This update is long overdue, jet lag and the joy of being home got in the way. Really, I was going to skip it but my mom assures me that you are all out there eagerly awaiting my final installment of our African adventure. So here it is:
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The day we flew out of Madagascar there was an overwhelming amount of excitement buzzing around the airport in Tana. The exiled ex-president’s wife, Lalao Ravolomanana, was planning on returning to Madagascar from South Africa. The ex-president, Marc Ravolomanana, and his wife were denied entry into the country earlier that month when the South African Airways flight they were aboard was forced to turnaround midair and return to mainland Africa. All major airports in Madagascar were shut down by the current president and the plane couldn't land. Marc Ravolomanana's presidency was overthrown in 2009 and he fled to Swaziland. He was later sentenced in absentia to life in prison and hard labor for the killing of 30 protesters by his guards after they stormed his office in Tana earlier that year. He hasn't been allowed back since.
When we arrived at the airport on February 4th there were mobs of supporters with flowers and signs displaying the former first lady's picture waiting to welcome her home. Airport security was on high alert checking every car and requesting proof of tickets to enter the parking lot. Luckily, our flight left for Nairobi long before hers was due to land and we escaped without conflict. In the end, it turns out they forbid her from boarding plane in Johannesburg by orders from the Transport Ministry of Madagascar.
We had a few days in Nairobi before leaving Africa behind. It was a relief to be back in an English speaking country, we could successfully communicate with people once again! We spent our last few days in Kenya feasting on my favorite local foods - sukuma wiki, ugali, and goat meat - and we made a couple more visits to my favorite Ethiopian restaurant. When we were in Kakamega back in December Jake became fast friends with Evans and Titus, the bird researchers working on the banding study. When he's not in the field Titus works at the Nairobi National Museum and we were able to meet up with him. He picked us up in his brother's vintage Toyota Landcruiser and we toured Nairobi National Park. We saw eight different black rhinos in the span of a couple hours. Black rhinos are critically endangered and difficult if not impossible to see in many other parks, but Nairobi NP houses a high density of these enormous prehistoric folivores. The next day we visited Titus at the Nairobi National Museum and got a behind the scenes tour of the immense bird collection and even a caught glimpse of some of the type specimens that were used to describe species we saw while on safari. The strong smell of the chemicals used for preservation seeped into our sinuses and made our heads pound; we fought as long as we could stand it but an hour and a half and probably a few brain cells later we gave in and left.
Before returning to the land of malaria free mosquitoes and parasite free people I thought it would be a good idea to visit an expert for a checkup. Conveniently, there was a tropical medicine specialist down the road from our guesthouse. I had an infection on my leg that needed attention and a mild case of food poisoning but as far as they could tell I am parasite free and good to go! The doctor also recommended that I eat more beef and goat...Jake was shocked and somewhat disappointed that he wasn't handed that prescription. Then that night we waved goodbye to Africa and boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
The country of Turkey straddles two different continents, Europe and Asia. Obviously, Africa isn't one of those, but if we hadn't gone to Africa we would have never ended up in Turkey (on this trip anyway). We threw in this part of the trip without much thought while booking our flight on Turkish Airlines; for an extra $20 we were able to extend our layover from 2 hours to 6 days. What the heck, why not? And if you know my mom, you know that it didn’t take much to convince her to meet us there.
Arriving in snow covered Istanbul in a sleep deprived trance after two months’ time in African was surreal enough, being greeted by my mom at the door of the hostel was too much to handle. Traveling can be so strange sometimes; you can completely loose sense of time, place, and even self. This transition was definitely strange. A couple of cappuccinos and bean bags in a hookah lounge somehow seemed to help. Soon after, the three of us layered on our jackets and explored Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district.
Istanbul is an enormous city and one of two bi-continental cities in Turkey. We based ourselves on the European side. Asian Istanbul is only a hop, skip, and a jump across the Bosphorus Strait. It was so cold the week we were there that we didn't stray too far from our hostel much less venture to Asia, even if it was just a boat ride away. Luckily, our hostel was centrally located and we didn’t have to stray far for history, hand woven carpets, and hot tasty food. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, more popularly known as the Blue Mosque, and the Hagia Sohpia were right out our back door. We literally had to pass between them both to get anywhere. The Blue Mosque is named for the blue tiles that line its interior walls. It is said the Sultan actually forbid the sale of blue tiles to anyone while the mosque was under construction from 1609 to 1616. He wanted them all for himself. The mosque is an incredible building (the architect aimed for overwhelming size and achieved it), as is its nearby rival, the Hagia Sophia.
My mom and I decided to partake in a hamam or Tukish bath experience; Jake took this as his opportunity to get out of town and go on a birding excursion with a local guide. Due the lack of clothing inside the hamam, the baths are separated into male and female sections. The inner portion of the bathhouse is one large marble room with many spigots that pour out scolding water. These taps are placed at intervals around the walls and topless Turkish ladies sit next to them and pour water over themselves. There is a sauna room and a very cold deep pool on opposite sides of the bathhouse. We visited a traditional hamam instead of the spa like tourist baths near the Grand Bazar and from the very beginning we were lost. No one spoke English or provided instructions so we sat in the sauna until we could no longer breathe, then we just lingered near the spigots and poured warm water on ourselves in an attempt to imitate the Turkish patrons. Eventually, I guess it was our turn and we were taken to the giant raised soap slathered marble slap and had our skin rubbed raw by a Turkish woman wearing really nothing more than the blue jean like mitten she used for scrubbing. Next we were drenched in bubbles, massaged and scrubbed clean. It was an interesting experience and maybe if I didn’t have stinging soap in my eyes the whole time I would have enjoyed it a bit more.
The bitter cold winds blown off the Sea of Marmara and the wet snow didn’t stop us from having a good time in Istanbul. We returned multiple times for the warm comfort of those cappuccinos and beanbags in the hookah lounge where we gathered ourselves that first day. We soaked in some history, my mom bought a hand woven carpet purse, and we consumed delicious hot food for six straight days. Nine weeks, six countries, and three continents later we returned home. We are still trying to process the incredible, overwhelming, nearly problem free (one stolen wallet, some food poisoning, etc), one in a lifetime adventure we just lived and experienced.
Happy trails from home,
Corey and Jake
