The Past Six Months (Part two)

Trinidad & Tobago
My best experience from Trinidad& Tobago will always be its wonderful, friendly people. They have made me feel at home since my first visits 5 years ago, and this time was no different. Working among the Trinidadians is all inspiring they make you want to stay on! Dedication, patience, respect and hope, are the words that come to my mind when I think of all the good people in Trinidad. This time I made time to go outside Port of Spain to visit a few of the open schooling centres , and I was not only in awe with the beauty of the land I was in awe by the sheer hunger for education amongst the youth who can for one or other reason not access conventional schooling. I reminded me to count my blessings before I dare complain about life’s challenges. Trinidad has warmed my heart and I will always treasure my experiences of T&T.

The past six months (part one)

The past six months I was privileged to visit my Motherland, Namibia, as well as Trinidad &Tobago, The Bahamas, New Zealand, and Tonga. Each of these countries is unique and inspired me in a very special way.
I knew that Namibia is a beautiful country, however being away from it for so long and being deprived of its beauty made me appreciate it even more this time around. Namibia is a “land of contrasts” and I was privileged to visit contrasting places such as a farm in the south and my place of birth. It made me think of the many people who have walked the road with me, some of whom are long gone and some of whom are spread around the globe. The beautiful sunsets, sounds of birds and animals cannot be compared to any other in the world.
Coming from the South we visited my brother and his family on their farm in the Komas Hoch land it was refreshing to drive in the veld and appreciate the wildlife and beautiful landscapes. It was an amazing experience to enjoy the hospitality of family and friends from the south in Mariental and Rehoboth to the north in Windhoek and Swakopmund.
We were treated to Namibian Braaivleis, sitting next to the fire, listening to stories and having loads of laughter, to having dinner while overlooking the Windhoek from Heinitzburg Castle and having the most scrumptious prawns in O'Portuga :-)Our daughters enjoyed the real Namibian Boerewors served on Brotchens with home made sauce, Jam and Peanut butter the most.
Walking alongside the mighty Atlantic Ocean with my beautiful daughters and watching my husband fishing, was an experience which I cherish as I struggle to get use to the cold in British Colombia. I guess the wonderful time in my Motherland will carry me until next time.

Seaplane & Government House

Yesterday I travelled to the city of Victoria the capital of British Colombia. Although I was in Victoria many times, this was the first time that I travelled via a Seaplane.
I regard myself as a seasoned traveller, however, departing from the water surface compared to departing from steady mother earth are two different things. At first I was a bit apprehensive, especially as it was raining when we left, but when we took off I was in awe with the waves, made by the small aircraft, and forgot about my ‘fear’. The flight took us over Vancouver and it was an amazing view from the Sky.
An invitation to make a presentation at the Annual meeting of the Royal Commonwealth Society took me to Victoria. The program included a visit to Government House where we were invited to join the Honorable Steven L Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, for lunch. We formed a receiving line and each of us was introduced to the Lieutenant Governor as we arrived at the door.


Government House contains the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, the representative of Her Majesty the Queen of Canada. The house has an aura of royalty decorated with pictures of the Queen and her family complemented by beautiful flower arrangements. I took time to ‘drink it in’. Our scrumptious three course lunch was served using the finest china .Each course was complemented with an excellent wine. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the gardens, which I am told, are beautiful!


My visit to Victoria reminded me (again) how fortunate and blessed I am. As this Blog is my way of informing my beloved family of my travels, be assured that I am immensely appreciative of your love and support.

Chrysopylae," ........"golden gate”.

The last week of March I had the privilege to visit Fort Baker, CA when I attended a meeting of the William &and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Fort Baker is rich in history and a former US army base located in the Marin Headlands. I have visited some of the wonders of the world such as the Taj Mahal, The Great wall in China and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but every time when I travel I am in awe with the many “other wonders “in this world. I always wish to have my loved ones with me to share my experiences, it is unfortunately not possible. However, this time I invited my husband to join me on this journey. We had a blast in between the meetings, and I am so happy that he could join me We stayed in the Cavallo Point Lodge which is a scenic place with a view of the historic Golden Gate Bridge We arrived late at night in San Francisco and took the Air porter Bus to Sausalito from where we were picked up by the Cavallo Lodge shuttle. The days were beautiful. As we were coming from Vancouver where it was still cold, the weather in Fort Baker was a feast, to say the least and we could spoil ourselves to a lovely breakfast on the veranda of the hotel restaurant. True to ourselves to make the best of a beautiful day, we set the day out to hike and explore the Golden Gate Bridge. It was easier said than done, but it was a hike worth doing, the pictures speak for itself The first name of the Golden Gate bridge was Chrysopylae," meaning "golden gate”. The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world for many years. It is 1.7 miles and you can walk or cycle the entire bridge. After hiking uphill and cognizant of the fact that we had to walk down and all the way to Fort Baker, we decided not the walk the entire bridge. The bridge was completed on May 28, 1937 Joseph P. Strauss who was the Chief Engineer wrote the following: At last the mighty task is done; Resplendent in the western sun The Bridge looms mountain high; its titan piers grip ocean floor, its great steel arms link shore with shore, its towers pierce the sky. High overhead its lights shall gleam, Far, far below life’s restless stream, Unceasingly shall flow; For this was spun its lithe fine form, To fear not war, nor time, nor storm, For fate had meant it so.

Queen of the Arabic Sea

It has been a while since I have written about my travels. Although it happened a few months ago, my travel to India in November 2010 is worth sharing .
When I arrived in Delhi I was pleasantly surprised by the new look of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The artwork left me breathless and the service at the arrivals counters was first class.I attended a workshop in Delhi at the Habitat center and enjoyed the hospitality of the Indian people and the wonderful Indian cuisine.
From Delhi I travelled to the South West Coast of the Indian Peninsula to the State of Kerala also known as the Queen of the Arabic Sea where I attended the 6th Pan Commonwealth Forum with more than 600 participants from across the globe.The conference was held in Kochi, which is referred to as the Gateway to Kerala, in the beautiful Le Meridien hotel. I enjoyed my morning boat rides to the conference venue as it was a wonderful way to start the day while enjoying the scenic beauty around the hotel. Unfortunately I could not stay on a while after the conference to explore the Queen of the Arabic Sea, and I hope to return to Kerala one day.

Manzini

After Namibia I travelled to Swaziland. It was so good to go back to Manzini after 5years.Not much have changed, especially not the warm and friendly spirit of the people whom I work with.
This time I did not stay in a hotel but in a Guest house nearby the airport. This is one of the most exquisite guest houses, beautiful, and the Butternut squash soup was nearly as good as my Edda’s.
What I valued most of my stay in Swaziland was to wake up to the sounds of running water, birds and most significantly, people talking to each other far away
When I met the young children with the big smiles on their faces, despite the life’s challenges, I felt so blessed!
Going to Africa is a tonic to my soul!

Namibia Land of the Brave

Namibia, Land of the Brave!
It has been a while since I last travelled  and I realized that I did not update my blog on my travels to Africa! I travelled to my motherland in August 2010 and it was absolutely wonderful to be home after a year. As I was on business I did not have much time to travel around in the country, but I was fortunate enough to spend time with my family after hours and part of the weekend.
After having travelled to so many countries I now look at my own country with a renewed interest and appreciation. Namibia is beautiful, a rare gem in the South Western Part of Africa. Her people are friendly, hardworking and very proud of their achievements.
The most memorable time spent home was the evening my husband and I spent out of the city on my brother’s farm. It was so peaceful with the sounds of animals far away in the dark night. I woke up refreshed and wished that I could stay longer.
My brother took us on a short sightseeing and I was in awe with the Springboks and other game on the farm. I will forever treasure this short visit to the farm, it was awesome.
The Namibian cuisine is something special, and it is not always possible to prepare it in Canada. What I love most is ‘Vars rugstring’...very difficult to explain, but I’ll try.It is the freshly cut spine of the goat, cooked just with onions and potatoes, salt, pepper and a dash of vinegar! Prepared by my mother made it more special, because she has a very special way of combining all the ingredients with her love into a perfect meal!

The best part was just sitting and listening to all the updates by my family. Cracking jokes and laughing a lot! But the cherry on the cake was when my brother-in-law introduced me to JagerBombs.Not sure if it is a Namibian invention or something he brought from his time in the USA, but it was a Bomb!
Family is very special, we do not always realize it, but the special times we have with each other should always be treasured and when we are far away from each other, the memories will make us strong. I am so thankful for a loving and caring family.