Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Homeward bound
A new slew of pictures have arrived from over 7,000 miles away, through the miracle of technology. They are pictures, not of my boys, but of grown up and baby animals deep in the heart of Namibia at Etosha National Park. The boys saw animals they have only seen in one of their favorite movies, “The Lion King”. Sadly, I don’t think they saw any lions, but there were elephants, giraffes with a baby, ostriches, Springbok antelope ,and a couple of sly looking hyenas. Momoh, their dad, supposedly has a whomped up camera, so the pictures are sharp for the most part.
They also experienced the landscape in the park. Etosha National Park is home to the largest salt pan in Africa. A salt pan is created when a lake exists over time, with rivers feeding it. When earth events cause the rivers to change their course the lake dries up, leaving a dry, baked surface that is white from all the alkaline chemicals drying up. This salt pan is so large that it is visible from space. It is also over 100 million years old. “In the language of the Ovambo tribe, Etosha means great white place.” (Etosha NP guide). Of course, there is a native legend to explain this expanse. Apparently there was a village that was raided and every one was slaughtered, except for one woman. It is said that she was so upset about the loss of her family that she wept until her tears formed a massive lake. This lake eventually dried up and left the salt pan behind.
There are salt springs in the area that draw wildlife to the salt licks. If there is enough rain in the rainy season, the entire lake bed fills up to a depth of about 5 inches. That is a lot of water, given how large the salt pan is. When this happens it attracts thousands of migrating flamingos. That must be a sight to behold. Because they are there in the Winter, the boys missed out on the flocking flying flamingos.
I have pictures of the boys enjoying a man-made swimming pool, presumably at the lodge where they were staying. They have been taking swimming lessons for a couple of years now, but I think Xander still resists putting his face in the water. Anyway, they have left Etosha NP behind and driven back to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. An email came today that they enjoyed a great dinner at a German restaurant, which is a throwback to the time when Germany colonized Namibia. There was a playground for the boys where they met a kid their age and made instant friends. This is one of the most wonderful aspects of childhood – that natural ability to feel kinship with another human being right away. We adults could take a lesson from the way small children bond with others, without hesitation or prejudice.
Today I think they are bound for South Africa for a couple of days until they face a 17 hour non-stop flight back to the USA. I’m hopeful that more pictures will reveal some of their activities in Johannesburg. Honestly, I almost feel as though I visited Africa myself, vicariously, through pictures and bits of emails. It’s a world I will probably never experience. My only contact with Africa was once when I was flying from Switzerland to Brazil and we stopped in Dakar, Senegal, to refuel. We did not leave the plane, so I can’t say I’ve ever breathed African air. I am so grateful that my African American grandsons have experienced some of their heritage. My hope for them is that they become citizens of the world. They are well on their way!