Yoga, Meditation and Rain in November

At the end of November a group of 10 teachers went for the day to the SMART Ecopark for a day of yoga and meditation.  It was truly wonderful!

Mariepskop

On our last full day in South Africa we went to Mariepskop, in the Drakensberg Mountains.  On a clear day from the top of the Mariepskop (around 2000 m above sea level) you can see Maputo and the Indian Ocean.  Drakensberg means "Dragon".

We picnicked by a river and the young people (Claire's children and Nat) had a great time swinging on a rope and jumping into the river.

Blyde River Canyon

Back in Hoedspruit again we went on a couple of day trips with Claire and her kids.  One trip was to the Blyde River Canyon, around 40 minutes away from where she lives.

The Three Rondavels

The largest "green" canyon on Earth

The "Happy" River (Blyde)

The Big Five

Everyone who goes on safari wants to see the "Big 5"!  We were really lucky in that we saw them all:  elephants, Cape buffalo, leopard, lions and both white and black rhino.

Kruger National Park

From Johannesburg, Sharon, Andrew, Diana, Robert, Nat (Sharon's son) and myself drove north to Hoedspruit, at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg mountains.  We visited Sharon's friends there and then the following day we set off on Safari.

Blue wildebeast

In total we spent around 2 and a half days in Kruger National Park.  We spent 2 nights in lodges in the park itself which meant we could do both sunrise and sunset safaris.  We saw a huge number of animals.

We would stop for breakfast in lunch in various lodge restaurants which mostly had amazing view of the nature and wildlife in the park.

The waterholes were great places to spot wildlife.  Here there is a hyena approaching an impala.

Hippos in the water

 

There were lots of zebras and giraffes - it was great to be so close to them.

 

Impala are known as the McDonalds of the park - everyone snacks on them!

Johannesburg and Learning2

My first visit to South Africa was to the American International School of Johannesburg for Learning2, where I was a Learning2 Leader.  The school is quite a way out of the city.  I stayed in a great hotel and really enjoyed being there - the school campus was really beautiful.  The conference was small and had a really friendly feel.  I am certainly blessed to be able to travel for my job.

A weekend in Varanasi

I made a visit to a school in North India that is going through the process of being authorized as a PYP school, and since I was in the north already Sharon flew up for the weekend and we went to Varanasi.  Varanasi is on the banks of the Ganges and is one of the oldest, continually inhabited cities in the world.  It is the spiritual capital of India.

Varanasi is famous for silk, perfumes and incense and as a place where the Buddha gave his first sermon (at Sarnath).  It's a major centre of pilgrimage, also a place where people bring their dead to be cremated and have their ashes strewn into the river.

We spent much of the first day wandering along the ghats - the steps - where the pilgrims perform their ritual bathing and pujas (prayers).  

Varanasi has at least 84 ghats, most of which are used for bathing by pilgrims and spiritually significant Hindu puja ceremonies in the morning and evening, while a few are used exclusively as Hindu cremation sites.

The Jantar Mantar observatory, constructed in 1737, is located above the ghats along the Ganges, and is adjacent to the Manmandir and Dasaswamedh Ghats.  It has a huge sundial.  We stopped for coffee in a rooftop restaurant right next to this observatory.

The extensive stretches of ghats in Varanasi enhance the riverfront with a multitude of shrines, temples, and palaces built tier on tier above the water's edge.

Other ghats were used as washing ghats (dhobi ghats) and the brightly coloured saris were laid out on the steps to dry.

The first evening and the  following morning we went out on a boat ride to watch the pujas. In the evening a group of priests perform "Agni Pooja" (Sanskrit :"Worship of Fire") as a dedication to Shiva, Ganga, the sun, fire, and the entire universe. In the morning we got up at 4 in order to get to the river while it was still dark.  We were able to take part in the morning puja at sunrise.

The Manikarnika Ghat is the primary site for Hindu cremation in the city. Adjoining the ghat, there are raised platforms that are used for death anniversary rituals.   Fires are kept going day and night as it takes around 3 hours to cremate a body.