Each person gets binoculars

It's a good idea to talk about differences before departure. It's essential, actually, if you're going to travel well together.

Everyone can contribute something to the trip. In South Africa, I practiced driving on the left in Ronda's village, Makotse, where the roads are sand and there's not much traffic (I passed one car in 15 minutes). That went well until I got stuck in the sand and had to be pushed out. I was also aware that driving in traffic, turning corners, etc., would be much different on paved roads, especially if I didn't have it all to myself. That made me nervous. Ronda did most of the driving, with Brian relieving her sometimes (you might remember the flooding dirt roads in the mountains), and I got my courage up again in the Drakensberg Mountains, our last day. Ronda enjoyed driving (the Peace Corps doesn't allow the volunteers to drive except when they're on vacation), and she was more comfortable with the English rules and laws than we were. She also planned 99% of the trip, but she lived in the country, after all, and knew what would be spectacular. We passed the camera and binoculars around (oh! why didn't we take our other two pairs of binoculars?), and I did some cooking and washing dishes (self-catering backpackers and apartments), as Ronda does all of that every day. Other tasks that can be distributed are map reading, grocery shopping, calling for reservations, checking in/out, asking for directions, laundry, carrying bags, and changing money.

It's great if everyone is happy with his/her tasks and everything gets done smoothly. Some conversations before departure will make this happen more easily.

Leaf-stitching ants

If you are traveling with friends or family members, there are a few things to ask beforehand.

Do you have the same reasons for going? Do you have similar sleeping and rising times? Will you want to see the same attractions? Or does one have to stay in big cities while another wants to white water raft or go rock climbing? If you answer yes to the last question, and you are still determined to share the trip, plan on going your separate ways occasionally. Just check the safety issues, to make sure you get back together as planned. In many countries, you can buy inexpensive cell phones to stay in touch. In South Africa, we found that there was usually only one room key. In St. Lucia, my daughter was sick and wanted to stay in bed for the afternoon and evening, while Brian and I wanted to go on the night tour. She stayed in while we went out, and we borrowed a second key from the manager so that we could come in at midnight without disturbing her.

By the way, the night tour (lighted only by the full moon and the driver's spotlight) to Cape Natal was well worth it -- a baby green chameleon, a herd of cape buffalo (~100), zebra, bushbucks, hippos, bats, a snake eagle and other birds, reedbucks, and leaf-stitching ants -- but I bring it up only because both parties did the right thing. Ronda needed to stay in bed, which was a wise choice, as the bouncing night trip on non-roads would have made her much sicker. Brian and I had a great time. More about animals in a later post.

Throw in a poncho

Know what "rainy season" and "dry season" mean when you schedule your trip. I had to keep reminding myself that South Africa was headed into fall while the United States was headed into spring, and we checked the temperature of Jo-burg on the Internet the few days before we left home. Of course, there can always be a surprise or two -- heavier rain than usual or a cold spell -- so plan for these with a poncho and an extra shirt. An umbrella is an excellent idea year-round in the tropics (and subtropics), for both sun and rain protection (also an good idea for a hostess gift, as umbrellas made in South Africa, for instance, don't last long). "Wrinkle-free" garments will keep you looking nice (I took a beautiful wrinkle-free Talbot's light blue, long-sleeved shirt that I found on sale, which kept its brand-new look through several washings), but soft cotton garments and washed linen also travel well. A small deodorant crystal will keep you smelling nice. You can always feel good, however. There's great stuff to experience everywhere, even if a hard rain or the hot sun keeps you indoors, the mountain gets socked in, or the humidity wears you out. Have a Plan B -- a magazine, TV, solitaire, or talking with the other visitors who are also waiting for the weather to break.

No matter how fickle the weather is, your trip can still be fun. Well, it won't all be fun. We had a rental car and were traveling alongside Swaziland in the mountains and got caught on 50 miles of a dirt road in a rainstorm. When the floods started across the road, I got nervous. My husband had had some experience driving on bad roads in mountains, so he got us out, with the only damage being a very dirty car. We were there in the rainy season, but there was only that one day of hard rain. Even if rain had kept us in our rooms for days at a time, we had playing cards, bars, Milo, and good attitudes.

Has anyone seen my yoga mat?

If you are a spiritual person, plan ahead for a time and place for that part of your life. Even if you are not a spiritual person, some time alone for yoga or deep breathing can boost your energy on your trip. Just lying quietly for a few minutes, away from all the things to do and places to go, can be as refreshing as a night's sleep and as important as that highly recommended museum, store, or restaurant. If you meditate daily, continue that practice on your trip, whether you are in South Africa or Scotland. If you have favorite religious books or pamphlets, take them with you, so they will be at your fingertips when you wake up or before you go to sleep. Keeping that routine may very well keep you sane as you travel.

Food: is there any other reason to travel?

My first question about South Africa was: "I won't have to eat meat, will I?"

Being a vegetarian and loving most animals (especially goats), I was concerned. I bought energy bars. Many, many energy bars. I considered carrying single servings of soy milk and carrying a duffle or backpack just for food. I bought more bars.

Our initial trip included Madagascar, the country west of South Africa that is home to lemurs, vanilla, ariary (money), Malagasy (people), the biggest and oldest baobab tree, and many, many other items of interest. Unfortunately, a civil war broke out shortly before our departure, and the Peace Corps would not allow my daughter to go, which meant we couldn't go. Really big bummer! Oh, yes; the reason I brought up Madagascar -- it's hard to find good vegetarian meals consistently in Madagascar. It's much easier in South Africa.

Eating in South Africa was downright fun, and they had loads of vegetarian food. We all ate my bars and the dark chocolate we took to Ronda, but if there was a mall, there was a restaurant that served something wonderful for me. South African people are big on chicken -- really, really big. If there is a town, there is a KFC. They don't seem to know what those letters stand for, but that's not as important as the items on the menu -- chicken, chips (see entry on language), cold drinks (their term for pop), chicken, and chicken. One person asked my daughter if the United States has KFC. Ronda told that person that the "K" stands for Kentucky where she was born! But the important thing to South African people is that the "C" stands for chicken, which they think is the most wonderful food on earth (well, maybe maize comes in first). KFC has one fun little menu item that I liked very much. It is "veggie cheesy bites." These are deep-fried "bites" of cheese, peas, and corn. They are really, really good -- they can't possibly be healthy (the salt and deep frying were my first clues), but what the heck. At one KFC I had a second order; my husband deigned to help me eat them.

Ronda had discovered "Milo," a Nestle's chocolate/malt drink, high in vitamins and minerals. I found it accidentally here and bought a can. Marmite is an interesting product in South Africa. It is a "yeast extract," a dark brown, salty spread. Nutritional yeast is a very healthy food for vegetarians, as it's high in the B vitamins. I didn't really like the Marmite on my morning toast, though, being accustomed to butter and orange marmalade. When the hostess at one B&B offered Marmite, I agreed because I heard "marmalade." You can imagine my surprise.

We spent one night (our last one) in the Drakensberg Mountains, about five hours south of Jo-burg. The Amphitheatre Backpackers (hostel) had rock climbing tours, restaurant, hot tub, and bar -- pretty cool. They had an excellent vegetarian entree offered at each meal, plus several vegetarian side dishes.

So, sticking to my diet was pretty easy. Of course, Ronda had been there for a year and a half and was an excellent restaurant guide. She took us to Nando's and Wimpy's and Spur (all named for Native American tribes) and knew who served good ice cream. When all else failed, there was always KFC. And bars.

Where can I get a manicure?

Do you need a shower every day? Wash your hair daily? Can you do without hair moisturizer? I have heard that moisturizer can work as shampoo and moisturizer, but I've never tried this. Don't want to.

Somehow I took two tubes of mascara to South Africa and didn't use either one. Would have looked better with it but should have left it at home.

Know what you absolutely must have and what you can leave at home. Traveling is the time to be balanced, not perfect. It's more important to feel good than to look good (easier too). To that end, I suggest No Jet Lag, a homeopathic that helps with the adjustment of flying, a minimum of makeup (for women), and a good attitude.

If you get a haircut and clip/file all your nails a few days before your departure, those are two fewer things to deal with as you travel.

May I bring you another diaper?

Not all English words have the same meaning. We (Americans) call "bangs" (as in hair) what people in the United Kingdom call "fringes." What we call "chips" (as in potato) other people call "fries" (as in "Tower burger and chips, please"). Something to clip clothes on a line here is a "clothes pin," but in the UK and other English-speaking countries, it is a "peg." Our "napkin" (something to place in our lap in a restaurant) in South Africa is a "serviette." My daughter warned us that if we ask for a napkin, as we are accustomed to doing in the United States, we might be presented with, first, a confused look and, second, a "nappie," a baby's diaper.

English isn't always American, thank goodness.

Not the whole language, of course

Learn some phrases and common courtesies ("Hello. How are you?" is important). If people know you are trying, your stay will be more pleasant.

I also learned that offering to help with a project helps. I think the women were talking about me as we sat around (the Makotse Women's Club in the village where my daughter lives in South Africa) and peeled marula (fruit) for an upcoming festival. Even if I'd learned "hello" and "thank you," I wouldn't have been able to follow the conversation, but they might not have spoken so frankly, not being exactly sure how much of their language I understood. By the way, if you want to learn about one use of the marula, look up "Amarula, marula fruit cream," a nifty little 36-proof refreshment.

Tomorrow, more on language -- English.

What do you reach for at home?

Know your body (part 2). What do you reach for when you bang your knee, strain a muscle, feel a cold coming on, or burn your finger? Yes, variations of these happened to me in South Africa. I wished for Arnica, Calendula, Pain-Eze, Emergen-C, and Unguentine. Pack your favorite first-aid products because one or all of these things may happen on your trip. Just in case....

Chia seeds and other little things you hope don't get scattered in your suitcase

Know your body. What medications and supplements do you take? A couple of weeks before departure, I laid out all my bottles (it seems to be edging on 3 figures) and decided that if I wanted room for my swim suit and an extra shirt, I'd better leave some containers at home. That was my first mistake (others to be described later). I take a variety of pills and powders (and Chia seeds). Some are absolutely essential medications to keep my body working properly. I wasn't sure how essential the supplements were, so I left several of them at home. Sadly, some pesky problems began my second day in South Africa, and my daughter took me to a pharmacy in J0-burg. That was a fun outing, in that the owner was a very nice man whose daughter owns Poleci (pronounced like "policy"), a high-end clothing line, in Los Angeles. He carefully suggested products, which I bought, but it was not how I wanted to spend time in a great big country that I'd never seen before.

I've come to love my chia seeds. They crunch so nicely when mixed in with my fiber drink. I decided to leave them at home because seeds and fiber were two of the supplements I thought I could skip for 3 weeks, and having a Baggie of chia seeds split open in my suitcase was something I wanted to avoid. Now, I don't know if skipping those 2 products did my body any harm (probably not, but I'm choosing to worry about it just a little), but I regretted leaving that part of my daily routine at home.

The added benefit to taking everything with you is that everything is in one place when you arrive at home, and it's very simple to continue the routine.

Check back for more obvious and aggravating health problems while traveling.

In an elephant's footprint -- South Africa

We finally did it! My husband and I traveled to South Africa to see our daughter who is in the Peace Corps in a village called Makotse (north of Pretoria and Jo-burg). When she went to South Africa the summer (OUR summer) of 2007, we started wondering if we could make the trip. We finally decided that since she had foisted her two cats, Cheza and Aluna, off on us, it seemed only fair that we dump them on someone else, if only for a short time.

We wrangled time off from our two jobs from February 14 to March 6, 2009, and started a 20-hour trip (that's just one way!) to a country we'd never dreamed of visiting. Since travel, even internationally, is pretty ho-hum these days, I won't go into a lot of detail about luggage, being cramped in economy seats, which is the best airline, and dropping my suitcase in order to hug a loved one, but I will get some pictures uploaded (be patient; we had some problems with our camera) and share some traveling experiences to a different country. Who knows -- there may even be some helpful tips.