Blogs from Africa - page 2699

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

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

Yesterday was without a doubt one of the most memorable days I have had in Cape Town thus far, and probably will ever have in my life. I wanted to come home in the afternoon and write about it immediately, but decided to hold off until I could get the pictures from one of my friends who brought their camera with them. So, all the wonderful photography you see here is courtesy of Britt, who graciously said that I could use them with my blog. Our day was spent volunteering at a children’s group home in the Kyaletshia Township on the outskirts of Cape Town. Kyaletshia is a settlement that was created in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Group Areas Act, which relocated all the black people from the area into the ... read more

Vanaf Timboektoe gaan we weer terug naar Sevaré, slapen een paar nachtjes bij Willem en gaan richting de Dogon vallei. Er was eens volk dat zich Dogon noemde…...Zo zou elk verhaal over de Dogon moeten beginnen. De Dogon is een volk dat leeft in de Dogon vallei, een door UNESCO beschermt gebied in het zuidoosten van Mali. In de 15e eeuw trokken de Dogon naar het gebied wat nu Dogon vallei heet, waar ze een ander volk aantroffen, de Tellum. De Tellum waren, volgens de Dogon, magische mensen ze bewoonde grotten tientallen meters hoog in de achterover hellende rotswand, hoe ze die grotten konden bereiken is tot op de dag van vandaag een raadsel, niet dat dit de theorieën over vliegpoeder en toverspreuken van de Dogon aannemelijk maakt, maar het lijkt voor normale sterveling onmogelijk ... read more

Yes, my baby is four! I can't even believe it! We celebrated with fine dining at Pizza Passy and steak hachee sandwiches up the road from our house followed by a day at Magic Land, an amusement park here in Dakar. It was a nice time. Keagan had fun riding the bull, which Kaijah had to try and of course, got hurt. Leila wanted to as well, and when we refused because we didn’t want her to get hurt, she pitched a fit and stormed off pouting. We finally got the guy to let her pose on the one-horned bull for a photo. Similarly, you can see how her attitude goes from ‘glad to mad’ while riding in the bumper cars. Man, that girl can throw a fit; daddy’s girl! Ammar was here from Atlanta ... read more