Leaving Africa was hard. It is truly a unique place in the world given the largeness and uniqueness of everything. Sydney, our biggest dissenter against our plans for the year, cried her sweet little heart out a few hours before leaving. To think that she did the same thing right before we left Seattle made me quickly jump to the conclusion that she had the time of her life in Africa and didn't want to leave (which I think is true) but it is as true that she is such a sweet, sensitive girl and after 7 weeks of stability and being ably guided the thought of yet another continent and it's unknowns were a little overwhelming. We wanted to see Africa first in our trip, to be sure the kids were bought in to the idea of traveling around the world. Boy did Africa deliver on this front. There's the old saying that to be successful in any endeavor one should under promise and over deliver. You can never go wrong in life if you follow that rule and I hope that we didn't set expectations too high at the beginning of our trip. Our entire itinerary in Africa was prearranged and we didn't have to make too many decisions outside of narrowing food and beverage choices each day. I made one phone call in 7 weeks. Very different. Moving forward we will be in more countries for smaller periods of time, we will be working with different guides or self-guiding in each location, and we'll be focusing more time and attention on "road schooling." Leaving Africa was a big milestone. We're about 1/6th thru our year and now the real adventure begins.
We enjoyed a great final day in Nairobi, with Traci and the kids getting haircuts while I did some needed shopping. We all had a very tearful farewell with Nella and James and then were off on a 2 hour drive thru the hell of Nairobi traffic to the airport. 26 km in 2 hours. For those young kids in the audience that is 13 kilometers/hour or about 8 miles per hour. Joining the mayhem we allowed the required 2 hours and we made our flight with plenty of time.
East Africa to central Europe is only a one hour time zone change from PST so everyone was tired and all slept at funny angles in the small seats that really didn't lean back too much. Not to complain too much though as we were all in a row for the first time and I had a sweet Halle head sleeping on my arm for about 6 hours. We landed at Charles De Gualle airport in Paris and only made our connecting flight to Venice thanks to good hustle from the kids and a very kind Air France representative. Airport security in Europe is as tight as it is in the US. In Africa they do their best. I boarded the flight in Nairobi behind a muslim cleric and what I assumed were his three heavily veiled wives. He had a very large locking carry on bag. Glad I'm not like Juan Williams and won't get fired or censored but they still made me a little nervous. Compare that with Traci having an apple and our only bottle of sunscreen taken in Paris (screened twice even though we were on a connecting flight that was already screened) I thought a few times that if I ruled the world things would work a little differently. All grandparents and children 12 and under head right over here to this high speed line and you can keep those shoes on! So again I digress.
We had a great flight to Venice, clear the entire way over the Alps. Only mishap is that our 9 bags didn't show up. We're 3 hours north now in a tiny mountain hamlet and were promised them yesterday, and now tomorrow morning. We can't go hiking without our gear and its only our yearly belongings and educational materials but other than that it shouldn't be a big deal to replace. Yikes. Hope it isn't Allah's revenge for my non peaceful thoughts. We are planning on downsizing to 6 bags but had hoped to ship some stuff back from the modern postal system in Europe.
The Dolomites are stunningly beautiful. The sheerness and scale of the mountains are incredible. I visited here with my good friend Denis Atam over 20 years ago when working for Microsoft in Munich and it was such an eye opener that I thought the whole family would enjoy it on this trip, not to mention getting some great extended exercise for a few consecutive days. The drive from Venice took about 3 hours. The Italian roads are incredible, from the super highways to the narrow mountain roads. Everything is incredibly green and clean.
Yesterday we arrived mid afternoon, took a brief nap, then walked the village of Corvara in the Alta Badia region. Very Whistleresque but smaller and uncrowded with the mountains being even closer and more sheer. Kids enjoyed a few rounds of bungee jumping (above a trampoline not off a bridge) and we enjoyed the warm sunshine and stunning views. The kids enjoyed their first gelato and a pizza dinner and were in heaven.
Hopefully our bags will arrive this morning and we'll be off the grid for 3-4 days and will return with great tales of climbing and hiking. If the bags don't arrive we won't suffer too hard in this little slice of paradise.
We enjoyed a great final day in Nairobi, with Traci and the kids getting haircuts while I did some needed shopping. We all had a very tearful farewell with Nella and James and then were off on a 2 hour drive thru the hell of Nairobi traffic to the airport. 26 km in 2 hours. For those young kids in the audience that is 13 kilometers/hour or about 8 miles per hour. Joining the mayhem we allowed the required 2 hours and we made our flight with plenty of time.
East Africa to central Europe is only a one hour time zone change from PST so everyone was tired and all slept at funny angles in the small seats that really didn't lean back too much. Not to complain too much though as we were all in a row for the first time and I had a sweet Halle head sleeping on my arm for about 6 hours. We landed at Charles De Gualle airport in Paris and only made our connecting flight to Venice thanks to good hustle from the kids and a very kind Air France representative. Airport security in Europe is as tight as it is in the US. In Africa they do their best. I boarded the flight in Nairobi behind a muslim cleric and what I assumed were his three heavily veiled wives. He had a very large locking carry on bag. Glad I'm not like Juan Williams and won't get fired or censored but they still made me a little nervous. Compare that with Traci having an apple and our only bottle of sunscreen taken in Paris (screened twice even though we were on a connecting flight that was already screened) I thought a few times that if I ruled the world things would work a little differently. All grandparents and children 12 and under head right over here to this high speed line and you can keep those shoes on! So again I digress.
We had a great flight to Venice, clear the entire way over the Alps. Only mishap is that our 9 bags didn't show up. We're 3 hours north now in a tiny mountain hamlet and were promised them yesterday, and now tomorrow morning. We can't go hiking without our gear and its only our yearly belongings and educational materials but other than that it shouldn't be a big deal to replace. Yikes. Hope it isn't Allah's revenge for my non peaceful thoughts. We are planning on downsizing to 6 bags but had hoped to ship some stuff back from the modern postal system in Europe.
The Dolomites are stunningly beautiful. The sheerness and scale of the mountains are incredible. I visited here with my good friend Denis Atam over 20 years ago when working for Microsoft in Munich and it was such an eye opener that I thought the whole family would enjoy it on this trip, not to mention getting some great extended exercise for a few consecutive days. The drive from Venice took about 3 hours. The Italian roads are incredible, from the super highways to the narrow mountain roads. Everything is incredibly green and clean.
Yesterday we arrived mid afternoon, took a brief nap, then walked the village of Corvara in the Alta Badia region. Very Whistleresque but smaller and uncrowded with the mountains being even closer and more sheer. Kids enjoyed a few rounds of bungee jumping (above a trampoline not off a bridge) and we enjoyed the warm sunshine and stunning views. The kids enjoyed their first gelato and a pizza dinner and were in heaven.
Hopefully our bags will arrive this morning and we'll be off the grid for 3-4 days and will return with great tales of climbing and hiking. If the bags don't arrive we won't suffer too hard in this little slice of paradise.
 |
| Traci and the kids waiting to board the plane at Nairobi airport |
 |
| African airport security. Just walk on with those homemade bows and arrows sir. As long as they are wood they don't pose a threat (try telling that to Hayden when he is shooting at his sisters). |
 |
| First gelato |
 |
| Village of Corvara |
 |
| Getting some air (author's note...photo taken from sunny porch of a bar) |
This is very kind and thoughtful of you Brian to mention/refer to me and sharing current impressions and memories from the past. I am sure you will remember the places and tours we did together. You guys have a fabulous time!!!
ReplyDeleteDenis
Hi Janssen family!! I just found your blog and had to read through it all in one sitting. So fun to follow your travels and hear about your new found love for Africa. We took our kids to S. Africa & Lesotho in Feb and I cannot wait to find another excuse to get back. Thank you for sharing your adventures here! The gift you are giving to your kids of the time together and travel are PRICELESS! I look forward to reading every post and sharing it with my boys!
ReplyDeleteTara