Blogs from Africa - page 2965

It has been a wonderful week to conclude the beautiful adventure that I have had over the past two months. Time has gone by too quickly and I do not feel ready to leave. Having said that, I don't think I'd ever be completely ready to leave these children that I have become so fond of and the friends I have made. I have learned and experienced far more in the short time that I have been here than I could have asked for. Such a mixture of emotions...there's things that I have found difficult and frustrating and things I have found to upset me; things that have touched me and things that have had me in hysterics. Lulutho does not understand and asks why do I have to leave, why doesn't James just come here ... read more

Hi there, Well, we just got back from our day around Cairo. Wow. Wow. Wow. Ooops......sorry.......I had promised myself I would find another word or two to use because you are probably getting tired of WOW. Ok, how about, beautiful, eye-opening, amazing, incredible, ageless reality, dusty, smog galore, lots of people, fantastic, surreal! Anyway, what a day! We have some quiet time now and I want to finish up the blog on Kenya. I promised you a part on our visit to the Masai Mara village. So here goes. The tour group broke up into 3 different sections and headed to different villages (so we wouldn't overwhelm the people). We arrived and Benson was our "village guide". He was quite proficient in English and most gentle and understanding with our questions. It cost each of us ... read more

Victora Falls The end of this leg of overlanding with Kumuka is just about over. We have arrived in Victoria Falls, and have done all the the administration of upgrading rooms, changing money, etc, etc. We are what must qualify as the worst backpacker hostel that I have seen for several years. There is dog-shit all over the place, and three Great Dane cross something and a few cats to contend with. But there is plenty to do provided you have hard foreign currency. Nothing is cheap, but doing the deal in USD, GBP, ZAR, etc will ensure that you have a good price. Lonely Planet is right about the distinction between the official and unofficial exchange rates. Even with a sixty-five percent discount on the meal at one hotel if you paid in hard currency, ... read more

Version Francaise un peu plus bas. Hi everyone, Here are some final pictures of the safari in Zambia and Botswana. The safari ended in Lusaka last Wednesday and while everyone flew back to Europe I flew back to Johannesburg for a few days of rest before heading out to Zanzibar - which is where I am updating my blog. Yes Zanzibar is as amazing as I had fantasized, but you'll have to wait until the next blog to hear more and see pictures. As you can see on the pictures I took a micro light flight above Victoria Falls on our last day in Livingstone, it was very exhilarating and I felt incredibly light and vulnerable - but in a good way. It was at 7 in the morning, the light was beautiful, no wind and ... read more

Some answers to your questions. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to hear! Describe Kat’s house and her village. Kat is my closest PC neighbor. She lives in the village of Gongoret, 12 km from me. The village is sligtly larger than mine and has the luxury of daily taxis that go to Mamou. Everytime I travel, I am obligated to bike to Gongoret to get a taxi, for cars just don’t go all the way to my village. The cars leave Gongoret first thing in the morning, so I bike to Kat’s house the evening before and stay the night. Kat lives in a mud hut with a thatched roof. It’s composed of two walls that are concentric circles, forming an “inner circle” and an “outer circle” of the hut. The inner circle ... read more