~*~*~*~ 10 minute intermission~*~*~*~*~

Taking a quick break from the road trip recap just to say~

It's so nice to know that so many of you read my blog! Some of you I knew, lots, I had no idea! I wish more of you would just drop a line sometimes- say hi!

I do write this blog for myself, no point denying that fact, but, I write it for many of you as well- for all the people that I think might want to know about what is going on, since I'm far away and not there to be interacted with.

Anyway, I know I have that voice in my head that often says, "It doesn't matter what I think...no one wants to hear from me..." so I don't blame you all for having such thoughts once you read one of my posts and see the "comment" area. But I'm telling you right now- I care! I want to know! I want to hear from YOU!!!

OK?

~*~*~*~*~*~* now back to our regularly scheduled programming*~*~*~*~*~*~

Happy Birthday Joel!

On the second day of our trip (Oct 18), Joel celebrated his 32nd birthday! I did as much as I could- I brought balloons, a nice birthday tablecloth, and cupcakes that I had secretly baked (Joel was out of the house) Thursday night and kept concealed until the special day. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can get a guy for his birthday in Luanda, but, through a parent, I managed to order a book for him and have it delivered for free. It'll be here soon. :)

The Farm

On our second day, we headed to a farm. It was an amazing experience. It was scary at times- but that will come later... the beginning of the farm experience was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

The guy in the blue hat was the guy in charge on the farm. A nice South African fellow, who'd lived in Angola for 12 years or so, he met us on the main road at a bar. He was driving the tractor and had a beer in hand, but was more than ready to take us on for the night.

Some of us were feeling adventurous, so we jumped in the back- we were obvious newbies- you don't sit when you're in for the ride we were about to embark on. It's waaay too bumpy.

We crossed this beautiful river, and then turned off onto a dirt track...

...and headed into terrain that looked like this.

It was beautiful!

Along the way, we picked up some extra riders! That was great! That little baby might have been a little scared of me ("it looks like a person, but it's not the right color!"), but she was sooo cute.

Then we picked up even more!

When we reached their dwellings the ladies we kind enough to let us take a picture. When we showed them the image on the camera they laughed and laughed- they thought it was great!

Then the other ladies got out...

This is where they lived.

Oops, out of order! :)

When we finally reached the farm, it was sunset- beautiful light.

Some gorgeous pictures were available...

But then of course, Joel had to get down to the business of unloading the car...

And the boys helped the guy in charge get the business of the goat on the spit going.

Eventually we all sat around the fire bellies full (most of goat, mine not) and having a mostly good time. I might have had a mini (or not so mini) break down that night, which is why I might be crying in this picture. But regardless, a good time was had by almost all most of the night!

It's past my bedtime, and there is much more of this story to tell... without any photo evidence to show for it, I can tell you that that night progressed into a wonderful public service announcement against the usage of alcohol. People got naked, people climbed on roofs, people yelled, people were being just plain silly- and by that I mean they were being drunken idiots. Girls' sleep was disturbed (of course, we smart ones all went to bed earlier!). But all is well that ends well, and morning came... I'll continue with more pictures tomorrow of the next day on the farm- fantastic scenery coming your way!

On the road...

Here is a random gathering of photos... pictures taken on the road...

One of our fearless drivers- Beu (B-eh-oh)

The other fearless driver, Ze

Driving in to...you guessed it, Lubango!

Scowling in the front seat, probably because I'm trying not to toss my cookies, and also because my anxiety level was sky high

We saw so many cows on the road....SOOOO many!

The view from the road heading up to our campsite in Lobito

Pile of rocks on the road to Lobito

On the first day, snacks on the road- we were eating my bagels actually!

Unnerving sights on the road

Another shot

Taking a well deserved break

More cows- I'm telling you there were so many!

We had to slow to a stop sometimes while the dang cows got out of the way. And yeah, finally on about day 7 of the trip, the blue car hit a cow. Luckily, while the cow did shit itself (and leave it on the car) and leave a big dent in the side of the car, it walked away unharmed, as did all of us.

A beautiful sunset...on the road...

Again... this was in the desert (as was the last one)

Between the cities of Lubango and Namibe come this famous stretch of road- pretty to look at, a little bit scary to drive!

There's the whole thing!

A waterfall just off the side of that road

The road winds along further than you think!

Me, by the road, not sure how I feel about it!

The waterfall again

Can you get enough of that road?!?

Here is what is going on...

I wanted to post about this trip day by day, but because of the 200+ photos that it would be impossible for me to upload in the right order, I am posting about this trip by event or topic. So far, I've at least partially completed three parts (The Oasis, The Desert, and Women with things on their heads). I am pooped from just getting these three up- and it's taken me most of the evening, just because of the photos. So, tomorrow, I will post more, and I warn, I might add to already posted info. So, until I officially declare this trip blogged about, you might want to keep checking what's already there- or, if you dare, just wait til it's all up, and then read the whole thing at once. I wouldn't be able to do that though! :)

The Oasis

I think the name of this oasis was translated as Two Arches. This oasis was in the middle of the desert that we reached towards the end of our trip. It's unfortunate that there is no easy way for me to post all of these pictures in some normal order- but, if you go down to the post about the desert, and picture all that sand and sky all around, that is what we were driving through, when we came upon this:

Well, actually, we drove our cars in as far as we could, and then we had to walk in the rest of the way. It was hot.

Us, at the oasis.

Joel on top of a big jutting rock. Actually, the local guy who "guided" us out to this spot was nervous about Joel getting up there, because he said that it just looks like rock, it's really just solid sand. We later sat under an overhang like this to enjoy the shade and SP, one of our fellow travelers commented, "Well, this overhang has probably been here for, hmm, 10,000 years? Let's hope it lasts another 10 minutes while we rest."

One of the arches?

It was a winding path we followed and the glimpses of what was ahead were amazing.

Joel on those rocks again.

Another view of the lake.

Definitely an arch.

It's SO green compared to the absolute blue and brown-ness of the desert.

These are the houses of the people who live on one side of the oasis. They "watched our cars" while we walked in- which translates as, if you give us money, we won't steal anything. And one of them guided us in- which basically means he walked ahead of us on the path and later asked for money. Of course, we're happy to give these people some money. And actually, the guide did tell us a little bit about the place.

The oasis was so green- and it was over-run with wild cherry tomato plants. It was very clear what a large part of the local diet was.

Another shot of the tomatoes. I couldn't get them very obviously, but if you look closely, you can see there are tons. The guide told us that the locals eat what they grow, and that they eat a mostly vegetarian diet- they only eat meat when there is a big party. We saw an area that was obviously a planted crop- we were told they were sweet potatoes. Yum.

These things grew all over as well. I'm not sure what they are- someone thought they were gooseberries. They reminded me of these.

I didn't mess with em though, so I have no idea what was hiding inside these beautiful lantern looking like pods.