Blogs from Africa - page 3212

So, I've been in Cape Town for 2 weeks now! Holy COW!!! I feel like I'm on vacation and according to my dad that's what it sounds like as well! Within the first 2 hours of being in Cape Town I was on my way to the top of Table Mountain. On the second day I was on the top of Lions Head and since I have been on a peninsula tour, toured Robben Island, visited a few townships, moved into my house, been to 4 beaches, walked the botanical gardens and there is still so much to do. Everyone has said that I will experience culture shock but it hasn't hit me yet The most "shocking" thing is the townships. Shack after shack with people in the streets everywhere because they can not get a ... read more

as promised, here are my musings on morroco: Morocco is like Scotland. Foggy and green. Or maybe it’s like L.A. and smoggy. It has american looking freeway under/overpasses, California looking eucalyptus but comfortingly African with people walking along the sides of the big highway and people riding on overladen trucks and motorbikes. The signs are in Arabic and English. The airport was terribly signed and misinformed; they sent a bunch of people from out flight upstairs to “transit” what does that even mean in English? But we were supposed to pass through passport check, not pick up our luggage and go out and upstairs to get our free hotel room voucher. All this I found without the help of signs, english or otherwise, but from exasperated airport workers. I must have had my naive look freshly ... read more

Hiking Around Lushoto - Wednesday, 2-15-06 I partially woke up the next morning at about 5:00 Am when the roosters began to crow, then other birds began to sing and whistle. This was followed at about 5:30 by the imam groaning his call to prayer over loudspeakers installed in the minarets a few blocks away. About 6:00 AM the church bell began ringing the faithful to mass. Soon the warbling bus horns began calling fares to take their seats. Next came a sound like someone hitting a pot with a wooden spoon. This was the first call to students to get ready for classes. Finally, about 7:15 marching drums started up a cadence at the school. I guess it was some kind of morning parade. This prolonged wakeup call occurred both mornings we were in Loshoto. ... read more

St. Benedicts has the BEST beds that we have slept in for a long time, including the United States (well, probably the Peninsula in Chicago is better!) We were awakened first by the Imam’s call for prayers (Islam), then the various churches (Christian) ringing their bells and then the school started banging on pans to alert the school children, we guess. At various times between 5 a.m. and 7:15 a.m., I was so annoyed with a) paying a premium for the room and the lack of water and b) realizing that we had paid all sorts of fees for our trek today and that it didn’t include food. Plus, it wasn’t until much later that I learned that breakfast was included in our room rate. Unknowing to me, Bill doubled his Lexapro…later, when he told me, ... read more

Two Hours after leaving Durbs I found myself in CT where the weather was pleasently hot but no where near as humid as Durban. Ahhh I wouldn't need to wash my clothes every 10 minutes on account of them going damp with sweat. Ahhh. Cape Town. So many things to do. Robben Island. Table Mountian, Cape Aguilar (Africa's southern most point) Cape Point (where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet), Shark Diving... First up was baggage claim then the trip to Ashanti where I was to spend the next three nights. Unlike the other places I had stayed at this was bigger and had more of a party atmosphere. The place was also and old converted colonial mansion house and had a 'funky' look to it. Also out of the back Bathroom you could see Table ... read more