Richard's Bay and Swaziland Redux

 We had several students that we needed to meet with to do a loan interview in Richard's Bay and in Swaziland.  So we left Tuesday July 12 and drove up the coast to the beautiful port city of Richard's Bay.  It is a port for mostly exports of pulp and aluminum.  It is also a major tourist sport during Europe's winters.  We had about an hour before we met the first student and  that allowed Sister Gunderson to be the first to get her feet wet in the Indian Ocean.  That is because she is allowed to wear sandals and I had on shoes and socks...one day though.

 During that hour, besides the beach, we drove through jungle-like back road area and saw monkeys.  This was all the closer that I was able to get before they scrambled into the brush.  We thought that this might be the best picture that we would get.  So we went to the Church to wait for the student who was about an hour late.  We have a great deal of empathy and patience for the students and their timeliness as they have to take taxi buses or combis and they cannot control the number of stops or even the route all of the time.  While waiting, we saw a monkey in the parking lot.  Soon there were about 10 monkeys.  We tossed some brownies and pieces of orange but they were on the other side and seemed not to notice.  Then one headed our way, then another and soon they were all over the security fence.  But, everytime I would try to photograph them they would scamper into the trees.  Finally they came closer and got some orange pieces and I was able to get this video clip.  I thought at first it was Grant and Drew or Harlen and Evan.

 This was the bravest of the monkeys.  The lure of Grandma Gaye's brownies finally got to him.  He liked the orange too, though he was sure to wipe off the grass, leaves and dirt before he ate it.

 Our Dear friend Linda Huff from Lafayette, Louisiana sent a care package of ribbons, stickers, and other what-nots for us to give the children of South Africa and Swaziland as we travel about.  We stopped in the community of Big Bend, Swaziland and gave some of Linda's goodies to these three little darlings as they were walking home from school.  They are all required to wear uniforms to school.  We see them of all colors from the different schools. How their parents keep them so neat and clean is beyond understanding.  As the boys get older they have either blazers or sweaters with white shirts and ties.  They really look sharp as they are walking back to their little homes.

 This is a common scene.  Women and children do most of the hauling and often on their heads whether it is buckets of water or loads of firewood sticks.  Notice the babies tied on the back.  They use blankets or even towels and tie one end around their upper torso and the other around their waists.  Babies seem quite content as I am sure it is a type of swaddling that they are very used to.  This was in a rural area in the south of Swaziland.

 Mhlosheni, Swaziland, a small rural village typical of much of Swaziland.  There are numerous people shopping at the little stalls and vendors.  Seems that pictures really do not capture the scene adequately.

 We once again saw giraffes in the area that we first saw them on our first trip to Swaziland.  These are located just inside the border of South Africa.  The first time that we saw them they were much closer than these but they are always a treat to see.

This was our monkey trip as we saw probably over a hundred along side the road.  Our first trip there we saw only a couple.  Apparently they are getting fruit from trees along the highways.  They are much smarter than the jackrabbits of Harney County.  We have never seen one dead on the highway.

Just as the sun was setting Friday evening on our way home, we were looking for a place to eat and chanced upon the this setting.  This is the mouth of the Uthukela River.  You cannot see them very well but there were a number of fishermen out on the sand spit.