Blogs from Africa - page 2727

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Africa » Morocco » Fès-Boulemane » Fes June 17th 2007

Planning for a down day, Gene and I had the luxury of sleeping in. We felt no need to scurry to breakfast seeing as our morning meal was made available to us at our convenience. Revitalized, we headed up to the terrace where the cook dawdled in anticipation of our arrival. Almost as if he had been awaiting our company, Fred turned the corner with a cup of coffee in hand as soon as we took our seats. Happy to see his smiling face, we welcomed him to take a seat next to us. Our conversation picked up where it had left off the night before, with Fred’s additional commentary on our abandonment of work to travel. “You two are crazy! I love it!” Genuinely interested in the whereabouts of our future travels, Fred questioned where ... read more

Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Kampala June 17th 2007

After a big party in the bar on our second night in the camp near Jinja, we got up fairly early (9ish) to go quad biking around the local villages. The quad bikes were quite difficult to handle at first, but we soon got used to them and were speeding around all over the place (following our guide), and trying to avoid the chickens! We went around on the back roads (although they were so narrow they were more like paths) and saw lots of people in outside their houses all shouting jambo (hello) at us as we went past. We also saw lots of rapids on the Nile, and even stopped for a while to watch some rafts try to make it down one (which they all somehow managed to, despite the fact that they ... read more

Africa » Zimbabwe » Gweru June 17th 2007

Highlight of the Trip - Number 1 Arrived at Antelope Park and had a guided tour and presentation about what activities we could do over the next few days - oh dear, here goes the budget! Upgraded to a colonial, riverside tent, complete with ensuite. Very weird showering under canvas. It had a lovely balcony where we sat watching the sunset over the river and birds skittering across the water. Lion Cubs Our first activity that afternoon was to visit the lion cubs. What a fantastic experience! We went into a large enclosure with four gorgeous 3-month old cubs, who were all much bigger than we expected. And very boisterous too! Think of a playful young kitten but multiply the size of the claws and teeth a few times. Jase has the hole in his ... read more
Rach and a lion cub
Upgraded Tent
Chilling on the patio

Africa » Seychelles » Mahé June 17th 2007

Hey everyone!, hope all is well in the states, i will be joining you back there in a few weeks now. Phase 12 here in seychelles is winding down. we have spotted a few more whale sharks since i last wrote you. the biggest was just over 7 metres (~25 ft). and my week on curieuse island was also a highlight although it was a bit crazy because i was in charge of a group of 4 volunteers on a remote island. while we were over there we were busy building the house which will eventually house the new GVI seychelles expedition, sea turtle tagging (i caught and tagged my first hawksbill) , and i led four dives throughout the week. On my dive friday morning the visability was crystal clear and we saw 11 White ... read more

Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Cairo June 17th 2007

June 17, 2007 Let the fun begin…… I haven’t flown United Airlines in over two years and it did not take long to remember why. After clearing security, I headed to my departure gate for my flight to Chicago. The reader board at the gate did not have any information on it so I asked the “nice” lady behind the counter if this was still the gate for the flight to O’Hare. Before I could even finish my question, she admonished me for not being patient. She was working a flight to Denver and would update board when she had a chance. About 30 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart, she made an announcement informing us the flight to Chicago was delayed due to the late arrival of the aircraft. We would now depart ... read more

Africa » Uganda » Eastern Region » Jinja June 16th 2007

Yes, know that the the title of ths entry sounds dramatic but, i feel lucky to be alive. I was attacked by army ants and it was extremely frightening buyt, luckily I made it out alive. Just to give some preface to the attacks, we went to Sszeba Falls today and then to the Source of the Nile. It was so nice to get out of the city and away from most of the pollution, etc. for a bit. But, so Sszeba Falls is a waterfall that is very sacred to Ugandans because the king of the Buganda kingdom came there to pray and it is just a beautiful area. We got a tour and we were the only people n the falls and in the entire park/falls area. It did not seem like it received ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » East » Mafia Island June 16th 2007

Hard to believe it’s a year since I came out here alone to prepare for the big move, so much has happened. Sometimes it feels like we’ve always been here, at others like we’ve only just arrived. Things are really moving on, we will have one Banda completely finished and furnished be Wednesday, providing the weather is good we can then take the promotional shots for marketing. The kitchens, store and office are now up and the bulk of the reception/dining area is built, the raised bar now has a roof, roughly another six weeks work and we will be able to start recruiting and staff training not to mention landscaping in an attempt to turn the site from a building site to an established looking lodge. We seem to be accumulating animals, we still ... read more

Africa » Kenya » Nairobi Province » Nairobi June 16th 2007

First of all, for the keen eyed amongst you, you may have noticed a slight change of location. Yes we have left St Jude's and are currently in Nairobi, Kenya about to head off on another adventure. As Big Brother would say (yes we are a bit TV deprived) "It's time to go...". After 6 months we have decided to end our St Jude's experience and head back to reality TV and Marks and Spencers. Like everything in life, even St Jude had many sides to its personality, and we decided that we no longer wanted to be a part of this particular congregation! We hope that in the past 6 months we have made a small but lasting contribution to both the 'school' and 'business' that is St Jude's. Our hope is that the 'school' ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » North » Arusha June 16th 2007

Day One Africa » Tanzania » Arusha By TarashelJune 16th 2007 Sooo... we had to wake up sooo early, after only four hours of sleep and completely jet lagged, at 7 am for breakfast. The food here is just amazing... none of us can believe how nice we have it here. The food is great, there are so many choices. We have hot water and internet access and everything. It's just so much nicer than we expected. I took over a hundred pictures today haha... of everything. Monkeys, cactus, its just awesome. There's a little bar off from the dining hall that serves beer, soda, and snacks, complete with a pool table, dart board, and a bunch of couches. It's just amazing. ... read more
Campus
Mural
Alex and Me

Africa » Morocco » Fès-Boulemane » Fes June 16th 2007

“OH MY GOD!”, Gina shouted frantically while pointing at the bloody camel head adorning the front of the butcher’s souq. We had been pushing through the crowded medina on the coattails of our guide for the better part of the morning by the time Gina made the astonishing discovery and gawked openly for a few seconds. She visibly squirmed before moving on, as I fumbled for a quick photo knowing it would make good blog material. The butcher caught on quickly and jumped from behind his counter to demand money, but I turned and lost myself in the crowd before he could catch me. We had started our morning in a gingerly fashion, sleeping in and taking breakfast on the roof of our riad under the already oppressive sun. The voluminous spread was a daunting compilation ... read more
Puzzle Door
Remnants of the Water Clock
The Blue Gate




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