French people who walked from CT. Alex cycled around the world. Became a travel writer because of their adventure. They did it slowly, didn’t know where they would sleep. Wanted to not rush through.
1002 days of walking. In SA they were passed from person to person like a rugby ball. Tribute lecture for the people here who helped them.
Video of Wynne Green singing. Domestic playing with on the drum. Emotional sharing. Wynne died of cancer after they left him.
14000 km. CT to Sea of Galilee. Along Great Rift Valley, like the original people. No sponsorship.
Alex was an adventurer. Had walked in the Himalayas. He was experienced at asking for hospitality. Sonia was embarrassed to ask. So Sonia left Alex to ask and he just pressed the intercom and asked. White guy. Gold chains. Wife and braai by the pool. Millionaires of Africa are all in the Cape.
Tried to learn the language of every country. Went with a handheld video camera with a reversible screen so people could see themselves with the travelers.
Meeting people drives Sonia. She walks with bandages on her feet. The people can’t believe they have no children and would leave their European comforts. In Alexandra, Johannesburg locals were vatting on Sonia saying she had a new boyfriend. Asking them to take them back to America.
Spoke to exhijackers who went to jail who are trying to stay clean. Attended a wedding, toyi-toyi in the street. Cook with the ousies. “I want to see the world at ground level with my own eyes.”
Looking at the back of ads pasted to the walls they see what the French military is doing in the countries they visited.
Rule was to stay not more than one night. Rarely broke the rule.
Their bubble tent caused a stir. It was see through so people could see no secrets. Sonia fixing her worn through bra with a local sitting in her tent and looking on. They described themselves as nomads. The ex German colonies still want to kill Germans. So no tourists allowed.
Sonia’s blonde hair fascinates them. She invites women to brush her hair. Communicates with women with face scarring with sign language and a few words from many languages that offer to do the same for her. Sonia says, I am afraid. The woman drew it on with a pen. They laugh when Sonia kisses them on the cheek. They are not allowed to look men in the eye.
Eat all sorts of things! Get to witness the initiation. The girls and boys meet each other and may meet a spouse. The colonial officials used to ban this dance.
In the desert there are signs with verses from the Koran. “If you are tempted to exercise your power over others, remember God’s power over you.”
Desert with no water, no cars to hitch a ride from. Zim and Moz they didn’t see anyone for two days no water no people no cars. A woman appeared with water on her head. Without other people we are nothing. Community.
They turn down lifts. They are doing it on foot. Waiting for the camel train a man says, “This is our Heathrow”. A few men sitting in the sand. They had planned to walk behind the camels but they were going too fast so they bent their rule.
They found lion prints but saw no people for 25 kms. Fear. Tsetse flies. People and animals have abandoned the area because of the flies. Drawing water from puddles using a filtering bottle. They meet lion killers on a hunt.
Sleeping in the desert under a full moon.
Meet a child with malaria. They give her medication. Locals have total trust and take the meds. They aren’t even sure that the father understands when next to take the meds, or if they are giving him the meds in case someone else gets malaria. Sonia and Alex leave and will never know if the girl gets well.
Alex gets malaria. They find nuns in a mission and Alex is given a Chinese cure, then banned in SA. While there a man comes in who was mauled by a lion. Sonia gets malaria too and over their stay there nine people come in mauled. The dead don’t even make it to the mission. And that was where they walked!
Alex and Sonia had been together for 12 years when they did this trip. Sonia gets malaria and hates injections. She is depressed. Wants to go home.
When the rains come the lions can’t hunt at waterholes and start with villagers.
Nomads think that whites need special things to live, need special attention and were not sure that they wanted whites to travel with them.
Masai not allowed to hunt?
Egypt. They can walk bit they have to be escorted by policemen who protect them. Tourists have been murdered. 1000 cops escorted them over the time they walk in Egypt. .
Alex climbed the monuments in Paris. When he was a boy he was in an accident had to be still for a year or end up paraplegic. He says this is not the reason for his wanderlust. Sonia goes for climbing training to get on his wavelength before the trip.
Egyptian cops try to persuade them to cheat by taking a lift. By declining they earn respect.
Sufi. Men and women pray separately. They do movements/exercises to control their breathing, to surrender their will, to be with God.
They were given permission to climb a pyramid to celebrate their arrival, although usually climbing not allowed.
Sonia gets pregnant. Still 800 kms to go. She thinks about the women she has met in Africa who couldn’t stop because they were pregnant. The women looked after them more than men. The women carry the continent on their shoulders.
Alex writes every night. Reality is stranger than fiction.
They have to ask permission to travel, also in Palestine. They have to drive in a bulletproof car for three kms (they feel it is cheating but the cops insist).
At a school in SA where whites and blacks learn together they show us the kids singing an English song.
Sudan. During some days women can express all the demons that trouble them. Infibulation, not allowed to smoke, polygamy. The women cry and smoke and dance. They forget it all and party with other women.
Questions
Return to society, is it hard? Five years ago it was over, they have been ambassadors since then. There’s so much opportunity here in SA. African life is hard. We are the most privileged people in the world. They made it with Love Fuel. 400 000 copy bestseller in France.
Money? 200 dollars (not afraid to lose) in pocket and a useless MasterCard, can’t use MasterCard in the places they went. They have raised money for the mission where they did the malaria thing.
Water? Gradually your tummy gets used to it. You get the bugs as you go up. To start up top and come down would have been harder. Ask the women for water. The men will ask for money. If you don’t pay them they give you diarrhoea water.
Malaria recurrence? Chinese people have the meds. Sonia was scared to take something else. Three days Alex was well. Three weeks for her on quinine.
Languages? They sang an Afrikaans song. But they used a bit of everything.
Electricity? Two batteries of 10 hours each. Sent tapes back informally. Trip was about spontaneously meeting people and trusting them. All the tapes passed to Alliance Francais or some person and all the tapes and diaries got back no problem.
Would you do it again? No (very quickly)
God? It was a kind of pilgrimage. Atheist or Catholic in France. Sonia non-practicing. All the people they met were spiritual. They met no atheists. They found that significant. The beauty of Africa. Africans have hours to pray. Through man they now believe in God.
(So many hands up that Claudia has to say that we are only taking two more questions. On the third question after Claudia’s announcement Alex asks that we don’t put our hands up anymore for questions while looking anxiously at Claudia. These kids are amazing. A couple of times Alex expresses amazement at the quality and unusualness of the questions.)
People who rejected? One country. Ethiopia. Racism. 10 times a day and insults were thrown at them (they learned the language over the time o their walk so began to understand the insults). They were chased violently, stoned. Exception. A man started to walk with them in the night. He saw how the villagers treated them and he said welcome to them and it was the first time they had heard it. He started taking off Sonia’s shoes. She was afraid because her feet smelled bad and he washed her feet and kissed them. A Christian tradition.
Preparation? Didn’t. Didn’t want preconceived ideas.
Journeys end? Happy or sad. Obie Oberholtzer hosted them. Caught the soul of Africa in pictures. It’s a happy sad continent. Bring our name to Jerusalem said many of their Christian boaters. A man gave them hitecs (takkies) whenever they needed them. He would DHL them to Sonia and Alex. Some guy in Nelspruit. They completed that mission, took his name to Jerusalem.
“Attitude made our journey come true.”
They had copies of their book there, but not for sale. To write personal notes to the children of the people who had hosted them who were there (talk took place at a school, kids are high school level). They had been given a present of a small ceramic goat, could fit in a fist. The goat had a message written on its butt. Something like, success in life is the attitude you present.
I hate to say it but I had no cooking clue Africa was still so traditional. That people still live in huts. That they are still infibulated and sexist and raw. I feel there is no way I am an African. I have no experience of these things. I am unconscious and a spoilt child. I was totally blown away by this lecture. So many things to think! And Alex and Sonia are so warm, so gentle. Readable.
Tanya on iPhone
1002 days of walking. In SA they were passed from person to person like a rugby ball. Tribute lecture for the people here who helped them.
Video of Wynne Green singing. Domestic playing with on the drum. Emotional sharing. Wynne died of cancer after they left him.
14000 km. CT to Sea of Galilee. Along Great Rift Valley, like the original people. No sponsorship.
Alex was an adventurer. Had walked in the Himalayas. He was experienced at asking for hospitality. Sonia was embarrassed to ask. So Sonia left Alex to ask and he just pressed the intercom and asked. White guy. Gold chains. Wife and braai by the pool. Millionaires of Africa are all in the Cape.
Tried to learn the language of every country. Went with a handheld video camera with a reversible screen so people could see themselves with the travelers.
Meeting people drives Sonia. She walks with bandages on her feet. The people can’t believe they have no children and would leave their European comforts. In Alexandra, Johannesburg locals were vatting on Sonia saying she had a new boyfriend. Asking them to take them back to America.
Spoke to exhijackers who went to jail who are trying to stay clean. Attended a wedding, toyi-toyi in the street. Cook with the ousies. “I want to see the world at ground level with my own eyes.”
Looking at the back of ads pasted to the walls they see what the French military is doing in the countries they visited.
Rule was to stay not more than one night. Rarely broke the rule.
Their bubble tent caused a stir. It was see through so people could see no secrets. Sonia fixing her worn through bra with a local sitting in her tent and looking on. They described themselves as nomads. The ex German colonies still want to kill Germans. So no tourists allowed.
Sonia’s blonde hair fascinates them. She invites women to brush her hair. Communicates with women with face scarring with sign language and a few words from many languages that offer to do the same for her. Sonia says, I am afraid. The woman drew it on with a pen. They laugh when Sonia kisses them on the cheek. They are not allowed to look men in the eye.
Eat all sorts of things! Get to witness the initiation. The girls and boys meet each other and may meet a spouse. The colonial officials used to ban this dance.
In the desert there are signs with verses from the Koran. “If you are tempted to exercise your power over others, remember God’s power over you.”
Desert with no water, no cars to hitch a ride from. Zim and Moz they didn’t see anyone for two days no water no people no cars. A woman appeared with water on her head. Without other people we are nothing. Community.
They turn down lifts. They are doing it on foot. Waiting for the camel train a man says, “This is our Heathrow”. A few men sitting in the sand. They had planned to walk behind the camels but they were going too fast so they bent their rule.
They found lion prints but saw no people for 25 kms. Fear. Tsetse flies. People and animals have abandoned the area because of the flies. Drawing water from puddles using a filtering bottle. They meet lion killers on a hunt.
Sleeping in the desert under a full moon.
Meet a child with malaria. They give her medication. Locals have total trust and take the meds. They aren’t even sure that the father understands when next to take the meds, or if they are giving him the meds in case someone else gets malaria. Sonia and Alex leave and will never know if the girl gets well.
Alex gets malaria. They find nuns in a mission and Alex is given a Chinese cure, then banned in SA. While there a man comes in who was mauled by a lion. Sonia gets malaria too and over their stay there nine people come in mauled. The dead don’t even make it to the mission. And that was where they walked!
Alex and Sonia had been together for 12 years when they did this trip. Sonia gets malaria and hates injections. She is depressed. Wants to go home.
When the rains come the lions can’t hunt at waterholes and start with villagers.
Nomads think that whites need special things to live, need special attention and were not sure that they wanted whites to travel with them.
Masai not allowed to hunt?
Egypt. They can walk bit they have to be escorted by policemen who protect them. Tourists have been murdered. 1000 cops escorted them over the time they walk in Egypt. .
Alex climbed the monuments in Paris. When he was a boy he was in an accident had to be still for a year or end up paraplegic. He says this is not the reason for his wanderlust. Sonia goes for climbing training to get on his wavelength before the trip.
Egyptian cops try to persuade them to cheat by taking a lift. By declining they earn respect.
Sufi. Men and women pray separately. They do movements/exercises to control their breathing, to surrender their will, to be with God.
They were given permission to climb a pyramid to celebrate their arrival, although usually climbing not allowed.
Sonia gets pregnant. Still 800 kms to go. She thinks about the women she has met in Africa who couldn’t stop because they were pregnant. The women looked after them more than men. The women carry the continent on their shoulders.
Alex writes every night. Reality is stranger than fiction.
They have to ask permission to travel, also in Palestine. They have to drive in a bulletproof car for three kms (they feel it is cheating but the cops insist).
At a school in SA where whites and blacks learn together they show us the kids singing an English song.
Sudan. During some days women can express all the demons that trouble them. Infibulation, not allowed to smoke, polygamy. The women cry and smoke and dance. They forget it all and party with other women.
Questions
Return to society, is it hard? Five years ago it was over, they have been ambassadors since then. There’s so much opportunity here in SA. African life is hard. We are the most privileged people in the world. They made it with Love Fuel. 400 000 copy bestseller in France.
Money? 200 dollars (not afraid to lose) in pocket and a useless MasterCard, can’t use MasterCard in the places they went. They have raised money for the mission where they did the malaria thing.
Water? Gradually your tummy gets used to it. You get the bugs as you go up. To start up top and come down would have been harder. Ask the women for water. The men will ask for money. If you don’t pay them they give you diarrhoea water.
Malaria recurrence? Chinese people have the meds. Sonia was scared to take something else. Three days Alex was well. Three weeks for her on quinine.
Languages? They sang an Afrikaans song. But they used a bit of everything.
Electricity? Two batteries of 10 hours each. Sent tapes back informally. Trip was about spontaneously meeting people and trusting them. All the tapes passed to Alliance Francais or some person and all the tapes and diaries got back no problem.
Would you do it again? No (very quickly)
God? It was a kind of pilgrimage. Atheist or Catholic in France. Sonia non-practicing. All the people they met were spiritual. They met no atheists. They found that significant. The beauty of Africa. Africans have hours to pray. Through man they now believe in God.
(So many hands up that Claudia has to say that we are only taking two more questions. On the third question after Claudia’s announcement Alex asks that we don’t put our hands up anymore for questions while looking anxiously at Claudia. These kids are amazing. A couple of times Alex expresses amazement at the quality and unusualness of the questions.)
People who rejected? One country. Ethiopia. Racism. 10 times a day and insults were thrown at them (they learned the language over the time o their walk so began to understand the insults). They were chased violently, stoned. Exception. A man started to walk with them in the night. He saw how the villagers treated them and he said welcome to them and it was the first time they had heard it. He started taking off Sonia’s shoes. She was afraid because her feet smelled bad and he washed her feet and kissed them. A Christian tradition.
Preparation? Didn’t. Didn’t want preconceived ideas.
Journeys end? Happy or sad. Obie Oberholtzer hosted them. Caught the soul of Africa in pictures. It’s a happy sad continent. Bring our name to Jerusalem said many of their Christian boaters. A man gave them hitecs (takkies) whenever they needed them. He would DHL them to Sonia and Alex. Some guy in Nelspruit. They completed that mission, took his name to Jerusalem.
“Attitude made our journey come true.”
They had copies of their book there, but not for sale. To write personal notes to the children of the people who had hosted them who were there (talk took place at a school, kids are high school level). They had been given a present of a small ceramic goat, could fit in a fist. The goat had a message written on its butt. Something like, success in life is the attitude you present.
I hate to say it but I had no cooking clue Africa was still so traditional. That people still live in huts. That they are still infibulated and sexist and raw. I feel there is no way I am an African. I have no experience of these things. I am unconscious and a spoilt child. I was totally blown away by this lecture. So many things to think! And Alex and Sonia are so warm, so gentle. Readable.
Tanya on iPhone
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