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A shot-gun, biltong and pink champagne…

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We were quite lucky to even get park  reservations over new years and once we arrived at the park were hoping that we’d be able to arrange for a New Years Eve night safari at our Satara camp.

The ride out to the remote picnic spot, where some champagne was waiting for us, was a quick one, but eventful nonetheless. Pulling out of camp we saw giraffe galloping, startled at the light, our first water buffalo, and a group of elephants move to protect a baby. This was interesting to us because during the day the elephants didn’t really feel the need to encircle a baby but I guess it was different at night with a bunch of lights being shined on them. We also saw bunches of spotted hyena off looking for whatever food they could find.

At the picnic spot, completely unaware of what time it was (we’d left camp at 11pm) our ranger guide joked that there were no lions around as he sat loading shells into his shotgun. Nice. We were escorted to the picnic tables where some chips and biltong sat waiting for us and a several bottles of pink-ish champagne, at least one bottle in each shade of red, and waited for the countdown to begin. One of the rangers told us a minute remained and then began talking, wishing us “Shalom” or “completeness through peace” as he translated it and several minutes later after being reminded started counting down from 10 for us to celebrate the new year. We shot off the corks, drank a touch of the pink stuff, spotted a crocodile across the river, and got back in the trucks for the remainder of the ride.

On the way back we missed spotting a rhino (the other truck saw it but it was hidden in bush when we arrived) but a bit later did get to hear the male and female rhino engage in mating calls. Our guide managed to spot a snakes, the boomslang, in a tree whose bite would kill us in a matter of hours and we continued on spotting more hyenas (whose howl was quite eerie), buck, and zebra. To round out the trip, several juvenile male lions were hanging out on the road just before we got back to camp (literally about 200m from the gate) .  Just what we wanted to see before heading off to bed!

Welcome to Africa

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Herds of animals flocked below us as we flew over Africa from Senegal to South Africa.  Actually, not really.  In fact we saw very little from 30,000 feet.  I know, I know.  Everyone thinks that Africa is just roaming with wild animals, but to be truthful we haven’t seen a single lion yet and we’ve been here almost a week.  (We have seen an ostrich and baboons though!)

So what have we done?  Well there’s actually more to do in Johannesburg than you think.  Our plan was to skip right off to Mozambique but we ended up keeping ourselves busy for a few extra days.  First up was the Apartheid museum.   Full of details, photos and fascinating stories, the Apartheid museum was a must on our list of things to do in Johannesburg.  We felt exhausted after going through the museum, but also very moved and interesting in learning more about the post-apartheid South Africa.  Fortunately our couch surfing hosts were more than patient with us asking question after question, so expect a more in-depth post on the subject soon.

Then it was off to the World of Beer, which according to the South African Tourism Board is their number 1 attraction.  The museum was great, almost like being at Disney.  Besides a history of beer around the world and an introduction to the beer making process, we also sampled some traditional African beer, the name of which I have no idea how to spell, and a traditional lager from a typical “bush” bar.  The attraction itself was great, but perhaps it was ranked South Africa’s #1 attraction by the tipsy tour goers- at the end of the tour we were each given two free pint vouchers! Hurray!

Africa so far has been wonderful.  We’re heading to Mozambique for a little while to get in some beach time  and avoid the crowds.  Might be a while between posts from now on, Internet isn’t as easy to come by here as it was in South America.  Have no fear, foodie friday will continue as best we can!

Foodie Friday: The Quest for Beervana

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It should be no surprise that along with lots of ruins, whitewater and trekking, our tour of the America’s also included beer. Lots and lots of beer. From Mexico to Argentina beer seems to be the local beverage of choice, and almost always its cheaper than soda or sometimes even bottled water. It was not unusual for us to find a liter of beer for less than $3. When it’s that cheap you just have to try it. So we did.

On what is now called our quest for beervana (thanks to our friends for the name), we’ve sampled the local brew in every locale, from ice-cold Salva Vida in Honduras to an amber Beagle down in Ushuaia. There have been some good beers, some beers good for the moment, and even one green coca beer in Peru. Most beers produced in the America’s are lagers or pilsners and it seems the hotter the country the colder the beer. The coldest beer we’ve seen was in Honduras and fortunately at the time we were sweating to death. According to the thermometer on the refrigerator the beer was stored at -9 Celsius (about 15 Fahrenheit). It was perhaps the most refreshing and delicious pilsner in the world, or at least at that moment.

Our quest for beervana has turned into challenge to create a substantial beer label collection. We’ve taken the labels off all sorts of bottles, many of which have been mangled in the process. Just for the record the sticker labels are the hardest to take off. Our quest to build a collection has resulted in choosing our selections by the label not the actual beer, which in some cases has led to mistakes such as the coca beer.  It has also led us to some delicious Colombian micro-brews and copious amounts of Brazilian  chopp (draught beer), err… maybe not the chopp.  That might be our own fault.

Our quest for beervana continues while we’re on “intermission” at home. This week we headed to the Yuengling (my home brew) in Pennsylvania for a factory tour and tasting. Danny and I have been trying to get there for years, but for one reason or another it never worked out. Fortunately the quest for beervana took precedence this time and we finally made it. It was by far the best factory tour ever and not only because it ended in a beer tasting, actually truthfully it was because it ended in beer tastings, two in fact.

Anyway, as we head to Africa have no fear,  the quest for beervana will continue. Fortunately we’ve spent enough evenings at Brickskeller to know which African beers to avoid, but we’re always open to suggestions. Anything out there you think we should try or avoid? Where do you want to share a beer with us?

Salud!

Always COCA-Cola

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It is absolutely amazing just how common Coca-Cola is. We have found it in ever city, in every country, in every restaurant, of our entire trip. We have found in on islands and every sidewalk vendor we’ve seen. When we traveled La Moskitia in Honduras we encountered people with virtually nothing from the outside world, except Coca-Cola cooled with a solar powered refrigerator.

I think the thing that most impresses me is just how many different sizes of Coke bottles we’ve found: 237ml, 250ml, 12oz, 295ml, 410ml, 16oz, 500ml, 600ml/20oz, 625ml, 1L, 1.325L, 1.5L, 2L, 2.25L, 2.5L, 3L, & 3.5L bottles. And I doubt that’s even all of it. Cokes supreme dominance is something that is completely remarkable. So completely does it dominate that even though every snack stand is filled with Frito-Lay (owned by Pepsi-Co) products they almost never have Pepsi. Always Coca-Cola.

Fitting that in Peru, home of Inca Cola…the beverage that Coke finally purchased a few years ago rather than continue with beverage wars…we really start to learn about the Coca leave itself. (By the way, Inca Kola is basically liquid bubble gum. So if you like bubble gum you will LOVE Inca Kola).

So the truth you ask? Rumors have always abounded about Coca-Cola´s relation with this controversial plant. In Peru and Bolivia we chew it to help with the altitude and even make a tea out of it. Dare we bring it back to the USA, we´ll likely be arrested…so how could Coca-Cola be pulling this off?

They won their court case way back at the start of the century and up to at least 1985 it had been confirmed that our fuzzy drink contains extract from the coca leaf.

Really though, this isn´t so important. Coca-Cola, if indeed its newer formula does still contain coca extract, only uses it for flavoring. The ironic thing here is that many people will tell you that coca is not a drug. These are probably the same people who are drinking it in tea and chewing it to help with the altitude. Of course its a drug if you use it for these purposes…but that doesn´t make it any more dangerous than the fix any of us gets from the caffeine in a cup a coffee or relief from some Tylenol.

The coca leaf itself is one of the world´s first plants to come under domestication, used in the Andes by indigenous peoples for millennium for a variety of purposes a brief google search will only begin to mention. It´s powers to heal and help are many but obviously its power to cause harm can be great as well.

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