The sands of time keep on blowing, but good friendships endure and indeed thrive, regardless of the distance over oceans or years.

Such is the friendship Katie and I have with Miguel and Mariana D’Almeida, our dear friends from Rio de Janeiro since 1976.  Mariana and Miguel lived in Rio at that time.  Katie had left South Africa to return to the USA in December of 1976, and I followed her there to propose to her.  She was staying with the D’Almeidas, and they were indeed the first to know that she accepted.  Over the years we remained good friends.  We visited each other in Lisbon and Columbus, we vacationed together in London, England, we frequently enjoy their company in New York City, and had the privilege in January 2011 to visit their beautiful vacation property in Corumbau, Bahia, Brazil.

Katie and I joined our friends, Richard and Lydia Wallace for a wonderful weekend at Miguel and Mariana’s vacation home. We were fortunate to meet Michael, Richard’s business associate, and also to spend the weekend and become friends with Pedro and Teresa, friends of Mariana and Miguel from Portugal. A bonus of the weekend was to meet and become friends with Clement and Adriana, a couple from Rio de Janeiro who own a large estate just down the beach from Miguel and Mariana.

We had the time of our life!

Photo Albums

Click on the image below to visit the Photo Gallery:

Brazil Corumbau 2011 01

Brazil Sao Paolo 2011 01

Movie

I also put together a short video of our adventure.  

Click on the thumbnail above to be directed to the Photo and Movies Gallery on my MobileMe website. Some of the videos are uploaded in large format, which takes just a little longer to load, but which makes the viewing more pleasurable.  You may want to wait a couple of minutes before playing it, or allow the download to catch up.  if the video stops, just wait a short while and then press play or the space bar to continue.  Where available, you may click on the Medium format – it should stream with no problem.  You will need QuickTime 7.2 which you can download for free before playing the video.

Tanzania Safari – March 2008

Please scroll down for photos and movies or click on the image to go directly to my MobileMe Photo and Movies Galleries

Hans Brekke at Lake Manyara National Park

An African Safari is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most people.  Katie and I, along with our kids, have visited the exotic game reserves of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe frequently, and love that part of the world.  We have led several Safaris ourselves and have had the priviledge of seeing our American friends fall in love with Africa during our Southern Discovery trips to Southern Africa.  (Please see my archive of our previous New Trekker Adventure Safaris)

An African Safari allows one to explore the astonishing diversity of landscapes, abundant wildlife and fascinating cultures of this continent.  After climbing Kilimanjaro in March, 2008, the climbers were joined by our spouses, and Katie and I were pleased to go on a Safari with  Tommy and Yuki Grové, Hans and Natalie Brekke, Mike and Barb Cantlin, Brian and Julie Nocco, and Al and Kathy Wilson.

Dust Bath in Lake Manyara National Park

We visited the great national parks of Northern Tanzania: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, as well as the Oldovai Gorge where Leakey first discovered Lucy.  The vast open plains of the Serengeti with the greatest diversification and largerst concentration of wildlife in the world and the annual migration was an unforgettable sight.  The giraffe and eleohant herds in Lake Manyare spectacular.  And the other-worldly, almost Jurrasic nature of the Ngorongoro Crater a life-long memory.

While we are partial to the intimacy and beauty of a Southern Africa safari, this experience in the Serengeti and the rest of Tanzania is simply unfogettable.  I might add that Hoopoe Safaris, arranged by Tusker Trail did an excellent job.

Tanzania Safari (Slideshow)

African Sunset

Click on the thumbnail above to be directed to the Photo and Movies Gallery on my MobileMe website. Some of the videos are uploaded in large format, which takes just a little longer to load, but which makes the viewing more pleasurable.  You may want to wait a couple of minutes before playing it, or allow the download to catch up.  if the video stops, just wait a short while and then press play or the space bar to continue.  Where available, you may click on the Medium format – it should stream with no problem.  You will need QuickTime 7.2 which you can download for free before playing the video.

Tanzania Safari (Original Photos)

Serengeti Romance

There are four albums.  Click on the image above and look for the following albums in the gallery:

Safari Willie Canon 1

Safari Willie Canon 2

Safari Mike

Safari Julie

Safari Yuki

Safari Willie and Katie Olympus

Click on the thumbnail below to be directed to the Photo and Movies Gallery on my MobileMe website. Some of the videos are uploaded in large format, which takes just a little longer to load, but which makes the viewing more pleasurable.  You may want to wait a couple of minutes before playing it, or allow the download to catch up.  if the video stops, just wait a short while and then press play or the space bar to continue.  Where available, you may click on the Medium format – it should stream with no problem.  You will need QuickTime 7.2 which you can download for free before playing the video.

Christmas in New York – 2010

Christmas 2010 had to have been one of the most wonderful Christmases we as a family has experienced.  Katie and I spent almost two weeks in New York at our apartment.  We were joined by Tommy and Yuki with our dear grandson, Ryusei. and Katie’s 90-year-old mother, Grace Tharp, came in from Florida on Thursday before Christmas, and was going to stay until Sunday after Christmas.  Of course, we had the big snow storm which wreaked havoc on the airline schedules, and she was unable to get out until Friday, almost a week later. What a bonus it was to have her for those extra days!  I was fortunate to stay until the Monday after New Year’s, and Tommy, Yuki and Ryusei did not have to return to San Francisco until Tuesday.  And with Dan and Jessica here, the picture was complete and perfect.

On Christmas Eve afternoon Katie babysat while Tommy, Yuki, Grandma Grace and I went to see  “A Little Night Music” which is the show Jessica was doing on Broadway, with Bernedette Peters and Elaine Stritch.  What a fantastic show!  Then we all met at Jessica and Dan’s apartment for a lovely evening of fun and wine and cheese.

On Christmas day we had presents and then a lovely Christmas lunch at our apartment.  In the evening all of us went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.  The show was, well, spectacular.  After the show we were treated to a back-stage tour by one of Jessica’s friends, and Ryusei got to pet the camels.  We then went to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, had dinner, and sent Jessica off to do her Christmas evening performance of her  show.

The next day, Sunday, we went up to Jessica and Dan’s neigborhood for brunch at Popovers, and walked back in what turned out to be a major snow storm pushing Mother’s wheel  chair and Ryusei’s stroller.  The next couple of days we enjoyed New York in a way that was very special for all of us. Granny Scoot (Grace) was such a trooper.  We bundled her up and took her EVERYWHERE in that 4×4 wheelchair we had!  Snow, sidewalks covered in up to two feet in places… nothing deterred her.  And how much fun we had with Ryusei in his first snow!

Katie and I went to see la Fanciulla del West, one of my favorite Puccini operas at the Metropolitan Opera.  On Monday I left, Tommy, Yuki, Dan and Jessica went to see Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Met.

Thank you so much to my kids and most of all to Katie for making this such a wonderful Christmas.

Click on the photo above

Finally, I put some of my slides and video of our Kilimanjaro climb together.

This was a pinnacle adventure in my life – a profound experience. After seven days of incredible beauty, breathtaking vistas, almost impossible hiking and climbing through five different climatic zones, I was standing on top of the highest peak in Africa, the largest free-standing mountain in the world. It gave me an unimaginable feeling of awe and accomplishment. It will take me a long time to come down from this mountaintop!

This is the story of the dangers, the challenges and the triumphs of a group of ten friends, led by the able guides of Tusker Trail on a nine day adventure to the top of Africa and back down.

I will live the rest of my life with the dream of Kilimanjaro fulfilled.

Click on the thumbnail below to be directed to the Photo and Movies Gallery on my MobileMe website. Some of the videos are uploaded in large format, which takes just a little longer to load, but which makes the viewing more pleasurable.  You may want to wait a couple of minutes before playing it, or allow the download to catch up.  if the video stops, just wait a short while and then press play or the space bar to continue.  Where available, you may click on the Medium format – it should stream with no problem.  You will need QuickTime 7.2 which you can download for free before playing the video.

This adventure has been chronicled in a coffee-table book entitled Kilimanjaro! avaiable online.  Just click on the book cover below for a full preview of the book on-line.