Coming Home
Trip Start
Feb 04, 2007
1
13
15
Trip End
May 26, 2007
Cape Town,
South Africa
Monday, August 6, 2007
A much overdue update after many attempts at some of the slowest Internet cafes on Earth.
75,480 Kilometers, 186 Nights and 19 countries later, I'm coming home!
From the Amazon to Carnival in Salvador,
From the beaches in Southern Brazil to Buenos Aires,
From the coast of Uruguay to the vineyards of Mendoza,
From the home of Pablo Neruda to the Salt Flats of Bolivia,
From the mystery of Machu Pichu to the coast of Ecuador,
From the wedding of my sister to Nairobi,
From the animals of the game reserves to the coast of Zanzibar,
From the shores of Lake Malawi to the rivers in Botswana,
From the history of Johannesburg to the southernmost point in Africa.......
I've made it to Cape Town and loving it. I couldn't ask for a better city to end such an epic trip in. Offering both a beautiful backdrop and an extremely recent history, Cape Town is an impressive city.
Through my travels, I feel like I've experienced history creep up on me to an almost uncomfortable degree. When I lived in Italy and traveled through Europe afterward, I visited concentration camps and experienced my family history in regards to the Holocaust in the 1940's, first hand. Then my travels took me to Asia where I saw the after effects of the Vietnam War or the American War, depending on who you speak to, the 1960's. Cambodia brought the history into my own lifetime with the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge in the early 1980's. Now, I've come to see the effects of Apartheid in South Africa, which is all too present and really hasn't faded to a degree where you can come even close to forgeting about it. Through this trip, I've been reading "A Long Walk to Freedom," the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. On multiple occasions, people with clearly defined beliefs have come up to me and said "Don't believe what you read."
I realize this to be a heavy note to bring about as I culminate my trip, but it's too in-your-face not to mention this history lesson I've learned both from speaking to both sides and then visiting the famed Robben Island.
Africa has been quite a different trip than the first part in South America. Much more of a lesson in very recent history as well as origins going back further than any place on Earth. After seeing the "Big Five", bungee jumping and tasting, seeing and doing everything I could, I'm ready to come home.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this incredible experience in my life, as it is one I will never forget. See you soon!
Michael
Comments
Great to hear from you again Hermano
Sr. Roth,
Que chevere que ya vuelvas a Los Angeles. When is the big day of your return? Great pictures and thanks for keeping me updated with your journey in Africa, cant wait to see you dude. I'm leaving to Colombia on the 9th and back the 25th. I assume you'll be in town by then. Have great flight back and talk to you soon. Suerte parcero....