Blogs from Africa - page 3338

It's been six days since I was able to get anywhere near an internet cafe - in that time a lot has happened. I am going to write this blog in diary format, day by day as I wrote the entries in my notebook. Some amazing things have happened in that time, including a bush taxi leaving for a 3 hour journey across the desert without putting any petrol in. It ran out of petrol after half an hour. So, we were stuck in the middle of nowhere. What was the driver thinking of! Did he expect the taxi to run on thin air, or was he expecting to beg the petrol from passing traffic? Anyway, more of that incident later. I will now use the diary format. 28th DECEMBER Guess what? The train didn't arrive ... read more

This is the 2nd attempt to write this blog. I had to abandon writing this half way through yesterday. It's been a few days since I last updated this blog. In that time a group of us have been invited to the home of a local family. The Mama's family hospitality has been without bounds. Merci beaucoup! Also I've been trying to leave this town for a couple of days, each time I go to the train station, there's no train. It's becoming like a recurrent dream, where you can't move... More about that later. So, to update recent events... When I arrived in Nouadhibou, I took a shared room with three other people, the same people I travelled with from Dahkla. The cost 1375 Ouiguigo each, . That's four Euro's! The camping site toilets are ... read more

22 Dec 2004: First time out of the country alone AND first time in Africa - apprehensive? not 'arf! But just looking out over Table Mountain, as the plane sweeps over Cape Town, the excitement is unbearable - no fear what-so-ever - I'm actually feeling rather emotional (in a happy way) at the beginning of my independence. I get the growing feeling this may be the start of the rest of my life. John and Lidia live in a very civilized part of town, Constancia, or the Cape's equivalent of Chelsea back home, nestled beneath the protective peer of the mountain range and facing the bracing warmth of the coastline. Having seen books and photos of South Africa for years, particularly Cape Town, I was not surprised that it felt more like a trendy European city ... read more

Yep, I'm in package tourist land! I got here last night at 6pm afer catching the bus from Essaouira at 2pm. So, I had all morning in Essaouira. At the bus station I fell into the first hotel. I've gone down market again - 70 Dirhams a night with shared toilets and shower. I also booked my bus out of here. I'll be catching the bus to Dakhla at 7pm tonight. The guy on the reception of my cheap hotel was very helpful, he told me that he thought that, that bus took 20 hours! He also then predicted my intended journey through West Africa without me telling him. I had considered breaking the journey up, maybe stopping at Laayoune for a night. But then I thought, what the hell, get the pain over with! The ... read more

Heaven is... fresh fish for Lunch. ... the endless hospitality of the couple who's guest house I am staying in, here in Essaouira. Their website is www.essaouiranet.com/dar-nafoura tel 00212(0)44 47 28 55. I wouldn't normally give a plug for the places I've laid my head, but their service has been exceptional. Heaven is... the scenery in Essaouira, and if you are a surfing dude it's a great place to windsurf. Oh, and the food is excellent. Having said that, its not a place to swim, as the rip tides are very strong. The journey here was uneventful - I used the bus company Supratours. I found my guest house by just wandering around the Medina - it's a short walk from the bus stop. It was 11 am in the morning - the front door was ... read more