fought to keep the sand from reaching our eardrums, the 6 of us were laughing.

Egypt - Oddly enough, I really enjoyed riding the sleeper train that transported us from Cairo to Aswan. My siblings and I had never spent a night on a train before and it was pretty cool! Although our cabin was kind of dirty, Dagny and I had a room that adjoined to our parents so we could chat with them. Dagny successfully brushed her teeth from the top bunk which was hilarious and we got to wake up to the sun rising over the landscape racing by.

Jordan - Swimming in the Dead Sea was an activity that we all looked forward to with great anticipation. While I spent the whole swim terrified of getting the salty water in my eyes, the feeling of floating was very unique. My favorite part about this day, however, was that we spent some time swimming in the hotel pools after we swam in the sea. The 6 of us wrestled in the pool and practically drowned one another while the life guards laughed at us and smoked cigarettes.

Israel - I’m very grateful that my parents made it a priority to bring our family to the holy land so that we could better imagine what life would have been like when Jesus was alive. Visiting Christian sites across Israel such as Jesus’ birthplace and tomb brought to life the stories that I’ve heard in church my whole life.

Palestine - Visiting the Ayda Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem was an eye opening experience for me. I learned much about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the complex history of the territories over which they fight. Being in such close proximity to the violence helped me to understand what life is like for Palestinian refugees living under Israeli occupation.

Kenya - While our time in Kenya was limited, I was blown away by the hospitality of our hotel staff and the three Kenyans who made our overland trek possible. When our luggage was lost for 19 hours when we first arrived in Nairobi, the hotel staff were so helpful and welcoming. While the 6 of us were beyond stressed about having to replace everything for the second half of our trip, the concierge worked diligently to locate our bags. Our guide, driver, and cook for the overland trek, Michael, Dan, and Emmanuel were all Kenyan. We enjoyed spending a month learning from them about Kenyan culture, the Swahili language, and traditional Kenyan dishes such as Ugali.

Tanzania - From the beaches of Zanzibar to the animals of the Serengeti, Tanzania had a lot to offer. My favorite destination was the village that we visited in the Usambara mountains. I was impressed by the overwhelming greenery and biodiversity. We were able to take an 8 mile hike which included a gorgeous overlook, countless chameleons, a delicious homemade lunch served on wooden plates, and dancing.

Malawi - While our time in Malawi was short, it was definitely impactful. On our free day at Lake Malawi, we had a guided tour of the Mbamba village. I enjoyed getting to know the local artisans as they taught us how to play Bao. In return, we taught them how to play smashball.

Zambia - By our 7th game drive, I thought we had seen it all. However, in South Lalongwe National Park, we got to watch a dozen elephants roll around, play, and swim in a river as they were returning to the park after a night of raiding the nearby village. I loved watching the babies as they learned to swim and ran to find piles of dirt once they were done. Elephants have definitely become my new favorite animal.

Zimbabwe - For me, the most terrifying moment of the entire trip was when we stood face-to-face with white rhinos in Madaba National Park in Bulawayo. My heart was racing throughout the entire encounter knowing that at any moment, the rhinos could charge at us and flatten us before our guide could scare them off. While it was incredible to view the animals from up close, I don’t need to do it again any time soon.

South Africa - While visiting Soweto, we visited a small building consisting of one room which held approximately 20 toddlers and 2 caregivers. These children were all in daycare so that their mothers (as young as 12 years old) could attend school. I was shocked by the health crises and circumstances faced by the individuals living in townships such as Soweto. Lack of sex ed, prevalence of tuberculosis, stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, unemployment, and teen pregnancy complicate the lives of the young girls and boys. I’m grateful that I was able to learn from this community so that I may further discuss global healthcare issues as I pursue a career in medicine.

Adelaide McLain

Maggie's Summary

This summer I made so many amazing memories with my family and I am so grateful for each and every experience. I’m going to write about each of the ten countries we visited.

Firstly, we spent a lot of time in Morocco and my favorite city was definitely Chefchaouen. There were stray cats everywhere in Morocco but Chefchaouen had the most. Chefchaouen is known as the blue pearl of Morocco and we saw a beautiful view of the blue houses after walking to the Spanish mosque on the top of a hill. My favorite part of being in Chefchaouen was the dinner we had on a patio overlooking the valley where we were surrounded by kittens the entire time. After seeing so much of Morocco I can confidently say that it was the most diverse in landscape out of the countries we saw. We were in the mountains, the desert, cities, and the middle of nowhere and it was always beautiful.

Next we flew to Egypt where we spent each day sight seeing, we saw temples primarily as well as the great pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. My favorite thing we saw in Egypt was the Valley Of The Kings where we entered the tombs of kings including King Tutankhamen’s and we saw his mummified body. I liked seeing all of the design work that went into those tombs and learning about their discovery. Egypt was very interesting for me because of the ancient history we learned about and saw.

Jordan was our next country which had the best hotel accommodations of our first 4 countries. We went sightseeing in Jordan but we also had activities planned. We went to Petra which was one of our most memorable days in Jordan, the caves and carvings were amazing and I liked the hike we did that day as well. I also really enjoyed floating in the Dead Sea and even though I got the salty water in my eyes I thought that was a very interesting experience. My favorite activity that we did in Jordan was spending the day on a boat where we went snorkeling in the Red Sea. I had a lot of fun that day primarily because I love snorkeling. The balance of sightseeing and activities made Jordan one of my favorite countries that we visited this summer.

The last country we visited before we re-entered Africa was Israel including the Palestinian controlled areas. In Israel we spent the majority of our time visiting churches that served as historic landmarks including the place of Jesus’s birth, crucifixion, burial, and several places he was thought to have lived. Despite seeing all of these religious landmarks, the most powerful part of our time in Israel for me, was crossing the wall into Palestine. I didn’t know what to expect when we were told about the Palestinian controlled territories so when we were driving through a security checkpoint to a city surrounded by a thick cement wall, I was decently shocked. We spent the following few hours learning about the relationship between the people in this community and the Israeli military surrounding the wall outside of it as well as the rights that the people inside did or did not have. That was one of our most valuable experiences in Israel in my opinion because of how much our perspectives grew and how much we came to understand about that specific political dispute.

We started our overland trek in Kenya where we spent two days in Nairobi before we left with our tour. We spent the first day replacing the necessities that were in the luggage we lost before we located and picked up our bags that night with the help of the hotel staff. We also went to a church service on Sunday. We didn’t spend very much time in Kenya but my favorite memory was seeing apes on the side of the road on the way to the mall on our first day because it made me realize how different the rest of our trip was going to be from anything we’d experienced earlier in the trip.

Our first stop on our overland trek was in Tanzania where we spent 10 days. We had our first game drive there in the Ngorongoro Crater and then several more in the Serengeti National park which was the highlight of my time in Tanzania because of all of the animals we saw. My favorite thing to look at were the lion cubs we spotted. We also went to Zanzibar and back  by ferry during our time in Tanzania. We saw Stone Town where we did a city and a spice tour and we also spent time in the northern beaches which was very beautiful. Tanzania was my favorite country that we visited during the overland trek because we were able to spend more time there than anywhere else which allowed us to see so much more of the country and do a lot of fun things.

Malawi was our next stop where we only spent a couple of days, however one of my favorite days of the entire trip was spent in Malawi. We were staying along the beach of Lake Malawi and we spent the day on a walk around the community. We were each greeted by a local along with our tour guide. When the guide wasn’t talking to us I spent my time talking to a 20 year old girl named Jenny, we got to know each other, I listened to the guide, and we were accompanied by children in the community as well. After the walk around the community where we saw where they get water, the schools, the farms, and how and where they make resources like bricks and flour, Jenny taught me how to play the Malawi Bao Game. My family also purchased 2 Bao Boards, paddles for a game, a custom painted map of our trip, and 2 wooden sculptures from various locals. This day especially stood out to me because of the kindness we were shown by the locals and the curiosity of the children in the community.

We were in Zambia next but not for very long once again. My favorite part of Zambia was the game drive we did the morning of our first day there, we saw 2 male elephants play fighting in the river and then later on there were at least 15 more crossing the river including 2 babies, one of which was under a year old. I loved watching the elephants and everything they did was so interesting, it’s safe to say we had the best elephant sightings in Zambia.

We then drove to Zimbabwe, we saw and walked around Great Zimbabwe and then the next day we went on a “Rhino Walk”. All I knew was that we were going to have an opportunity to see rhinos but we ended up learning a lot about them, their behavior, and their risk of being poached. We tracked them on foot after leaving our vehicle on the main road and then once we spotted them we were all relatively surprised that our guide kept walking us closer and closer to them until they were no more than 10 feet away. We watched a male rhino first and then we found a female with a baby whose father was the male we saw first. This was an amazing experience and I was very glad that we saw rhinos after not being able to spot them on any of our prior game drives. We then drove to Victoria Falls and had a group dinner with our tour group as a goodbye. The next day we toured Victoria Falls itself which was gorgeous and very misty, we also walked to the bridge and then had lunch at the lookout restaurant where we watched people zip line between Zimbabwe and Zambia. The next day we went to church with our driver from the tour which ended up being 3 hours long and we had the opportunity to come back after lunch as well. And then after a relaxing rest of our day we flew out the next morning.

We landed in South Africa and got to our hotel which was right across from the Nelson Mandela Square which was very convenient for meals and is also where we got birthday presents for Dagny. While we were in Johannesburg we toured a prison, the current judicial building, Soweto, and the poorest community in Soweto which after seeing a large amount of Africa wasn’t as shocking as it would have been had we seen that first. My favorite thing about Johannesburg were the meals that we had in the square, the food was really good and was more familiar than any of the other meals we had on the trip but just spending quality time with just the six of us was a really good way to spend the last days of the trip.

As excited as I am to be home, I am going to miss spending all of my time with my family and I am so very grateful that I was able to spend so much time with each of them this summer. Naturally, I missed everyone in Denver, but it was so worth it, this summer was such an amazing experience for me and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Thank you to my parents for making this possible for our family and for instilling a love of travel in me as well as giving me an opportunity to spend so much time with our wonderful family.

-Magnolia

Jll's recap on sabbatical

I have been home for 4 days and have had lots of feelings about our summer in Africa and the Middle East. The biggest feeling is gratitude, that we made it 76 days without any real incident. No one at home got sick, work was fine without us, parents and siblings were all good. Also grateful that my crew could stay safe for all of those days in some really remote locations. I prayed for lots of cover and I know lots of people were praying for us too. I am so grateful that our sabbatical was filled with happy feelings which will last a lifetime.

I have seen a few friends since being home who ask, "how was it"? The best word to describe our summer was MASSIVE, for a thousand reasons. A big one is the distance traveled. Morocco, our starting point, is in the north west corner of Africa and South Africa, our end point, is in the south east corner. We feel like we saw so much of what this continent has to offer. We had 11 airplane flights and drove over 5000 miles. Yes. That felt like too much some days. Yes. We had to do it to get to the remote villages, mountain towns, beaches, and deserts we loved the most. For me, I could have skipped most of the big cities, except that you can't. You have to fly into big cities so you can drive to the small towns. So, the 5000 miles was totally worth it! I saw Africa, and I mean a lot of Africa, and I loved it.

Favorite big cities: Fes, Morocco; Amman and Aqaba Jordan; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel; and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Israel and Jordan are the easiest countries to visit because they are the most developed. The tricky part of this is that the more developed the country, the more tourists. Most of the time I wanted to be were the tourists were not, which is why I preferred the remote locations.

Favorite little towns: Tangier, Chefchaouen, Atlas Mountains and Essaouria, Morocco; Wadi Rum and Petra, Jordan; The Usambara Mountains and Zanzibar, Tanzania; and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Morocco gets lots of high praise for little/cute places to visit that are relatively under discovered as tourist destinations. For this reason, I really enjoyed these parts of Morocco. Jordan was way more beautiful with open spaces which my family really craves. Petra, of course, is amazing. I loved being in the mountains in Tanzania. This required a really long drive day to get there and another to get out, but I thought it was worth it. This mountain town sees almost no tourists. Zanzibar was a great break for our family and the beaches were nice, but it and Victoria Falls are well known tourist destinations. This is because they are beautiful. Too bad the secret is out.

We had 6 different game drives sprinkled throughout our overland trek from Nairobi to Victoria Falls. In Tanzania we visited the Ngoronogoro Crater, Serengeti National Park and Mikumi National Park. All amazing and all different. In Zambia the South Luanga National Park. Yes we saw the Big Five and so much more. I loved every day we had viewing these animals. Africa understands these parks and the animals in them are worth protecting and vital to tourism. Throughout our travels it was clear that tourism is needed in these countries and has been very slow to recover post-Covid. I am so grateful we could visit.

Israel and Jordan are in the Middle East. They felt like very wealthy countries compared to the other African countries we visited so they can't really compare. Plus, David and I had visited both in 2020 when the pandemic hit so I already had some great memories from these two countries. So glad we could share them with the kids, especially the Holy Land. Just yesterday in church the scripture reading was about Peter at the Sea of Galilee. I made eye contact with Adelaide and you could tell we were both thinking the same thing, "I've been there". Yep. Their faith will be fuller and become more real because they can now connect those places to their understanding of the bible. 

Our lone destination in South Africa was Johannesburg. Again, David and I had visited in 2010 so we knew what to expect. I would like the kids to return to SA again some day and visit Cape Town and other areas. It is a beautiful country and we didn't get to see much of it this time around.

Some of the biggest differences between the parts of Africa we visited and the US are: water, power/internet, roads, waste removal, unemployment, food, money, and religion. In Africa we never drank anything but bottled water. Water born diseases are significant in Africa. Access to water through wells is improving and I liked watching families work together to carry water and clean clothes. I am grateful for clean water. 

Power outages were found all over Johannesburg and reliable internet connections and power sources were unreliable. We got really used to saying, "T.I.A., this is Africa". Most of the time I only charged my phone every other day because I didn't always have an internet connection and I didn’t really need it. I had my whole family together and wasn't working. Truth is, I just needed it to take pictures. However, I am grateful for power and the ability to stay connected to friends and family everyday. 

We traveled the majority of our trip on the Great East African Highway. Unlike the US that has an interstate highway system which is well funded and well maintained, the roads in Africa are tough. Pot holes and damage are found everywhere and we joked about the "free African massage". I am grateful that my state is not a country; that Colorado works with Nebraska, that works with Iowa, that works with Illinois. Not just on roads, but for the greater good. It is difficult to be a small African country. They all function independently. 

In the US we have scheduled trash and recycle collection. This is a luxury I have seen over and over again when I travel. Not just this summer, but all over the world. Africa is making progress and the National Parks are really clean. Zambia has made single use plastic bags illegal. I am hopeful this will improve. A current solution seems to be burning trash. This was tough as we were often driving through fields on fire or trash fires. Not a good solution for air quality. I am grateful for clean air, water, and streets. I will be picking up even more trash I find in my neighborhood.

I work with recruiters. I tell people all the time, "we find people new jobs". This is a concept lost on some of the people I met in Africa because most of the countries we visited had unemployment rates between 50-80%. That is tough to imagine. Government jobs and tourism seem to be the best jobs. After that, most people are subsistence farmers. The women looked like they were working all the time; babies on their backs, heavy loads balanced on their heads. Because we had to drive slowly through a hundred small villages we got to watch so many people working. Lots of fruit and vegetables sold near the road. I saw hand made furniture, lots of shops for mechanics, and tons of little handmade kiosks for the selling of sim cards. Even in Africa staying connected on cell phones is a big deal. I am so grateful for my job, for Dave's, and that my children are guaranteed a chance to work. For real! May not be their dream jobs at the start, but they can work and they will be glad for it when they reflect on their travels.

The food in Africa was great. We joked about all the tajines we ate in Morocco and Dave's favorite food in Israel was Knafeh which is a pastry with a sweet syrup and cheese. Africa's number one protein is chicken and we were usually disappointed when we attempted beef. Tons of fresh vegetables are grown and sold. Number one difference was that we had almost no desserts in Africa. They seem to be a luxury. If we were offered a dessert it was almost always oranges or melon. I am grateful for the abundant food choices we have at home and also very aware of how much we have. 

We changed currency 9 times this summer. Maybe Dave and the kids can recall each one, but I can't. And I certainly can't remember the conversion rates. Each boarder crossing required a new mental math game of ensuring we spent all the currency for the country we were leaving and figuring out what a dollar represented in our new destination. This is a skill which was great practice for all of us. The dollar is strong and we spent a lot less money in Africa for food and snacks than we would ever spend in the US. That was a delightful byproduct and also a big reminder of how wealthy the US is. So much in fact, that Zimbabwe has abandoned their own currency which has been devalued so dramatically that now they only accept the US Dollar. Weird and tough. The number one souvenir we were offered on the streets in Zimbabwe was their Zimbabwe dollars. Only value is that they are collectors items. I am grateful that my country has a stable economy.

I loved the religious differences we were exposed to this summer. The first half of our summer we traveled through countries that were over 90% Muslim. This is new for all of us. The call to prayer takes place by loud speaker 5 times a day. The first call to prayer is before the sun rises and the last after the sun sets. Inevitably, we slept right next to the mosque from which these calls go out. We don't have this public call to prayer in the US, probably because of some kind on noise ordinance, so it was new for us. Muslims also do not drink alcohol. The first half our summer I didn't see a liquor store for weeks. We were only able to attend church 3 times this summer. This was a bummer because of our tight driving schedule. We always love visiting churches. All three services were LONG. The longest 3 hours. The Presbyterians we hang with keep it to 60 minutes and not a minute longer. My family stood out in a really obvious way at all 3 churches but I am grateful that I can find my people anywhere in the world and our collective prayers bind us together.

Time, uninterrupted time, was the biggest gift of all this summer. My crew is getting old and they are carving their own paths in the world. We will always travel together but very likely in smaller chunks of time. My crew has travel skills most do not. They will eat almost anything, sleep on the ground, use the eastern toilet or the "bushy bushy", and have compassion and understanding for people and places of different cultures and backgrounds. 

Thanks for reading along and praying us home from our massive African adventure. We will be glad to stay put for a little while for family, friends, school and work. But not too long as my favorite place to travel is the next place I will go.

Jll

The Evolution of Humankind

Day 74 - Today was the last full day of sabbatical (that wasn’t a travel day). We slept in this morning before eating our hotel breakfast of omelettes, pancakes, and fruit. We met our driver for the day, Nathi, who took us 90 minutes away to Maruping which highlights the history  of human evolution. There was one other individual on our tour, a woman named Emma, who is a DJ from London. We spent the morning exploring the museum at Maruping which is found in the Cradle of Humanity. The museum focused on the scientific exploration of the origins of the human species. We learned about genetics, classification of organisms, and saw ancient fossils of species distantly related to the human race. There was also a hilarious boat ride in the basement of the museum that highlighted nothing in particular. We got spun around while water dripped from above. It was bizarre. Once we made our way through the museum, we grab some sandwiches for a small lunch before loading back into the van. Most of us fell asleep on the 90 minute drive back to hotel.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in our rooms. Mom spent some time by the hotel pool. Around 5:30pm, mom took the four of us to Trumps, a steakhouse on Nelson Mandela Square. We had a really delicious dinner and laughed a lot. This was the best steak I’ve had all summer. Alastair tried the springbok carpaccio. Ew. Quiet night other than that.

Day 75 - We’re going home today!! We slept in this morning and ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We moved all of our bags into one hotel room for which we had an extended check out. Mom and the four of us kids walked around the Sandton mall for a while to kill time. We got sushi for lunch at a restaurant named Big Mouth which was delicious. Mom and I walked around the mall for another hour before we finalized our packing and checked out of the hotel. Our airport transfer arrived at 4pm and getting through passport control went smoothly. We’re now seated at a restaurant in the airport waiting to board our 17 hour flight. Wish us luck!

Adelaide

Third sabbatical birthday for Dagny

I might have overestimated the amount of time needed to catch our flight yesterday out of Victoria Falls. We were at the airport before most of the airport staff. We gave ourselves plenty of time for coffee and breakfast at the airport. The kids attempted eggs Benedict again. Yesterday’s version was served on two halves of a hamburger bun. Getting closer.

Super easy flight and transfer to our hotel in Sandton which is considered the “New Town” of Johannesburg. Our hotel is right near Mandela Square where Dave and I visited in 2010. Tourism is taking a very long time to recover in Africa, most in the industry out of work for 3 years, but, we found all the tourists last night. We grubbed on a very delicious late lunch and cruised the adjacent mall looking for some simple birthday items for Dagny’s birthday. We found her some earrings and some Lego daffodils and also a little birthday cake. 

We are not big consumers. Dave and I almost never shop, but I do love to buy Swatch Watches when I travel. I have probably owned 20 over the last 20 years and this is my new favorite because it is yellow.

Dave and the kids have been excited to go see the movie, Barbie. Zero for two on theater popcorn. Nope, not as good as the US at either theater we have visited, but the movie was cute.

McLain family tradition is to be woken on the morning of your birthday with the family singing happy birthday to you with breakfast in bed. We couldn’t execute breakfast in bed, but we did have the pretty cake we found the night before. Dagny is 17 today and this is the third birthday she has celebrated while on sabbatical. Her 7th birthday was in Florida with good friends at Gatorama. We all remember the pictures of Dagny holding a baby gator on her birthday. Year 12 was at Bryce Canyon in Utah with a day full of hiking. Seventeen celebrated today in Johannesburg, South Africa and Soweto. Happy birthday Dagny!

We enjoyed a comprehensive tour of JoBurg to include Constitution Hill and the former prison, Nelson Mandela’s house from after his release from prison in the 90s in JoBurg and his home in Soweto from before his arrest in the 60s. We saw the site of Desmond Tutu’s house, not far away. Both Nobel Prize winners from the same neighborhood. Orlando West High School and the site where Hector Pieterson was shot during the youth uprising of 1976. 

The best part of the tour for me was a walk through the township where we were invited to learn about everyday life in this crowded settlement. Our guide showed us the homes, the well women use to pump water for washing clothes in tubs, and how they splice power from the street lights for limited power. I was pleased to learn that most of the children do attend free public school paid for buy the government even if the cost of uniforms is a hardship the community works together to ensure children have the necessary clothes. 

HIV/Aids is still a major concern in Africa. Free medications are available from the government but some refuse treatment because of the stigma of taking the drugs and admitting they are infected. 

Unemployment is 50% in South Africa which is an improvement over Zimbabwe which was 80%. The majority of unemployment is outside the city. Our guide said people in the city are “hustlers”. I think that means they have more access to day labor and odd jobs.

Teen pregnancy is a major factor in Soweto. We were invited to visit a children’s center where two women provide care for about 25 preschoolers so their teen mothers can attend school. The little bunch liked us a lot and particularly my kids.

We will find a fun dinner spot to celebrate Dagny tonight and try to get her to wear her birthday crown we picked up a few weeks ago. No doubt she is missing her friends and looking forward to celebrating with them this weekend, but for now, we get her all to ourselves. This will likely be the last birthday for her on the road. Such a precious part of her August birthday. Happy birthday to her.

Jll

I am a church person

If you sat in the front of The Beast in the mornings, you would inevitably hear gospel or praise music pouring out of the cab through the small access hole between it and the passenger compartment.  While not in English you could still tell.  Towards the end of the trip, we asked our driver, Dan, if he was indeed listening to church music. Enthusiastically he replied, “yes, I am a church person.”  We told him that we too are church people. This led to the discovery that Dan is also a Presbyterian, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, attending a small church in his village outside of Nairobi. 

Before we parted ways with the intrepid travelers, we mentioned to Dan that we would like to find a church before leaving Zimbabwe tomorrow. In that we are traveling on Sunday, we found a service at a Seventh Day Adventist Church this morning and Dan asked if he could join us. We stopped by the campground this morning to pick up Dan and we walked through town to find the Vulindlela Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Information online was spotty so we didn’t know what time the service started. Out of an abundance of caution, we went on the early side. This meant we were there are morning, participating in the singing and prayers, community announcements, roll call, church school, and finally the service. All told we were there for 2 1/2 hours. The congregation was kind enough to conduct the service in English instead of Ndebele, which made understanding possible. The church did not have a choir or any musical instruments, both of which proved unnecessary as the congregation sang beautifully. 

After lunch we meandered through town for lunch at the Three Monkeys restaurant, the most touristy place we’ve eaten in months. We had a good lunch and made it back to the hotel mid-afternoon having decided to skip the 2-5 pm session back at the church to which we had been invited.  We spent the remainder of the day resting or napping, making our way to the hotel restaurant for dessert.  We leave Zimbabwe tomorrow morning, and the end of our adventure seems close. Stay tuned for the South African adventures to follow. 

Dave

Said goodbye to The Beast

We woke up yesterday around six to have breakfast around 7:30. We needed to drive  six hours from Bulawayo to victory falls. This was our very last drive with our group. The drives on this trip have been really interesting. They are long and the roads are terrible. In total three windows have broken because they have jiggled out of place, we had one flat tire, and one faulty clutch. In the end we made it all the way from Nairobi to victory falls without any major problems and for that I am grateful. We rolled into Vic falls at about two and all of us opted to just hang out and rest until dinner time. Some of the group took a 15 minute helicopter ride to see the falls from above. For dinner we walked to a nearby restaurant that was really cool and delicious. We talked about the trip and all the highlights and just enjoyed our time together. We then headed back to the campsite and slept for the last time in the tents. In the morning we had crepes and cereal for breakfast and Michael our guide arranged for a group of singers and dancers to come be with us while we ate. When breakfast wound up we unpacked our tents and then headed to see the falls. In total the falls have fifteen look out points all along and we stopped at each of them to see and to take pictures. The father we walked to more mist was coming up from the bottom and by the end we were completely soaked. The falls were incredible and so beautiful. After the fifteen spots we walked across a bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia to see the gorge below. We then walked to a super cool restaurant on the edge the gorge called the lookout where we watched people swinging and zip lining and ate. We then grabbed our stuff from the campsite and checked into a hotel where we’ll be staying for the next two nights. 

Dagny

She said “I’m gonna hire a rhino to decorate our home”

The 6 of us woke up in our dorm room around 7am and it was very chilly outside. We took our time getting dressed and making our way to breakfast which was crepes, sausage, coffee, and hot coco. At 8:30am, we left our campsite, Burke’s Backpackers Paradise, and drove a chilly 30 min to Matobo National Park. We had a local guide named Andy who wore shorts and walked barefoot at one point. He would pick up rhino dung and tracked them based on footprints. At the entrance to the park, Andy spent a while explaining to us the pros and cons of tourism and hunting in the park. We set off driving to track down some rhinos but we’re initially unsuccessful. We saw a disassembled rhino skeleton in the bush which had a massive skull. Around noon, we stopped for lunch, which was pasta salad and cold cut sandwiches. Andy also gave us powdered coffee, tea, and ginger cookies. We walked to the top of a rocky hill and saw the grave of Cecil John Rhodes.

We hopped back in the truck and drove to a spot by a small stream. We left the truck behind and started tracking a young male rhinoceros, maybe 14 years old. We had to climb through some tall grasses and spiky plants to get around which was very painful. Dad cut his finger open at one point. We eventually spotted the young male and began approaching him. Our guide slowly brought us closer and closer which was terrifying. We ended up standing on a rocky surface about 10 feet away from the second largest land mammal on earth. We moved very slowly and avoided talking or making any loud noises as to not spook the animal, although our guide still had to shush it and whistle in order to keep it calm. We got some photos and backed away before any of us could become targets. Even though our guide had a sidearm, my heart was racing. Next, we crossed the stream and found a female rhinoceros with her baby. We were upping the stakes. As we creeped around them, the baby got spooked and jumped into the mother’s side, scaring us all. We didn’t stay for long to take pictures before retreating back to the truck.

After that, we drove to a trailhead and hiked up to a cave that holds ancient San paintings that are made of blood, pigment, and egg whites on the cave walls. The paintings are estimated to be between 4000 and 5000 years old and they depict African animals such as giraffes and hippos as well as stick figure people with rings on their necks. We learned a little bit about the hunter gatherer lifestyle of the San people before hiking back down to our truck. The sun set as we drove out of the park. We closed the flaps on the back of the truck to protect us from the wind as we drove the 30 minutes back to camp. Emmanuel made us a yummy potato, cheese, and onion dish as well as “African sausage” for dinner. Overall, we had a lovely, yet adrenaline inducing time in Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe update and things I love about sabbatical

These are Dave’s words. I stole them from his Facebook post. He remembers details better than I. “Yesterday - from Harare to Masvingo, in time for a trip to the Great Zimbabwe ruins.  This was home to the Shona kings from 1150 to the 1500’s.  We also visited a traditional village and the Great Enclosure. This is the largest pre-Colonial structure in sub-Saharan Africa.” I will add the color details. I loved hiking around the Great Zimbabwe ruins because my family was way overdue for even a little exercise and the only other tourists at this World Heritage Site seemed to be some local teenagers on a field trip. I continue to be reminded that Americans don’t travel to these remote parts of Africa. We have one other American on our little tour. She is from Georgia. The other 6 in our group are from Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Most days the only white people I see are my fellow travelers. That is a first for me and I have traveled a lot of places.

On sabbatical the enormous gift of time, and sometimes boredom, opens up space for really fun and authentic conversation. Today I sat next to Dagny for several hours as we drove. Looking out the window but also talking about the things that are important to her; her friends, her upcoming senior year, what comes next. This is the gold. The good stuff about getting away and leaving all our normal behind. This happens every day, with a different kid, or all of them at once. We will laugh about these conversations ten years from now and be so grateful all over again.

Tonight we are in Bulewayo, Zimbabwe. We had a rare treat of arriving in the city at lunch time. The six of us had a sit down lunch in a real restaurant called Raco Mamma’s. It was a burger joint, not all that unlike Bad Daddy’s. It was a good break from camping food. We had a walk around town and mostly just wandered. We get a lot of attention when we walk around, always lots of stares and folks really want to talk with us. Inevitably they try to guess where we are from and it always starts with Spain, England, Australia. We never get asked if we are from the United States because I really don’t think Americans come here. They want to know which state, but of course, most Africans only know of New York and California. Very few people we meet have ever traveled outside of their hometown.

Tonight we traded in our tents for an upgrade to a dormitory style room that has three bunk beds and a twin. Again, I love this part of sabbatical. This together time that leads to all the funny experiences we will remember for a lifetime. I’m on a top bunk tonight above Adelaide. Feels like summer camp.

We head out in the morning to track rhino on foot. Yep. I’ve never done that and I am really looking forward to it. The guide has promised great nature walks and views of ancient hieroglyphics.

We are nearing the end of our summer and that feels weird. Exciting to return home to the people we love and the comforts of home, but also sad that this gift is winding down. We will be back in Denver in 9 days and I will ring every experience and memory possible out of these final days. Tonight I will sleep easy with all my chicks in the same nest. Even if that nest is in a remote location in Africa.

Jll

Zambia to Zimbabwe

Readers,

The days since our trip left Lusaka have been marked largely by the landscapes that mark the African highway system and long drives. From Lusaka, Zambia we drove south towards the Zimbabwean border point where we would enter into our second to last country of the trip. The long drive days that have been pushing us further south on the African continent that have been littered with scenes of African villages built of handmade bricks and thatched roofs, many of them with bricks in place of windows while they save up for the glass. Me moved across the border crossing which went much more smoothly than the previous one into Zambia. Although it featured more stations, we could pencil it in as a success seeing as no one from our tour was barred from crossing. So, after our successful cross, we drove into Zimbabwe and saw it’s agricultural fields.  

In perpetration for the approaching rainy season in Africa, many of the farmers were burning what was left of the seasons crop so that the ash would make for a fertile field when the rains come. As we drove through these fields, many of them were still a blaze with some being close enough to the truck that you could feel the heat through the window. It was interesting to see how the farming practices differed between the United States and Zimbabwe, as I’ve never seen a farmers field ablaze driving through Iowa or Nebraska. Fertilizer in the US may be more easily accessible as compared to in sub Saharan Africa. We continued on on driving to the capital city of Harare, which was similar to any other major city which we had seen in Africa such as Casablanca or Cairo, although we saw Harare fairly quiet because of it being the weekend. After a quick walk around we were all in agreement that Harare was not the place that we needed to see on our tour. We drove a bit outside of the city while we got a lesson on the history of politics within the nation before we got to our campsite for the night. 

Alastair

Sleeping with the hippos

 One of the things I love most about Africa is the terrible cell connectivity as my family gets fully present, but, it does make it challenging to keep our readers updated on our fun. The last two days have been a contrast of exhausting and relaxing. 

Two days ago we crossed the boarder from Malawi to Zambia. This should have been a piece of cake, but one of our fellow travelers ran into a snag with her Visa. We waited five hours at the boarder for her to be rejected. She and her boyfriend had to leave our tour under some really unfortunate circumstances. After the five hour sit around, the Zambian DEA decided to search our truck for illegal drugs. They targeted only the four males on the truck, including Alastair and Dave. Stressful, yes. Dave’s daily multi-vitamin was in question and Alastair’s carved wooden elephant that was wrapped up tight was in question. Dirty underwear, no problem. We were all glad to be on our way in spite of leaving two fellow travelers at the boarder.

We arrived so late at our campsite that it wasn’t until the next morning that we could confirm that the sounds we heard all night were the hippocampus that live in the river next two our campsite in property grazing all night long. They make a very distinct chuffing noise. Don’t worry, the campsite had a security guard who walks the property all night armed with a flashlight. He also has a slingshot, but it is for the monkeys, not the hippos. You would be surprised at how well we all sleep in our tents with so many creatures walking around us at night. We feel pretty invincible inside our canvas tents.

Yesterday we did an early morning game drive in South Luangwa National Park and the highlight were the elephants. We found two males playing in the river who rolled around and restless the entire time we watched them. We also watched the females and babies cross the river just in front of us and we LOVE the babies the most.

The afternoon was just what the doctor ordered. The girls and I snoozed by the pool, Dave napped in a hammock and Alastair watched a show in the shade. All of this next to the river which is home to the hippocampus, crocodiles, and every other animal that needs a drink of water during the day. Keep in mind, all of this relaxing takes place under the trees were a couple dozen monkeys are playing and creating chaos. So amazing!

Night game drive was highlighted when we found a pride of lion’s feeding on a Cape buffalo. It is hard to watch and also so fascinating. Dagny didn’t love it, but it was good fun for the rest of us.

This morning we were pleased to learn that our friends had cleared their visa challenges and we were able to pick them back up at the boarder before continuing our overland trek south. 

Highlight of our drive today were the kids along the way that tried to sell us a stick of roasted rats for twenty Kwatcha (about a dollar) and a raw goat leg. No thanks.

Nice campsite tonight with two resident emus which are kind of interesting. Alastair and I spend some time each day talking about which foods from home we miss the most. For me, it is blue cheese salad dressing. Salad dressing is not a thing in this part of the world. I’ve looked. Today our chef opened canned tuna for part of our lunch. I taught him how to make tuna salad. It was well received by him and most of our group. Australians and Africans learned something new today. 

Not expecting wi-fi tomorrow so be patient for our next update. We are having a great time.

Jll

Malawi Catch Up

Throughout our time in Malawi, our internet connection has been close to nonexistent. Here’s a summary of our activities for the last 3 days since we’ve entered the country.

Day 58 - We woke up at 4am in our Tanzanian campground to begin our longest driving day yet. We “pitched off” our tents and ate eggs on toast for breakfast. We were on the road long before the first call to prayer. The morning was fairly uneventful until about 11:30am when a window in our truck spontaneously exploded. We pulled over to try to cover the open window with garbage bags and packing tape while local kids took pictures and laughed. However, the repairs didn’t last long once we hit the road due to the wind. We stopped at a gas station for lunch and our driver, Dan, pulled out a spare window to replace the shattered one. As we ate our sandwiches, kids gathered to watch us and wave. A money exchanger guy joined us since we were close to the Malawi border. Then, the local police pulled up in an unmarked car with no uniforms and all of the kids scattered as the money guy dropped a huge stack of cash and ran. We were slightly worried but it turns out the police just wanted to shake down the money guy for a bribe and then let him go. We packed up the truck and drove 10 minutes to the Tanzania-Malawi border where it took 3 hours to get through customs on both sides even though we were the only group there. We don’t think that the Malawi office had a single computer. Once in Malawi, we drove a few more hours until the sun had set and we arrived at our campground. We set up tents in the dark and there were thousands of small bugs swarming the lights in the campground which almost made eating our dinner of fried fish and mashed potatoes impossible.

Day 59 - After such a long drive day yesterday, we were not excited to have another day of driving today, although we got to sleep in. Our chef, Emmanuel, made veggie omelettes for breakfast and we packed sandwiches for lunch on the road. For the first few hours of the drive, my siblings and I played card games with an Australian guy from our group named Rob. We played palace, hearts, and Alastair taught us euchre. At lunchtime, we stopped at a mall so that Emmanuel could restock foods. The 6 of us grabbed some drinks and cookies from the grocery store and then ate lunch together on the truck while we waited. I spent the afternoon drive chatting and laughing with my sisters. In no time, we arrived at the Kande Beach campsite next to Lake Malawi. We were disappointed to find that there was no Wi-Fi AND no service but it led to the chance for more quality time as a family in the end. Mom, Dagny, and I all took showers but both of them got good water pressure and warm water while I got neither. Dagny and I borrowed tubs to hand-wash some laundry and then the 4 of us played foosball with dad. At 7pm, we had dinner which was a traditional East African dish called ugali which was served with mixed veggies, beef on the bone, corn on the cob, and spinach. We ate dinner without utensils since you have to knead the ugali by hand. 

Day 60 - As much as I would have loved to sleep in today, I was up with the chirping birds at 6am. Dad and I spent some time wandering the campground and then mom and I played smashball as we waited for breakfast. We invited Michael, our guide, to play and he got so into it that he dove for the ball, rolling on the ground, accidentally snapping the handle off of the paddle. We had Nutella crepes for breakfast and then most of our group decided to go on a walking tour of the village surrounding our campground. We visited the Tonga tribe of the Mbamba village and it was incredible. We learned about casava cultivation and how it is pounded into casava flour by the older women of the village. We learned about the brick making process which starts with a communal mud pit. We learned about the school system, community values, and lifestyle of the Tonga people. Our favorite part of the tour was the people that we met. As soon as we left the gate of our campground with our local guides, Robert and “Sweet Banana,” we were greeted by a bunch of local artists in an experience which I can describe best as sorority rush adjacent. When Robert wasn’t teaching the whole group about the village, we were  each walking with a different artist and they all had adopted nicknames: Sugar Spice, Baby Giraffe, Mr. Flavor, etc. Lots of little kids joined our group and wanted to hold hands with us as we walked. At the end of our tour, the artists taught us how to play Bao, a local board game, and all 6 of us worked on our negotiation skills to purchase something. Magnolia got a carving of two giraffes, Dagny and I both got Bao boards, Alastair got a carving of an elephant, Dad commissioned a canvas painting of Africa with all of the destinations from our trip and the McLains on the Road logo, and Mom commissioned a new set of personalized smashball paddles. We were all very impressed with the quality of the paddles and had a great time teaching our new friends how to play. We had spaghetti for lunch and then the 4 of us spent some time at the beach with mom while dad smoked a cigar. We played some smashball, foosball, and pool before we had delicious steaks and french fries for dinner. We’re going to bed at 8pm because we have an early start tomorrow morning.

-Adelaide

July 22

Waking up early in the morning has been our new normal. Every day it get just a little easier. This morning we woke up at 5 and had breakfast at 5:30 and we were ready to go by 6. We started our day with a game drive mikumi park. We saw many of the same animals we’ve seen in other parks. Lions, hippos, gazelle, giraffe, and zebra. We learned a couple fun facts about the animals that we’ve never heard before. Like if a crocodile bites you you have to poke him in the eye to get him to let go. we learned how to tell the difference between make and female giraffes based on their horns. We drove around for four hours and then ended back at our campsite where we ate brunch. It was sausages and crepes and fruit. We pitched down our tents and loaded everything into the beast. The drive today was supposed to be six hours but I think it’s turning into eight. We’ve mostly been driving through small villages and towns but a little while ago we were stuck in some mountain traffic. All along the roads were baboons just hanging in the trees and on the ground. We were well entertained watching them. Once we get to our camp site we’ll set up dinner ouch the tents eat dinner and head to bed. That’s all.

-dagny

From Zanzibar to Mikumi National Park

We have been on the go for so long, and have seen so much, that unstructured time makes us hyper-unproductive.  We arrived at the Amaan Beach Bungalows in Nungwi on the northern coast of Zanzibar on Tuesday afternoon. We promptly spent the next several days on vacation from our travels. Other than lounging by the pool, spending time on the beach, reading, and sleeping, we did not have a lot going on.  The north coast reminds me of Tulum in that there are nice resorts along the beach, with local activities, guides, merchants, and boat captains all trying to help you spend your money and time.  Most of the folks selling on the beach were Masai (or dressed like Masai anyway), mostly polite but pushy and persistent. We did take the opportunity to find a nice dinner spot, overlooking the beach, which boasted of good food and great sunsets. 

Yesterday we journeyed back to Stone Town, and back to the Shangani Hotel. The hotels on this trip, either those organized through G Adventures or Intrepid, are billed as “clean and safe.”  To both of these descriptions I would add -ish. They have been clean-ish and safe-ish. Not the sort of places we would normally stay when not trying to survive Africa for a summer, seeing as much as possible, and not going bankrupt. That said, they have been serviceable and as long as they have WiFi, the little ones are satisfied.  Once back in Stone Town we headed to a local cafe for a late breakfast/lunch, followed by a walk through town until we reached the point of the walk where everyone agrees, based on the decrease in tourists and increased signs of plight, “maybe we should head back the other way.”

Instead of dinner last night, the best we could do was find our way to the local gelato shop.  That’s how we roll sometimes. You are so hot and tired that gelato comes first. After that, dinner seems superfluous.  It was an early night as we were booked on the first ferry back to Dar es Salaam this morning and breakfast started at five.  The ferry was more of a roller coaster this morning which didn’t bother me at all until the crew started handing out barf bags in a frenzy. All I could think of then was Vince Vaughn’s character in Four Christmases (https://youtu.be/0mKZgC8J5AE) and how I might have a problem after all. 

We made it safely ashore and through some sort of security screening during which everyone getting off the ferry pushes each other, elbows each other, and scrambles to get their bags onto a conveyor belt/x-ray machine. The then walk through a metal detector, which always beeps, and you push the same people out of the way again to reclaim your bags. I don’t think the x-ray machine was on, at least I never saw anyone looking at a screen. Today’s lesson - McLains need to learn to be pushier. Luckily we still have time to work on that. 

A short bus ride to the Millimani City Shopping Mall and we were reunited with The Beast, Dan the Man (our driver), and Emmanuel (our chef). We are now on our way to the Mikumi National Park and the next adventures, whatever they may be. I am happy to be back on tour and to a structured existence in which someone else, in this case Michael (our Julie McCoy), is responsible for keeping me active and entertained. The last few days in Zanzibar have convinced me that I do not currently possess that skill. 

• Dave