Riga at long last

Took two days to arrive in Riga due to flight delays, missed connections and te-booking. I will get to exercise my travel insurance once again.  I was able to purchase an annual multi-trip policy for a reasonable price.  When in Europe do like the Euripean travelers.  I've had lots of people to learn from this year and expect there's more to discover. 

 

In spite of its bad customer service record, they did attempt their best.  A group of 18 Estonians grabbed up all the available seats on both Ryanair flights to Riga today. A nice bmch. I wished them well.  

I'm excited to practice my Latvian, which is far better than my Spanish.  I visited Latvia three years ago for the Song and Dance Festival. An amazing event that led up to getting my citizenship.  Riga will host the festival again in 2018.  Put it on your calendar. 🇦🇹✈️

My Latvian Connection

During my travels these past two years, many people ask about my life and connection to Europe.   I have to admit that for most of my life, I have been reluctant to mention that I am Latvian by ancestry. I am a first generation American, which means that I am the first generation born of immigrant parents.   Most of  my life, people didn't know that Latvia existed, let alone where in the heck was Latvia?  It's  the case even today that in Spain  I have to determine how each country refers to Latvia.  In Spain, its Lettonia, in Holland, it's Lettland.  Why are the Baltics still in obscurity?  Now in my adulthood, I find it to be a nice conversation to have with people.   An icebreaker, if you will.  

The journey began many decades ago when we found our planet  in a second world war.  The Nazis had invaded the Baltics and established their dominance in Europe. But Stalin would not be undone and began to usurp his power.  The Baltics got caught in the middle of this raging battle over territory and world dominance.  My mother and father, who at this point did not know each other, independently decided to flee the advancement of Stalin's Red Army.  It was choosing between the lesser of two evils at this point and as the Nazis retreated, those Latvian citizens who could retreated with them, under their protection.   So, in 1945 my parents found themselves 'displaced persons' in Germany.  By the end of the war, the Allies had set up camps in Germany to take care of all the refugees from the Baltics, and elsewhere.  My parents met in the camp in Hanau, Germany and fell in love and eventually got married and bore a child, Karina.   Meanwhile, they applied for emigration to the US, which at the time had a quota system--they would only accept a certain number of immigrants each year. Five years later in early 1950, they were granted immigration staus and boarded a ship for the US.  My sister, Karina,  was two at the time.    

Growing up as a Latvian was difficult  at times.  My parents had heavy accents and I was sometimes embarrassed to bring friends home, having to explain their accents and my origins.  At that time in my life I just wanted to "fit in".   It would be many years later that I'd find myself accepting my heritage and then would eventually embrace it.  The pivotal moment was in 2013 when I visited Latvia for the first time and attended the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in Riga with my dear Latvian friend Alissa and her mother Vija. While there,  I really connected with my heritage and had the opportunity to experience this culture of song and dance that has kept the Latvian people connected with their roots,  even while under Soviet occupation.  

Then in 2013, the Latvian government enacted a law which would enable ancestors of Latvian refugees to apply for citizenship.  They had enacted a similar "law" in 1992, shortly after the Soviet bloc dismantled and Latvia once again became a republic.   When I heard that I could apply for dual citizenship, I began the process without any hesitation.  I didn't know where this  would lead me, but I intuitively knew this was something I needed to do.  In March of 2014, I received my "personal number" and in September of 2014 I obtained an EU passport.   So now I'm travelling under my EU passport while in Europe and enjoying unrestricted travel.  

Adios to Spain, Sveiks to Latvia

It's been a time of integration having returned from a memorable trip in South Africa.  I've been staying with Jan and Linda here in Frigiliana in the country. 

Shakti the family cat

What a magnificent view of the campo. 

Local goatherd moves his goats every day between 4-5. 

Dinner at Jan's restaurant, Al Fuente for great tapas. 

Yoga on the beach with Linda. 

I head to Riga on Wednesday for a month or more.  Found a loft apartment in a good central location.  It's almost winter there, so it'll be quite an adjustment from all this great sun and warmth of the past months. Stay tuned. 

Out of Africa

My last days here visiting Keuger NP and surrounding areas has been the highlight of my trip and a nice way to finish my stay. I would definitely return, but there is so much more of Africa to explore. Many people I met are heading north to other countries for more safari adventures.  

Heading back to Malaga, I will meet up with Murray, a friend from my retreat group who is in Spain  for seven  weeks. Should be fun to catch up with a familiar face. 

Big Five on Rand Notes

Just read this on Wikupedia. Here's what I've got so far. 

The 200 rand must have the leopard. 

Kruger National Park Game Drive - Day 1

It was a great day for finding wildlife. We encountered a large variety, including the Bog Five. Not a lot of volume in

the small herds, but great variety.  Christopher, our guide, was a great spotter and keeping in radio contact with other guides and checking with people coming from the other direction was a huge help, too.  I was joined by two women from Ireland, so having a small group was great passing the high powered binoculars and bring able to move from one side of the jeep to the other.

Big Five: 2 leopards, 3 lions, loads of elephants, small group of white rhino and small herd of buffalo. The cats were too far away to photograph with my iPhone

    Loads of Impala

    Cape buffalo

    Loads of elephants

   Two hippos in the pool

    Lots of giraffe graceful at foraging

   Love the elegant zebras

    Crocodile sunning itself

    Young kudu, popular for its meat

    Corythaixoides--Sounds like it's saying "go away"

   White rhino

Here's the list of what we viewed today:

Impala, kudu, buffalo, leopard, elephant, giraffe, Corythaixoides, black bellied Korhan, lilac breasted roller, white rhino, zebras, lions, crocodile, hippo, monkeys, baboons, wild dogs, warthog, hamerkop, vertex eagle owl, vulture, wildebeest

Panorama Tour

We visited  the  town  of  Sabi,  which  is  the  Forestry  Capital  of  the  Lowvel d.  We saw numerous pine and eucalyptus plantations covering the hillsides. Much of this timber is used for paper production. The  town  of  Sabi  boasts  a  number  of  beautiful waterfalls  to  be  seen  such  as  the  Sabi Falls,  the  Horseshoe  Falls,  the  Bridal  Veil Falls  and  the  Lone  Creek  Falls.

We then  visited  the  Mac  Mac  Falls  which  are  steeped  in  history  named by the Scottish settlers whose names all start with Mac.   We stopped for lunch  in the  town  of  Graskop and had crepes. Great food as well as homemade ginger beer.  to  the  view  point  at  the  Pinnacle.  Next stop at Gods  Window with  its  stunning  viewpoints  overlooking  the  wide  expanse  of  the  Lowveld  and  the  vast  plains  of  t he  Kruger  National  Park.   It  is  about 45  minute  drive  with  the  mountains  of  Dolomite  to  the  west  and  strange  Quartzite  and  Sand untill  you  get  to  the  first  of  3  lookout  points  over  the  Blyde  River  Canyon.  This  is  said  to  be  the  third  largest  “true”  cany the  world,  after  the  Grand  Canyon  and  the  Fish  River  Canyon.  The the  Blyde  River,  and  took  millions  of  years  to  form.  It  is  truly  a  superb  sight. 

      Lisbon Falls

     Blyde River Canyon

     Mac-Mac Falls

   Lone Creek Falls

Game Drive - Day 2

This was a very different experience from yesterday. We had s full vehicle, two Canadians on honeymoon and six Australisns on a camping holiday.  So it was tight and no ability to move around and get the best photos. Learned s lot about Go-Pro and selfie sticks from one guy.  But we all enjoyed ourselves. Not as productive a day as yesterday. Chris really knew his way around the park. Having said that, we had lots of lion and leopard sightings, and a cheetah, which was on my bucket  list. I lucked out yesterday with a rhino sighting. No such luck today.  Once again the weather was perfect and greening up a bit. 

  Up before sunrise with our safari vehicle

    Love those zebras

     Nice shot of the male Impala

    Male elephant heading our way

    Nice closeup of a warthog

   The Big Five!!!!

     Where's the cheetah?

    Forgot the name of this scavenger

    Nice male kudu

    Vultures nests

   A hippo sunning itself--egrets in the foreground

Perry’s Bridge Hollow, Hazyview

Perry’s  Bridge  Hollow  is  a  hotel  situated  at  the  heart  of  Perry’s  Bridge  Trading  Post  in  Hazyview,  just  a  10  minute  drive  fro the  Kruger  National  Park.  There are nice boutiques, galleries and artisan shops selling locally made things, along with two restaurants.  So I don't have to go far to get what I need. 

 It's spring break so everything in the park was booked up by the time I decided to go to Krueger.  That means an early departure at 5am and out by 6pm when the gates close.  

   Pool will be nice after day of safari

Upgrade from tent camping--what a treat

 Nice suite with indoor/outdoor showers

Capetown to Kruger National Park

I left this beautiful city to head back northeast to Krueger NP, where I'll spend three days hunting for game--just kidding--looking for wildlife. They promise the Big Five. I'll soon discover what the Big 5 are.  Krueger is the second largest game reserve in Africa and I'll be located in South Park.   I'm flying into Nelsoruit right about where my journey to South Africa started over a month ago. We covered about 3000km and saw such a diversity of landscapes. Not much wildlife other than an occasional member of the deer family, baboons, ostrich and dussies, or rather their poop everywhere we climbed. Stay tuned. 

     Dinner out for some seafood--starter 

     Yellowtail main course

     Chocolate torte for dessert

     Restaurant right on the water