A Month in Cadiz, Spain

2010 has been an extremely exciting year for me both personally and professionally. As though getting married wasn’t the icing on the cake, I got this sense that all of my seemingly random professional experiences were finally adding up. For those of you who don’t know, I studied in Spain, one of the only countries outside of the US that I continue to have a relationship with and visit. My passport has a lot of stamps in it but the only recurring stamp you’ll see is de mi querida Espana. Since living there for the first time nearly ten (yikes!) years ago, I have returned on several trips to vacation, live and ultimately for work. This past May when I had reached the point of no return (AKA Bridezilla status) with wedding planning, one of my dearest friends, Staci, sent me a random email about an organization she had worked for two years ago called Abbey Road. Coincidentally they were looking for a digital photography instructor who had experience living abroad, who was conversational in Spanish, who had worked with youth and would be able to commit to July in Spain. I had the perfect candidate, namely, ME! I would teach a course three times a week and the rest of the time I would document the American teenage immersion experience. “What a hoot!,” I thought to myself. There were no “ifs,” “ands” or “buts,” and after a rocky interview experience I signed the contract, despite being a recent newlywed. I also finally upgraded my equipment to the Canon 5D MarkII, which made me feel like my wishes to receive some sort of signal from the universe that this photo career was not some silly passion gone wrong, were indeed answered. As I packed my bags for a month in Cadiz (with a short intermission for a turn around trip to Cape Cod  07/10), I began to reminisce about tintos de verano, jamon iberico and queso manchego. This was of course secondary to day dreaming about Spain’s endless summer noted with 10:00 pm sunsets. What a treat! This would beat another dreaded rainy and steamy New York summer! Of course, there was a little twist of fate with having already traveled to South Africa for the World Cup and Spain slowly creeping through the tournament, ultimately winning the finale! Though I at first attested that the “...trip would be a lot sexier without the teenage kids,” in the end it was the kids that made the trip worthwhile. I have a close friend and mentor who always told me that you have not mastered anything in life unless you’ve taught it to someone else. Imparting my modest knowledge about the photographic world with the future of my country was exhausting, yes, but simultaneously it was affirmation that I have alas become a professional photographer. It goes without saying, especially to the fantastic students I had, that you were a true delight and I look forward to seeing you grow as photographers. So, thank you Abbey Road for a mutually beneficial summer fling. I thought my love affairs would be over once I tied the knot!

South Africa World Cup 2010: Johannesburg

During the last leg of our adventure in South Africa, we visited Johannesburg and stayed at Villa Domenico, a B & B in Bedfordview.  This comes highly recommended if you are traveling with a group  as it serves as a cozy home away from home. We were pretty fatigued following the week in Cape Town and the Kruger Safari so we arrived with intentions to relax, enjoy a couple of soccer matches and end our trip with a visit to Soweto. Although we had visited both colored and black townships in the Cape, there was a more somber feeling of despair in the townships of Joburg that could be attributed to the residual of urban poverty. With a population of 49 million people and a record of only 5 million taxpayers, it was no surprise that most South Africans live off of less than a $1.00 a day. Most of the people we met hailed from other parts of the country and had moved to Joburg in search of work. This included 60 year old grandmothers and 20 year old men who had been on the "system" their entire lives because they couldn't find work. Our visit to Soweto reinforced that apartheid's legal end had still not improved the quality of living for most South Africans.


Fortunately we were able to end our trip on a positive note with two World Cup Games: North Korea vs. Brazil and USA vs. Slovenia. Both exciting and once in a lifetime opportunities, despite FIFA's racket on scoring tickets. My advice for soccer lovers is to enter the lottery early and to get the best category possible since that doesn't always guarantee the best seats in the house. The difference in price is nominal. In the end, the money spent is priceless; tailgating in the streets of any other country with such limited oversight (read: no POLICE) is impossible. It was truly a global party with the sound of the vuvzela, samba dancers fully outfitted with headdresses and of course, Americans dressed as iconic figures. The USA game was predictably a ton of fun since we were amongst "our people" and the Elvis sighting was so great that when Elvis shouted "take a picture of my [insert obscenity here]!," I scurried for my camera and subsequently dropped the weenie Jorge had just waited 30 minutes to buy! I suppose I don't even need to say it, but I will, it was absolutely worth it!


We can't wait for World Cup Brazil in 2014! Come back tomorrow to see the last of the South African posts with a special feature on South African people.

South Africa World Cup 2010: Kruger National Park

After six days in Cape Town we flew Kulula, likened to Southwest Airlines, to Nelspruit which is at the southern tip of Kruger National Park. From there we were picked up by the staff from our safari lodge, Mohlabetsi, located in the Balule Nature Reserve. I've been all over the world in the last ten years mostly as a backpack/ adventure traveler. Needless to say, a safari was my "dream trip," and we went into this one expecting and preparing for absolute luxury and that is exactly what we got. From the handwritten welcome note on our armoire to the five star meal the lodge had waiting for us when we arrived two hours late; the service was impeccable and worth every penny we spent. 


We started each morning at 6:00am with a three hour game drive in an open air jeep. This was absolutely thrilling, especially for me having spent my childhood on long road trips camping through the southwest part of the US. Though we didn't see the Big Five, we did see three of the five including: elephant, buffalo and leopard. After the morning game drive we returned to the lodge for our five star breakfast with made to order omelets, fresh squeezed juices and organic bacon. This was followed by a lapa massage or a nap situated in front of a frequently visited watering hole until lunch around 2:00pm. Lunch was three courses served under a couple of baobab trees and accompanied by fine South African wines and local beers. After lunch we embarked on our evening game drive returning to the lodge around 7:00pm just in time for dinner under the stars. When we returned to our rondavel around 10:00pm just after our night cap, we were greeted by the many sounds of the night time bush as they lulled us off to sleep. 

Both the morning and evening game drives included a mid - morning or mid - afternoon break. The morning break included coffee, tea and biscuits and in the afternoon it was our choice of wine, beer and South African snacks that the lodge hand picked and packed on request. The ranger and tracker on each drive would find the most scenic plateau to set up this makeshift picnic. It was nothing short of romantic, something straight out of a travel magazine.

There were two highlights from the trip that I did want to share before signing off. The first was during our last afternoon drive when we received word of a leopard in the area. Now, leopards are extremely hard to spot, as are lions, because felines are nocturnal and solitary animals that reveal themselves only weekly (lions) and bi - monthly (leopards). Rangers pride themselves on being the first to spot the felines and can be extremely competitive with each other. So it goes without that saying that we were speeding through the bush in the jeep at about 50mph in search of the leopard. Low and behold, after hours of chasing leopard tracks to now avail, he was casually walking right next to the jeep! Even with a flood light on his tail, he nonchalantly marked his territory moving from tree to tree and never once looking at us. You'll see some awesome pictures below. 

The second instance was during our last morning drive when we were graced by a herd of 200+ elephants bathing and mating at a nearby watering hole. We were unable to move for about an hour while we had a 360 degree panoramic view of elephants of all sizes. This was truly a remarkable, once in a lifetime experience.

Come back tomorrow to see footage from the Johannesburg leg of the trip. To see more pictures from South Africa click here