Shila Travels: The Delta stole my heart!

(this was written two days ago, but our internet has been down at the office. also, it really did take me ALL DAY to load these!)

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Guys.

I don't even know what to say.

This past week has been just…. so, SO, sooooo unreal. Like, awesomeness multiplied by a zillion. It's just… it has all been so good. I am THE LUCKIEST!!

I had the HARDEST time choosing pictures for this entry. I think I managed to narrow it down to 40 ish, so this will take a zillion years to load tomorrow, but I think it will be worth the wait

Here is a quick and dirty synopsis of our time!

It started with big-time travel pains for my parents and baby bro. They fly standby, so they ended up getting here two days later than expected since they kept getting bumped from flights. This meant a lot of re-arranging for all of us. I have never felt more antsy/impatient. After hours and hours of waiting in random airports, they FINALLY showed up jet lagged to the max but happy to have made it. I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE THEM!!! Our family hasn't done a trip with all four of us in yeeeeeears, and it's their first time in Africa, so it was an amazing reunion.

Pretty much right after getting there, we hit the road back to Mochudi, and within a couple hours Neek and I were running the afternoon session with the kids. Our theme was "celtic", so we shared with the kids some of the east coast music we do in Canada. We started by teaching them a gorgeous traditional Gaelic round we love to sing. Then Neek showcased his excellent fiddle skills and of course blew the kids away. He's really really talented! Then we performed some Scottish step dancing and taught them a quick step or two. Finally, we did a Q&A so the kids could ask my family about Canada and life in general. It was awesome! The kids were super receptive to learning the song and a few easy steps, and I'm pretty sure they were surprised to see I had a few hidden talents up my sleeve. It was also crazy to be able to introduce my fam to all the kids, especially my readers. My family has heard so much about these kids! I was surprised to see how shy some of them were, but they had excellent manners and really did make my family feel welcome. The whole thing was so surreal. We went for dinner, but everyone was so jet lagged that they were practically sleeping at the table. My family spent the first night at my house in Mochudi and everyone went to sleep ASAP. But not before giving me a few wish-list items I'd requested for, which included some KD, fuzzy peaces, and a soft pillow case. Such a treat!

The next day was when the real adventures began. We spent a day in Maun before flying in a tiny cessna plane right to the centre of the Okavango Delta where we spent three days. The Delta… it's honestly indescribable. We were in the middle of NOWHERE! Our camp, Footsteps Across the Delta, was something else. It was just us at our camp, and it took us an hour and a half of driving and a boat ride across a river to get there. We just felt so SPECIAL! Everything was special. Our tents, although without running water, were very comfortable, and it was just us, our guide, a few staff, and the wilderness filled with completely wild animals! Our days were spent either on game walks, game drives, or mokoro (boat) rides around the lagoon. The food was incredible. It was incredible.

We had great luck with the game drives. The animals were posing for us around every turn. We even managed to see a lion, and later, a pack of impala getting chased by seven wild dogs. The game walk was neat, it felt vulnerable to be walking out in the open with so many crazy animals around. And the mokoro rides were my absolute favourite. What a sensory experience!!! The feel of the boat, the sound of the water/breeze/animals, the smell, the feeling of reeds continually brushing my skin, the view, it was all so POWERFUL! Neek introduced me to mokoro rides + iPod, and omg, WOW! Graceland is probably my all-time fave album (or in my top three anyway), and k fine maybe it was cliché choice, but listening to that album while floating around a lagoon in Bots? No words.

The Delta felt almost enchanted. We were so connected to nature. We heard leopards and hippos and all kinds of things all the time. I even got to do some yoga overlooking a lagoon with hippos swimming around.

OH and Neek and I saw THE BIGGEST MOST FRIGHTENING SPIDER EVER crawling on the outside of our tent. I almost posted a picture and then realized that I never want anyone else to have to see it if they don't want to. Apparently they are totally harmless (although we didn't know that at the time), so if you're curious, search "solifuge arachnid" on Google. YIKES!

Anyway. Aside from that, it was magical. It was quaaaality time together, that is for sure. I was genuinely so sad to leave the Delta. By the end I was COVERED in mosquito bites, old sunscreen, bug spray, and sand, but I felt so so so happy about it all. I don't think anywhere has ever captured my heart as much as the Delta did. Flying over that landscape… man. Sometimes I can't even deal with the beauty out there. I've mentioned it before, but I feel like everyone and their dog should put southern Africa on their "must-see" lists!

We spent a night in Gabs, and it was so strange. The hotel had WIFI, so I was SUPER excited about a night of lounging online (something that hasn't happening since getting here- I only get online at work), but I swear to god, I didn't even know what to do. I checked my mail, I checked Facebook, and was like… um, now what? How did I used to occupy myself online? It's so interesting that I'm so used to life here now. All these things, like having a vehicle, or eating at restaurants, were so exciting for me during the visit.

Anyway. The next morning we hit the road to Madikwe in South Africa to do a bit more safari stuff. The scenery was STUNNING, and completely different from the Delta, so it was really interesting to see the contrast. Our lodges were gorgeous, and the game drives were so interesting. We lucked out BIGGGG time and saw FOUR cheetahs hanging out, a pretty rare sighting. FOUR! The lodge was also filled with a zillion monkeys, and one afternoon mom woke up to THREE monkeys on her table stealing cookies. They were so bold, but how could you be mad at such cute little munchkins?!

I honestly think the hyenas, or maybe the wild dogs, ended up being my favourite animals I'd seen there. Elephants are my all-time fave, I adore them, but it was so neat to see things I wasn't expecting. We saw sooooo many cool animals! I wanted to post a picture of each type, but uploading would have taken a week.

So today is Wednesday, and this morning I gave my family a goodbye hug before returning to work. I only missed a few days because of the holidays, and even though I was sad to see my fam leave, it was really great to see my readers again. Back to the grind!

I'm utterly exhausted, but I feel so grateful for all the things I got to see and do.

I have the best family! Mom, dad, Neek, you guys have no idea how much I love you! I haven't laughed so much in my life. Thank you thank you thank you all of you for making the journey! <3

So that's what we did.

Send me your thoughts!

shilaleblanc@gmail.com

Peace and love!

Shila