A female leopard’s head is resting on a large branch. All four limbs hang down. Her paws are the size of my hands.
A half-eaten antelope is wedged between two branches in a tree nearby. The leopard has killed the animal and dragged it up into the tree with its teeth to keep it from scavengers.
She wakes up and makes her way down the trunk of the tree headfirst, holding on with her claws like a house cat. Her spots aren’t round like the Cheetah’s but a complex pattern of interlocking markings that look like paw prints on her back.
She drinks from a stream below and then makes her way up to her kill to continue feeding.
♦◊♦
On my back, the yogi asks me to relax each body part in order from toes to my head.
When we read my naval region we chant “ooooom” together. When we get to my throat we chant “ruuuuu” and my mouth fibrates. When we get to my head we chant “emmmm” with our mouth closed and my forehead fibrates.
I’ve been in Africa quite a bit compared to most folks. I agree it is an incredible place where you can learn a lot about life and yourself. I have spent most of my time there out IN the real Africa, beyond the tourist areas, in the bush on foot, living rough and surrounded by the things that are majestic and dangerous at the same time. If you want to know the REAL Africa, that is what you need to do. Jump in. Be part of it instead of an observer. The punctuation of the beauty by occasional moments of… Read more »
What a stunning photo. It really says its own thousand words and thoughts.
Many thanks.
Africa gets into your blood and never leaves.
@Cari:
Two issues: First, the spelling does need to be fixed, at least in articles if not in a vacation blog. Second, focusing on spelling, as annoying as it can be, is majoring on the minors.
I want to like this website. I really do. It’s a great concept. But I can’t get past these simple spelling mistakes-
“There is only room for one female in line for the thrown of the clan.”
Please tighten up your proofreading.
Yes indeed. You could just as well say ‘Asia’ or ‘Europe’ -they are continents too but you would never say that, you would specify countries. A bit ignorant, and perpetuating ignorance.
It is strange, but many Africans feel like Africans, not as allied to one single country, and they/we speak of Africa as our mother.
Lovely, Tom– I kept thinking about your Father’s Day trip to the Tetons and how hard it was to let go of the devices that kept you technologically tuned into your life back home. And that until you could let go of them, you weren’t really “in” the pristine beauty of the Tetons fully. It seems the experience of surrendering contact with that buzzing life continues here in the Africa trip… Juxtaposing the majestic presence of the big cats and elephants here, with your own italicized text chronicling your return to your own inner presence was powerful story-telling for me.… Read more »
Awesome piece, thanks for that. I love being in africa, I feel very alive there. I’ve spent time in the west and and north.
Where exactly on the continent of Africa did you travel? There’s a lot more to Africa than wild animals and yoga. There are 54 different countries and many different cultures. Articles like this perpetuate stereotypes of Africa as nothing more than a jungle safari perfect for white people to relax, take pictures of animals and find themselves.
Dear EM,
You asked where this may be: I looked up Mahe, and found: Mahé is the principal island of the Seychelles, an archipelago northeast of Madagascar, consisting of more than 100 islands of which 83 are named and 46 are permanently uninhabited.
I also am wary of conquistadors, expatriates and white people in general, but we also have to be sensitive to when someone is being genuine and sharing a piece of their life with us.
A cool vacation. Africa is still on my itinerary.