We’ll it’s that time again; time to move along, next country, next people, next language, next adventure. I’ve been slow to get myself moving aging, after nearly a month of traveling in style and comfort with friends it’s taking a special sort of kick in my ass to get motivated again. It’s back to cramped musty rooms that smell like somebody’s basement and are barely big enough to turn around in. Then there are the “showers” which, when they do work, are barely more than a cold trickle of water. The inevitable bus rides promising 8 – 12 hrs of bouncing along on a seat built for a pigmy, crammed with noisy people, queasy people, and an assault of smells that can only be replicated at the Sunday animal market. Of course my favorite the never-ending negotiations with shady touts and surly taxi drivers. Sounds great huh? Ahhh… the romance of travel.
Well I must say just writing that down has again awakened in me that sense of challenge that helps keep me going, that and my camera never seems to tire of going strange places. I’ve always thought of myself as the independent type, but I realize my camera has me completely whipped. Tucked away in its clean and padded little compartment it seems to arrive fresh and ready to go no matter what we have had to endure to get to the next destination. Hmmm… maybe I could just go to the Seychelles or some resort area in South Africa and tell my camera that this is all that’s left in Africa. I’ll explain that we waited too long to come here and now the entire continent is built up into resorts with nice poolside bars. Thanks to Michael Jackson’s song(s) in the late 80’s so much money was raised and it was so well invested by the smart and selfless leaders of Africa’s poorest nations, that now all of Africa is more developed than Dubai, and everyone is happy and well cared for. All that Discovery Channel footage comes from the Hollywood back lots (right next to where they filmed the moon landings).
In case my camera calls my bluff and twists my arm to venture into remoter regions, I have another trick I sometimes use to get myself motivated. Whenever my bones don’t feel like making the jump to the next place, leaving whatever familiarity we have found to navigate the confusion of the next new location I play a little game called remember the regular life. I think back to home life where everything is so clean, orderly, simple, and at times rather sterile in comparison to developing countries. I remind myself that this style of living is only a few months away for me and I will find myself in its clutches again soon. When I remind myself of this then the dusty unpredictability of the road starts to sound better and better. After all, finding myself dancing on the streets to African drum beats, swatting flies off my eyeballs in remote villages, and the opportunity to photograph creatures in the wild that are elsewhere only relegated to zoo’s has been a lifelong dream of mine. Now its here, right in front of me, I can literally smell it, so its time to go. Off in a southern direction to the tip of Africa, through countries I have never known existed before and some of which may not be on a map anymore after 20 years.
In particular I can’t wait to meet Mr. Douglas Anwa from Nigeria. This nice man has been writing several emails per week to my hotmail account asking for help because he needs to transfer money to America, but doesn’t have a bank account in the States. He has been pleading with me, for the sake of his family’s well being, to send him the details of my bank account and social security number for a few years now. Imagine how pleased he will be when I show up in person to assist him and offer to hand carry his money back to the US with me. I know it seems like an awfully generous thing of me to do, flying all the way over here to help this man out, but after all he carefully selected to reach out to me via the internet. His email was so sincere and honest what else could I do? I’ll just need to explain to him that I have to make a quick stop in Russia on my way back to the US to meet Ivana Hotpot who has also been writing to me on a regular basis, she has been kind enough to offer me a free sample of some pills that promise to enhance my life. Strangers on the internet are so generous.
We’ll until lack of motivation and procrastination sits me down to write again I’ll say au revoir and bon chance.
-Pete
To see whats been occupying my time these last few weeks…ok ok months, you can check out the photos.
Pete Niesen Photography Galleries
Tags: Morocco, Uncategorized, Africa, Friends, Travel
