Blogs from Africa

So today we are going through the Suez Canal which is one of my bucket list items WHY I have no idea but it is. I could have got up really early like other passengers did to see us enter the canal but to be honest did not quite make this so got up at a normal hour and saw we were already going through it. Well the Suez Canal is what I can describe as okay but not something I would rave about apart from the engineering of it - I cannot imagine how this could happen and how it was engineered. And time would tell that I had missed almost nothing by not getting up at the crack of dawn but I now know it was a spectacular sunrise so maybe I am wrong ... read more

So day two or is it, that is the question as I had a really bad night’s sleep. The air conditioning was so loud and coupled with that Mike decided that tonight he was going to snore like an elephant - not that I have heard an elephant snore, ha ha but I am sure Mike could have given a herd of elephants a run for their money. So up and a cup of tea (brewed by Mike as usual he told me to add haha) looking over this view, which is not a bad view to look over at in the morning. So off we go down to get breakfast and pass sun-beds with you guessed it towels on and no one sitting on them - the Germans are here. It is so funny as ... read more

So at the airport the day before flying staying in a hotel due to having to get a Covid PCR test 72 hours before getting onto the Star Clipper - what a ball ache this is as we do not need to have a test to get into Egypt or our final destination Greece - but hey ho we live in these uncertain times. We will be getting our results within 1 - 3 hours so at least if we are positive we won’t get onto our flight to Egypt, we might as well stay at home. I must admit I am getting a little bit excited which I was not earlier on in the week when I was a real stress head. Star Clippers kept on asking for a copy of my passport as they ... read more

I was really looking forward to cycling through the Atlas Mountains and I wasn't disappointed. The road to Taraoudant was flat. I was cycling parrallel to the mountain range. Sunlight reflecting of snow capped peaks. After Taraoudant with the road signs counting down the distance to Marrakech I really felt like I was on the last leg of this trip. Then came the last left turn and I turned to face the mountains. The climb started of quite gently and I made decent progress. It was only after the village where I stopped for coffee that the gradients really got steeper and I got more tired. There was no accommodation in the village so I pressed on. The shop keeper did offer me accommodation in the living quarters behind the shop, but it seemed I'd be ... read more

Friday morning was our monthly meeting with all of the community leaders, mentor parents, and peer mentors. The updates started with Madam Abby who is a very impressive mentor parent. She gave a 4 page report on her group including details about each member and many of the goals that the women have in her group. This includes the saving group they have started so they can have capital for their business goals. After Abby we heard from another group that is still struggling with how they can engage with RWO. Most of her questions were related to what RWO would give her members once their lessons were completed. Before RWO could answer, Madam Abby answered for us: RWO is giving you the biggest gift you can ask for: an education. When you educate a women, ... read more