http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/AnneMarie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from AnneMarie en-us Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:19:49 UTC Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:19:49 UTC Our last couple of weeks in Africa were a bit surreal. Once we hit Namibia it was like being in Europe again. It was kind of scary really it was too much like home I had to finally admit to myself that it was all nearly over.We crossed in to South Africa on the 24th of September. Our last border crossing our last passport stamp our last currency change our last countryWe took in the obliga http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-209541.html While we saw next to no wildlife in West Africa the stretch of EastSouthern Africa from Kenya to Namibia was overrun with it In this area itrsquos not even necessary to visit a national park or reserve for game viewing. Itrsquos common to see giraffe zebra baboons and countless stunning birds while driving along. In fact some of our best wildlife encounters were in our campsites and no http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Namibia/Etosha-National-Park/blog-209529.html A chain of eight volcanoes known as the Virunga Volcanoes forms part of the border between Uganda Democratic Republic of Congo formerly Zaire and Rwanda. These mountains are the last refuges of the 600 or so remaining mountain gorillas.We travelled to the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC to meet one just of these amazing families. After 3 hours of trekking and t http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Congo-Democratic-Republic/blog-209523.html Famous for the famine of 198485Famous for barren land desert and deathFamous for images of malnourished children with distended belliesFamous as the inspiration for the worldrsquos greatest charity effort Live AidFamous for conflict and war with EritreaForget everything you imagine Ethiopia to be and every preconception it's nothing like the image you most likely have in your head Ethiopia http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Ethiopia/Addis-Ababa-Region/Addis-Ababa/blog-209425.html We arrived in Cameroon on the worst roads I've ever experienced. Crossing the border from Nigeria on a Thursday morning it was Saturday before we arrived in the city of Douala a grand total of 400km in 2 and a half days The dirt roads here are rendered impassable at times in the rainy season and one local described them to us as bad beyond human comprehension he hit the nail on the head th http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Cameroon/West/Douala/blog-166248.html Well this isnrsquot exactly how Irsquod planned to write my blog but unfortunately itrsquos the way itrsquos panned out Lack of internet access lack of bandwidth when you do have the internet one dialup connection shared between four people anybody and lack of electricity through constant power cuts over the last 6 weeks or so mean that its been impossible to keep up to date wit http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Nigeria/Calabar/blog-149541.html Since I left you in Morocco I've travelled south from Marrakech and on to Mauritania via the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Western Sahara as I found out was invaded by Morocco in 1975 resulting in a 16 year long guerilla war against the occupation. There's been a ceasefire for ages now but for the last 15 years the locals have been waiting to vote in a referendum to decide on indep http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Mauritania/Trarza/Nouakchott/blog-149539.html Hello at last from Morocco So to fill you in on what's been happening since I left Ireland if I can figure out how to work this arabic keyboard ... nightmare I left Ireland just over 2 weeks ago and flew to Marbella Spain where I was to meet my 15 travelling buddies for the next 6 months. A great mix of ages and nationalities yet everybody has similar interests and seem to get on surpri http://www.travelblog.org//Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-140913.html According to the Cariocas as Rio's residents are known God didnt rest on the seventh day he made Rio And you can see where they're coming from Rio is without doubt the most beautiful city I've ever visited. It's home to some of the most iconic sights in the world from the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to the towering Cristo Redentor statue Sugar Loaf mountain and the infamous fave http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-133430.html Here's the Argentina and Uruguay entry courtesy of Catherine and Patricks blogIn this episode Cat and Pat are joined by Annemarie Cats little sister. They visit the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Once arriving in Buenos Aires after travelling up the east coast of Argentina it feels like entering a whole new country. This city is all grand boulevards huge colonial mansions and stunn http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-133429.html Wow its a busy week Actually it would be if I got around to doing anything. As it is my head is just busy but nothing is getting done So here I am in Letterkenny Co. Donegal up in the northwest of Ireland. Letterkenny originated as a small fishing village and has grown to be the largest town in the north west. Strange then that they don't have a fishmongers ... Anyway as the tourism webs http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/Ireland/County-Donegal/Letterkenny/blog-124394.html