Dream Trip 2008: September

Great Travel Moment

Throughout my traveling in Africa there was often a serious and obvious disconnect between foreigners and locals. They were always friendly towards us, but never wanted to befriend us. All that changed in Botswana during this mokoro safari. We paddled down the Okavango delta to an area completely isolated from other inhabitants?including any who spoke English. After an hour or two of complete and awkward silence some of us went to gather water and ended falling (i.e. pushing one another) in. The other guides and travelers rushed to see the commotion and what had started out as just some splashing ended as a ridiculously fun water war. After that, all barriers had broken, and we spent the rest of the trip dancing, singing, playing childhood games, and sharing stories and smiles around a fire. This picture represents the hour before I remembered there IS an international language: fun.