Århus June 22nd. The tourism guide to the region notes that Swellendam revolted from Dutch Rule in 1795, declaring itself a Republic after the French and American style and the “capital of the world.” Four years later the British navy sailed in and put an end to the Republic.
Tag Archives: Africa
In the Republic of Swellendam.
26-Jun-15Into a Blackout.
23-Jun-15ivermectin buy cheap June 21st. We had left Oudtshoorn much later than we wanted, and the road was gorgeous – in farm country at the foot of a superlatively beautiful range of mountains – and so we were stopping constantly to get out and enjoy views. Night fell and it became time to look for a place to […]
In the Ostrich Capital of the World.
23-Jun-15June 21st. Oudtshoorn is the first really nice place we’ve seen here. It has trees and finally it feels like we are out of the desert. Lovely old houses on large properties – it reminds me of some prosperous upstate New York towns, but with different details: the houses here are built of sandstone, and […]
The Latinosphere.
23-Jun-15June 20th. A detail I forgot, from the Latinosphere, the small world we Latinists live in: the day after our arrival, before going to Pilanesberg, I met the Classicists in Potchefstroom. We had lunch together, and in the afternoon we all attended a lecture via Skype, from San Antonio, Texas. The lecture was given by […]
The Big Hole.
22-Jun-15June 20th. We visited the Big Hole before leaving Kimberley. The Big Hole is a massive crater at the edge of Kimberley’s center: it looks so large as to be a natural feature, but it was excavated entirely by hand, through bedrock. The open pit is more than 600 feet deep, and via underground shafts […]
Africa Without A Map.
21-Jun-15June 18th. I can barely write I’m so exhausted. Catherine and I planned to start our road trip today down to the Cape of Good Hope, but instead we decided to take a day trip north, to Pilanesberg National Park, and set out on the long trip tomorrow. Marianne said it would be a two […]
Autumn in Africa.
21-Jun-15June 17th. Woke up to the sound of what sounded like particularly powerful purring – insistent purring, like someone had recorded a large cat and used it as an alarm on a clock. It was the birds – birds of Africa. I presume it was the sound of the doves, which were all over the […]
South Africa.
21-Jun-15June 16th. Potchefstroom. We made it. A little difficult, but we made it. Our plane landed perfectly on time. We disembarked to find a lovely, modern, spacious, comfortable, neat airport – it is always pleasant to be reminded that the world’s worst major airports are in Queens. But the line to get through passport control […]
Almost There.
21-Jun-15June 16th. On the plane. As we reached cruising speed, the flight attendants walked through the cabin spraying pesticides, to fumigate the cabin. My phone is off, and I neglected to purchase a watch, as I thought I might do before departure, so I have little idea of the time, but we are more than […]
In Dakar.
21-Jun-15June 16th. On the plane. Dawn in Dakar. We are sitting here on the tarmac, the dawn just a yellow line on the horizon. Insects of various sorts boarding the plane. We are in Africa. At dawn nearly 80 degrees, and tropical humidity breathing into the cabin.