Swazi Crafts and Culture

Our travel isn't just about wild animals and birds, we're also interested in local crafts and culture. First of all, Swaziland is a kingdom, one of the few remaining peaceful monarchies in the world. King Mswati III rules Swaziland with the help of several advisers. There was a picture of the king in an honored place in every place we visited, whether it be a public building or a tiny stall in the crafts market. The country is bankrupt; there is 40+% unemployment; 26%+ of the population is HIV positive and TB is rampant. Still, the people seem happy.

I'd read about Swazi Candles and had seen some of their products. This is a Swasi  women's endeavor and profits go back to the community. We watched candles being made, then browsed in the shop which was well-laid out and appealing. It wasn't only candles. There were heaps of handmade Swazi baskets and other craft offerings. This is our kind of place to buy souvenirs and we stocked up on elegant, African-motif candles and baskets.

We checked out Kwazi Swazi, a more conventional gift shop which offered the usual t-shirts and souvenirs, but not much made in Swaziland. They did, however, have some distinctive items and we ended up buying a carved, stylized zebra head which we thought would look great as a decoration on the boat.

We headed to the colorful open craft stalls in the same complex. We enjoyed looking, but didn't buy much. I fell in love with some of the batiks and the six foot tall carved giraffes were most appealing. Alas, I couldn't talk the captain into moving any tall animals aboard the boat.

We moved along Route 103 in the Ezulwini Valley, a route noted for its shops. We stopped at the local craft market. There was stall upon stall of crafts, mostly identical … carvings, batiks, jewelry, cheap souvenirs. It was hot and humid as we moved from cramped, tiny stall to stall. The vendors welcomed us warmly and asked us to look at their offerings, trying hard to make a sale. It was hard to refuse, but we were sweaty and thirsty and ended up buying nothing, but a small batik print. It was simply too hot to shop.

The currency in Swaziland is the lilangeni … the plural is emanlangeni (E). The Swazi currency is tied 1:1 directly to the South African rand. Conveniently, we could use rands to pay for anything, but invariably received emanlangeni in change, which is not accepted anywhere but in Swaziland. This proved to be a bit of a problem when we left the country and constantly confused the two currencies to David's chagrin. The national languages, by the way, are English and Swati. We practiced saying hello in Swati - Sawubona (hello to one person) or Sanibonani (if two or more people).

In the afternoon, we visited the Swazi Cultural Village for a tour of a replica village as well as a traditional singing and dancing performance. Though the guide was quite informative, there was nothing in the “traditional village” except several thatched huts, and some of them were missing. The village was sterile. There were no accessories, no embellishments, no people, no signs of life … a deserted village, a grouping of empty huts.

We were asked for money at every turn. Beyond the admission fee, we were asked to: Tip the guide, please. Tip the singers and dancers, please. Buy some crafts, please. It was hard to say no, but it left a sour taste in our mouths. Some of the singers and dancers were quite enthusiastic and we enjoyed their performances.

Other participants, however, were ho-hum about the whole thing, arriving late and appearing totally bored throughout the performance. We felt as if our presence was an imposition and they obviously had much better things to do than entertain guests and share their culture.

We ended the day at the Mantenga Lodge, not far away from the cultural village. The room was nice and, thankfully, air-conditioned, since the heat and humidity were getting to us. Dinner was at the lodge's restaurant and it was an elegant outdoor affair though casual.

The view of  Execution Rock was exceptional from our seats in the restaurant. We'd just learned at the cultural village that the Swazis used this rock as their form of punishment for major crimes such as murder, adultery and witchcraft. They dragged the guilty parties to the top of the rock and forced them to jump off to their deaths. By the way, Swazi men were free to practice polygamy and still are. King Mswati III has 15 wives and counting. Who'd have time for adultery?

The question is, I guess, did we really experience Swazi culture? The well-choreographed tour and presentation at the Cultural Village was disappointing. Don't get us wrong. We enjoyed our time in Swaziland. It's a beautiful country, but we came away knowing not much more about the culture than we knew from our research before arriving.

We're heading to the renowned Kruger National Park tomorrow. Are you ready to come along?

Remembering Vasco da Gama

Do you remember learning about Vasco da Gama in elementary school? As we contemplate rounding the Cape of Good Hope in the near future, we think about those intrepid explorers of the 15th century who were doing all this for first time. The memorial clock along the foreshore in Durban reminded us of Vasco da Gama and his major contribution to world globalism and commerce.

Even with our GPS, chartplotter, Navionics charts on the iPad and weather forecasts, there's still some concern for this upcoming passage. It's hard to imagine just setting out with no idea of what to expect like da Gama did. Heck, they'd only recently figured out that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were connected and calculating longitude wouldn't come along for another three centuries!

Born c. 1460, Vasco da Gama, a Portugese navigator and explorer during the Age of Exploration, was the first person to sail directly from Europe to India, around the Cape of Good Hope. This was a monumental discovery in that it established a trade route to India known as the Spice Route and it also gave Portugal a leg-up in establishing their colonial stronghold in Asia.

He made a total of three voyages to India, his final voyage as the Viceroy at Cochin, appointed by the King to handle the corruption in the colony. He died there in late December 1524. We thought it fitting to remember him on the anniversary of his death for his contributions to maritime history and his several successful roundings of the Cape.

A Fly Through Dubai

When I made my reservations to fly back to Boston, I did lots of research on which airlines offered flights from South Africa, the schedules and of course, the pricing. I was expecting the prices to be exorbitant around the Christmas holiday and steeled myself for the disappointment of not flying home because the tickets were too expensive. I was pleasantly surprised.

There were several airlines operating on the route … South African Airlines, Emirates Air, KLM, British Airways. Some offered crazy routing with long, long layovers. Some offered high prices with long layovers. Some connected through West African cities like Dakar, Senegal (no, thanks!). In the end, I whittled it down to Emirates Air, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. I knew nothing about this airline, other than what I'd read which was mostly positive. I was willing to take a chance.

Unlike many people, though I might grouse a bit about flying when the delays are long or flights are canceled, I think of the flights and the connections as part of the adventure. I would be flying an airline I'd never flown before and connecting through Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I'd be leaving out of King Shaka International Airport in Durban and spending a few hours in the Middle East. I know, spending a few hours in an airport isn't really like visiting the place, but still … it sounded pretty unusual and a bit glamorous. How can you pass up that kind of opportunity, especially when the ticket prices were less expensive and the schedule was considerably better than the closest competitor.

I've got to tell you that from the minute I checked in, I was impressed with Emirates Air.  First of all, the female flight attendants have really cool uniforms with burgundy pill box-style hats with an attached white sheer scarf that drapes to the neck. A unique, very exotic look!

More important than the fashion statement, we boarded on time and arrived on time. I was able to  check two 50# bags. The seats were comfy and roomy enough considering I was traveling in Economy class. Wine and liquor were free and plentiful throughout the flights. The meals were quite good and snacks were frequent. There were hundreds of on-demand movies to choose from on personal monitors. There were USB and power outlets at each seat, so I could charge my iPad and laptop while flying. They even distributed hot, moist towels at the beginning and end of each flight! All that plus there were tiny lights on the ceiling that looked like a starry sky when the other cabin lights were dimmed. I like that kind of detail.

Dubai International Airport is something else. It's modern and glitzy … just what you'd expect from an oil-rich, opulent Middle East country. I relished seeing the signs in English and undecipherable Arabic. I liked hearing all the announcements in Arabic and was extremely thankful they followed up in English, too. Everything was shiny and new … from the trains that took me from terminal to terminal to the restrooms to the restaurants. In addition to the top-shelf Chanel and Tagheuer and Hugo Boss variety of duty-free shops, there was also a Starbucks and a McDonalds!

I looked at souvenirs with thoughts of buying something I couldn't live without, but gave up when the best options I could find were painted, wooden camels and stuffed dates.

Having traveled 10,803 miles (17,387 km) in about 24 hours after departing from King Shaka International Airport in Durban, I arrived at Boston's Logan Airport, exhausted, but excited to be  back in the USA. Immigration and Customs were a breeze. I stepped out into Boston's brisk winter air and spotted Lin at the curb waiting for me. Let the sister fiesta begin.