Oh the Places I’ve Gone in 2014

It’s been a great travel year for me and I am grateful for the opportunities, new friends, old friends and for a family that supports me.

In 2014 I returned to a country I love – South Africa, not once but twice! I visited in May and my dad came along. I also returned in November and my family (husband, 4yo & 9yo sons) came with! My dad joined us a week later. My visits to South Africa are always so inspiring and wonderful and never long enough.

St. James Beach - Cape Town, South Africa.
St. James Beach – Cape Town, South Africa May 2014. This image was chosen to appear in Pocket Vistas, a Mobile Photography exhibition of Landscape, Nature & Wildlife.
Sons & penguins at Boulder's Beach in Cape Town, South Africa.
My sons & penguins at Boulder’s Beach in Cape Town, South Africa November 2014.
My son enjoyed seeing the penguins and playing in the water at Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa.
My son checking out the view at Boulder’s Beach May 2014. Both my boys enjoyed seeing the penguins and playing in the water. Cape Town, South Africa.
Street art in the Woodstock neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa.
Street art in Woodstock. Cape Town, South Africa November 2014.
Zebra in Black and White. Taken with my Olympus em1 mirrorless camera while on safari in South Africa. .
Zebra in Black and White. Taken with my Olympus em1 mirrorless camera & M.Zuiko 40-150mm 2.8 pro lens while on safari in South Africa with Naledi Enkoveni December 2014.
Bird silhouettes against a South African sunset. Taken with my Olympus em1 & 40-150mm 2.8 pro lens.
Bird silhouettes against a South African sunset. Taken with my Olympus em1 & 40-150mm 2.8 pro lens while on safari with Naledi Enkoveni December 2014.

The reason for my return to South Africa was because of a women’s mobile photography development initiative I founded and started there in November 2013, The Heart of a Woman Project. I visited in May to launch phase 2 and my father came with to meet the ladies and offer some help. I returned once more in November to celebrate our 1st anniversary with an exhibition and cultural celebration and was very happy to have my husband & 2 sons (9 & 4) with me.

The Heart of a Woman Project South Africa
The Heart of a Woman Project South Africa #thoawSA May 2014.
An instameet in Khayelitsha with Instagramers Cape Town and the ladies from thoawSA.
An inaugural #instameetEKASI in Khayelitsha with Instagramers Cape Town and the ladies from thoawSA June 1, 2014. Photo by Ockie Fourie.
A collage of the women's work over the last year. The Heart of a Woman Project.
A collage of the women’s work over the last year on display at eKhaya eKasi, The Heart of a Woman Project. Debuted at the 1st anniversary exhibition & cultural celebration November 2014.
My 4 yo learning isiXhosa games from the kids in the eKhaya eKasi community. We spent 6 days there. They played with the kids while I taught.
My 4 yo son learning isiXhosa games from the kids in the eKhaya eKasi community. We spent 6 days there in November 2014. They played with the kids while I taught the ladies and they can’t wait to return.

On the way to South Africa, we had an overnight layover in London, England. Mostly we stayed near the airport in hopes that my sons would adjust a bit to the time difference so they could handle the further 2 hour difference between GMT and SAST. It seemed to work and they adjusted well. It also helped to avoid 2 back to back overnight flights. We took off to Windsor  before checking in for our flight. Windsor was about 25 minutes from Heathrow, it’s a quaint town and a good layover visit. We saw Windsor Castle from the outside only and had lunch in a local pub. It was my son’s 1st visit to Europe, we’ll have to go back for a proper one.

My sons in front of Windsor Castle, a layover stop before our flight to South Africa.
My sons in front of Windsor Castle, a layover stop before our flight to South Africa November 2014.
Gemma, Andrea, Kelly & Mariellen - WeGoSolo
Gemma, Andrea, Kelly & Mariellen of WeGoSolo at Women’s Travel Fest in New York, NY March 2014.

I went to New York City in March for the Women’s Travel Fest and again in October for National Geographic Traveler’s seminar on Storytelling Photography with Ami Vitale and Melissa Farlow, two well respected National Geographic photographers. I’ve been a professional photographer since 2003 and have been following Ami’s incredible work since that time. It was great to meet her in person and to learn from her.

New York is a great city for solo travel and I love to see a show on broadway, discover a restaurant and observe what’s happening around the city. While walking back to my hotel after seeing a show on Broadway, I came across this scene in Times Square. At first it was just this young man with his sign and then this half dressed man came by and started dancing, things got interesting.

Only in New York City?
Only in New York City? October 2014.

I am also grateful to have been able to get in a short visit but with quality time with dear friends in Vancouver (my home away from home) and Saskatoon in Canada in April.

Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver.
Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver April 2014
Saskatoon, Canada
Saskatoon, Canada April 2014.

Between all the travel both solo and with family, I also managed to visit some our family favourites nearer to home – Niagara Falls in February and June and the Kawartha Lakes in August.

The American Falls as seen from the Canadian side. Visited Niagara Falls with the family on Family Day.
The American Falls as seen from the Canadian side. Visited Niagara Falls with the family on Family Day February 2014.
My oldest son enjoying the view in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.
My oldest son enjoying the view in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario at a cottage we rented for a week August 2014.
Sons enjoying a ride on the Skywheel in Niagara Falls.
Sons enjoying a ride on the Skywheel in Niagara Falls June 2014. We had an overnight there shortly after I returned from South Africa.

Lastly, I added 2 new cities to my travels, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico in July. I was in Santa Fe for the International Folk Art Market that hosts artisans from around the world. From their website – “Celebrates the humanity of the handmade that empowers communities through monumental earnings.”

There were so many talented artists with their incredible handmade work. It was like travelling around the world in a day. The highlights were visiting the artists and learning more about the work from Myanmar (Burma), South Africa and Haiti. I met a man and his family that represents the last 30 puppeteers of Myanmar. It’s a dying tradition that dates back 600 years. You can read about it here.

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Fabrics from Myanmar.
Fabrics from Myanmar at IFAM July 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baskets made of telephone wire in South Africa.
Baskets made of telephone wire in South Africa at IFAM July 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Art from Haiti, with a strong belief in voodoo.
Art from Haiti, with a strong belief in voodoo at IFAM July 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Puppeteer from Myanmar
Puppeteer from Myanmar, a 600 year tradition at IFAM July 2014 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I also got a chance to drive a bit of Route 66 in Albuquerque.

Route 66 - Albuquerque, New Mexcio.
Route 66 – Albuquerque, New Mexico July 2014.
Route 66 - Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Route 66 – Albuquerque, New Mexico July 2014.

It’s been great to go through my photos of the last year and relive some memories. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some images from the destinations I visited in 2014.

Sharing 2 quotes I love and perfect for starting the new year –

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Wishing you new beginnings, magic, dreams and safe travels in 2015, the best is yet to come!

Until next time,

Andrea

…and my wandering iPhone