Constructing Houses For the next two days Renata and I and the rest of group B volunteered in the construction of two houses. One of the sites was for the Gunede Family. Eddie is the father of the house. Currently he and his wife and 3 children live in a one-room house. The second site was for the Jobe Family. Currently on their plot of land there is ten residents living in three one-room houses including one grandmother, her two sons and six children. Cement and Concrete Flooring For the two houses we worked on mixing concrete for the concrete foundation in the two five room houses down the road from one another. Other member of the group worked on laying bricks for the septic tanks. It was an amazing and educational experience. I learned how ... read more

Veyane Cultural Village Today is our first volunteer day with VESA. Our first stop was the Veyane Cultural Village where we learned about Zulu culture. We learned some Zulu phrases which I have now forgotten. Furthermore, we witnessed and took part in some interesting Zulu dances, wore some traditional Zulu dress and explored comforting Zulu homes. After the Zulu cultural center tour we had lunch at the village and then it was off to our first volunteer destination: The Emdoneni Cheetah Project. The Emdoneni Cheetah Project At the Emdoneni project we didn't have time to volunteer but we got the opportunity to learn about the conservation efforts at the lodge. The aim of the Emdoneni Cheetah Project is to care for and rehab orphaned or injured Cheetahs, Serval Cats, African Wildcats and Caracals (Lynx). Also they ... read more

Renata and I left Thursday night on our way to South Africa. We had an 11 hour stopover in Zurich before we had to continue onto our flight to Durban, South Africa. So we thought why not explore Zurich in the meantime. Getting from the airport to Zurich was easy. We just had to take the train from the Airport station Zurich Flughafen to the main station Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Bahnhofstrasse Street After we arrived in downtown Zurich, we walked down the famous Bahnhofstrasse street. Bahnhofstrasse is Zurich's main downtown streets known for being one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping areas. At the end of the street you hit Burliplatz where there is a weekly market on Friday from 5-11am. It was interesting to check out the European market and see the flowers and ... read more

This morning after an early breakfast, Renata and I headed back to Petra to start climbing to the High Place of Sacrifice, recommended by our Tour Guide. On the way to the High Place of Sacrifice we had to pass through the Siq, a 1.2 kilometer long gorge. The Siq The Siq is the entrance to the city of Petra. It is a narrow passage cut through sandstone architecture as a result of rain and wind. It is beautiful to behold and in the morning it lights up with red-pink hues. The Siq also contains a water conduit system along the sides, where rain water can be collected and transported to the various areas of Petra. Inside the Siq there are sculptures carved into the rock. One sculpture is of a camel caravan, with two merchants ... read more

Today, was a travel day as we left our tropical paradise of Dahab to the secluded desert of Wadi Rum. The Ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba From Dahab, the group drove to the ferry terminal in Nuweiba. We said goodbye to our Egyptian tour guide and after going through customs we left to board the ferry. From Nuweiba we took the ferry leaving for Aqaba, which only departs when it is full. So we unfortunately had to wait a long time on the ferry before it left. There was not much to do on the ferry except wait, sleep and read. The group was relieved when we finally reached Aqaba. We did not reach Aqaba until late in the evening. In Aqaba, we met up with our Jordanian tour guide and other tourists who were joining ... read more