Geo: -15.3982, 28.2937In Livingston we had time to visit the David Livingstone museum. Despite the very basic style of presentation and lack of air conditioning it was so interesting we stayed well over 2 hours. It covers everything, the geology, land formation, prehistoric times, migration of peoples, fauna and flora of the region, the hunter gatherer lifestyle, village life through the ages into modern times including the role of traditional healers, witchcraft and rituals, the development of towns and the modern history of Zambia.They certainly did not pull their punches on topics like slavery, (I had forgotten that Arab traders were the first and largest slave traders who almost depopulated parts of Eastern Africa), colonialization and recent conflict with their neighbours. It is always fascinating to get non Euro-centric views of events.Our new group is the ... read more

Geo: -22.5648, 17.0931As it is difficult to write a blog while camping and impossible to post for at least 14 days I shall try to make a few notes in the van so please excuse note form and any errors. It is not easy to type as we receive our 'African Massage' in the van travelling on sand and gravel roads.The evening before we met up with our companions for the trip Jim and I went to the nearest restaurant for a meal. We were surprised to find game such as Warthog, Impala and Springbok on the menu. We were not sure if it was a good thing to indulge as it seemed somehow to conflict with the purpose of our trip. We tried it anyway. Jim had a slow cooked warthog and I took the ... read more

Geo: 11.94, -85.96Granada and surrounding area, 30 April - 13 MayWe used Granada as a base, leaving one bag here as we visited first the Caribbean coast as described in the last blog, and then Lago de Apoyo, a crater lake quite close to Granada, where we spent 2 nights. Unfortunately we had 2 bouts of minor illness during this time, a flu type virus and then a stomach bug. We suffered in tandem! It was one reason we retired to the lake, to rest and recover in a slightly fresher spot by the water. Our problems were not too severe but lasted a long time and left us feeling weak.Despite that we love Granada, it's delightful colonial buildings and churches, it's fascinating history, restaurants, little central square with trees and cafes and the people. It ... read more

Geo: 10.5414, -83.5021Costa Rica 1 - 8 AprilAt the end of the previous blog we had arrived at Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota. What a contrast with all our previous stops. It was very cold at night and although the sun shone during the day there was only about 3 to 4 hours that were pleasantly warm. We never managed to be comfortable despite the fires and hot water bottles.Plus, we were at an altitude of 2,500 metres, rising higher as soon as we left the Lodge to walk and increasing to 3,500 metres at the highest point.I had not realised how little oxygen there was at this altitude. The first morning we went on the early morning Quetzal hunt and had to climb a hill. I raced up with the guide, not wanting to ... read more

Geo: 8.6, -80.1333 19th February - 10th MarchWe arrived in Boquete and queued at the Taxi stand. A Taxi pulled up, and although we had been there first, everyone else, 5 individuals, all jumped into the Taxi and off it went. People share the Taxis so it was a matter of getting in first, something we could not achieve with our bags! After observing this a few times we decided it was not going to work. I had seen other Taxis turn a corner from the main road a little way off so Jim and I hauled the bags between us to the side of that road and, in desperation, when the next taxi came round the corner I jumped out in front of it waving my arms. Thankfully it stopped, was free and the driver ... read more