I actually have something really cool to write about!  I have a friend, Maria Abagis, who along with her hubby Spiros, are cycling/travel/photography fanatics.  They go places and do things that make the rest of us think about quitting work and hopping on a bike to tour France for a month… or visit Nepal… sigh…

Anyways, last week she tells me that they are going on a trip of a lifetime, which for them is really something!  So in her words, this is what they will be doing for the next year.

Starting in January 2008, we will be cycling the length of Africa to raise
money and awareness for WaterCan (www.watercan.com) and Against Malaria
(www.againstmalaria.com). We are participating in the 6th edition of the
Tour D’Afrique; a cycling Race/Expedition that starts at the foot of the
pyramids in Cairo, Egypt and ends 12,000 km and 120 days later in Cape Town,
South Africa. We will be cycling through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. After the Tour
D’Afrique, we plan on continuing travelling and cycling through Europe and
Asia. We plan on travelling for about 12 months.
  

I can barely hold in my admiration… wow, what a fantastic experience that will be.  The cool part I think, is that this is also for a couple of very good causes.  I know Maria did her homework in researching and selecting these charities.  Personally I find that there are so many charities out there, it’s hard to know which ones will do the most good with the limited funds they get.  Clean water and mosquito nets… sound really simple, but it’s what saves a lot of lives.

Anyways, here’s a link to their blog.  Spiros is a fantastic travel photographer, and I’m looking forward to following their progress.  I would encourage you to check out the two charities as well.  http://www.cyclingtheroadlesstravelled.com/  Safe travels!

I boarded the 747 from Frankfurt to Bangalore just before noon.  Seeing so many Indians waiting in line, it was my first taste of the culture change that was to come.

The plane was packed, but I got a window seat thankfully, so I settled in for a snooze. I found that the 747 gave a bit more room, and the seats were a bit more comfortable.  It helped that I could lean against the window.

There are 2 lines of thought when dealing with timezone change.  Try to stay awake to synch with the destination timezone, so that when you arrive at nightime, you are ready to sleep even though your body says it’s still afternoon.  Or zonk out and sleep as much as you can.  I tried the former for about 4 minutes, and basically zonked out for most of the flight.

Plus when you are asleep on the plane, the monotony of being immobile is a bit more bearable.

A few hours in, I looked out the window and saw the black sea.  It looks like a beautiful area for a future visit.

Once we reached India, we started to hit some turbulance around Mumbai.  It’s monsoon season so Mumbai is heavily flooded.  I think over the season they get 2 meters of rain!  

I had taken a gravol earlier so I was still fairly sleepy.  At this point, I really didnt care how bad the turbulance was, but it was pretty constant from Mumbai to Bangalore.  It’s a strange sensation… it’s dark outside, you’re strapped in looking at the seat in front of your, but you’re getting bounced around in all 4 axis.  There’s no visual frame of reference for all this motion you’re feeling.  Gravol is your friend.

Finally… lights from below.  Nothing like the lights from Calgary or New York, but concentration of dim lights scattered here and there.  As we drop into final approach, I see signs, roads, and buildings very close beneath us… where’s the runway?  The ride is bumpy all the way down… finally the rear wheels touch, and we feel this left-right-left swaying from a cross-wind. Yee haw!! touch down at midnight.  We disembark and the first thing you notice is the humidity in the air, and the different smells.

The airport is well… a lot like the airport in Cancun- an older building made of plaster and stone.  We’re herded like cows to the immigration lineups where there’s about 6 stone-faced officers with stamps.  There’s a sign that says <paraphrasing> “less talk, get through faster”

I’m like the last person to get through immigration as I was seated at the back of the plane.  Next is baggage carousel, which after looking at the size of it and the sheer number of passengers crowded around it, I’m so glad i just brought 2 carry-on bags.  I change my CDN to Rupees… hand the man 100, and I get 3500 rupees back in 1000 and 100 bills.  My wallet feels full.

Final hurdle is the customs, give the man the slip saying I’m not bringing anything of worth into the country, and I’m through the doors. 

At this point, I’m supposed to meet the hotel driver holding a sign with my name.  I see about 7 well dressed drivers in uniform… nope, my names not there.  I pass through some more doors and see more drivers with signs… nope not there either.  At this point I’m not worried, but am wondering what to do. I walk to the main doors to peek outside, and I see hundreds of dark faces peering back at me.  Wow, Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore…

I was hesitant to walk out into the throng, as I haven’t left the building and I’ve been asked if I want a cab 3 or 4 times.  I double check to make sure I didn’t walk pass my driver, and I head outside.  Thankfully I spot my “Indian-fied name almost immediately- Mr. Deerek Lau”

Walk fast down the ramp and into the parking lot.  Looking around, I see building architecture that you just don’t see anywhere in NA.  Different materials- stone/plaster/wood.  The parking lot is controlled chaos with cars, scooters, bikes, and those 3 wheel jobs zipping around.  I hop into the backseat and off we go to the hotel. 

The driver is nice, I can kinda understand him… he’s already offering to take me around the city on a tour sometime.  I found that a lot, Indians are masters at drumming up additional opportunites and business.

The trip through the city is wild- the traffic- I’ll write about that later- is almost indescribable… and I thought Paris was tough.

So we’re winding through streets that look pretty rough- rubble on the side, some buildings look like they’ve been bombed, lots of signage selling various products… and all of a sudden the car makes a right turn through some gates, and voila, I’m at the Chancery Pavillion.   It’s a nice hotel, even by NA standards.  The doorman opens my door, and offers to help with my bag.  Pet peeve, when I’m carrying a small 19″ carryon, and a backpack, I don’t need help to carry it 10 yards to the front desk, or 5 yards to the car.  I know it’s part of the service culture, but really…

As I enter the building, I notice it again, that smell.  Every building you enter has a fragrance to it, and it’s different from building to building.  It’s like a spicy, heavy perfumy smell.  It’s like Potpourri mixed with feenugreek seeds. 

By the time i check in and get to my room, it’s almost 1:20am.  I plug in my laptop, and of course there’s a fee to use the internet.  Most NA hotels are free, but here it’s 200 rupees ($6 cdn) an hour.  The hotel is 260USD/day, which if you think of what that means to the average Indian, it’s a staggering amount.  I later find out that my driver rents a place for his family of 4 for 1200 rupees a month.

I get on MSN, send some emails, unpack a bit, and I’m ready for bed at 2am, and I’m getting up by 8am to meet the driver.  20 hours on the plane, 26 hours of straight travel.  ZzzZZzzZZzzz…
 

Holy Toledo.

I think the recent month really opened my eyes as to how much development goes on after 4 months.  The past month we’ve noticed a lot more experimentation with vocalizations.  Before it was “How loud and how much range does my voice have!” Now we notice her being more subtle in trying to make different sounds with a lot more control and a much softer sound.

Earlier this month she started nodding- usually when she’s excited, like when her diaper is about to be changed or we greet her first thing in the morning.

We also started her on solids- mushy carrots, followed by mushy yams, and then mushy peas.  The first few feeds were… well… messy, with more on her face than in her mouth, but then she started getting the hang of it.  She’ll now open her mouth when she’s hungry and most of it gets in.

Here’s a couple of pics of Erica and her buddies.  Enjoy!