Susan and I have just returned from Africa. We were on safari in Botswana with Alexander McCall Smith. Africa is a revelation! We saw elephants, giraffes, lions, a leopard with a dead impala fawn, teaching her cub how to render the corpse (we are told that this is an unusual thing to see), and more kinds of antelope and more kinds of birds than you can shake a stick at. The people of Botswana are soft spoken and gentle and warm and, well, beautiful is really the only word for it. As is often said by travelers in that land, the people live from the heart. They sang for us and we cried. And then there is the landscape - the bush. It is a land of fable and magic! There is no telling it. The horizon is far away. The sky, both by day and by night, enormous. Animals wander across dry grasslands among scattered acacia and mopani tree, and everywhere the land is dotted with giant termite mounds taller than a tall man. Those termite mounds, there is something cosmic about them. Our host, Alexander McCall Smith, agreed with me about that. He was just what you would expect him to be, if you have read his books. He is a happy man, with an infectious laugh, full of good humor and deep wisdom both. And we spent a lot of time with Mighty - yes, the character in Double Comfort Safari Club is a real person! It was a very special gift to us to have Mighty as our guide in the bush. His knowledge of the land and its animal and plant life is very great, and his quiet and deep way of being is an inspiration. I’ll leave the story about how Mighty saved Susan from the giant spider for Susan to tell. In fact, Ill leave off telling the most of it. I am unable to capture in words the beauty of Africa. There is a man at the Khwai River Lodge, where we stayed, who knew the stars. His name is Isbjorn, and he and I were up before dawn one morning to look at the sky. He showed me the southern cross, and the Magellanic Clouds, and Orion upside down from how we northerners are accustomed to seeing it. Standing there with the sounds of the delta waking up, the hippos snorting and fussing in the river, and the Large Magellanic Cloud over our heads – this was really something. Thanks to Sandy and Elizabeth and to Rachel and Louise and to Mighty and Captain Dee and to all the people at Orient Express and to all the people of Botswana for giving Susan and me a wonderful gift - a trip we will remember for as long as memory is. Thank you! Ten thousand thanks!
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 10:43:24 +0000
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