Final Post From Yours Truly

I’ve said all I’m going to about our trip. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and more great travel and adventure in 2012 and beyond.

About Traveling to Africa

I sent an email to everyone who traveled to S. Africa with our group asking them what they liked best about the trip and what impact–if any–it had on their life.  Below, are responses from two of the travelers.

Gale Wright says:

I can’t pinpoint one event on the trip as my favorite.  There were many!!

1.  One was standing on the point at the southern tip of Africa and realizing where I actually was!  Seeing the Indian Ocean, off to my left,  the Atlantic to my right, and Antarctica straight ahead!

2.  Another was staring at the 5′ X 8′ room, on Robben Island, that Nelson Mandela was sentence to lived in for almost 20 years, while working long hours in a rock quarry.  Thinking about what all he went on to do, for South Africa, after living such an unjust and torturous existence, is truly amazing!! 

Making a Tsi-Akim Maidu-Mukuni connection

The following article appeared in our local newspaper, The Union.

http://www.theunion.com/article/20111219/NEWS/111219780/1066&ParentProfile=1053

Going to South Africa was at the top of Marge Kaiser’s “bucket list,” but the former Executive Director of the Sierra Nevada Deep Ecology Institute wanted the trip to be more than a fantastic vacation. “I knew we would have an opportunity to meet indigenous people, and I wanted to facilitate some kind of cultural exchange.”

Don Ryberg, Chairman of the Tsi-Akim Maidu tribe, responded enthusiastically to the prospect of connecting with a tribal leader from Africa. He prepared a greeting to be read aloud, and gave Kaiser note cards of their barkhouses, a gift of handmade native jewelry (a tiny woven basket in the shape of an acorn), a T-shirt from Indigenous Peoples Days, and an invitation to attend the Calling Back the Salmon ceremony in 2012.

Located in Zambia, the Mukuni Village, home to the Leya people, was already part of the tour, and a cultural exchange was easily arranged. Although Chief Mukuni was unavailable, three of his assistants met with Kaiser and accepted Chairman Don Ryberg’s message, gifts and invitation.

After returning from her trip to South Africa, Kaiser received a letter from Sydney, the Chief’s assistant that said, “The chief is very happy for the invitation. He will definitely come with a few persons of Mukuni Village.”

The current Chief Mukuni, Munokalya Mupotola IV Siloka III Mukuni, the 19^th Chief of the Leya,  is a modern and enterprising man, who is promoting tourism in his area while trying to minimize the adverse impact it might have on his people’s way of life. Approximately 7,000 people live in the village where local people live, work, build and decorate their huts.

Commenting about this portion of the trip, Kaiser said, “What a meaningful experience it was to bring greetings from the local indigenous Maidu across the continents to the indigenous Makuni.”

 

BOOKSFORAFRICA.ORG

Kids at the Township

Ever since I returned from S. Africa, I’ve been looking for a way to help people there, especially the children.

The December 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine I found what I was looking for and thought I would share it.

The organization is BOOKSFORAFRICA.ORG.  According to O, give one dollar and “Two books [are] shipped to a classroom in Africa. In many schoolrooms on the continent, 20 children share one textbook.”

If the kids we saw on our trip touched you the way they touched me, then you might want to donate to this simple, but transformative idea.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday.

Cheers!

 

South Africa Dinner Party

From Left: Janine, Sharon, Joan, Marge, Gail, and Ken

December 1, Janine had a dinner party for our California group of travelers.

Everyone brought wine and a dish to share and the food was fabulous!

Honestly, the group has the culinary skills to open a restaurant.

Of course, I forgot my camera, but thanks to Tommie we have photos. First, the people, then the food.

JoAnne, Janine (again, but hey, it's her house), Michelle

Jan and Tommie

So, you can see, the wine was plentiful. We even had a few bottles of the S. African variety.

On to the kitchen….Meet Janine’s husband and our co-host, Galen, who is holding a piece of this gigantic, tasty, moist scone that Tommie got out Food & Home Entertaining, a South African Magazine.

Our Co-Host: Galen

Not sure I’ll can remember everything that we ate so forgive me if I forgot your dish…

Janine made hearty, hot, yummy good like Grandma used to make Chicken Soup with lots of chunks of chicken.

Tommie doubled the recipe for a Baby Marrow (that’s zucchini in English) Chive and Parmesan Scone Ring that she brought on a king-sized platter that her husband, Mike, designed.

Baby marrow, chive adn Parmesan scone ring

I made a black bean version of Chakalaka and seasoned it with my secret curry blend.

Black Bean Chakalaka with Curry

 

 

Not photographed was Michelle’s moist, sweet Chocolate Termite Mound Cake and Joan’s South African pudding which disappeared moments after being put on the table.

We also had salad and muffins (I think JoAnne brought them) and another cake with a sweet sauce and there was fresh fruit

Anyway, you get the idea– It was a wonderful evening and the food was DIVINE.

She’s Alive Video

A powerful message to all humans!

She’s alive..click or cut and paste on below: http://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeXdv-uPaw

Coming Soon

Ken and Joanne

 

On December 1  the Nevada City group is getting together at Janine’s to share photos and food. I’ll be taking pics of the food and posting any new recipes. I’ll also share some of the best of pictures from the trip.

I know Joan has a special elephant video–much like the baboon photo only better! I’m hoping I can upload it here.  If not, she needs to upload it to UTube for all the world to see.

South African Dinner Party

Yesterday I was in the mood to cook. I went online and looked for some South African and African recipes, invited a few friends over for dinner,  and spent the rest of the day in the kitchen. Everything was delicious….

African Pumpkin Stew http://www.wutheringbites.com/eat/recipe.asp?recipeID=80 I added grated orange peel from one orange

Curried Spinach and Peanut Butter http://africhef.com/CURRIED-SPINACH-AND-PEANUT-BUTTER.html

Banana Bread From Africa http://www.food.com/recipe/banana-bread-from-africa-47381

Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-moroccan-chickpeas-50400000107537/

Dessert was Peach and Blackberry Clafouti http://americanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/Peach_and_Blackberry_Custard.htm. Not exactly S. African, but very yummy! (Photo by John Mitzewich About.com)

Chakalaka and Other South Africa Recipes

So, I scoured the internet to find a Chakalaka recipe. I haven’t made it yet, but it looks good–similar to what we had in the Township and at some of the hotels.

Bon Appetite!

By the way, there are lots of recipes for South African Food on the web.  Check out these links to get started.

http://www.exploresouthafrica.net/culture/food.htm

http://www.food.com/recipes/south-african

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/world-cuisine/africa/south-african/viewall.aspx?page=1

Cape Town: Hout Bay, Cape of Good Hope, Penguins, and Wine

me at the Cape of Good Hope

Day 18 Cape Town: Hout Bay, Cape of Good Hope and Penguins

The trip is coming to a close and what better finale than going to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, where the Atlantic and Southern Oceans meet, seeing Penguins, and visiting a 17-th century vineyard. It was a glorious day, filled with photo opportunities.