THE GREENEST CONTINENT

For everyone that knows me, it is only appropriate that I start my online international dialogue regarding the landscape of Africa... the greenest continent... the driest continent... the hottest continent... open and big. If I had to describe the places i've been in one word, it would be that... big. Everything here seems to be on its own scale- the sky is number one. Especially when the land is flat, I have never felt such an immense overhead sky, stretching on forever in all directions. It feels low and heavy, but expansive and never ending at the same time.
From the lounge car window on my train from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya (Tanzania) is where I noticed it first. We went through African grassland savannah- National Geographic worthy. I felt like I was staring at an interactive 70" tv screen with Animal Planet on, but with real sound effects and a muggy breeze. The flat-topped Acacia trees brought me to Africa completely, with shabby bushes and clumps of grasses dotting the horizon. I almost thought I was hallucinating the giraffes I saw, out of habit from seeing them on tv so many times. They just looked so appropriate, as did the elephants and impala! I couldn't believe I was here, really seeing this with my own eyes! A huge deal for the "Treehugging Dirt Worshipper" and the one who was voted "Most Likely to Open his Own Recycling Center" by his high school classmates!
But that's not all East Africa includes- it is not all savannah and wildebeast migrations. I arrived in the dry season, and it's DRY! Everything looks dead burnt- and uninteresting. It doesn't help when you're sweating at a rate of 2 liters an hour! I especially noticed it in Malawi- a very long country known for its lake (aptly named Lake Malawi- where you are almost 100% guaranteed to get Bilarzhia... blood flukes), it's rank as 8th poorest country in the world, and it's AIDS epidemic. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get there! Unfortunately, the world has not been introduced to its people- they would definitely turn the reputation around. More on that later.
Malawi was hot and dry... again, DRY! It is at the tail end of the Rift Valley, stretching all the way from Sudan/Chad/Ethiopia- and the environment has some truly deep-seeded history in our evolutionary past. Randomly scattered across the horizon, as far as I can tell, are free standing rocks- big enough to be considered as hills and small mountains. They give some interesting relief to the flat plains, and look especially attractive at sunset.
Mozambique- in terms of wilderness, this was my favorite country so far on the trip. We drove through BUSH- and African bush is serious hinterland! From the border crossing 200 km west of Cuamba (infamous for theft and lazy, crooked cops- I promise not to revisit this) we drove through the African backcountry. Huge palms, acacia trees, banana trees, mango trees, grasses 10' tall- it is dense, green, thick, and amazing. In the northern areas we traveled, mountains rose out of these forests like icebergs in the North Atlantic- unpredictable, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, some sharp and jagged, others rounded and smooth- and stretching as far in the distance as we could see. Some had waterfalls, others tropical forest, the rest completely empty save rock and stone... again, the nature lover... naturally, in love. I had some amazing pictures- I think someone in Nampula is enjoying those right now...
The more time I've spent here, the more I've learned about the natural landscape- mainly the variety it offers. Africa is definitely a place you cannot judge by its cover- if you come here in the dry season and do not wait for the rains, you will have an unfortunate view of this beautiful land. Similarly, the rainy season can drown even the most skilled naturalist. I have been lucky to see the transition- from dry to wet, lack to abundance, brown to green- this transition makes both seasons that much more bearable... that much more African.