San Rock Art in the Cederberg

We have made some amazing trips during our year in South Africa, but one of the most stunning was our weekend in the Cederberg looking at incredible examples of San rock art. The Cederberg is a mountainous area about 200 miles from Cape Town. It is incredibly stark and barren, with few trees, and some amazing sandstone formations and rock outcroppings. And for perhaps 20,000 years, the San (arguably the oldest of all ancient peoples) lived in the caves of the region, doing their "hunting and gathering" thing, while using the regions many caves and overhangs as both shelter and canvas for their "rock art." As a result, the Cederberg is just a treasure chest of pictures, painted on these rocks thousands of years ago. This was definitely the coolest art gallery that I've ever seen.

For Naomi's birthday, I wanted to splurge and take us to a really high end resort called "Bushman's Kloof" (check out their website: http://www.bushmanskloof.co.za/), which is in the area, and is famous for its rock art (and luxury accommodations). But, being the ever practical realist, Naomi didn't want to spend the big bucks, so we went with a down-market option called "Traveler's Rest." We went up with our friends the Boraines, and rented two cute cottages, each with a fireplace and braai (BBQ) area. Right down the road from the cottages was a 4 km trail that took you through the cliffs and to 10 different rock art sites. The paintings were amazing, between 6,000 and 500 years old! It was so cool, as you wandered through these beautiful cliffs and hills and then would come across these amazingly beautiful cave paintings. One more beautiful than the next. At first, you didn't see much. But the more you looked, and the more trained your eye became, you started to notice that there were pictures everywhere you turned. You just couldn't help but feel the centuries and centuries that have past since these pictures were made, and wonder, "what would we leave behind, 6,000 years from now? Would it be as simple and beautiful and expressive?."

I've included a couple of pictures here, but for more, check-out the slideshow as well. Originally, the pictures had multiple colors --so they say-- but some of the colors didn't last as long as others. So, some of the figures are without heads, etc. But what is amazing to me is how delicate and descriptive the pictures are. (OK, the one I included to the right is not so delicate, but it is very descriptive!).

Last South African Adventure?

Anyway, this might have been our last adventure in South Africa --sad but true. We have one more trip planned, to Grahamstown for the National Arts Festival for 3 days before we catch our plan. So, I guess there is still more adventures to come. But nonetheless, this trip was very poingnant, as we all reflected on the amazing beauty and incredible history that we've seen and learned about during the past year. Quite astounding.

Blog ya later.

Seth./.

Democracy Malian-Style

Democracy in Africa
While I was in Mali, South Africa went to the polls and elected Jacob Zuma as president. This was a very interesting election, as for the first time there was a viable "African" alternative party to the ANC --The Congress of the People, or COPE. Until this election, the parties were pretty segregated, with the ANC collecting over 75% of the vote, mostly from Black africans, while the Democratic Alliance was the most dominant "opposition" party, with around 10% of the vote nationally, mostly from white voters. Well, while COPE was not overwhelming, they did take enough votes away from the ANC so that for the first time, the ANC does not have a 2/3 majority in congress. So, for the first time, there is a viable opposition in South African politics, which most folks seem to think is a very positive development.

Elections in Mali

Well, though I missed the South African elections, I was in Mali for the final two weeks of campaigning for their local elections. Mali has recently implemented a decentralization plan, giving more decision-making authority and budget control to local elected officials. So, these elections were a big deal, and there was campaigning going on everywhere. Banners with the party symbols (the bee, the ram, the star, the shaking hands, etc), people wearing T-shirts, and even full-on "grande boubous" with the party symbols and pictures of the local candidate.

Maria's husband Ibrahim was atively campaigning with the URD in Kati; and my friend Baba who is a high school teacher from Banamba, was on "the list" to become a councilmember with ADEMA in his home town. Every afternoon there was drumming and dancing, as one political party or the other would be out doing "la campagne." For each gig, you would have huge speakers blaring traditional music, rental chairs placed around a circle, and the obligatory shaded "famaw" or VIP seating area. Remember, 110 degrees! Then, little by little, the people would gather, and the dancing would start; usually featuring folks sporting the party colors (in this case, blue for PARENA). But, no Malian political campaign in Kati (a middle class suburb of the capital) would be complete without the obligatory plastic can full of ice water. This was all new for me. Having left Mali 22 years ago, in the days of the one-party military dictatorship, all this political campaigning was new. But, the ice water was also new. It was amazing watching these incredibly beautifully "bou-bou"'ed women meticulously unwrapping blocks of ice, and adding them to the big blue container. This ice water was then assiduously distributed to those who either danced their tushies off during the "warm-up," or the "famaw" (VIPs) who came up later on to give speeches of support. No doubt, most everyone getting the ice water at this event was wearing the blue/white of PARENA.

La Campagne Comes to Genguan
One of the most amazing "birth of democracy" scenes that I witnessed took place in Genguan (see the post of XXXXX). I had gone out with Sambou and 3 of his sons, to visit his family's farming hamlet, 30 kms on pretty ugly dirt roads. It took us about 90 minutes to get there, where we ended up spending an incredibly peaceful afternoon. Believe me, I doubt that they see one or two cars/trucks passing there a week. But on this day, not only did I show up with Sambou in our pick-up, but a couple hours later, we heard engine sounds in the distance. Sure enough, la campagne had arrived in Genguan. ADEMA (Association pour la DEmocracy MAlienne) had arrived!

Coming up from Bamako, I had brought my friend Baba, who is a high school teacher at one of the best schools in Bamako, and runs his own private school, Ecole Sirido Baba. He told me he was happy to come to Banamba with me, but little did I know that as soon as we arrrived, he was to be swept up by his political buddies, and off he sped in his pick-up for some unkown bougou (village). Baba's home town, Sirido, is not far from Sambou's homestead. So Baba (standing up in front of the truck wearing the sport coat), was an important man in the area. The families in the area all know Baba, and know that he is a person of integrity. So, if Baba supports ADEMA, then they will too!

When the truck pulled up, a ragged bunch of about 10 ADEMA campaigners got out, led by Baba. It was 2pm, and this was their 10th stop of the day, going from rural hamlet to hamlet, spreading the good ADEMA word. It was incredibly hot, and believe me, there was no ice water on this campaign stop! In fact, there was no electricity within probably 30 kms, so no chance for raucus campaign music either! After they piled out of the car, they came up respectfully to the "che koroba" (head of the family), greeted the family, and were offered food and water by the mamas. After a quick few handfulls of "toe" (millet poridge), they said thanks and shared some blessings for the family. Then, they went into their campaign spiel, telling the family of the benefits of voting for ADEMA.

It was all pretty straightforward, since Baba was the man with credibility, and Baba was with ADEMA. So, after listening to the perfunctory promises, the "che-koroba" eventually nodded his approval, and said that he would encourage all of his extended family members to support ADEMA. (And in this land of patriarchal authority, that means all the votes from the village were just locked up! I guess the "che-koroba" was the kind of person that the Democratic party would have called "a bundler.") The ADEMA folks then gave him one of their red&white posters, and asked him to put it up on the wall of his mud hut, just so that everyone who goes by (yes, ALL the traffic on the donkey-cart path between Tourourkoro and Genguan...) will know that they are an ADEMA bougou (village). The "che koroba" held the poster admiringly, handed it to his first wife, with pride, who also looked admiringly and proudly at the poster, and said, "we'll definitely put this up on our wall, so everyone can see that we are ADEMA-people!" At this point, Meme, the 8th grade son of the che- koroba, subtly came over to his mother and gently took the poster from her hands, turning it right-side-up, and then giving it back to her. Clearly, Meme was the only one of the twenty-some family members who could have noticed that everybody had been admiring the poster upside-down! Yes, the birth of democracy in a land of strong patriarchal authority, with a very low level of literacy, is a slow process indeed.

Election Day

Sunday April 26 was election day. I got to join the Diarra-Keita family in Kati on their trip to the voting station at the local elementary school. Everyone got dressed up, almost as if going to a social event. We first ran into Maria's son Sam, who proudly showed us his purple-dyed finger, sure sign that he had done his civic duty and voted. Then, at the voting station we found hundreds of people milling about, some having just voted, others about to vote, and still others making tea for the dozens of folks who were "witnesses" at each polling station. In each classroom there was one voting booth, where the voters hid themselves to mark the ballot. Then, in the center of the room was a plastic box, where the voter would put his ballot. And next to the box, with their eyes peeled, were a group of 6-8 people, all watching the ballot box to make sure that nothing fishy took place. It was quite an amazing site. No "hanging chad" problems. No electronic computer malfunctions to worry about. Just enough eyes on the box, making sure that each person only put one ballot in! (And oh yes, the all important "inker," who made sure that immediately after putting the box in the ballot, the person who have their finger inked! (Clearly, this was not like Chicago. No voting "early and often" here!).

Toward the end of the day, mini-bus taxi cabs were cruising all over the backstreets, picking up people who had yet to vote, and helping them get to the voting stations. Surely, these taxis are being paid for by the parties in power, a slight variation on the "vote early and often theme." the taxis kept buzzing till 6:05, when a loud siren went off, signifying that the voting period had officially ended. Later that evening, I saw a very strange parade of sorts in Kati. Each ballot box was being carried back to City Hall, surrounded by an entourage of a dozen "body guards" of sorts. It was a rather incredible sight to see: the future of Malian democracy in the hands of so many people...

And the Results are...
Well, it is now over 2 weeks since election day in Mali. And you probably didn't hear it on CNN, but, Ibrahim's party did not win in Kati. So, Ibrahim's dream of being mayor are put on hold for a few years. But, Baba's party ADEMA swept the region of Banamba, including all the tiny farming hamlets of Madina Sacko, Boron, and Touba. So, Baba is now officially a member of the "commun council," and will get to participate in the development decisions of the region. He was one proud guy! I gave him enough money to buy himself a new suit!

It was a pretty amazing event to see such a traditional society, with such low levels of technology, struggle with this thing called "democracy," and the principle of "one person, one vote." In a place of such strong traditional patriarchal authority, where not everyone feels like they are worthy of having an opinion about public affairs, this is an amazing transformation that is just beginning to take place. Quite the change from 22 years ago, when the ballot was either "yes" or "no" for the military party in power, and somehow, 99.8% of the votes cast were "YES." Democracy: the newest game in town!

Blog ya later.
Seth./.

Madu Diarra Brings Service Learning to Mali

Service Learning Training in Mali
As you might have noticed from the previous post, I have been in Mali for the past two weeks. I was lucky enough to have Fulbright and the US Embassy cover my costs to do some service learning training at the University of Bamako. This was a plan that my Malian big sister Maria Diarra and I had been working on for a while, as she is desperate to get the University involved with service learning so that they can send students to work with her "Read Learn Lead" project. (Check out Maria's organization's website for more info on the RLL Project, http://www.iep-kati.org/). So, with the embassy/Fulbright covering my airfare and a week's stay in the "Grande Hotel" in Bamako, and Maria covering all other costs, we put together the first service-learning training EVER in Mali.

We had 17 professors from the University of Bamako, 10 teachers and staff from Maria's organization Institut pour l'Education Populaire (IEP), two friends of mine who are language teachers at Peace Corps, and even two University students. We met for 4 days at the National Museum of Mali, where I did sessions on the history and theory of service learning, and then a couple days on curriculum development. Then, we went out into the field, and they had two days to actually try it out with real students and real community projects. Here's a picture of the participants, all wearing t-shirts from Maria's project that say "YES WE CAN" in 4 national languages.

The training was exhausting, as I did it in French (last time I worked in French was 22 years ago!), in a room that had shaky air-conditioning, in a country where the daily temperatures hovered around 110 degrees! Thank god for shaky air-conditioning. Amazingly, the participants were incredibly engaged. They came on-time every day, they stayed late (we were supposed to end around 3:00pm, but inevitably ended up going until 5:30 each day), and seemed really interested in trying this new approach to teaching. ACTIVE, ENGAGED LEARNING that gets students connected to REAL ISSUES that matter to their communities.

Believe me, this is VERY NEW, as most profs and teachers here in Mali have only ever experienced the stand and deliver approach to teaching through rote memorization. They were about as familiar with project-based, active, student-centred approaches to teaching and learning as they were with a snowball fight. Not to mention teaching about issues of social justice and social responsibility, and ideas like equity and student voice --heretical concepts in a very traditional society that gives a lot of respect to authority and seniority. Anyway, they really got into some of the simulations that we did, such as "Paper Chain," which recreates a very unequal and unfair social system, and were pretty intrigued by the "active" approach to learning. "What, learning can be fun and engaging?" (But, did you ever try this with 1,200 students in an overcrowded lecture hall on a 110 degree day in dusty Bamako?)

Well, after 4 days in the world of theory, it was incredibly refreshing to go out into the real world and actually do some service-learning. We had two "community schools" to work with. One was Maria's "Ecole Chiwara" in Kati, and the other was the school where the two students form the university had come from. This town was called "Soninkegny," and was about 45 minutes from Bamako. There are 40 graduates of the elementary school who are now at University in Bamako, and who have formed a group to do development projects in their home village. So, this was also the first chance to try some actual work in their home town.

We had three projects in each town. In one project, newly literate adults were trained to be "reading monitors" with 1st-3rd graders. The picture above shows one of the adult volunteers working with a group of 10 students. Imagine how different this looks than the usual scene, which is 120 students and 1 teacher! In the second project, the 9th graders were trained as "reading buddies" and partnered with the 3rd graders. It was so cool to see a room full of kids working on their reading; especially since it was in their own language, Bamanankan! The 9th graders then had a reflection activity around their own experience, having learned to read and write in French, and discussing the pros and cons of NOT being able to use your own language in school! At the end, the 9th graders decided they wanted to learn to read and write in Bamanankan, and so asked for a meeting with the director of the school! It turned out, that the School District Chair was visiting the school that day, along with the head of the PTA and the actual Mayor of the district. So, the students got a great opportunity to "speak truth to power," in their own language! It was a very powerful experience, both for the students and for the profs, who got to see the whole cycle of service-learning in action!

The third group worked on the issue of pesticides and herbicides with another 60 9th graders. The students discussed the dangers associated with using pesticides, and then went home and discussed the isues with their parents. Then, they came to class the next day with local seeds that they grow, the first step in creating a local seed bank to protect the bio-diversity of their ag production. It was also very inspiring to see the students be so expressive in what is usually a very teacher-centric classroom. They identified 30 different types of vegetables and plants that they grow for either food or income, and actually brought in 19 varieties for the start of the seed bank. Again, it was amazing for the profs to see what an animated, engaged classroom looks like. And, it was even more powerful for them to see how talkative the students can be, when they are dealing with subjects that reale to their lives --and when they can use their own langugage!

Next Steps?

I don't want to be too naive, and claim that we have transformed education in Mali. However, we definitely planted some seeds. Hopefully the profs will get a chance to actually develop some service learning projects with Maria's "Read Learn Lead" progarm, and they will start to see some results. On the other hand, given the level of dysfunctionality in the education system, especially in higher education, this could be the first and last service learning that happens in Mali. Afterall, with 1200 students in a classroom; with almost no books or materials; and with 110 degree heat with no A/C, it hard to imagine much happening in terms of "active, engaged learning." But, there were some inspired educators who emerged from the group. And I don't think anyone could have made this workshop more relevant and accessible that I did. We will see what Maria might be able to make happen to keep these seeds nurtured. All I know is that the US taxpayers got a whole lot from their $3,000 investment in Madu Diarra dong service learning in Mali!

Blog ya later.

Seth (dit "Madu Diarra")./.

A Peaceful Afternoon in Genguan

Have" mobili" will travel. Arriving in Banamba with Maria's LandCruiser was a great opportunity for Sambou and I to take a road trip. When Naomi and I and the kids were up in Banamba in December, we didn't have the time to visit Sambou's family in their "farming hamlet" called Touroukoro, 18 km from Banamba. So, this time, since we had all day and no other plans, we loaded up 3 of his sons (actually 2 sons and 1 nephew), and hit the road.

We headed north from Banamba on dirt donkey-cart roads, as Sambou and I reminisced about the many trips we made over 20 years ago on my motorcycle. We had some great times, including getting lost at night coming back from a baptism, and getting stuck in a rainy-season pond on our way to a wedding. This time though, we were riding in style in this cushy LandCruiser. It is hard to set the scene, because Sambou is the last person that anyone would expect to drive up in a LandCruiser. So, each stop was pretty memorable, as we were always greeted with lots of cheers of astonishment, and cries of "Sambou, is that you?" and, "Madu Diarra, i ni fama!" (Madu Diarra, it's been a long time!).

This time, our first stop was a small village called Sinzana, where we visited the family of Sambou's second wife, Hatmata. Then we kept driving toward Tourokoro. About 10 kms away, we saw a someone walking next to a someone riding on a horse, with two other horses in tow. It turns out that was Sambou's brother, Madi (in the picture below), so of course we stopped. He was walking to Banamba for the market on Monday, accompanying a more wealthy merchant, taking care of the horses along the way for some money. But, when we stopped, Madi was not going to turn down a ride in a LandCruiser, even if we were going the opposite direction (yes, we just came from Banamba, his destination). So, Madi jumped in the car, and said goodbye to his merchant friend --and his little commission!

When we got to Tourokoro, we got to greet Sambou's family: cousings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. It is very cool to see how the "Moores" greet each other. When a younger person greets an older person, he/she comes up to them and doesn't extend his/her hand, but rather gently leans toward the person, making a slight bowing motion. Then the elder takes his hand and puts in on the younger person's shoulder, all the while, asking "how are you? how is the family? How is mama and papa? etc." Very sweet. We had a great visit with Sambou's aunt in her hut. She's now blind, but she had lots of memories from twenty years ago, and kept talking about the time I slept over there for the baptism of the twins which were her grandchildren. Unfortunately, neither of the twins lived.

Sambou kept asking me if I could recognize how things had changed. And I had to say honestly, no. There are about the same number of houses, but they have moved around a bit. That's the nice thing about building out of mud bricks: if you want to move, you just pick a new spot and build a new house, and your old house eventually melts back into the ground.Madi stayed in Tourokoro and we headed further down the dirt track to "Genguan," another 12 km away, taking Sambou's cousin (who he called his "brother") Bakary with us. Genguan is actually the town where Sambou's family comes from, though his father and one other brother left Genguan and settled in Tourokoro. So Genguan is really the family homestead, and Beya, the last living brother of Sambou's father is considered the "village chief."

As we were about to arrive in Genguan, we saw a group of men and dogs scouring the bush. They were folks from Genguan, on a group hunt called a "fele." They try to flush-out small game (rabbits, antelope, quail etc.) from the bush, to take home for a nice Sunday brunch! It was so hot, and the brush so sparse, that it didn't look like much fun to me. Among the men on the "fele" was Beya, Sambou's uncle, who greeted us profusely, was so glad to see us because he really didn't feel like going out on the hunt! So, we were a perfect excuse for him to drop-out, and head back home. He then convinced us that we had to spend the day there with his family, and absolutely couldn't leave until after lunch. So, of course, we agreed.

What an afternoon we had. It was as if time had stood still for the past 800 years. We were treated like kings, as the straw prayer mats were brought outside under the "gua" or "sukka." The elders of the family all gathered, and we relaxed while eating peanuts while the elders threw the cowrie shells and did some fortune telling. Then, little by little, people just dozed off to sleep, including me. Then, after a couple of hours had passed lunch was brought. 3 bowls of milled porridge (known as "to"), with a nice hearty meat sauce which included the chicken and the guinea hen that were killed in our honor! After lunch, I watched as Bakary and Beya set up and then played a game of "M'Peri," which is something like checkers. What was so cool, is that it started by Beya asking one of his grandsons to bring him some sand, and then some dry twigs. The next thing I realize, they are creating the game board from the sand, and the game pieces from the twigs. Of course, the old man Beya beat Bakary 3 straight games in a row. I guess he is not Village Chief for nothing! Enjoy the video of Bakary and Beya playing M'Peri that follows, and just try to enjoy the simplicity of passing the day under the "gua" with us in Genguan.

Blog ya later.

Seth (aka, Madu)./.

A Day with "Baboon Matters"

Walking with Baboons

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon "walking with baboons." There is a group called "Baboon Matters," who lead tours that take you to a couple of the troupes of baboons that live in the hills around Cape Town (http://www.baboonmatters.org.za/). Baboons are seen by most South Africans as big pests. In fact, it is legal to shoot baboons in every province in South Africa except the Western Cape. Baboons are very smart, and have that most important evolutionary trait, "opposable thumbs." So, they've learned to open windows and doors, climb into people's houses, and raid the fridge (and garbage, and anything else that might smell like food). Just last week some "American tourists" had their care "baboon-napped." It turns out that they got out of their care to take some photos of the baboons along the road, and while they were photographing, the baboons got into their car, and started eating their picnic lunch! Needless to say, people who live on the outskirts of town have lots of baboon interaction, not all of it is positive. There is a long history of handling baboons through poisoning, and shooting. Baboon Matters is working to shift this, as they say, "sustainable solutions for managing baboons."

Well, "Baboon Matters" does two things. They train and support a crew of "baboon monitors" who walk with the baboons, and kind of herd them away from homes and settled areas. Not a perfet science, but an interesting attempt to try and facilitate more harmononious co-habitation. There are 3 monitors who work with each baboon troupe, 7 days a week, dawn till dusk. They are mostly young unemployed males from the local township, and for them, this is great work. Unfortunately, there seems to be constant struggles over funding, as neither the City of Cape Town, the Province, or the National Parks Service wants to take on the responsibility. The other service they provide is that they take people on tours, to walk with the baboons, learn about them, and hopefully, change their perspective. Naomi is a regular, now having gone out three times with them. We took Jamie on Saturday, along with Alex and her friend Nicole. We had a fabulous afternoon amongst a troupe of about 30 baboons of all shapes and sizes (including a baby who was only 2 weeks old). Our guide "Chris," knows most of them individually, and their histories and characteristics. So, you just hang-out, and he teaches you about the baboons, their behavior, and the issues they struggle with trying to co-habitate with an ever-expanding urban population. It was absolutely fascinating. Here is some of the video footage. Enjoy.


Blog ya later,

Seth./.

Bringing Rich Diversity to a Formerly "Coloured" Building

Last week was graduation at the University of the Western Cape, and I was invited to participate in the official "Oath Taking" for the new pharmacists. The Dean of the School of Pharmacy wanted me to come and be part of the procession, so they even found a black robe for me to where. There were 60 students who finished their studies last December, and now have been out in their hospital internships for 3 months. For some reason, they do graduation in March, which gives everyone a chance to get together as a class, probably for the last time.

Even though I didn't know the students well, I did have some contact with them through their service learning placements, and so it was nice to catch up and see how they were doing in their sites as "pharmacy interns."

But while seeing the students was nice, and wearing a robe felt special, the most amazing part of the experience was the setting. The "Oath Taking" ceremony took place in what is called the "Old Senate Building." So, of course, I asked, "Is this where the faculty senate meets?" And the answer was "yes." And so I asked, "why do they call it the 'Old Senate' building, if the current faculty senate meets there? Is there a 'New Senate' building?"

Well, this is where the answer got complicated, as perhaps it can only get in South Africa.

It turns out that in fact, this was the building that housed the "Coloured Senate" back during the period when the South African government passed its infamous "Tricameral Paliament" system. In an attempt to co-opt and co-erce the "coloured" and "Indian" minorities during the apartheid era, the government gave each of these groups their own legislature with limited law-making authority. In addition to the white "House of Assembly," they created a "Coloured House of Representatives" and an Indian "House of Delegates." (The Black Africans didn't have any authority over anything, and so there was no "Black Parliament.") Since UWC was the only "Coloured" university, the "Coloured House of Representatives" was housed in a new building that was built on the UWC campus! (As one of the profs said to me during the ceremony, this was not the brightest of ideas, as during the years that this Tricameral system existed -1983-1994- there was constant student protest and agitation in front of the building. As he said, "it was almost a constant riot.")

So, here we were in this historic apartheid-era building, watching 60-students take their oaths as new pharmacists. In what was formerly a "Coloured" building, this day the hall was filled with the rainbow nation that is South Africa: white students, "coloured" students, Indian students, and black students. And the upper benches were filled with proud parents and aunts and uncles of every color. I especially appreciated the black-African mothers, who "ululated" and danced and chanted the praises of their daughter/son as they came up to sign their oath. It was wonderful to see such rich, diverse life inside a building with such a narrow history.

Sorry I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos. Darn.

Blog ya later,

Seth./.

Cycle Tour 2009: 100 km in gale force winds!

"Toughest Cycle Tour EVER!"
That was the headline in the paper on Monday. But, we did it! 110 km in "gale force winds." Amazing, and not fun, but still, we did it. People were being blown off their bikes at the start, as wind would sweep through the buildings downtown, and then blast through the start line like a wind tunnel. And then, most of the ride was straight into the "south-easter wind," which meant constant work, even on the downhills, when we would be blasted by really dangerous cross-winds at random moments. Here is a picture of Naomi and our friend from Maine, Suzanne at the finish line --well-deserved smiles!

We saw Alex and Maya at the 10 km mark, and gave them a high five for the road! That was my highlight of the ride, as I was cruising up the hill, and passing everyone in front of me. Here's me on that climb...Unfortunately, when I got to the top of the hill, I looked around and couldn't find my riding partner Steve. So, I waited a few minutes, but still no Steve. Well, it turns out that his derailleur snapped off and went into his wheel just moments before I saw the girls, destroying his back wheel, and his ride. HOWEVER, as he was throwing a tantrum on the side of the road, a spectator came up and said, "is there anything I can do?" Well, Steve said, "I've got another bike at home..." And the guy said, "Come on, let's go!" So, he threw his bike into the guy's car, and the guy drove him home, waited while he changed out his pedals, and then took him back to the course, where Steve continued the race. What a great story! And Steve finished the reace 1 hour and 5 minutes after me! Here's a picture of Steve and his wife Jo celebrating after the race. Jo happens to be the leading marathon runner in the Western Cape!

But, not only did we make it, but so did Matt Damon, who rode a tandem with his brother, alongside South African rugby star from 1995, Francois Pienaar --who Damon is playing in the movie they are currently filming here in Cape Town. (By the way, Naomi and Jaimie saw Clint and the crew filming downtown today!)

So, check out these videos: the first is the summit of "Chappman's Peak, " the second to last climb, 85 km into the ride. The other is of Matt Damon finishing!

Well, it was quite the experience. Needless to say, we've not been on our bikes all week. But, I'm hoping to ride again this weekend. My time, well, my finishing time was 4:17:50. I was hoping for under 4 hours, but given the circumstances, I was happy. Here are my stats:


Time: 4:17:59
Overall Position: 6626/25799
Age Position: 668/2419
Group: Z
Group Position: 22/491
Avg Speed 25.58

OK, 6,626th is not a gold medal, but it sure feels like a victory...

Blog ya later.

Seth./.