Washington, DC to Hamburg, Germany--Thursday, May 15th Christina and Paul dropped us off at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC and we caught our flight to London and then caught our flight from there to Hamburg, Germany. Both flights had some air turbulence and we were really beat by the time we were finally at the hotel. Took a very nice taxi ride to the hotel through the very lovely, old (founded by Charlemagne in 808) green city of Hamburg. It has been a major port city from the beginning and is now the 2nd largest city in Germany. Hamburg, Germany (Holiday Inn)--Friday, May 16th I napped/rested/read while Valerie worked on her lectures until about 5 when we got a taxi in front of the hotel and went to meet Valerie’s former Moldovan student and his ... read more

Some thoughts on the trip: One of the questions we have been asked several times was, would we do this same trip again? Knowing what we know now, we have to say no, not really. Not that we wouldn’t visit South Africa again, but that we wouldn’t rent this type of RV and drive so many miles in it. We could have seen the same things in a rented SUV or Jeep type vehicle and stayed at the Park Lodges or B and B’s/hotels and thereby been in more comfort. The cost of the hotel room would be offset by the cost of the daily rental fee of the RV, we believe. The better gas mileage of a car versus an RV would help in any savings we had on cooking our own food. The RV ... read more

Southern Sun Garden Court Tambo Hotel, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa--Tuesday, April 1st For a last attempt at a better view of Victoria Falls, we hired a taxi to take us at 8:00 am over the vehicle/railroad bridge into Zimbabwe (allowed just because it is a no-man’s land and there is no way to fit an immigration check point in the middle of the bridge) and then we walked back across the bridge into Zambia. Lots of pedestrians out this morning. I guess people cross the border to shop and work in Zambia. Wet, wet, wet---camera and us, from the mist and not much, sadly to say, of the Falls could be made out through the mist. Oh well, we tried, at least everything short of getting up in the air. (For a video of looking ... read more

Southern Sun Garden Court Tambo Hotel to Chobe River, Botswana--Sunday, March 30th Another early start with breakfast at 6:30 and our tour starting at 7:00. We were picked up in the same vans that brought us from the airport for the short drive to the River that is the border with Botswana. There was the usual line of trucks that wait at any border crossing. Here truckers wait longer as they can ferry across only one truck at a time. The river was so full that the ferry could not dock as it usually did so, you were to wade in the water to get to the ferry. We watched a group ahead of us do this, then someone realized that the van could drive in the water down the concrete ramp to get close enough ... read more

Southern Sun Garden Court Tambo Hotel, Friday, March 28th We were up early to have breakfast at 7:00 in order to be ready to get on the bus for an 8:30 departure. Our first stop was at the Apartheid Museum that opened in 2001. As you entered, your ticket randomly assigned you as a White or a Colored person. You then entered the museum in those separately marked entrances and wandered through reading narratives about conditions you faced as a white person, or as a colored person, if you were, Colored. I understand the point they were trying to make, but I felt I wasn’t getting the other ½ of the story, no matter which side I was assigned. It is a difficult museum to navigate, especially for people with limited mobility. You never were sure ... read more