Table Mountain

FINALLY!

Yes...we actually did go on vacation...in no particular order, i will try to put up some pictures of our time in South Africa

Some pics from South Africa....if i hadn't been 75% asleep when we left (and had not left the cameras in the hotel...you would have seen them sooner.....) my apologies!

Durbar continued

The smell of gasoline was intense.....this was the best shoot we could get, although it was one of those "you had to be there" experiences!

At the end of the parade, all the horsemen go back down the road and then charge the Emir...Chris was sitting right in front of where the emir was, so he got this shot.
These men have knives in both of their hands and are sawing back and forth across their belly's and their tongues.  
And of course the drumming was awesome....I have a video but it will take me like 3 days to load on this site....you will all have to wait till I get back.
I have to thank Chris again for the mid-tumbling photo!

Durbar in Zaria, Nigeria

It is very difficult to describe how incredible this festival was.....there were probably 6000 people watching it, and we were basically RIGHT in front of the emir (the Muslim leader who the celebration is in honor of)....is was...well...unbelievable.

Snake in your pants anyone??

We saw a bunch of hyenas and baboos and snakes....they are actually much bigger than I thought they would be! scary!

hmm....conspicious enough??

The craziest belay spot ever!

This has to be my favorite photo yet.....it was SO hot....around noon...baking in the African sun on the side of this HUGE cliff (maybe 300 feet) I felt like we were standing in a frying pan

Me and our German friend Michael....getting ready to be lowered down to the lake (which you can't swim in because of some parasite that gets under your skin....no good really)
So....check out our "belay ledge".....hmm....secure?  lets just say, we are not going ot make a habit out of climbing at this location.  We were all tied in to an anchor about 60 feet above us, but unnerving none-the less!
Getting lowered...only 150 more feet to go!
me belaying Chris....he looks way to comfortable doesn't he?
So what we didn't get pictures of was the swarming children that arrived about 15 minutes later.  10 Hausa children from the nearby village were surrounding us.  Chris was teaching them all about climbing equipment and gear and what-not...they were asking to carry our stuff and were totally amused by our adventures....it did get to be a little concerning in terms of safety though, so we took off....

what a day!

more pictures from Jos

Here is Chris showing out friend Jide (who is a veterinarian in Jos) about bouldering...he is climbing in these beat up converse sneakers....SO STRONG!

Heres me climbing...making a lovely face as usual!
These are the houses that we parked next to on the way out to the rocks
Finally....a nice picture of what the veggie markets look like....and this one was SUPER cheap...we bought a whole bunch...

Weekend in Jos

This past weekend we traveled to Jos in Nigeria's Plateau State to visit with some Nigerian friends we had met at a party and do some hiking and climbing.  Aside from a very not-fun police roadblock, it was a beautiful weekend!  Jos is quite a but higher than the rest of Nigeria so it is cooler and the landscape is BEAUTIFUL.. Plus there are about 4 million huge boulders, so Chris and I were happy as can be!

So word to the wise: if you are ever driving in Nigeria (outside of Abuja that is), note that you may run into what are called "nail-boys"....young men who carry 2x4's studded with nails....they throw them in front of your car so you stop and then try to get you to give them money.  They are not dangerous at all...particularly for us "expats" with white skin....but it was quite an experience.  Definitely one to write home about!  

Here are some pictures of the fun, beautiful part of our trip:

Hiking down off the rocks: Jide, Lauren, Chris, and Dusty
Lauren and Dusty (pictures are all by Gordon, Dusty's husband)
carrying something in the buckets...you see this EVERYWHERE....and those are clothes drying on the cactus in the background
This is a Fulani man (they are a nomadic herding people who live all over the north of Nigeria.  This is his hut.  Underneath the sleeping area is a cooking area that also serves as a heat source at night...very ingenious and quite sturdy actually