Blogs from Africa - page 3366

Climbing the tallest mountain in Africa is no piece of cake, but it has been done by thousands if not millions of people. In my review on the Marangu Route, I did mention that it is not a climb that should be attempted without a guide. This review is about the toughest and most difficult route to Uhuru peak (the summit of Kilimanjaro). Mountain Kilimanjaro towers over 19,300 feet above sea level (19,340 to be exact), making it the tallest free standing mountain in the world. By the time I attempted climbing to Uhuru peak using the Machame Route, I had climbed the Marangu 4 times. The Machame route has incredible scenery, with amazing backdrops the higher in altitude one gets. The different vegetation is what makes it the most scenic of the two popular routes: ... read more

1998 Nosy Komba Having spent ten days on board Bossi, with most of our decisions being made for us it was a bit of a jolt to now do our own thing where very little English is spoken. It was like having our safety net pulled out from under us. Komba didn't quite have the pristine beaches we frequented the last ten days. No problem, because we would be experiencing a different side of Madagascar. We first needed to find a place to stay overnight so that we could put down our heavy bags and found a little place consisting of reed huts. Pretty although very basic inside, but came with mosquito nets which were essential. It was going to be strange for us to be sleeping on land again, as we all still felt as ... read more

1998 First day on board Bossi and we left our overnight mooring spot heading south of Nosy Bé. Our holiday had started and as the boat moved, exhaustion took over from excitement and lack of sleep. Jacques and Philip took a catnap. That didn't last long though, because while we were moving we put fishing lures in the water and started trawling, We decided to take turns to catch fish and Jacques was first, seeing that he is the most ardent fisherman in the family. The first wzzz was heard as something took the line and Jacques jumped up, grabbed the rod and started reeling the fish in - quite exhausting as it took a while with the fish putting up quite a fight, but once it was reeled in, someone had a very wide and ... read more

The year was 1998 and life was getting a bit hectic and we needed to get away and we could manage a two week break. Our sons by now were teenagers. Which destination could we choose? Somewhere with a beach and sea, was the general consensus. Mauritius? No, we felt it too commercialised for our taste, besides Paul and I had been there already. But so many other suggestions turned out to be above our price range. Paying for four people can really stretch the budget. Eventually after much deliberation we decided on Madagascar. Why on earth Madagascar? Well, so the story goes: Some months before this, I found an advertisement in a newspaper: Electrician required on Indian ocean island 6 month contract.... Tempting as it was, Paul said, if he wasn't married, with children and ... read more

Spent a week in Cairo, teaching and installing. very bizarre experience... read more