Humans are adaptable creatures. Acclimatable is probably more precise, but sure is a mouthful to say. Three months ago, I hit the ground in Brazzaville, tired and disoriented. Less than a day later, I’m in the The Congo. No surfboards, no family, no friends, no dog, no restaurants, no television, almost none of the trappings of my former life. And yet, within days I feel like I am where I belong. I am at peace. Soon the African bush becomes my new normal. At times, I see more gorillas than people. I spend my days with elephants and baboons and my evenings with lions. Silence fills the void where the cacophony of writhing masses of humans used to envelope me. I feel comfortable in my new world, even at times, joyous, and yet I am a society of one. I am not African. I am not truly in, or of, anything that is Africa. I am merely an observer separated and sheltered from all that is truly African. I am not African, and yet, neither am I the man that arrived in Brazzaville 87 days ago.
I am excited about going home, there are many things I miss, but what I’ve found upon returning from previous trips is that after travelling for so long, home can seem like going to a foreign country. You arrive tired and disoriented. The time is 8,9, 10 hours different, but you don’t have the excitement driven adrenaline that got you through the early days of your vacation. There are few peaceful places and few friendly faces. For months you waved at strangers and said hello, they’ve responded with smiles and return greetings. You’ve ridden in cars through streets lined with huts where innumerable children emerge running from who knows where to wave and yell their greetings. At home, I take my dog for a walk and wave at a neighbor that I don’t know, they just stare back, perplexed.
This trip I have a plan for re-acculturation. It begins with spending 5 nights at a dive resort on a small island off Madagascar. After numerous dives I become disassociated from any particular location. I am cleansed. I am baptized by the sea. I am born again from the plains of Africa into the tropical seas of the world. I am adrift, untethered. I could be in Bali, Fiji, Tahiti, or Bonaire. If I took the pictures below and shuffled them in with those I took in any of these other locations, you’d be hard pressed to know what was taken where.
Mudskipper.
Coral fan.
Plate corals with a whip coral in the foreground.
Anemone fish in an anemone. I just noticed now that I was photobombed by a scorpion fish. Can you find it?
Check out the size of this moray. It was massive!
Fish and corals.
More fish.
Another fish.
Sea turtle and corals.
Sea fans and corals.
Ok, you won't find this guy in any of the other places I mentioned. I'll give you that.
Comments