Well, we're in New Orleans delighting in my role as "Abuelita". My little granddaughter, Zoraya, is so adorable I can hardly stand it and it will be hard to leave. I've included a photo of her sitting in the 150 year old high chair that my sister gave me when my son, Jebney, was born. It was a little over 100 years old at that time. She appears to be having a great time trying to eat some beets and painting herself red in the process. We have another week here and then will see her again in Seattle where they will be joining us to celebrate my sister's 75th birthday. But now......back to Africa....

Oct. 12

The next day Harrison picked us up in his tuk-tuk and took us to the nearby village of Gede to visit the Gedi ruins, one of the many medieval Swahili-Arab coastal settlements that stretch from Mogadishu, Somalia to the Zambezi River in Mosambique. Of the 116 known Swahili sites, Gedi has been one of the most intensely excavated and studied since the rediscovery of the ruins by colonialists in the 1920's. The site of Gedi includes a walled town and its outlying area. All of the standing buildings, which include mosques, a palace, and numerous houses, are one-story, made from stone, and are distributed unevenly in the town. There are also large open areas where stone "pillar tombs", a distinctive type of Swahili Coast architecture, have also been found.

Gedi's location along the coast and association with other similar sites along the Swahili Coast made it an important trade center . Although there are few historical documents specifically associating Gedi with Indian Ocean trade, the site is thought to have been one of the most important sites along the coast. Gedi's architecture and an abundance of imported material culture including pottery, beads, and coins provide evidence of the city's rising prosperity over the course of its occupation from as early as the eleventh century to its abandonment in the early seventeenth century.

Our guide spoke good English, had a great sense of humor and was very knowledgeable about the history of the ruins as well as the flora and fauna of the area. I was fascinated by the 2,000 year old baobab that he showed us and that looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. This majestic tree, an icon of the African continent and the source of many traditional African remedies and folklore, is a prehistoric species which predates both mankind and the splitting of the continents over 200 million years ago. Native to the African savannah, baobab trees grow in 32 African countries . They can live for up to 5,000 years, reach up to 30 meters high and up to an enormous 50 meters in circumference. Over time, the baobab has adapted to its environment and, because it is a succulent, it can absorb and store water in its vast trunk, during the rainy season, enabling it to produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season when everything around it is extremely dry and arid. Because of this, the baobab tree became known as "The Tree of Life".

Legend has it that a mighty god had a baobab within his gardens in paradise. He grew annoyed with the baobab arrogantly displaying its beautiful foliage and flung it from paradise to the earth below. It landed upside down, with its roots jutting into the sky and its beautiful foliage buried beneath the ochre earth. This taught the tree and those who witnessed it humility, and this is why it's also known as the upside down tree

Towards the end of our tour of the Gedi Ruins, our guide caught site of a golden rumped elephant shrew hiding in the bushes . This strange looking little African mammal looked like an elephant but was about the size of a rat. It’s the largest species of the elephant shrew family and is classified as endangered species. The Sykes monkeys, also known as the white-throated monkey or Sanmango monkey, were my favorite and our guide seemed to have a special relationship with them. As we were leaving the grounds, several of them gathered around us and one climbed up onto his shoulder. Reluctantly, he handed this fury creature over to Bill and then, I took him from Bill. They were beautiful and very friendly, unlike some of the very aggressive monkeys we had encountered on our travels. Although the Gedi Ruins paled compared to the ruins in Egypt, all in all, it was a very enjoyable day and well worth the visit. We returned to Ruby Hall for another afternoon of relaxation and good food prepared by our wonderful Joseph.