Hattem

And this is one of my greatest friends from Sudan, Hattem Mohammed Abdalla (on the right). He is the one I bought my horse Nulla from back in 2009.

He has been a great source of Sudanese equine advice and support and lots of laughs over cups of tea along the way.  He's a great polo player and also happens to be a member of the Sudanese Tent-Pegging team who competed and won medals in India and Oman. He won an individual gold medal. He also supports lots of the younger boys and girls in the club with encouragement and advice. To me, he epitomises the great Sudanese spirit - greets everyone, no matter how new an acquaintance, with a huge smile and a big slapping handshake like they've been friends for life. 

Terrab

This is Terrab.

He looks after the horses in Khartoum. 

They love him. 

He is from South Darfur.
We have wonderful, joyful conversations together.

He does not speak a word of English and my Arabic is dismal... 

But we speak the language of horses. And that connects us. 

p.s. 'Miss Lilly' looks skinny here, yes. But it is because she was a new mama here and is still giving milk to her young filly, 'Rose'. She looks better these days :)

MLK

Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. day.

He really had a way with words.. 

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority.

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

Looking for that summit again...

I have been a bit down lately.  In my core I know this has been unjustified and indeed, self-indulgent.  What right do I have to allow melancholy into this wonderful adventure that is my life?  But these last couple of months here in South Darfur have been challenging for this lover of the outdoors..  As I have been trapped indoors.  The security situation around these parts has gone from dismal to.. worse? And consequently, my freedom of movement has gone down with it.  No more trips to the camps (did you notice a distinct lack of photographs of late??). No more field trips, helicopter rides or interacting with people and places that inspire. Not even walking outside is allowed, so we sit in a mini-van to commute the 3 minutes to the office.  Just office and home, home and office, office and home...and so forth, on and on....

I am struggling. And I am starting to question. Everything.  What are we doing here? Why are we here? What is our role? And then of course the big life questions... Should I be here? What else could I do? Where should I go? Who should I go there with ? Do I even have a home anymore? In the real sense of all that comes with that illustrious word 'home'? Where exactly is my heart these days? 

So what do I do?  Please tell me? Do you ever have these moments in life where you feel trapped?For now, I tend to look to my beloved mountains. And I let my mind wander to far away lands, to my past lives, to all the places my feet have trodden... Remind myself of my fortune that I possess - my past adventures. 

Machapuchare, 2007

I go back, back to a quiet cool of dawn run through the rice paddies in eastern Cambodian province. Or to crossing mountain passes that feel like a gateway to another world. Where the freshness of a Himalayan wind touches my face - winds that may have just danced off the face of Sagarmatha. Or back to galloping horses across Namibia, feeling wild and exhilarated and free.  Or simply to a bush campfire, as the Eucalypt's spark and crack into the night air..

We do not summit every day. Sometimes we are weak and the climb is arduous.  Sometimes the view is hazy and unclear, shielded in clouds.  But there is always promise for tomorrow.  And sometimes the clouds part and I think I can see the summit on the horizon.  And it is beautiful. 

Annapurna's 2007

"The paths we're walking on, they crumble behind us

But if we leave now, they will never find us

And if this crazy world spins itself down to dust, I want to be with you in the colours

When you again start hoping, with your arms wide open, 

Come on, dance with me, dance with me into the colours of the dusk. 

And all will be right, dancing like water with the light. 

Dance with me, won't you dance with me into the colours of the dusk? "

                                                          - Ben Harper, Into the Colours.

Hullo!

Island Days... Lamu, Kenya

.What a perfect way to spend the first week of a fresh new year.. 

By the sea... sailing in Dhows... eating fish and drinking passion-fruit juice. My life is truly blessed. 

Thanks to CCM for the Hipstamatics..  xx

Here's to a New Year, a New start, a Fresh Chance - to change the world..

(Borrowed from this Cute Blog I recently discovered)