"MozamBeilfuss"

2008-09-02T22:00:00.000+03:00

We are happy to report that Ian successfully completed his first day of kindergarten today at Lapham Elementary School.

You might say Ian was excited about this day. Last night, he woke Rich up at 2 am to tell him to put the breakfast bagels in the oven so he wouldn’t be late for school, and Ian told us this morning that “no night ever felt so long”. We walked to school with our neighbors and felt like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Details of the day are slowly trickling out but so far we know the day involved recess, lunch, music class, and a second recess. Ian’s job is the calendar, but he is not sure what it means or for how long he has this responsibility.

Not to be outdone, Theo also had his first day in daycare at Big Oak (where Ian went for more than 3 years). We are told that all went well. So far, he has no responsibilities other than tasting everything and sitting upright. We are happy to report that Theo had less anticipation about his big day because he was awake only at 10pm, 12am, 3am, and 6am and this was an improvement over the previous night.

Chimanimani, Part IV

2008-06-24T10:15:00.004+03:00

On our way out of the Reserve, we stopped for two short hikes.

The first was to see amazing "cave paintings" that likely date back more than 1,000 years to the bushmen who used to live in this area. The paintings were all carefully done under rock overhangs which protected them from the elements. The detail was incredible - the animals were easily recognizable, as was the gender of the humans in the paintings. And the anonymity was also captivating - there was barely a trail leading to the paintings (only a few cairns marking the way), and no signage or protective barriers. We felt privileged to be seeing them.

The second was to peer down into a deep, narrow gorge cut by the stream that wasn't even visible from where we were at the top.

Throughout the trip, Ian and Sebastian were inseparable, fast friends who entertained us all.

Chimanimani, Part III

2008-06-24T09:55:00.006+03:00

I really am not qualified to describe this next part of our visit to Chimanimani, as I spent the time snoozing in our chalet and not actually going on the hike. But since I went on the hike seven years ago, and since I have the photos, and since nobody else in my family has the time to post to the blog, I will go ahead without qualifications and post anyway!

After a late lunch during which all manner of tasty surprises emerged (a benefit of non-coordinated group camping), the more adventurous of our group (those not desperately in need of a nap, or at least too stubborn to succumb) headed off to the waterfall - an amazing long drop of surrounded by verdant forests.

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The bold swam in the icy waters of the pool at the base of the waterfall. For others, scampering around the rocks surrounding the pools naked nudie was more fun.

Chimanimani, Part II

2008-06-24T09:36:00.008+03:00

Ian had his best day of hiking yet, climbing the full four hours to the top of the ridge and back down all by himself with no help and no complaining - and it wasn't an easy trail!

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The scenery was terrific; we ambled through homesteads with fish ponds, turkeys, beautiful fields fill of a variety of vegetables and grains, lovely rural huts painted beautifully, even a grape arbor.

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This seemed like a good place to live: less oppressive heat than in the lowlands, abundant water, lower prevelance of malaria.

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The contrast from one side to the other along the frontier ridge was stark: on the Zimbabwe side, plantations of pine eucalyptus trees, a large, neatly laid out and built village, a general sense of order and development, whereas on the Mozambique side, rough mountains, simple scattered housing, and "bush." (You can see a little bit of Zimbabwe in the right side of the group photo - the dark green swath is a pine plantation; Mozambique is to the left.)

Theo loved the hike, making barely a noise the whole time. I carried him a sling, and he slept peacefully all the way up and all the way down, just waking to take in the view at the top of the ridge.

Chimanimani, revisited

2008-06-24T09:23:00.003+03:00

Before I continue with describing our recent Chimanimani adventure, I really must pause for a better description of the road. I found digital photos of this road from when Rich and I visited Chimanimani 7 years ago. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are three photos of the most challenging parts of the road:

The slope of this road makes you feel like your car just might roll over head first going down. Rich was driving in 4Low with the accelerator fully depressed, and we just made it up. yikes!

Chimanimani, Part I

2008-06-23T22:12:00.004+03:00

In late May, we were treated to a visit by some friends, Ryan and Karen, who came to Mozambique on a delayed honeymoon adventure. Rich and I had worked with Ryan at the Crane Foundation many years ago (we were shocked how many, we are getting old), and had had the chance to meet Karen on several occasions as well. We spent two great days with them in the Park: Ryan and Rich tried to reach Hippo House and spent the afternoon digging their car out of the mud that blocked them from reaching their destination, a not-uncommon event around here; Karen, Katie, and Ian jetted across to Vinho to see the recently opened health clinic and school there.

But the real fun began with our trip to Chimanimani, a beautiful mountainous reserve along Mozambique's western border with Zimbabwe.

We packed into our Nissan double cab (people, like myself, who are fans of carseat and seatbelt laws should avoid counting how many people we were in the car, but at least none of us rode in the truck bed) and headed two hours down the road to Chimoio, the first stop on our journey, where we loaded up on groceries for the trip and tried (unsuccessfully) to purchase the 2008 stickers for our car (which had already been bought by the project for the car but had never materialized). (I should be correct here and say RICH tried for hours to buy these stickers while the rest of us had pastries and cappuccinos. poor rich.)

Then we were off, accompanied by a professional colleague of Rich's, Stefaan Dondeyne, the Reserve's as-yet-unofficial ecologist, and (bonus!) his five year old son Sebastian.

The first two hours from Chimoio towards the mountains were uneventful - beautiful scenery, good conversation, much amusement listening to the boys (who had only just met) chatting away in the car and inventing all manner of stories and games.

Then we reached the entry gate for the Reserve (one notch down from National Park, but still with reasonable protections), and from here the trip got more adventurous. The road was traverses a rocky, stream-crossed landscape, and nothing but a strong 4wd will be able to make the trip, crossing loose-rock-bottomed-streams and climbing steep, rocky hills. We had several moments of sweaty palms (especially after the sun went down and we were in the dark), but we arrived safely at Chikukwa camp, nestled near the Zimbabwe border high in the mountains.

Chikukwa camp was built about 8 years ago, and Rich and I had stayed here once before in 2001. We "camped" in little chalet we had stayed in during those visit - the perfect accommodation for people who want to go camping but don't have a tent big enough for everyone! The thatch roof kepts us dry and our Thermarest mattresses and sleeping bags kept us warm on the cement floor. The very simple bathroom (a toilet with a bucket of water for flushing and the base of a shower with another bucket of water for washing) was also a nice amenity.

But the real show-stealer were the views. We awoke to the calls of birds and the light of the sun rising on the highest peaks of the jagged mountains. The morning mountain air was cold, as you can tell from the fact that Theo is barely visible underneath his fleecy snowsuit (a gift from good friends here that we weren't sure when we use - but it was essential here!), and the hot coffee in our little camp warmed us down into our toes.

And the sun soon warmed us as we headed further up the mountain on foot to the ridge that forms the border between Mozambique and Zimbabwe... (continued in Part II)

The Mr. Puffy Story, by Ian Beilfuss

2008-06-23T16:14:00.014+03:00

[note: any violent acts in this story can be attributed to recent viewings of The Incredibles, and are against the advice and guidance of the author's mother]

Day 1. One day, a Puffy was walking along. He noticed a person with a gun. He came up to him. He was about to shoot the banker because he wanted more money when Mr. Puffy stepped out in front of the bad guy.

He shot Mr. Puffy but the bullet just shot right back at the bad guy. The bad guy died.

Day 2. Puffy was walking along. He noticed that, far away, a huge battle of soldiers and four robots was happening.

Day 3. Mr. Puffy was stressed out by fighting all those robots. He had another mission to go on: to find one of the world's best fighting bad guys. He was coming especially to attack the family of the Puffys. Puffy was getting ready.

He was going outside to fight the mean bad buy, who doesn't really have a name. Now he has arrived at the bad guy. Now he is busy fighting.

Puffy comes home.

Day 4. Day four is a weekend so Mr. Puffy doesn't have to work because all the other superheroes are working. He is enjoying the fine day. He decides that he wants to join the scuba diving group. He goes out on a boat to scuba dive. He is almost out in the middle of the ocean when the other guys call him to go scuba diving. He is scared at first but then he noticed the real joy of scuba diving.

What is Ian up to?

2008-06-22T23:09:00.002+03:00

Here is what Ian was up to just the other day (and every day) - running around and being crazy!

This particular day, he was out observing a fire that was burning a fire break around Chitengo as part of the Park's fire management plan and also as part of a training program for local communities in conducting controlled burns.

Thanks to Monica for the photos!

Fun with Monica!

2008-06-22T22:57:00.004+03:00

The pictures tell it all - we love playing with Monica!

Monica is a colleague of ours here in Chitengo, working on community environmental education.

She works hard, but she is also a ton of fun!!

Boa Maria

2008-06-20T23:05:00.004+03:00

In late May, we took a great "sundowner" trip to the nearby Boa Maria, the former "headquarters" for a plantation in this area many years ago, located high on a rocky ridge above the Pungue river. The old buildings are nearly gone, but the view is marvelous, as are the sights and sounds of the nearby communities.

The view was great, but the photo-op of Theo was not to be missed!

Ian's Aloe Coral Tree

2008-06-12T12:49:00.005+03:00

Regular readers of our blog may remember that Ian was an avid seed collector and germinator last year in Chitengo. We gathered many of a seed from mostly trees and shrubs, and germinated them in yogurt pots on our front porch.

One seed, in particular, was very productive. It grew and grew. We had to be careful, as even as a tiny seedling this plat has sharp thorns on the leaves and stems! We had to repot the seedling into a larger container in September or October 2007, and then we had to leave it in the good hands of our friend Cheryl to care for while we returned to the US to have Theo.

Cheryl soon reported that Ian's seedling of the aloe coral tree had grown SO BIG in the heat and rains of the Mozambican summer that she'd had to transplant it into the ground!

This little tree, just one year old, continues to grow now, just ouside the window of Ian's bedroom.

Imagine Ian coming back to Chitengo someday to visit this tree. What a legacy.

Ian and Gram Keep Busy

2008-06-12T12:09:00.007+03:00

Gram was with us here in Africa for more than 2 1/2 months. During that time, she and Ian were busy around the clock with projects and studies of all kinds. Here is a short list of the projects they did:

House for Lizard, a small plastic toy lizard that, sadly, disapeared from our lives even before his house was completed. We plan on getting a new lizard, but Ian says he is only available at Zuzu's cafe near the zoo in Madison. (This is where Lizard the First came from.)

Carnivores of Kruger, a hand-drawn and -colored book of some of the carnivores of Kruger National Park. This was a many-week project that resulted in a high quality product.

Lemur's book. Gram and Ian took Lemur, an important new addition to Ian's stuffed animal collection that Dad brought from Madagascar, all around Chitengo Camp, taking his photo in many places and with many people in Chitengo. Then, they cropped and edited the photos on Gram's computer, organized them into the right order, and wrote text to accompany each photo and tell the story of Lemur. Katie is still working to turn the photos and text into a Powerpoint presentation or maybe even a book.

Paperdolls. Lemur was lonely, so Gram and Ian made paperdolls of Lemora and Semur, Lemur's brother and sister. These paperdolls also have a collection of very interesting and lovely clothing, including ice skating outfits and bathing suits.

Cuisinaire Rods. These are wooden rods of different lengths that help kids learn basic arithmatic skills in a visual way.

Tangrams. These are plastic geometric shapes that you can use to make almost any other shape with!

Phonics. Almost every day, Gram and Ian worked on their phonics book, and Ian learned to recognize many different words, including "and," "the," "he," "she," and "said". They also made up lists of rhyming words that have the same root spelling, like hat, cat, bat, pat, and mat and book, look, hook, and nook. Rhyming words are very fun.

They did MANY more projects than this, but that gives you some flavor of their activities. What fun!

Happy Mothers' Day!

2008-05-11T22:59:00.001+03:00

Rich and Ian made us a terrific Mothers' Day breakfast of french toast and improvised syrup (no maples to tap around here!) Ian decorated the table with grasses he and his dad had collected on their field expedition the previous day, and he set the table too. Oh, and I can't forget the crown he made for me, which I was obliged to wear for the rest of the day, even to the restaurant. (It wasn't Mothers' Day in Mozambique, so I had some explaining to do...)

Recent Favorite Theo Photos

2008-05-03T12:20:00.002+03:00

Paul's Salt Rock Swamp Forest

2008-05-02T12:02:00.002+03:00

One real treat during our stay with Paul and Jane in Salt Rock was a visit to the swamp forest behind their house which Paul helped to protect when a developer purchased and made plans to develop the land above (and including) this forest. Paul was hired as the environmental consultant for the project and was able to convince the developer that protecting the forest would not only be a good thing for the forest but would also add value to the development, as the residents of the development would be able to enjoy the natural values of the forest. Paul's work also meant that the stormwater from the development would not be directed into the swamp forest (which would have effectively killed the forest, which relies on natural springs for its survival), but instead into a separate stormwater management system

Paul developed a beautiful boardwalk through the forest that meandered around the trees (Paul proudly remarked that they'd cut no trees in the development of the boardwalk). In one part, the trees actually came together above the boardwalk to form an archway.

As we approached the forest, Paul informed us all (and Ian in particular) that this forest was a holy place and that, as a result, no running or loud noises were permitted. Paul's words had the effect they needed: Ian virtually tip-toed through the forest, quiet as a mouse.

More amazing was the effect of the forest on Theo: the second Jane and he walked into the canopy of the forest, Theo became instantly quiet, his eyes open wide and taking in all of the sights of the forest. He was entirely focused during our whole walk through the forest, happy as can be to be under such trees. This boy is another nature boy, that is for sure!

Durban

2008-04-26T13:16:00.007+03:00

We were graciously and generously hosted by our friends Paul Dutton and Jane Bertram in Salt Rock, a small community about 45 minutes north of Durban, South Africa. It was cold there compared the temperatures we'd had in Chitengo and even at Kruger, so we were bundled up more than usual, even though the normal mean temps for late April and early May are warmer. But this didn't stop us from enjoying our time there!

Much of our time was taken up by errands - shopping for things we can't get in Mozambique (eyeglasses, medicines, haircuts) and an appointment for Theo's next immunizations. But we also made time to enjoy some amenities of "1st world" life (IMAX films, fully stocked grocery stores and bookstores), as well as the gorgeous natural amenities of the area. Sure, the beach was windy and cold, but it was dramatic and beautiful! But, personally, I still think the pool swimmers were crazy! (Paul presented Ian with the "HMS Ian" for more swimming fun.)

We also enjoyed a great evening of music and good company with some of Jane and Paul's friends.

One adventure felt a little "3rd world." We needed to change the oil in our car, but because it was a holiday weekend in South Africa, most of the garages who could do this for us were closed. As Paul and Jane were asking around the town for ideas about places that might be open, another customer shopping at the auto parts store where we had stopped to ask said, "oh, I'll do it." After some discuss, we actually left him the keys and the car and agreed we'd call him in an hour to come get the car. I had an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach about it, but trusted Paul's instincts, which said this guy was OK. Several hours and several cell phone calls later, we got directions to this guy's house, and, sure enough, there was our car, in the front yard of this guy's house, along with several other cars. They'd done the oil change and put in new filters, and also put in a new pump for the windshield cleaning fluid (we hadn't had fluid the whole drive south from Chitengo!). We paid our money and off we went. Sometimes these unofficial things do work afterall!

More Kruger photos

2008-04-22T12:48:00.004+03:00

These were taken by Rich, whose camera's zoom is far better at capturing our wildlife sights than mine!

male impala

Baboon

Elephant

Wildebeest

Zebra

Kruger Park Wildlife

2008-04-21T10:05:00.000+03:00

We had great wildlife viewing during our five days at Kruger. During the days that Rich attended his meeting, mom and the kids and I spent some of each day driving around the Skukuza area to look for wildlife.

One morning we drove east from Skukuza to Nkuhlu, where we stopped for some breakfast. We were warned about the mischevious monkeys by a staff member whose job seemed to be to hang around and scare the monkeys off when they got too close. Apparently the monkeys have a particular fondness for sugar packets, but the also don't appear to be too picky!

Our breakfast arrived, and Gram and Ian left the table to get more forks, leaving me feeding Theo and "guarding" our breakfast. But those monkeys worked fast! The second they saw that both the staff monkey-deterrer and my personal monkey protectors had gone, they swooped down into action. Our toast was gone before you could stay "shoo"! Thankfully, they weren't able to make off with our eggs or bacon, so we did get some breakfast. And even though I am bigger than they, these little monkeys still scared me, particularly when I was feeling vulnerable feeding Theo. We were so stunned by the event that we didn't even manage to take a photo of the monkeys! (Plus, we didn't want to encourage them, says Ian.)

A short list of our wildlife sightings: the "Big Five" (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo), zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, kudu, warthog, bats

The photo of bats is taken at outside the cafeteria at Skukuza; they roost up in the top of the underside of the thatch roof of the little shelters where folks eat their lunches. They were a continual draw for new tourists. Needless to say, the tables and chairs under this thatched roof were at the outside edges of the thatch, not directly under the bats!

Our lion sighting was more adventure than quality viewing - on our way to Satara camp, where we spent one night, we came upon a traffic jam of cars on a bridge. Sure enough, through quick chats with folks in stopped cars we learned that under the bridge was a family of lions who had just feasted on a wildebeest kill. We could only get in close enough to confirm that lions were there: we saw a fat, sated lioness lolling on her back while her two cubs nursed. Alas the cars with the best views were in no hurry to move on (and frankly couldn't have anyway, given the number of other cars blocking their way out), so most of the occupants of those cars had settled in for sundowners.

Kruger

2008-04-20T10:45:00.000+03:00

First, to set the scene on the homefront:

We shared one little bungalow intended to sleep three; we were five, so Ian slept in his cool sleeping bag on his Thermarest pad and Theo slept (as is his nightly norm) in his carseat. It worked out great, especially since we had been anticipating a bungalow that slept only two! We stayed 5 nights in Kruger, so got to really "settle in" to this little home.

On our porch we had a little kitchenette with fridge, 2-burner electric stove, a sink with hot and cold water, and the basic utensils, dishes, and pots for "self-catering". We did breakfast at home every day, but generally ate out our other meals as we'd had limited space for carrying food in our car on the way to Kruger. Plus that way we got to try out various yummies offered by the park.

We also used the front porch to hang our little laundry bits (during the day when everyone else was out on game drives so they didn't have to look at it) - mostly Theo's washable flannel wipes. Ian also washed his stuffed animal collection while we were here - you can see tigger, snowman, beluga, butterfly, and hippo all hanging on the line to dry. It was a fun project.

Next post will be the more interesting bits about our daily drives in the park, including a rundown of the animals we saw. A preview: we managed the Big Five!

On the Road Southward

2008-04-17T14:47:00.000+03:00

We left Chitengo on 16 April first for Beira, where Rich attended a meeting about the Zambezi River, and then headed south on our long journey to Kruger National Park. Rich attended and presented at the annual Kruger Science Networking meeting, and we all got to come along for the experience! It is more than 1000 kilometers to Kruger from Chitengo, which we traversed in 3 days.

Our first day took us from Beira to a small resort called Morongulo about halfway to Maputo. Our 5:00 AM departure from Beira meant that we arrived Morungulo in time to enjoy time on the beach, playing in the Indian Ocean's waves.

Early the next morning we headed out to Maputo, ariving in time to enjoy ice cream and beer with friends (who used to live in Chitengo) on a terrace overlooking the sea while Ian played in the sand and on the playground with his buddies Hannah and Adi. Our colleague Raquel and her husband Rui made us a delicious dinner and put us up in their beautiful apartment that night - the city noises were strange to us after the silence of Chitengo.

The third day brought us to Kruger. The border crossing into South Africa was pleasantly uncomplicated, though crowded, and we arrived at Kruger in time to enjoy a lovely safari drive to Skukuza camp.

Three cheers to Rich for doing ALL of the driving - much of it on roads with horrible potholes (in places, it is generous to call the road a road, when in fact the asphalt that remained was more an impediment than anything.) It is hard to believe the road is Mozambique's longest national road, traversing the country from south to north. And it makes one appreciate the amenities we do have access to in Chitengo, considering all of those amenities must travel this road at one time or another!

Three cheers to Barb who road shotgun and handled all of the food and drink provisions and read out loud the entirety of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

And, most of all, three cheers to two little kids who really do a great job traveling.

Trip to the Murombodzi Waterfall

2008-04-16T13:26:00.000+03:00

We spent a great day hiking to the Murombodzi waterfall on Mount Gorongosa. We drove to Nhancuco (about 2 hours from Chitengo) and hiked for about an hour along a path through fields of corn and bananas with the capable guiding of our friends Tonga, Tongai, and Silvestre.

It was Theo's first waterfall experience, and we're happy to report that he loved it!

Hangin' in Chitengo

2008-04-15T13:07:00.000+03:00

Here are a smattering of photos from our time in Chitengo in April.

Gram stayed with the kids during the morning while I worked, doing various "lessons" with Ian. Tthe state of our dining room table in that first photo is evidence of their hard work! The litte house in the foreground of the photo was a house made out of cardboard and lovingly painted for our little plastic friend lizard who, alas, was lost before his house construction was completed. But it still was a great project.

Theo was a pretty good sport about the whole thing, demanding to be held a lot but still enjoying hearing stories and observing Ian and Gram's hard work (most of the time).

We had great weather - warm during the day but not so hot during the day - that allowed for daily swims in the pool and hanging out on the lounge chairs in the shade of the trees around the pool.

Post from Ian: Our Story About Tadpoles

2008-04-08T19:14:00.013+03:00

[Transcribed by Katie as told by Ian]

We captured some tadpoles. We are trying to save the tadpoles. We are trying to raise them. When they grow up they are going to be Foam Nest Frogs. We are raising them in a dishwashing bucket that is full of water.

When we first got them, they were tiny and white and slowly they turned more black. When they are a little bigger they start growing legs and once they have full grown legs and their tail shrinks, they lose their black color and become a greyish-white color.

We got the tadpoles from a place where they would have died. The place was the Sanctuary in a pan [shallow, temporary wetland]. They would have not survived if they had emerged there because their nest was over mud there, not over water. Tadpoles must have water.

[a bit of information from Katie: foam nest frog females lay their eggs inside a white foamy nest - you can see one in the photo with Rich and Ian. She lays this foamy nest on a branch over a body of water, and when the eggs are ready, they fall out (as little tadpoles) into the water below. The foam nest that Rich and Ian found in the Sanctuary were laid over what had been a small pond but had since dried. We've had the tadpoles for almost two weeks now and they grow daily, but no sign of legs yet. Stay tuned!]

Theo Grows

2008-04-08T11:15:00.006+03:00

Here is a post dedicated to our smallest member – the one of us whom you are most interested in seeing! He is growing leaps and bounds – was 10 pounds at his 6 week checkup, gaining ~ ½ pound a week on average. He is wearing his 3-6-month-old clothing already. Generally he is a very good baby, although we are learning he has his limits – he “goes with the flow” during busy days (like an 8-hour day in Chimoio – including drive time there and back – to go to the bank and grocery store, or an all-day trip to hike to the waterfall on Gorongosa Mountain), sleeping in the car and generally doing wonderfully. But then he lets us have it that night, howling and refusing to stay asleep until it’s time for us to go to sleep.

Mercifully he does sleep well at night (usually) once he actually gets to sleep, waking only a couple of times – without screaming – to nurse, after which he goes back to sleep. Small miracle when you live in a camp with houses close together and no glass (just screens) in the windows!

Recent developmental milestones: smiling, grabbing/gripping, and looking adoringly at caretakers. Batting at things deliberately is just around the corner, according to Rich! He loves baths (in a small plastic tub in our bathroom’s shower).

Ian continues to be a stellar older brother, showering him with obvious and genuine love, looking after his needs, and helping his mom, dad and Gram take care of little Theo.

Welcomed by Friends

2008-04-08T11:03:00.005+03:00

It was great fun in the days following our arrival in Chitengo to greet old friends come to welcome us back. Word travelled fast, and we had many visitors to our home to meet Theo and see (in particular) Ian and me, as we'd been gone for such a long time (since mid-November '07). So many familiar faces! Theo goes by "Tay-o", as the "th" sound is missing in Portuguese and "Tee-o" means "uncle".

Below: 1) Zeca and Antonio with Theo, 2) Grant, Ian, Katie, Theo, Francisco and Vasco, 3) Katie, Theo and Ian with some other new Chitengo babies.

Joburg - Gorongosa

2008-04-08T10:55:00.003+03:00

Our Joburg to Beira flight was uneventful but for some last-minute snafus getting our tickets finalized (nothing goes smoothly, it seems!), and Franziska was there waiting for us at the airport with a Gorongosa car. We headed for Shoprite to stock up on groceries, when we suddenly realized we’d left Theo’s passport at the airport, getting his visa! (The immigration officials take your passport to process the visa while you wait at baggage claim, and we’d left the airport forgetting about our newest member, as the rest of us had our paperwork in order.) So, I headed in to do the shopping while the rest of the crew headed back to the airport. Apparently the immigration guys were all laughing knowingly at Rich when he arrived to retrieve Theo’s passport (thankfully the office was still open on that Saturday afternoon!) – at least we hadn’t forgotten the baby himself.

We arrived at Chitengo in time to have ample light to unpack the car into the house. Almost three weeks of having being shut up tight (and an earlier 2 months uninhabited over the holidays) had left the house very mildew-y smelling. That, in addition to the suitcases yet to be unpacked, left me feeling totally overwhelmed by our return. Thank goodness Mom was there to step right in and get busy with the cleaning up – shelves all wiped out, groceries put away, suitcases organized if not yet unpacked. I felt we were well settled in by the end of 24 hours.

Theo’s carseat (his favorite sleeping place) fits just right on top of my bedside table and inside our bed’s mosquito net, so all three of us can settle in for the night in our room. Mom is sharing rooms with Ian, occupying his spare bed which sat idle for most of last year. We are a full house but everyone is amenable to it. Theo’s porta-crib – a generous gift from Seattle friends brought all the way to Africa – serves primarily as a changing table and dresser for Theo’s things, and is located in the living room. I love how we all are capable of putting up with situations that are not what we are used to nor would we necessarily choose (if given the choice) – in this case, space and privacy, primarily.

The peace and quiet of camp after the generator went out at 10pm that first night reminded me of why I love being here – the natural nighttime noises without all of the artificial human ones.

Africa-Bound

2008-04-08T10:48:00.005+03:00

We began our long journey home to Gorongosa on St. Patrick’s Day. We traveled on an overnight flight to London, where we taxied to the home of long-time friends of Katie’s family near the airport, where we found Gram (Katie’s mom Barb)! (Barb had flown to London the previous week to be able to spend some time with friends). After a delightful lunch and rest, we headed back to the airport for overnight flight #2 en route to Johannesburg.
Theo was a trooper on both flights, doing a lot of sleeping and generally keeping pretty quiet, as far as babies are concerned! We had a baby bassinet that was a dream for Theo. I was thankful for the loud drone of the plane as it disguised Theo’s occasional cries.

We arrived Joburg at 9-ish in the morning, where we Beilfi sailed through immigration and managed to retrieve all of our bags. But no Barb! Because our seats had not been together on the plane, we had not gone through immigration together. After a long wait, I talked with some officials who said there was another international arrivals area (to which other airlines are directed) at which she could have erroneously ended up. I managed to talk my way through various security barriers to get into this other area, where I did manage to find her. (She wasn't, I should point out, the only one who went to the wrong place -- many others from our flight were there as well. Poorly signed!) She was worried that we weren’t in her section and that her baggage didn’t seem to have arrived, but nobody had bothered to tell her she was in the wrong place! Happily all of this time was less than an hour, and then we were on our way again.

We had 3 days in Johannesburg so that we could get some doctor and dental appointments in before heading back to rural Mozambique – in particular, the boys both needed immunizations. Turns out Easter holidays in South Africa are akin to Labor Day in the US – the whole country shuts down for the Friday through Monday around Easter, with even most shops closing up tight Friday at noon. So our stay wasn’t quite as productive in terms of getting errands done, but we did enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the Johannesburg Zoo.

Catch-up: Visit to Madison & Chicago

2008-04-08T10:30:00.010+03:00

Katie spent February resting up and healing from the ordeal of Theo’s birth thanks to a ton of help from many family and friends. (Couldn’t have done it with out you all!) By the first of March, it was time to begin the long trip back to Africa. First stop: the Midwest, to visit friends and family in Chicago and Madison

We were delighted to be able to see so many friends and family during our way-too-brief stay (and our apologies to those whom we weren’t able to see!). Rich’s entire clan came to town (but for brother-in-law Parker – we missed you!) and we enjoyed the Brookfield Zoo and seemingly endless food.

In Madison, we spent time in our old neighborhood and visited our house, which is being well cared for by the couple renting it. We missed the snowiest winter in recent Madison history – more than 100 inches this year!

Ian wasn’t sure he’d remember his old Madison buddies, but all fears of that were quickly dashed when he instantly took off to play with Olivia, Martin, Maria, and other friends.

Catch-up: 1 February 2008: Theo arrives!

2008-04-07T22:34:00.006+03:00

Our family was delighted to welcome Theodore Amos Green Beilfuss into our fold on the first day of February.
The waiting period leading up to Theo’s arrival seemed endless: I had received three due dates from three separate medical providers during the course of my pregnancy, and we had chosen to believe the earliest of these, January 19th. Actually, truth be told, I believed Theo would arrive earlier than that, and hence when January 15th passed, and then the 19th, and still no sign of baby’s arrival, we began to go a little stir crazy. The latest due date we had been given, January 24th, even proved to be a bit early. All babies come in their own time!
Theo also had been breech. He was in the “right” head-down position when we arrived in the States, but then flipped head-up in early December. With some effort we got him turned back around (playing Afro Cuban All-Stars at the bottom of my womb seemed the most successful technique for getting him moving in my belly), but all of this movement had its price, which we learned when he was born!
Theo’s birth was very dramatic, and not just a little scary. After the peaceful and uncomplicated natural birth of Ian in a hospital 5 years earlier, we were good candidates for a home birth. Seattle has one of the best-developed “alternative” birthing communities in the nation, with many experienced midwifes. There was some irony in our trying a homebirth, considering we didn’t have a “home” in Seattle! Several friends offered us their homes, however, and we ended up staying in the home of family friends I have known nearly since birth (the couple was staying at their other home in the mountains, so we had the house to ourselves). The home was on the crest of a hill overlooking Seattle neighborhoods and the Olympic mountains in the distance. It was also at the end of a steep, narrow, one-way road.
After a week or more of occasional contractions, I went into labor sometime on Thursday January 31. By 11pm things were getting more serious, and we called in the support team: my mom and best friend Christy. By 2am we called in the midwives, Beth and Bev. At about 5:30 Theo’s heart rate began to concern the midwife who, after experimenting with putting my body in different positions to see if this would resolve the baby’s stress (none did, entirely), wasted no time in ordering a hospital transfer.
First the fire truck arrived to “triage” the situation to see if we were a true emergency. The fire truck had difficulty coming down the steep, narrow street, and so parked in the middle of the street. This of course blocked the way for the ambulance, which showed up soon after. The gurney wouldn’t fit around the corner of the hallway into the bedroom where I was waiting and the firemen couldn’t figure out how to lift a naked laboring woman on her hands and knees to move me to the gurney. Finally, I walked to the gurney myself. I traveled on the gurney – on my hands and knees (the position in which Theo’s heart rate was most stable) – in the ambulance all the way to the hospital, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Rich and Beth accompanied me in the ambulance, thankfully, or I don’t think I would have stayed on that gurney.
We arrived at the hospital in 6 minutes flat. Theo was delivered by c-section 18 minutes later thanks to the speed and skill of the surgical team. The cause of his distress had been that his umbilical cord – short to begin with –was tightly wrapped around his neck, preventing him from descending to the birth canal and tightening around his neck each time I pushed – the result of too much in-utero flipping and moving around?
Theo spent about three hours in the neonatal ICU to monitor him for problems (none materialized, mercifully – he is perfect) while I slept off the general anesthesia. The whole family was reunited within about 4 hours of the delivery, mom delirious from the drugs but happy and safe with her new babe in her arms.
I had feared lectures from the hospital doctors and staff about trying to birth at home. I got none, but instead heard praise for our midwife who “called” the situation just right and in time to save Theo. It was lovely to be delivering in Seattle where the “alternative” birthing community is well-established and (generally) well-regarded by the medical community.
Ian is a loving and doting big brother, holding Theo gently and sharing kisses and cuddles, helping mom and dad, and paying attention to the ways he can help Theo be happy and comfortable. We are super proud of him.

Catch-up: November 07 – January 08

2008-04-07T22:11:00.001+03:00

I am so far behind posting to this blog I don’t know where to start! Will briefly cover the past 6 months for a little continuity, but then move on to the more interesting current…
Ian and I returned to America in late November to await the arrival of his new sibling. Our return was the single worst international travel nightmare we’d ever heard of! 52 hours delay in Johannesburg which included spending one night (a 7-month pregnant lady and a 4 year old) on the floor of the airport. Finally we arrived Chicago and enjoyed a few days of papering with Rich’s mom Sandy before heading further west to Seattle.
My sister Rebecca and her family were extremely gracious in offering us a space in their home during our time in Seattle while we awaited the arrival of Ian’s sibling, due in (we thought) mid January. Rich arrived from Africa in time for Ian’s birthday December 15th.We had a great stay in Seattle, visiting all manner of museums and other venues for kids as well as some of my old stomping grounds from my own childhood in Seattle. We also got a great chance to spend meaningful amounts of time with friends and family whom we previously had mostly only seen in short visits once or twice per year. Highlights for Ian included the soccer class he attended once a week with his friend Maya; his 5th birthday party with a homemade whale piñata; and the Montessori preschool he attended during our stay.

Ian the Snarkler Video

2007-10-01T13:47:00.000+03:00

We are in Maputo where we finally have a fast enough internet connection to upload this video! Enjoy.

Tofo Beach, Part Two

2007-09-18T12:14:00.000+03:00

Our days in Tofo were gloriously lazy. The mornings were cool but the afternoons warm and sunny, although on one or two days the wind was strong enough to nearly blow Ian down the beach.

The shore in front of our lodge had a great rocky bit that made for some great tide-pooling when the tide was low. The rocks (old coral?) also protected a shallow little lagoon, complete with little fish, that provided a great place for Ian to venture into the wonderful world of snorkeling. (Ian calls snorkeling “snarkeling,” a pronunciation Rich and I have adopted as well because it is just so cute!) The combination of the buoyant water and his concentration on breathing through the tube made him forget entirely about floating and his swimming improved markedly over the course of the week.

But the high point of our time in Tofo was our experience swimming with whale sharks. As Ian can tell you (he knows all the factoids about whale sharks, and recited them all to our guide during the trip), whale sharks are the largest fish in the world, but only eat plankton so won’t go munching you if you swim with them. Tofo boasts one of the largest and most accessible whale shark populations in the world. The large grey giants swim lazily in the shallow waters just off shore.

We spent about 3 hours on our expedition, which involved a motorized inflatable raft piloted by experienced local guys who managed to find at least five of the big sharks for us. They’d carefully position the boat and then we’d all jump into the water with our masks and snorkels and go swimming after the shark. It was an amazing experience, one Rich calls among the most spiritual of his life. Even Ian got brave enough, after watching us visit two or three sharks, to jump into the (for him) very deep water (with his life jacket) for long enough to be able to catch a glimpse of the great grey beast himself! Our guide and the folks back at the dive shop said he was the youngest kid they’d ever had hop in the water to swim with whale sharks. Very impressive! Ian was quite proud of himself, as were we of him.

Tofo Beach, Part One

2007-09-17T23:06:00.000+03:00

We had a magnificent week away on the beaches of southern Mozambique at the end of August. It was our first real time off (including weekends) since early July, so we were all much in need of a break!

We spent the first part of our week at Tofo beach, on the Inhambane peninsula. Inhambane is one of the oldest cities in Mozambique, having been home to Indian Ocean trade routes centuries ago. Tofo was about a 20 minute drive from the town of Inhambane, right along the Indian Ocean, with gorgeous sand dunes and plenty of surf.

Although Tofo has a bit of a reputation as a party town for young travelers, we found an isolated lodge, Mango Beach, away from the ruckus and just perfect for a family getaway.

We stayed in a rustic 4-person reed chalet with a communal kitchen area and bathroom, although we shared these with maybe only one or two other couples whom we rarely saw. We only bothered “self-catering” our breakfast, taking our lunch where we could and enjoying sumptuous seafood – prawns, crab, clams, or whatever was freshest that day – prepared by our lodge hosts in the evenings for dinner.

We loved going to sleep to the roar of the ocean and rustle of the wind through the palms.

Post from Rich: Rare antelopes at Gorongosa!

2007-09-02T22:16:00.000+03:00

Last month we were thrilled to spot 5 wildebeest at Gorongosa – these are the lone survivers of a population of more than 5,500 that was here in the 1970s before large scale hunting during and after the war nearly eliminated them. The last time we observed wildebeest was in September 2005.

We observed a herd of more than 100 sable antelope in the same area. Our sable population is one of the great success stories at Gorongosa -- the population is growing steadily and we have several times more sable here than at Kruger National Park.

We also observed a small herd of 12 Lichtenstein's hartebeests, a beautiful and amazingly fast antelope that is very localized to this region.

Another success story is our waterbuck population, which has grown to more than 5000 animals. We will be providing some of our waterbuck to Limpopo National Park in southern Mozambique later this year to help them establish a viable founder population.

Gorongosa is also probably the best place in Africa to see oribi, a smallish antelope of the grassy plains that is also recovering rapidly in recent years. Oribi are one of several species that will benefit from the reestablishment of large herbivores that graze down the rank grasses on the plains.

Post from Rich: Wild Buffalo Operation

2007-09-02T21:47:00.000+03:00

In August we undertook one of our most exciting operations this year—testing our wild African buffalo for bovine tuberculosis. Thirty years ago, when Gorongosa had more than 14,000 buffalo roaming the plains, TB was fairly widespread in the population. Our hope was that the catastrophic loss of buffalo from the Park (we now have only 70 in the wild) would have led to the eradication of TB in the population through a sort of “survival of the fittest” process, so that we could rebuild a “clean” population in the Park for the future. Under the leadership of our Head Veterinarian Carlos Lopes Pereira and with the tremendous support of the Veterinary team from Kruger National Park and their skilled helicopter pilot Grant, we managed to test 50 buffalo for TB. To our great relief and excitement, all tested negative.

The operation involved rounding up and darting small groups of about 8-12 buffalo at a time from the air by helicopter; followed by a team of us racing in on the ground to blindfold each sedated buffalo, determine their sex and age (based on tooth development and wear), collect blood samples and parasites, photograph and number them (using temporary paint), and attach tracking collars on selected individuals. Each operation was done in about 25 minutes, after which a counteracting drug was administered to revive the animals before they experienced too much heat or other stresses.

Our Gorongosa buffalo are absolutely massive (we call them “gordissimo” in Portuguese —obese). The largest male we darted weighed nearly a metric tonne (more than 2000 lbs). Gorongosa has some of the most productive grasslands in all of Africa, and relatively few herbivores, so those that survived here are feasting. In other words, you might say that Gorongosa is a buffalo restaurant built to serve 14,000 but is currently seating about 70!

We will be using the GSM/GPS tracking collars, which are now sending us the location of each collared buffalo 4x a day through the cell phone network, to study the reestablishment of buffalo at Gorongosa in detail. My colleague Carlos Bento, whom I have worked with for more than 12 years in Mozambique, will be undertaking this work for his PhD. We will be able to track buffalo movements and understand where, when, why, and how they are selecting their feeding, watering, wallowing, resting, and sleeping areas in the Park. We will also be placing collars on the new buffalo we introduce to the Park, as well as zebra, wildebeest, and other species. Collectively, we will gain a great understanding about how the “grazing succession” of Gorongosa is recreated overtime as these wildlife populations recover, how different species (especially rare herbivores) are affected by the recovery of the big “bulk grazers” like buffalo and zebra, how our carnivores (especially the famous Gorongosa lions) respond to the recovery of these large prey species, and so on. We hope to gain invaluable new insights into restoration ecology and wildlife management that we will share throughout the world.

More Introductions...

2007-09-02T21:33:00.000+03:00

We celebrated our friend Cheryl's 40th birthday in early August with great fanfare -- and lots of frosting! Hendrik arranged for a beautiful and heavily frosted cake, some of which was enjoyed the traditional way and the rest of which was thrown, smeared, and otherwise blasphemed in a great food fight. (Never fear, this debauchery occurred after the young impressionables had left for bed.) I was a big chicken and fled the scene before I got besmirched by frosting, but I still had my wits about me as one of only a small few non drinkers! So let me introduce the birthday girl, Cheryl (in the red shirt with the pineapple, which was filled throughout the evening with either gin and tonic or champagne). Cheryl is Chitengo's gardener, responsible for the lovely grass around the pool and native plantings spring up around the camp. She is also the camp hairdresser (hooray!) and all around supportive friend. Another introduction is our friend Raquel (brown Gorongosa polo), conservation planner and wonderful friend. Oh, and then there's Ian in his Tigger suit, his special dress up clothes in honor of the party.

Isla da Inhaca

2007-09-02T15:32:00.000+03:00

We had our annual senior staff strategic planning meeting at Inhaca Island off the coast of Maputo in Southern Mozambique. We highly recommend tropical islands for all staff retreats! Seriously, despite the beautiful surrounds (because of?), we had a very productive five days of meetings to discuss many of the "big picture" issues facing the Gorongosa Restoration Project that are difficult to find time and space to discuss when people are in the midst of their day-to-day work at the Park. It was also a terrific opportunity to get to know four incoming staff: Pedro, who will head tourism at Chitengo (hospitality, including restaurant, housekeeping, etc.); Francisco, who will head the staff training program; Patricia, who will head the health outreach program, and Monica, who will head the conservation education program.

Francisco, Patricia, and Monica will all be heavily involved in implementing our Family Goals Program in which junior Park staff (from the communities adjacent to the Park, where housing, health, and education standards are extremely low) will set a series of goals they wish to achieve for their families and comunities (e.g., use of mosquito nets in homes, investment in better housing, improved educational opportunities, etc.) and monitor themselves in achieving those goals with Park support.

Across the Pungue to Vinho

2007-08-20T22:10:00.000+03:00

We spent a great day visiting the community located just across the Pungue River from Chitengo CampMany of the local staff working in Chitengo live in Vinho, and the restoration project is actively engaged in helping this community develop its capacity to provide community services and, ultimately, develop businesses to serve both the community and tourists.
The Pungue River is a short walk from Chitengo, a a kilometer or two down a sandy road. To cross the river, one has to wade initially to reach the part of the river that is deep enough to accommodate the mokoros or canoes that take you to the far side of the river. Even the deepest part of the river at this dry time of year is only about a meter, so the canoe is a bit of a formality, or creature comfort. Three or four adults can fit in the canoe, but be warned that too much stuff that raises the center of gravity of the boat can result in a capsize event! (We were spared such indignity).
The town itself is sprawling, with little centralized "town" area, although this is changing. Most of the houses are traditional stick-stone-mud huts thatched with grass or sometimes scraps of salvaged plastic. Huts are spread out in part to accommodate the small farming plots of mostly corn grown as the staple food.
Our first stop in Vinho was at one of the houses of the village "chief" (he has several houses, as he has several wives, a common practice in this area), where the women and children were gathered to process their corn crop. Carole and Lea took a turn trying out the grinding process in a huge wooden mortar and pestle type contraption. These women work hard! After only a couple of pounds, Carole and Lea had had enough, much to the delight of the local women.

First Madison Visitors! John, Carole, and Lea

2007-08-19T22:54:00.000+03:00

We were delighted to host our first visitors from home in early July: John, Carole and Lea whom we know from Madison. John and Rich are collaborating on developing a survey project in the communities of the park (John runs the UW Survey Center), and Carole is looking to develop a project to train local people in massage for use in the local health clinics and for the benefit of staff and tourists in the Park. (Believe me, lots of staff benefited from her talented hands during the week she was in Chitengo!

We met John, Carole, and Lea in Johannesburg on our way back from Port Elizabeth. We piled into our enormous rental minibus to make the 3 hour trip northwest to Pilanesburg National Park, a terrific (and closer and less hectic) place to see great African game. The weather continued cold, and we all shivered and were thankful for the warm blankets in our rental safari tents. We saw lots of great game - white rhino, elephant, zebra, wildabeest, and even a honey badger during our night drive. Heard the giant roar of a lion as he notified all of his territory, but couldn't find him for a look. Did find an interesting sunset scene with two elephants, an older male and a youthful male, the details of which we will save for the next time we share a beer with you! Suffice it to say it was a "first timer" for everyone on the game drive, including the driver!

After two full days in Pilanesburg (including my birthday, well celebrated with balloons, a delicious rich piece of cake complete with sparklers and a song from the restaurant staff, and lots of great adventures), we headed from Joberg to Beira in Mozambique and the three hour drive to Gorongosa National Park. We spent our week there enjoying Chitengo, taking in a few game drives (and expeditions on the helicopter for the lucky ones!), and doing lots of playing. Ian and Lea were great friends, drawing lots of great pictures, making books, holding "Fun Club" sessions daily (complete with Manners Class), and creating other adventures. We also had a great trip across the Pungue River together to the community of Vinho from which many Chitengo workers come to their jobs, but I'll save that story for another post!

If you need details about coming to visit, contact John, Carole, and Lea, as they are experts now! It was super to be able to share our new life here in Chitengo with good friends.

Addo Elephant Reserve

2007-08-19T22:36:00.001+03:00

We spent one of our cold, rainy, cloudy days while in Port Elizabeth touring the renown Addo Elephant Reserve, probably the second most visited Park in South Africa. When our driver arrived to pick us up for the trip we were initially very disappointed to see a minibus, as we had been assuming we'd make the tour in an open game drive vehicle. But when the rain and wind continued for the day, we were quite happy for the warmth and dryness of the minibus!

The ecosystem at this Park was so different from anything else we'd seen or that we know from our Park: very low vegetation, alternating between dense shrubby growth and open (formerly cropped) grassland. We spent the duration of our tour in a fully fenced area where the density of animals (mostly re-stocked) was higher, and saw lots of interesting things, including the Red Hartebeest (in the photo - we have Lichtenstein's Hartebeest at our Park), ostriches, zebra... But the end of our day trip approached and we still hadn't seen the animal for which the reserve was named! Our driver was not to be outdone by these creatures, and searched high and low, resorting to calling his buddies on the cell phone to find out where the ellies were hiding that day. Finally we found them, and had great looks at aged bulls, enormous dames, and young babes. We could go home happy from our day at Addo!

Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Part 3)

2007-08-19T22:10:00.000+03:00

Finally the clouds cleared and we were able to enjoy a full day on the beach, complete with tidepooling, sandcastle building, frisbee playing, and, of course, sandcastle building!

Found great seastars, muscles, sea urchins, sea anemones and other fun ocean critters in the tidepools before the tide came in and covered all of the rocks. And Ian discovered the joys of collecting "beach glass", and is learning to covet the rare blue glass finds! Sad that I love beach glass so much when it is just a sign of our continuing pollution of our planet...

We steered clear of playing in the ocean but for our toes and ankles, as it was pretty chilly, but enjoyed the sights and sounds of its rolling waves.

The beach was quite calm in comparison to how we heard it is during the summer months, with blanket-to-blanket crowds taking in the cool ocean amid the heat of summer. We loved being one of only a few folks playing on the beach that day.

Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Part 2)

2007-08-14T13:22:00.000+03:00

Ian and I spent a great day at "BayWorld," the aquarium and science museum of Port Elizabeth, even in the cool winter weather (it was cloudy, cool, and windy all day long).

We loved the dolphin show -- a father and daughter pair of dolphins demonstrating lots of talents (Ian was impressed by how fast they could swim , and how high they could jump!) -- and watching the penguins being fed. Ian is now determined to go to Antarctica to see more penguins, and tells us that he will go in June next year.

Ian was also fascinated by the museum, especially the huge skeletons of the whales and the displays of sharks and dinosaurs. Ian has entered his seemingly genetically-predetermined dinosaur phase, and is mastering not only the names of the various dinosaurs but also the eras during which they occurred. As soon as we can get some plaster of paris he wants to make his own fossil print. Three cheers for Ms. Frizzle and the Magic Schoolbus, his greatest literary source of inspiration and information!

One of Ian's favorite questions these days is "who would win a fight between a ___ and a ___?" -- you fill in the blanks: T-Rex, shark, elephant, lion.... It is a constant curiosity for him, and a constant challenge for us. :-)

Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Part 1)

2007-07-29T12:49:00.000+03:00

Rich attended (and presented) at the Society for Conservation Biology meeting, which this year was held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, along the southeast coast of Africa. While he learned about wildlife and fire management, reintroductions.... Ian and I explored Port Elizabeth!

It is winter in Port Elizabeth in July, and boy could we tell! We were in turtlenecks, fleece, and windbreakers for the whole trip. (Well, we did get down to short sleeves when the sun finally came out from behind clouds in the middle of our stay there).

We stayed at a great little B&B on the edge of town, a 15-minute walk from the beach, complete with a trampoline (much to Ian's delight)!!! We spent a full afternoon at the beach making a great sandcastle, playing frisbee, and having a picnic lunch.

Adeus, Natasha

2007-07-29T12:37:00.000+03:00

Sadly we said goodbye to our friend and babysitter Natasha, who needed to return to Portugal. Natasha started caring for Ian while we were in Portugal in March-April, and then came to Chitengo (where her mother, Sofia, works in the Communications Department with me) in May. Ian took to her immediately, and she was a key part in Ian's easy and quick adjustments to the many changes in his life: language, culture, surroundings, people...

We managed without a babysitter for most of July, just starting last week with a new caretaker, Joana. So far, so good. I am excited about this because Joana doesn't speak any English, so Ian will be "forced" to work on his Portuguese now! He is making good progress.

We miss you, Natasha! You better come back and visit soon.

Crocodile!

2007-07-29T11:26:00.000+03:00

While out on a drive in the park we found this crocodile carcas -- stinky stinky stinky! But very interesting. We tried to sleuth how this croc had ended up here dead, as it didn't look like a struggle had occurred. Possibly the croc was moving from one water hole to another via this channel, as it looked like it had dragged itself along the channel for some distance, so perhaps it died from dehydration (unlikely) or some disease.

Rich managed to pull out a tooth of this croc -- it was more than an inch long, and hollow!

Weekend in the Vumba

2007-07-28T19:31:00.000+03:00

We took our first weekend off after almost two solid months of work in early June, heading up the the mountains that form the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border, on the Zimbabwe side. Things are dicey in Zimbabwe these days -- not so much in terms of violence and personal safety (as many news outlets have reported in recent years) but because of the near utter crash of their economy -- inflation was more than 5000% last time I checked, meaning prices change once or several times per day. Unofficial money exchange is the only way to survive. Extended power cuts are routine, and sometimes water is not available. Zimbabwe is currently not issuing passports to its citizens, allegedly because of a lack of paper and ink with which to print new passports, stranding thousands. It really is amazing to see this country that was the epicenter of southern African tourism descend so far so fast.

But putting all that gloom and doom aside, we did have a terrific long weekend off, staying at a lodge run by our friends and Park colleagues Petra and Bart. Petra is Belgian and Bart is from the Netherlands, but they've both been in Africa for many years. They run our herbarium program at the Park and know a ton about southern African plants. They also run a great lodge, even if tourists are few and far between these days in Zimbabwe.

Ndundu Lodge is confortable and funky, with Bart's fascination with odd metal parts displayed throughout -- old gears embedded into the floors, old farm compactors forming the base of the bar, and other oddities throughout. Great fun. And terrific food!

We spent one afternoon at a nearby lodge that used to be one of the Grand Old Dames of Zimbabwe, and sadly is falling into somewhat of a state of disrepair. But we did enjoy their small game park, which Bart used to manage and is now managed by his friend Wilfred. It was great to be able to walk around to see the animals as no large predators inhabit the reserve -- see the zebras just behind Ian in the photo!

Thankfully we had a firelplace in our room at Ndundu -- we sure needed it! It was definitely winter in the mountains of Zimbabwe, with something approximating frost on the grass in the mornings. brrr!

World Children's Day

2007-07-28T19:11:00.000+03:00

Back in early June we celebrated World Children's Day (June 1) during three days of fun at Chitengo with kids from the local communities of Nhambita, Vinho, and Casa Banana, and our own Chitengo Camp. The kids went on a game drive, providing the first opportunity ever for many to see some of Mozambique's native fauna. They also attended a workshop led by a local artist on making beaded bracelets and earings and learned how to plant native trees seedlings for reforestation projects.

And of course we also just played! Kids from Chitengo and Casa Banana performed dances and songs, we had a great blindfold game (sort of like Marco-Polo), had a "balloon festival" with hundreds of balloons inside a huge mosquito net -- as close to a Chuck-E-Cheese plastic ball jumping pit as these kids will get (thankfully, in my opinion!) and played a rousing inter-village football/soccer game.

Our colleague Baldeu Chande, Director of Community Relations, wrote some new lyrics to commonly-known Mozambican songs - here is one of my favorites:

I went to
Gorongosa National Park
Back in the bush
I saw a big elephant
The elephant
Is also Mozambican
The elephant
Also has a right to life

[Shameless self promotion: to read more about this fun event, including more photos and lyrics, visit http://www.gorongosa.net/news/news.php?l=eng.]

Ian's big Gorongosa Park map

2007-07-28T19:01:00.000+03:00

Ian's birthday present for Rich was a big map of Gorongosa National Park that he made all by himself (ok, with a little help from mom drawing some of the animals -- but the inspiration and direction was all Ian). I had the Park entrance gate, the wildlife sanctuary, Chitengo Camp, the game drive network, Gorongosa town, and Gorongosa Village. And lots of animals. And, of course, lots of different specialized game drive vehicles. Dad helped a lot with these (this was a many days project) -- the map has an elephant game drive vehicle, a snake game drive vehicle, a frog game drive vehicle, etc. etc -- each vehicle looking like the animal of its name, with chairs on top for viewing. Ian thought these game drive vehicle would be well camoufloge. Ian was also sure to draw in all of the shallow pans (small waterholes) that he remembers from the game drive network.

This piece of art is now residing with Gram in Seattle, but she's promised to keep it in good condition for posterity.

Update from Rich

2007-07-22T22:28:00.000+03:00

Katie has done such a great job with the blog I have become a real slacker in writing anything myself, but I guess it is time to finally break the silence. Here are a few highlights from the past couple months:

I had the honor of meeting and shaking hands with President Armando Guebuza on his arrival—his first state visit to Gorongosa National Park. The President arrived with 6 helicopters and a support plane for his 24-hour visit—quite a production. He seemed genuinely pleased with the project and surprised at the rapid recovery of the Park.

I spent an incredible day with a water diviner. We are working in the Great Rift Valley of Africa and professional hydrogeologists have spent years trying to understand the groundwater system and its importance to the Park. Using a guava tree brach, he is able to precisely identify the location of underground aquifers more than 50 meters below the soil surface. OK, I can deal with this—he is picking up changes in magnetism related to deep faults, and I find I can actually get a bit of a response myself when I walk across a fault he has identified. But then he uses a wire and conducting rod to precisely map the depth of each successive confining layer below the soil surface (essentially he is mapping the entire geological formation below the surface)—and the accuracy of his work has been tested many times by drilling teams. OK, this is getting tougher for my science mind to deal with, but I suppose it relates to his extraordinary ability to sense magnetic fields. But then, he loses me completely by giving us an accurate estimate of the yield of the aquifer (i.e. how much water we will get if we drill a bore hole there). He does this by balancing a coke bottle filled with water on the palm of his hand and walking across the deep fault line—depending on how fast the bottle tips over, he estimates the yield (in this case, at 55 m depth). I give up. It works. I can’t explain why.

I am an avid runner and try to run every morning, but I am running out of safe places to run here at camp! For the past two years, I have run along the main road leading to Chitengo from the main gate, and enjoy flushing up baboons, waterbuck, reedbuck, and warthog as I run by. But alas lions have moved in along my running path—a pair were seen a couple hours after I passed by two weeks ago—and we have buffalo moving into the area as well. Now I run from camp to the Pungue River, which mostly involves passing by scores and scores of Mozambicans as they make their way from Vinho village across the river to Chitengo for the work day.

Animal numbers are recovering quickly here, which makes for fun viewing but new challenges we didn’t have in past years. Had my first serious run in with elephants a few weeks back. I had to wait until dark to creep in my vehicle around a big bull elephant feeding next to the road, as the road forward was the only way back to camp (the loop route cut off by high water). He made two full charges at the vehicle (ears out, trunk up bugling) that sent me twice in high speed reverse. It was fully dark by the time I moved past him, so it was really just a guess that he had moved far enough out of the way to let me pass. Not something you want to do everyday, and here we have two months of vegetation sampling starting up this year. The elephants here are still a bit traumatized from the years of war and poaching and it may be a while until they settle down and adjust to being watched.

Rich's Birthday

2007-07-14T18:27:00.000+03:00

We are more than a month behind now! will hope to do some catching up this week...

Rich's birthday was June 10. Had a great party at Chitengo with the whole gang, and will use this opportunity to introduce some of the cast of characters of Chitengo:

(l to r): Chris (son of Cheryl & Grant), Joao Viseu (Dir. Admin/Tourism), Luiz Filipe LeBoeuf (head of Infrastructure), and Vasco Galante (Dir. Communications, and my boss).

(l to r): Nuno Soeiro (finance), Bridget Conneely (Exec Asst to Greg & Prog Mgr in Communications), Cheryl Norvall (landscaping), and Bart Wursten (botanist, Scientific Services).

Presidential Visit to Chitengo

2007-06-23T21:54:00.000+03:00

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza visited Gorongosa National Park last month -- the first presidential visit to the Park in decades. This visit produced a flurry of activity for the weeks leading up to the visit, with pre-visits by various dignitaries (presidential assistants, local government officials, security teams), massive work to decorate and landscape the new cabanas, painting of buildings throughout the site, repair of roads still pot-holed by the summer rains... A lot of things got done with the pressure of this important visit! But this work didn't come without plentiful stress shared around the camp.

My job was to help prepare the costumes for our group kids who were to dance and sing for the President. We spent weeks bent over sewing machines, weilding needles, making and painting maracas, and rehearsing the kids. Happily the songs and dances they were to perform were well-known Mozambican songs, so at least we didn't have to start from scratch there!

When the Big Day arrived, hundreds of people descended upon Chitengo, all requiring accommodation of some kind. The chalets were reserved for dignitaries, and tents popped up all over camp to house the masses for one or two nights. I'm still not quite sure who everyone was and why they needed to be here for the visit. Some were ministers from the government, others were local politicians (provincial and district goverment officials).

And then came the aircraft. Five helicopters and one cargo plane. What a ruckus. All very formal. People poured out to watch the arrival, although the "official" welcoming group was kept quite small. However, Rich made the cut and got to shake hands with the President!

The President and his entourage marched at a quick pace through the camp, pausing for about 15 seconds in front of our group of performing kids, long enough to wave an appreciative hello. The excitement was palpable. In fact, the women's performng group continued to dance and sing long after the President disappeared into his cabana, enjoying the moment of revelry with dozens of other onlookers.

Ian Beilfuss, Helicopter Boy

2007-05-28T22:52:00.000+03:00

Greg Carr was in Chitengo for the past couple of weeks, affording us the opportunity to see more of the Park by helicopter! Greg always arrives here by helicopter, and keeps it here during his stay in order that he can get around the Park and the region for his work.
Happily, he also invites others to use the helicopter to accomplish goals, whether they be looking for the lone small herd of zebra in this vast park, conducting anti-poaching raids, escorting important visitors, or checking out the status of cutting and burning on the Mountain.
We were the lucky beneficiares of Greg's generosity last week, making two family helicopter flights, one to look for the zebra (didn't find them, alas), and one to visit the top of Gorongosa Mountain.

Ian is a terrific flyer, whether facing forwards or backwards in the 7-seater helicopter, and is often even the spotter of wildlife. We saw crocodiles, hippo, tons of waterbuck, sable, elephant, warthogs, and many other kinds of animals during our trip round the Park in the helicopter.
Alas even flying on a helicopter becomes old hat for this small boy after a short time. Ian snoozed on the return trip home...

Our Local Lawnmowers

2007-05-28T22:34:00.000+03:00

We sat this evening with the lights of our house and porch turned off so that we could watch the activity of our local lawnmowing squad: the neighborhood warthogs.

Tonight we had seven warthogs, some adult, some young, chomping on the grass outside our house. Sometimes they prefer the grass by the pool, or behind the visitors' reception. Mostly they don't mind people much, unless you come too close. You can tell if they are comfortable with your presence by their stance: when they are relaxed, they lower themselves onto their frong "knees" like the warthog in this picture so that their mouths are at ground height, making grass chomping easier. Once they get spooked, they come up on all fours ready to run, and eye you warily.

I love their little tails that tend to stick straight up in the air when they run.

"Loja do Chitengo"

2007-05-20T16:01:00.000+03:00

Here is the team for "Loja do Chitengo" -- the Chitengo Gift Shop (l to r): Mane (head carpenter) , Maneca (assistant), Jose Carlos (or Zeca for short), and Sophia. Mane, Maneca, and Zeca have built all the shelving for the shop as well as secure storage trunks and cabinets for keeping the shop wares, and a wall to screen ff the area behind the shop, all out of locally-available bamboo. They work hard, they are friendly, and, most importantly, they put up with my Portuguese! We now have added a woman, Maria, to the team, and hope to train her to assist Natasha with the children's activities as well.

Chitengo School

2007-05-20T15:48:00.000+03:00

Natasha has founded Chitengo's first school! At the moment it is purposefully small - only 4-6 students, all beween the ages of 3 and 6. We have supplied the school with a variety of materials including children's books in Portuguese, fingerpuppets, a small kitchen with plastic plates and utensils, and wooden food (Mom, remember these?), and a variety of musical instruments. Sophia and Natasha brought a lot of things from Portugal as well - plasticine clay, paints, colored pencils, and other games. These kids haven't yet had any school here, and are delighted by everything they are exposed to. I bought a chalkboard along the road in Chimoio last week so now Natasha is working with the kids on reading and writing letters and numbers, and even a little bit of math. The local kids are due to be moved to their new housing situation soon, and we're not sure what will become of the school when this happens. Natasha is planning on offering her services for visiting tourists as well, or for any of the kids of staff who are living in Chitengo. Ian is very happy to have friends and playmates, and as the school is all in Portuguese, he is forced to listen and try to understand, and maybe he will start speaking some of the Portuguese that we know has managed its way into his brain...

Ian the swimmer

2007-05-20T15:23:00.001+03:00

Swimming daily, or even twice daily, in the pool here at Chitengo has turned Ian into a real swimmer. We came with a "noodle" - one of those long noodle-shaped floaty things that helps keep a kid above water, and soon he was jumping off the side of the pool with impunity. Natasha showed him the breast stroke with his arms, and suddenly he wanted to swim all alone - no noodle, no help from anyone. He has also discovered the fun of swimming underwater. Yesterday, he swam underwater between my legs and back up again. Amazing! Soon he'll be doing laps in the pool. Nothing like a little regular exposure to boost a kid's confidence and skill.

A Day in the Life of the Beilfi

2007-05-19T16:16:00.000+03:00

The sun usually rises on Chitengo at about 5:00 or 5:30 AM, although the birds herald the sun's arrival earlier than that most days. This morning Rich and our friend Carlos (who knows more of Mozambique's birds than nearly anyone else) spent the early hours listing to the birds and chronicling the order of the morning's songs. Another sure sound of morning is the sound of the guys arriving with the wheelbarrow behind our house to stock our hot water tank with coal to heat the water. (We get hot water twice a day - if all things are going as planned: once first thing in the morning and once about 12 hours later. )

The camp is up and moving before 7:00 AM. The typical workday here is 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM. Not being much of a morning person, I am trying to adapt to this schedule! We usually eat breakfast in our house (cereal or, if we're lucky, granola, or sometimes eggs--no toast as bread is tough to come by here--and tea (Milo for Ian - sort of like Ovaltine). We can also be found at the restaurant for a buffet breakfast of scrambled eggs and biscuits on days when we're feeling social. We are one of only two houses to have kitchen facilities, and those without must eat all their meals in the restaurant at the moment.

Our house is right in the middle of Chitengo, so our commute consists of walking 50 meters across the camp. Rich typically heads into meetings or to the computer lab/reception building (the only place with reliable electricity at the moment), and I head with Ian to our incipient gift shop. Ian spends his morning in "school" with his babysitter Natasha (22-year old Portuguese woman, daughter of my colleague Sophia) and several of the local kids (see another post for more about our school).

I am currently working with Sophia readying costumes for our group of women and kids who will perform songs and dances for tourists, starting with the President of Mozambique next Tuesday!!My summers in sewing class when I was a young teen are paying off now as I fashion shorts, tank tops, and skirts for our young performers on a little sewing machine Sophia found in Beira. The sewing isn't top quality, but it is sufficient for our purposes! And the outfits -- and the kids -- are very cute. (Hopefully this afternoon the kids and women will show up for rehearsal, and we'll get to see the costumes on! I will post photos here for you to see.)

We usually eat lunch at the restaurant to save the time of cooking and cleaning up in the middle of the day. Food at the restaurant is usually buffet-style with vegetables, salads of various kinds, rice or noodles, and some sort of meat or chicken in a sauce. Our cook is great -- he always prepares a variety of salads so we have plenty of vegetables -- green beans, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, various bean salads, egg salad, etc. Alas for my waistline he also regularly makes dessert at lunchtime: chocolate mouse, fruit cocktail, flan, passion fruit pudding, or fresh fruit... yummy!

After lunch, Ian takes a nap while I either work or catch up on emails (and hopefully this blog). For the first week or more since we arrived, he needed me to stay in the house during his nap, but now so long as he knows where he can find me when he wakes up, he is comfortable with my leaving the house, which give me some much-needed freedom! When he wakes in the late afternoon, we usually have a swim in the small pool, and are often the only people there! The trees cast a beautiful deep shade over the pool during the late afternoon.

The sun sets around 5:00, and all is dark by 5:30. The generator that provides our power (we aren't yet serviced by electrical lines, but hope to be by September) comes on at about 5:15 PM, first time with electricity since lunchtime. We all don long sleeves and pants and spray exposed parts to prevent mosquito bites - we do live in a malaria zone, after all! Evening is a good time for socializing with a beer or G&T at the restaurant. We make dinner at home, in large part because dinner at the restaurant is served at 7:30 or 8:00 PM - quite late for a small boy. Noodles or rice with sauce, carrot salad or cucumber-tomato salad, or various other vegetables usually comprise our dinner. While we can access fresh vegetables, we also use a lot of canned food. Ian's favorite is creamed corn - anything with sugar. Milk here doesn't require refrigeration so long as the packages remain sealed, so we can buy milk by the case and keep it in the cupboard, opening them and storing them in the refrigerator as we need them. Same for juice.

Ian heads to bed at about 8:00, but rarely is asleep before 9PM. We all sleep under mosquito nets by night, and Ian is so accustomed to it by now that he wants to sleep under it during his nap as well, even though malaria mosquitoes don't pose a risk during this time. Rich and I read or work before bed, and tuck in when the power goes out at 10:00 PM. We light a candle inside a hurricane lamp that burns all night long as a nightlight for Ian, as the darkness of Africa without any lights whatsoever is truly dark!

Frog Man Ian

2007-05-08T22:21:00.001+03:00

We are delighted to report that Ian's latest fascination is with frogs and toads! Our swimming pool here at camp is a big attractant for frogs and Ian has taken to checking several times a day in both the "grown-up pool" and the kiddie pool for resident frogs. He has discovered that the best place to look for them is on top of the little flap that leads to the filter. And we think that he is actually rescuing many of these frogs and toads from certain death, as there is no way for the frogs to actually exit the swimming pool -- the walls are too high and slippery for them to be able to jump out, and after a while they run out of energy from lack of food and from much effort trying to get out.

Ian carefully examines the frogs and is learning the important characteristics to look at in order to identify the frog or toad -- the shape of the pupil in the frog's eyes, the shape of the toes, the length of the hind legs, and other characteristics. So far we think we have identified four different species right here in our swimming pool!

Ian desperately wants to sleep with his frogs, but thankfully the most he has insisted on so far is to bring them into our shower for a few minutes. We are sure to let the frogs/toads go before too long so they can go find food! We are hoping our friend Carlos Bento might be able to bring up a terrarium from Maputo so that we might make a suitable home for a frog or two here inside the house... Rich and I are thrilled for our budding naturalist.

Haircuts!

2007-05-08T21:19:00.000+03:00

We are happy to report that we all three have survived our first haircuts in Africa. Miraculously, I performed two of them (not my own) - Rich's with the #3 blade on his cordless trimmer (our colleage Mike said, "Adopted the African bush haircut, eh?") and Ian's with the sharpest scissors we could find. It's not exactly Studio 924, but we did OK. I lucked out in discovering that another staffer Cheryl was, in earlier days, a hairdresser! As if pre-arranged, a bushbuck and a vervet monkey passed by while Cheryl was cutting. Think of the money we'll save!

Chitengo Camp

2007-05-03T16:49:00.000+03:00

The compound of Chitengo is about 40 km from the main north-south paved road in Mozambique, accessed along a dirt/gravel road that mostly is one-lane and in some parts is more pothole than road. Like nearly all the roads in the park, it must be regraded every year after the rainy season, and drainage is a regular problem. The many small bridges that span rivers that only flow during the wet season are all being repaced now, having weathered sometimes more than 40 years of use, and ultimately we hope to have the whole road paved to improve access to the park.

Chitengo is a small, somewhat chaotic little camp, although the chaos comes under control more every day. The core of the camp features about six rondavels (round bungalows) that remain from the 1950s and 60s when the Portuguese were the colonial power in Mozambique and managed this park. They've all undergone extensive renovation in the last 2 years and are quite nice, although still simple. We live in house #6 (in the photo). These rondavels cluster around oneside of the main "quad" of Chitengo, with various buildings -- visitors' reception, the historic bar and restaurant, and the old "dance floor" -- a large round cement platform roofed with grass but open on the sides. The old bar is currently functioning as our still very young and underdeveloped gift shop; in the near future both it and the old restaurant will be rebuilt into a conference center. The architect seems to be doing a good job of preserving the history and historic character while creating a state-of-the-art facility that will draw visitors (and income) to the park.

Two swimming pools decorate the center of this "quad" -- a deep one and a great, shallow kiddie pool. Ian is enjoying an almost daily swim here, as the pools are largely shaded in the heat of the afternoon. Occasionally we find frogs and toads swimming in the pool with us, which adds to Ian's pleasure.

In other areas of Chitengo are comfortable tents, most of which are large enough for two single beds and some of which have electricity (when the generator is running), and new rondavels under construction. Eventually the plan is to move all staff out of Chitengo to other locations (although the headquarters building will be in Chitengo, so most of us will work here), and have only tourist accommodation at Chitengo. But that is probably 2 years off. Many things will change in our little camp in the next few years!

You can read more about Chitengo here: http://www.gorongosa.net/tourism/chitengo.php?l=eng

North to Chitengo

2007-04-23T16:33:00.000+03:00

Rich and Carlos carefully loaded up the back of our extended cab Toyota Hilux, carefully wrapping the whole load in plastic and tying it all down with rope and plastic-coated laundry wire for the long trip north. All of the worldly posessions we are takng to our new life in Mozambique are in this truck -- too much to make the trip by airplane, the usual (and more quick and comfortable) transport to the park. We also needed to bring this new vehicle to the park for the Rich's Science Services Department to use for research and other work in the park.

Good thing they spent the time they did doing a good job, as we had a terrible storm with lots of rain and lightning the night before we left - and more rain along the way. The storm during the night, the heat, and the whining and barking of the dog (who got locked up during the night for bad behavior) made for a pretty bad night's sleep for us all on a night that was already short because of our 3:30 AM departure for the 14-hour trip north. Because the roads in Mozambique see all manner of traffic, including cars, trucks, bikes, pedestrians, chickens, goats, and cows, we wanted to get most of our driving done early in the morning while people were asleep, and to finish the drive before dark (early evening is the worst time for driving here). We also had to make the park gate by 6pm, as a new strict gate closure rule is being enforced.

We stopped only once, for breakfast at about 8am, pressing on the rest of the day, eating food we had brought in the car. Ian was amazing, keeping himself entertained with little matchbox cars and plastic animals who had all manner of adventures in the back seat. I don't recall the details but the play involved time in jail for naughty animals, lots of fights between animals (we are learning about agression between animals in pursuit of females and territory), and trips by the ambulance to deal with injuries. Thank heavens for the portable DVD player, too. We are not a TV watching family for the most part, but I am often thankful for our decision to buy this little piece of electronics when my patience for entertaining Ian is wearing thin and I can keep him entertained for even just thirty minutes by turning on the DVD...

We made the gate by 6pm and arrived at the camp just as the sun was setting, passing many scurrying baboons along the road on the way in to Chitengo. Happy to have finally arrived...

Kruger National Park

2007-04-16T22:48:00.000+03:00

Rich had been asked to present at an annual conference of scientists doing research at Kruger National Park in South Africa, so we had a great opportunity to see a "seasoned" park (Kruger is the largest and one of the oldest parks in southern africa) with an abundance of wildlife. Rich attended the conference by day as Ian and I explored the park in our truck. Kruger is very well developed - paved roads throughout the park, and even those roads that are gravel are passable in a standard car - no 4WD required. Very funny to see people in Mercedes Benzes and Volvos driving around on safari, so locked in our mind is the idea of safari in a truck...

On our first evening in the park -- actually as we raced against the clock to make the drive to our camp before the 6pm gate closure -- we saw lots of great animals: giraffe, impala, baboons, monkeys, kudu, warthogs, and -- the two great sights of the day -- a leopard and a white rhino, each of which we managed to see as they happened to be crossing the road on which we were driving. Not bad for a 90-minute drive! We managed to add water buffalo, crocs, hippos, hyena, elephant, tsessebe, and a variety of other grazers to our list during our 4-day stay. The hyena encounter was particularly exciting: we were driving in the dark on our way to the conference dinner when we came upon it across the street from the staff housing, not more than 20 feet from our vehicle!

Another great animal sighting happened during a conference dinner at the golf course - the resident hippo of the golf course pond ambled up onto the grass near the golf club where we were, grazing away! Ian was amazed to see an entire hippo not more than 50 feet from where he stood...

It was particularly interesting to be in Kruger with an eye to developing our own park. What aspects of the park did I like as a tourist? what things would I change? What amenities were available for staff? The camp where we stayed, Skukuza, is the main headquarters of the park where the majority of the park staff live (in a "village" next to but well-isolated from the tourist camp), so the staff facilities are quite good: a gym, playing fields, a large swimming pool equiped for a swim team, a golf course (! ok so we don't want that at our park), and much more. It looked like a pretty comfortable place to live.

Arrived in Africa!

2007-04-14T22:24:00.000+03:00

After a long, reasonably brutal flight, we arrived in Africa! We had discovered upon arriving at the airport in Lisbon at 11:00 pm that our original flight -- an all-night flight -- had been cancelled, so we spent the night with our friend Maria, sans luggage (which we had decided to check in early so that we could save time in the morning). Those of you with kids might understand why we were bummed about this switch to an all-day flight! so many hours during which to entertain a 4-year-old... Then it turned out that our rebooked flight was not direct to Maputo as the cancelled one had been, but rather stopped in Joburg for 2+ hours enroute to Maputo.

We finally arrived Maputo after 11:00 PM on Saturday, but with immigration, visa purchases, and very slow luggage, we didn't manage to get out of the airport until well after midnight. Poor Ian - it was all he could do to barely hold it together. And it was HOT and muggy compared to what we were accustomed to... I suppose I should have been happy that 5 of our 6 bags showed up, but I wasn't, as the missing bag was mine!! (it did manage to show up a full WEEK later after much effort to track it down...) But at least we had arrived.

We spent 2 nights at our friend Carlos' house in a "suburb" of Maputo, adjusting to our new surroundings. Ian an I mostly flopped around as Rich had African adventures (flat times, hitch-hiking, running out of gas....) while trying to accomplish a few necessities in Maputo. We then packed up again and headed West to Kruger National Park in South Africa for the next phase of our adventure...

Vamos aprender Portugues no CIDAC

2007-04-13T15:50:00.000+03:00

We spent four weeks in the care of CIDAC, a non-profit organization in

Portugal working on development cooperation and development education. We worked five hours per day one-on-one with our teachers: I had Manuela (with long braid and necklace) in the morning and Marisa (scarf and glasses) in the afternoon; Rich had Guida (alas, no photo!) in the morning and Manuela in the afternoon. Manuela was born and spent much of her life in Mozambique but now lives outside Lisbon.

Rich had a decent background in Portuguese from his many years of work in Mozambique, but I started from near zero - as I joked, I arrived knowing how to count to ten and as where the bathroom was! But with the patient and talented efforts of my teachers, I left with a better base for learning more in Mozambique. It's always easier to understand than to speak, so I find that I can piece together a lot of what is being said around me if I really concentrate, but I still blubber when I open my mouth. Actually, for at least the first week of classes, every time I went to open my mouth in Portuguese, Turkish came out! So I guess I still know a bit of Turkish from my time there in 1988 afterall... Not that that helps in Portugal!

We hope to be able to get back to CIDAC in the next year or so to keep working on our developing language skills, and will also work with a teacher in Mozambique in the intervening time.

Alentejo

2007-04-09T15:16:00.000+03:00

Our good friends Manuel, Viviene and Alice (1 year) arranged a great weekend getaway to west-central Portugal to the region of Alentejo. Some of you may remember Manuel, Viviene, and Alice as friends we met in Madison who now live in Brussels, but Manuel hails from Lisbon originally. Manuel happened to have a conference to attend in Lisbon during the first week of April, so they were able to extend their visit and spend a weekend with us showing us some sights, including the historic city of Evora, where we took a group photo in front of a temple ruin in the middle of the city.
Manuel found us a great rural inn near the historic town of Monsaraz (the photo of the green hill topped by a village surrounded by "castle" walls ) from which we could walk easily up the hill to visit Monsaraz or to the local restaurant for delicious local specialities, the names of which are now escaping me (remind me, Manuel!), along with the wine for which the region is famous. Inside Monsaraz we found the bull-fight arena; no bullfights happened there while we were there, but we did find some of the equipment the bullfighters used to practice, and Ian polished up his bullfighting skills. We did find, in the neighboring village, a "running of the bulls" event at which local men taunted the bulls and the bulls chased the men, but no blood was shed or lives lost, we are happy to report. Needless to say, we all stayed safely in the stands!
On our way bac to Lisbon, we detoured to Manuel and Viviene's favorite beach along the Atlantic coast, about 45 minutes west of Lisbon. while the weather in Alentejo and along our drive back had been cool and rainy, when we reached the coast the clouds parted miraculously and we were treated to an afternoon of gloriously warm sun. Ian and Alice frolicked in the waves, and we all took turns burying Ian in the sand. We bid farewell to our friends, expecting to see them next in Mozambique, and headed back to Lisbon on the local train.

Ian the cleaner

2007-04-03T10:47:00.000+03:00

Here is Ian cleaning our porch in Lisbon. He is a very good cleaner. He mopped the porch and cleaned the table every day, whether it needed it nor not! how fun to slop around water...

Aveiro & Coimbra

2007-04-01T10:13:00.000+03:00

We took an express train north to the city of Aveiro to meet with a colleague of Rich's, Carlos Fonseca, a biology professor at the University of Aveiro. The train was very comfortable and particularly exciting for Ian, who asked questions incessantly about how fast we were going, where we were, etc. Aveiro is a relatively new city near the coast, famous for salt production and for its canals -- some refer to Aveiro as "the Venice of Portugal". We had a quick visit to the Atlantic Ocean beaches -- very windy but beautiful -- and then headed Saturday afternoon to Coimbra, about 30 minutes inland from Aveira, where Carlos lives.

Coimbra was quite different from Aveiro -- very old (boasting the oldest university in Europe) and hilly, divided by a river. Ian particularly enjoyed our visit to a park that featured tiny replicas of the many different types of traditional houses from around Portugal as well as composite buildings of the many famous historic sites of Portugal (cathedrals, castles, etc.). Carlos and his girlfriend Constancia were very warm and hospitable, and introduced us to their good friends who lived at Gorongosa in the 1960s! Our young Portuguese language skills limited our ability to swap too many stories with Luis and his wife, but we made a good connection for the future. Carlos also drove us to the village of his family and to their family retreat in the country -- how we longed to stay at that idealic setting for longer! Old stone houses perched on the hill above a river with a small dam to divert water to power an old (and still functional) mill for grinding flour that created a small pond perfect for paddling in the resident kayaks. So peaceful... Must stay here during our next visit to Portugal!

Pasteis de nata and Sneeches

2007-03-29T18:52:00.000+03:00

The weather is windy and cool today after lots of rain last night and the night before. Thankfully the rain didn't start until we were safe in bed at home on Wednesday, as we had a great afternoon adventure to a neighborhood along the river (towards the sea) called Belem. Found a GREAT playground for Ian there where he could really "get his sillies out." Then we dispensed with the "dessert only after dinner" rule and all enjoyed "pasteis de nata," delicious pastries, flakey on the outside and creamy in the center - like a little tart. Apparently (by reputation) this pastelleria has the best "pasteis de nata" in all of Lisbon. Then yesterday after class we found a new (to us) neighborhood on the other side of the hill from our apartment with lots of fun shops and beautifully kept houses and apartments - one of the fun aspects of a large city is the way neighborhoods are nestled together and can be very different even though they are so close to one another... We have deduced that our neighborhood is, shall we say, awaiting gentrification...

For his homework yesterday, Rich translated Doctor Suess's "The Sneeches" into Portuguese for his teacher! it was a good way for him to practice the mixing of verb tenses (indefinite, past perfect, etc.) Then he had to do The Zax live on the spot. phew. I continue to have fascinating discussions with my teachers about how close something is to something else, or where this is or that is. sigh... my head is exploding with information, and yet i feel so far from being able to speak. today i opened my mouth and said a sentence with half turkish and half portuguese and didn't even realize it until my teacher started laughing. oh well. it's only been 2 weeks!

We found a Mozambican restaurant in downtown Lisbon so will head there tonight for dinner with the other students at our school (at the moment two, one woman from the Netherlands and a man from Finland). should be fun!

We discovered that we have access to an unsecured wireless network from our balcony IF our computers are above the level of the railing of the balcony, so now Rich and I have a funny ritual of working during Ian's afternoon nap, standing up and drinking beer. :-)

Belem and Arruda

2007-03-25T19:25:00.000+03:00

We are spending the weekend with our friend Maria (she spent 3 weeks at Chitengo in Gorongosa National Park last summer and became good friends with many of the staff there, including my boss Vasco). She is a very warm and generous person and we are enjoying staying at her home in the country outside of Lisbon. And, she has wireless internet! so it is a chance for a little bit of catching up for us. Plus today is rainy and cool so we have a good excuse to be inside catching up on emails.

Ian had the morning of his life, getting a full personal tour of the fire station of the local town. maria's ex-husband is the volunteer fire department manager for that town, so we had an "in" for a tour by the weekend fire chief himself! You can imagine how seriously Ian took this tour - he was so excited he could hardly stand it. he got to climb on the fire trucks and see inside each of them, try on the helmets of the firemen, and see all the rooms where they live in the firehouse. wow. what a day. we will show him lions, elephants, and all kinds of other exciting animals and sights in Africa, and just you wait, he will remember this fire house tour as more important. :-)

We are one week into our one-month adventure in Portugal. I still can barely speak but my understanding is improving. nothing like one-on-one classes to move one along with language skills. The groups with whom we have our lessons specilizes in preparing people to go to do development work in former portuguese colonies, so it's a great way to work with a lot of good leftists :-) Everytime I go to speak Portuguese, turkish comes out, but I am working on that :-)

We had a lovely morning yesterday, taking the train from downtown Lisbon to a neighborhood just a few minutes down the river (Belem) where we toured the beautiful famous "Torre de Belem" (tower of Belem) and ate the best pastries and coffee beside the river. yum.

Next weekend we will spend with our friends Manuel Dematos and his wife Viviene and their daughter Alice. Our IES friends may remember Manuel, who started in Land Resources at the same time as me. Manuel is from Lisbon and now lives in Brussels working for the EU, but they are coming for a vacation in Portugal and will spend some if it with us! We are very happy about that. They met us in Amsterday when we were en route to Mozambique last fall... Good friends. And finally we will have a bit of Portuguese to speak with them!

Update from Lisbon

2007-03-21T19:21:00.000+03:00

Thanks to all who have sent emails in the last few days! great to hear from so many friends and family.

We are all doing well. Ian has adjusted wonderfully to Natasha - he barely skips a beat when we depart for class in the morning. Yesterday they went to the aquarium. (Natasha is the 22-year old daughter of Sophia, who is coming to work at Gorongosa Park - Natasha will come too, and be Ian's nanny in Mozambique as well).

Rich and I continue with our classes -- the 5 hours a day fly by, and we have homework ("TPC" or "Trabalho para casa") every night. last night I had to write a paragraph about myself. tonight I have to write a paragraph about my family. Rich had to give a 20-minute oral presentation (without notes!) about the US to his teacher today!! I am so glad we are in different classes. Our apartment is working out really well for us. We can walk to class in 25 minutes, or take the subway in a little less time. very easy. and it is walking distance to many great sights in Lisbon. If you look in this photo, our house is just to the right of the large cement wall in the middle of the photo, between the trees in the middle and the trees on the right.

That's all for now. more soon!

Arrived in Lisbon

2007-03-17T19:14:00.000+03:00

Boa tarde! We arrived Saturday morning (March 17) after a hectic (nearly comical) departure from Madison - only got out by with the help of friends and neighbors. The flight from Chicago was uneventful but largely sleepless, but we still had a great day Saturday and Sunday getting to know Lisbon a bit. Our apartment is very near the downtown area - we walked yesterday to the castle on the hill opposite our apartment in just a short time - great view of the city from there, and Ian loved the old canons. The apartment is tiny (go to http://www.lisbonflats.com and click on Taipas to see photos), but is good practice for our 620 sq ft home in Mozambique... found a grocery store in walking distance and stocked up. Today was our first day of class - tons to learn, but good. now back to ian and natasha, who had a good day from all reports! (natasha is our babysitter).