Arnold Palmer designed the Running Y Resort golf course about 25 years ago. Today it’s a matured course with great landscaping and challenging fairways and holes. The Oregon Tech Athletic Department held its annual fundraiser golf tournament at Running Y on Monday. My son, the men’s soccer coach, showed some great form as he plied the course.
I have been wandering parts of Europe for the last month: Italy, Monaco, France and Switzerland. I almost didn’t go to Switzerland, but that would have been a huge mistake. I fell in love with the country immediately upon my arrival in Lugano, about an hour north of Milano, Italia. Located on serene Lake Lugano nestled between 1000 foot peaks, the town is heavily influenced by Italy and most people speak Italian but they are definitely Swiss. The country was celebrating Ascension Day (40 days after Easter). Stores are closed and in Lugano there is a big several day festival in the plaza on the lake.
However, for me the real treat was coming upon a group of skateboarders flying off a bank’s steps…usually landing, sometimes crashing. They weren’t local guys, they had taken a train four hours to get to Lugano to skateboard for the day…because Lugano had the only sunny day in Switzerland on Thursday. And if you are going to skateboard you need dry surfaces to do so…thus the four hour train trip. In the US, that would be like taking a train from Boston to New York City to skateboard. That’s commitment. Left to right are: Andy, Dominic1, Joschua, Marius, Jonas, and Dominic2. 
They are all really great guys; I really enjoyed watching them, photographing their stunts, and chatting with them about their lives and school. They are all 17 except Maxi, who is 14 and I can only assume he is the best boarder in the group, otherwise why would he be with guys 3 years older than he is? However, I couldn’t get him to show me his skills; he was busy videoing the others. I was impressed when I gave them my card to get the photos to them, I asked, “who is the head of the group?” Without hesitation they all said, “Andy.” Andy obviously has the respect of this mates. It’s great having close friends like this and create memorable times together.
Tahitians are a part of the ocean and the ocean is part of Tahitians. If it’s wet, they will swim in it, surf on it, paddle over it or sail on it. In spite of threatening clouds and even a few downpours this morning, local residents were out on the water. Canoeing is a national sport. Nearly every town in the islands has a team or club and it is always possible to find someone canoeing for practice or recreation…sometimes alone, sometimes in tandem, sometimes as a team, and sometimes with outriggers. Kids learn to surf at a young age here. I met a young guy of 4 going on 5 next week who has already been surfing out there the big guys catch the gnarly surf beyond the reef. Teahupo’o is known for its waves. Every few years they get massive ones and Billabong holds a world pro surfing contest here in August. Also in August the whales migrate by here. You can see them from shore and it is possible to swim with them. Yesterday, in a downpour one young guy had a boogie board and was skimming across a puddle in the middle of the road and enjoying himself immensely to the delight of this mates who were lined up to take their turn. Today, I woke to some guys out on the lagoon between the shore and the reef paddling in their canoes. I walked down to Teahupo’o’s beach in a drizzle. There were a bunch of girls and boys surfing. They were doing quite amazing twists and turns…at least to my eyes. I took some photos of them for them. At one point while taking photos I realized that my back was wet. When I turned around to see what was causing it…this is what I met.
For ten days I biked towns, deserts, winelands, headlands, capes, ravines, farmland, hills, gorges of the Western Cape of South Africa with a team from Vermont Biking Tours, old friends and new.
Our guides for the biking trip were Alan, the leader; Thomas, our botanist; Gareth, the bike trailer jockey and supply guy; and Hanif, our bus driver and all around good guy…they are all good guys. Here are a few photos of the guys.
Then there were my friends Jeff Coulson and Betsy Evans who where the ones to invite me to go with them to South Africa; I cannot thank them enough for opening up the continent to me.
Everyone else on the trip are new friends. Ritchie and Joel from Alaska, Steve and Rita from New Jersey, George from California, Karen and Ward also from California, Sue from Maine, John and Pat from Florida, Bob and Gayle from the Blue Ridge of Virginia and Bob and Nancy from Minnesota. We all got along well and really enjoyed the people and geography of South Africa.
It rained and rained and they were happy. We were happy for them. South Africa has been caught in a four year drought. There was a cyclone up in Mozambique and the spin off from that was making it rain in Thula Thula. But even with the rain the rivers weren’t flowing yet. The ground was absorbing it all. The wet roads did limit our driving tours of the preserve, however. The preserve was the private grounds of Zulu King Shaka about one hundred years ago. Today it is a private 500,000 acre endeavor to care for African animals, some endangered, particularly rhinos. The Thula Rhino Orphanage has been caring for young rhinos whose parents are poached for their horns by filthy rich Chinese who think that the rhino horns have some magic sexual power…idiots. But with 25% unemployment in South Africa the Chinese have plenty of people who are willing to risk their lives to poach for them. The last night we were there two poachers attacked the Orphanage and killed to baby rhinos for their one inch horns. There was a world outrage and now the Orphanage is guarded by US Marines. Thula Thula has a wide variety of animals: elephants, rhino, gazelle, zebra, antelope, wildebeest, giraffe, velvet monkeys, nyala, impala, steenbok, leopard, crocodile, Cape buffalo and various other animals. We didn’t get to see them all; two days to cover 500,000 acres isn’t adequate. The acquisition of elephants at Thula Thula is documented in the book The Elephant Whisperer, by Lawrence Anthony. Nanna the matriarch of the elephants who was the first elephant at Thula is still there. Her “bargaining” with Anthony is a great tale. You will notice that some of the elephants have a crook in their tales…these are offspring of Nanna who also has the crook in her tale.
Evan and Muzi were our guides both for our morning walks and afternoon drives.
Personal note: My trip to South Africa got me thinking about a lot of things. Firstly, I wasn’t at all sure I would be able to go nor should go on this trip. A year ago when my high school friend, Jeff Coulson and his wife, Betsy asked me to join them biking in South Africa, I was quite excited. Several months after booking the trip I got diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer. One of my major questions for the doctors was: “will I be able to bike around South Africa three months after having surgery to remove this thing?” They encouraged me to keep my appointment with Africa. However, as late February drew near, I had second thoughts. Would it be a waste if I couldn’t do all the riding? Would not riding give me a less than complete view of the country? Would I look like a weenie? I concluded that I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from going. I knew that if I didn’t go I would regret it. As it turned out, I was able to do the biking and completely enjoyed myself. It also told me don’t wait around for my end but go out and do what I have always wanted to do. Screw cancer! Please no notes of sympathy. Word of my death is premature.
My recent trip to South Africa began with several days with a wonderful family. My traveling companions, Jeff and Betsy Coulson, had an exchange student live with them back in the late 1980s. That boy is now an accomplished man in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. He has a family of his own…an extended family. Luthando comes from a very rural town of Indawana up in the hills of Kwazulu Natal. Not only does Luthando have his own children and wife, he has taken in the children of his brother who died of AIDS several years ago, he cares for his employees who run his transport company and he cares for his sisters. We spent three days with Luthando and got to meet all this family, if only briefly. Part of the problem for the briefness of our interaction, was that Luthando and his wife live about three hours apart. Not that they are estranged but out of economic necessity, Luthando lives in the large city of Pietersmaritzburg and his wife lives with some of the children in the village Indawana where she is an elementary school teacher.
Luthando, Jeff Coulson, Nonyaniso, Tebugo, Betsy (Coulson) Evans
Luthando and Nonyaniso with Tebugo
Manchester United 2 – Named after the iconic British Premier League team, this is local soccer/futbol team. These guys play when they can raise enough money to pay the other team. Whichever team wins the match wins the pot. It is one of the ways that men in this community of Indawana can make a living.
I have just returned from three weeks in South Africa on safari and bicycling. As I often do, I took many, many images; it’s going to take me a bit to edit and post them, plus some of my travel mates are going share some of their images here, too. So, come back soon to see a beautiful country.
October 24 in Manchester, NH began with an idyllic fall day of sun, crisp air and bountiful colors in the trees. Thousands converged on St Anselm College to hear Elizabeth Warren fire up the crowd in anticipation of Hillary Clinton’s talk to her supporters. Also in attendance where Colin Van Ostren, candidate for governor, Governor Maggie Hassan, candidate for US Senate, Annie Kuster and Carol Shea Porter, candidates for congress. Victory was in the air.
Paige Sutherland of New Hampshire Public Radio interviewed me for some incites on the campaign. Here is the link to her article and audio. Mike Munhall gives his opinion
Former President Bill Clinton visited the campus of Keene State College in Keene, NH today along with Governor Maggie Hassan (candidate for U.S. Senate) and Congresswoman Annie Kuster. Whilst giving the case for electing Hillary Clinton as president, a Trump heckler started making a fuss. Those near the disruption started to boo the heckler but not breaking stride with his talk, President Clinton said: “be nice to him, they have had a tough week” to the cheers of the crowd. Bill had the crowd well in hand for his whole talk. After, he walked the line to greet and take selfies with the crowd. My friend, State Rep Jon Manley and I had the good fortune to bump into Annie Kuster at Panera after the rally and chat for a few minutes.
Mike Munhall Photos 