Blogs from Africa - page 2698

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Africa » Kenya » Rift Valley Province July 8th 2007

05.07.07 I finally worked out how to retrieve my own telephone number. When it comes to cell phones I am hopeless. So here it is: +254 -721811312 . The campsite Fish eagle Inn is quite nicely situated directly at the lake. Again we are impressed how green and lush the environment is. The campsite is a well maintained lawn directly bordering the lake. At night we hear the hypos grunting and during the day a flock of Marabou birds are wandering around the camp almost as close as you could touch them. In long serious steps they march up and down the lawn and now and then take off with a loud flapping sound. Verves monkeys play in the trees and curiously examine our landi. They are not as aggressively pinching ones food as the ... read more
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Africa » South Africa » Limpopo July 8th 2007

So its been a while....some wait with batied breath for each post (I call them my parents..) while the rest get pissed at the email SPAM that drops into your inbox each time I make an entry...to mom and dad: Here ya go...to the rest of you..its prob sun morning what else do you have to do? Yesterday we all piled into the back of our Bukke (Afrikaans for pick-up truck) and headed out to the village the Engineering students are working in...they needed to d some work on their project while the rest of us wanted to go along for the rid and see some of he country and what they'd been working on for the last 3 weeks... Their project is a Bio-digester..or biodisgestor..I have no idea...anyways basiclly its a big plastic sack in ... read more

Africa » Kenya » Western Province » Bungoma July 8th 2007

While I've been here in East Africa, I've been exposed to the world of NGOs... where everyone talks in acronyms and comes together for a good cause. Well, the second part is up for debate because in the past month and a half, I've started to develop some mixed feelings about NGOs and whether some countries are better off without its help. I can't help but wonder if NGOs and aid work is actually detrimental to the development and sustainability of a 3rd world country. For one, the administrative costs that goes into these projects are ludicrous. I met a really nice Canadian engineer who was stationed in the DRC to develop a water system for a local village. The amount of administrative costs that Evelyn described absolutely stunned me. For one, they needed to remodel ... read more
Class
the nicer mud huts
Recess

Africa July 8th 2007

I am sorry I have not made regular entries. I have had many exciting experiences. I attended a wake and a funeral about a week ago. The deceased was a young man who had died of sickle cell. He was 28 years old. His body was taken from the morgue to his home to be prepared by the family for viewing. This was done in a procession with a group of people following the corpse car. There were drums, singing, and dancing. A female family member was even wearing the deceased clothes to represent him in the procession. During the wake, there was also much singing and dancing. However, there were also many tears at the same time. The next day, I was taken to the home to view the body. He was laid out on ... read more

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Port Elizabeth July 8th 2007

We woke at 7:30 and had a quick cup of tea (thinking about you several times a day, AEFS!!) and cleaned up. We had time for another stroll throught the oranges, and we had permission to pick where the pickers had already been. We plucked 10 lovely oranges, and ate one right there in the orchard. Cold, sweet, juicy--definitely the freshest orange we had ever eaten. What a neat experience. A delicious "farm breakfast" was waiting for us, and when were all done, we headed sadly off. Lupus Den gets our highest recommendation for warmth, hospitality, and heavenly food! Our next stop was at Kromme River, home of our old PE family friends, Ted and Margie Dersley. On a whim, they retired to their river-front cottage, and set up a guest lodge with (isn't this ... read more
The Kromme

Africa » Morocco » Meknès-Tafilalet » Todra Gorge July 8th 2007

Driving into Todra Gorge is similar to venturing into Zion National Park, one feels very small! Our hotel had a pool and we couldn't be more excited that most of us jumped in before even checking in! By this time, most of us had either some stomach problems or a lot. The options to hike the Gorge or go rock climbing was not an option. But I was feeling pretty good and decided to go climbing. I have never been rock climbıng but I fıgured what the hell, I am strong and it ıs the best rock climbıng in Morocco! So me and my guide, Yussef were on our way after gettıng all the gear and a short safety briefing. First he would go up and set up all the rope and the clips then ıt ... read more

Africa » South Africa July 8th 2007

Hello everyone! I know I know and I am very very sorry!! It has been a long hot month in Asia and I have spent the last week and a half just resting and relaxing in Sydney and I havent told you guys anything when there is soooooo much to say and show you! First off, I left my photos behind in Cape Town due to a little mistake I made in the am/pm departure time department which led to a very hungover.... well, drunk actually, rush to pack and make an early plane. And what can I say, a blog entry just isnt a blog entry without the photographs! These ones I have managed to get up arent the half of them and I will hopefully get an entry in the end with all my ... read more
Mt. Kilimanjaro
Lake Malawi
Afrikaans Museum

Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Giza July 8th 2007

Well, I left Mumbai bearing a course through London en route to Cairo, after a short delay, two full baggage searches and one full body search in India, I was on my way. I landed in London to find the most sincere and polite airport staff I have encountered to date. I strolled through customs, enjoying the pure anonymity brought with the European world. I was so use to being accosted as soon as I landed, that it felt a little strange to be ignored, but I did relish in the fact that no was trying to sell me anything. Toby was there to meet me as I exited the airport. It was great to see him! And he whisked me away for a whirlwind 8 hours in London. We walked out of the airport ... read more
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Africa » Tanzania » North » Mwanza July 8th 2007

Hello again Well we finally made it back into Mwanza to get back into civilization haha close enough anyways. we have a cell phone now, so you can call us! it won't cost us anything, even though we thought it might. hopefully it won't cost you a fortune, but i don't care, call us anytime! to call us from canada dial 011 255 786 589 647 the best time to call would be in the afternoons, which is early morning at home. it hardly ever works at night, and we sleep from about 4pm to midnight newfoundland time. i want to hear from everyone and anyone! haha i'm sure i've forgotten half of what we've done this week, but i'll try to recap nicely. what a week! we spent a few days in mwanza after the ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Mount Kilimanjaro July 7th 2007

Still alive, and doing well. Summitting Kilimanjaro and viewing game in the safari have taken all of my time in the past 2 weeks. East Africa is not known for its internet capacity so this is my only chance to tell my tale. On route to China now, which means only 1 week left in this 2 months journey. San Franciscans, I'll see you next Friday! Below is a daily account of my climbing journal followed by brief descriptions of the safari. Unfortunately I did not have the time to learn and appreciate Tanzania's amazing culture and history, aside from a quick stop at a remote Maasai village, which reminded me much of Tibet villages, especially in smell. Kilimanjaro Day 1 - Machame gate / 18km, 4.5 hr, 2980m highest alt Machame route is the ... read more
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