Week 58 - Zimbabwe

Crazy Bob is in every business

The Matopos

Cave Art

Great Zim

Harare Gardens

Hello all, welcome to our 58th week and 400th day traveling!

We have been a bit lazy and not learned a word of Shona, but hey this is Zimbabwe, EVERYBODY speaks English!

Zimbabwe is similar in many respects to the other crazy dictator run countries we have visited such as Venezuela and "mystery island". I do think they all collaborate to see how the government can continue to beat down its people.

One great comment we heard from a white Zimbabwean in his 50's who was born here is
"Mugabe's unintentionally has brought the whites and blacks together" - due to the oppression of all people. We read back home about how he is taking white farms and giving them to blacks - this is happening and in many times violent ways, however the government has lead many atrocities which we don't often hear about in the west, but are very factual such as genocide of poor villagers. One occasion which is well documented is 25,000 villagers killed to make room for farmland - the soldiers involved were trained by the North Koreans - sounds crazy, but Google it and you'll find a lot of info. Also, a few years ago 400 villagers were killed as a diamond mind was discovered in their village - I guess it would have just been too hard to say its time to move... We don't typically hear about this stuff back home, but it happening and seemingly the United Nations is turning a blind eye.

In Zimbabwe, power outages are daily, there is limited health care and education is scare. As in Venezuela, many teachers are striking or not working any more as they aren't paid enough or paid at all. The government is nationalizing everything and when they do, it just falls apart, such as with power plants.

Mugabe is now trying to pass a law that for any foreign owned company, the government is to be given 51% free. The operating costs are all to come out of the company's 49% ownership. Hmmm, so essentially all foreign companies will be closing up shop if this passes, which it very much looks to do!

The people however are similar to Zambians and super friendly. I can't remember one time when we have been hassled walking down the street in Zimbabwe and most people say hello, how are you, when they walk past!

I won't comment on the villages as we haven't seen too many, but the cities are very nice. Bulawayo could easily be a small Midwest city in the US, however out of the early 80's. The country was very prosperous back in the day, but the government doesn't seem to be looking to improve things. As successful farms were taken off of white owners, the agricultural output has diminished. Regardless of race on who owns these farms, if the government touches them, all just wilts away.

From our point of view, Zim (as its called) has been a very hospitable and easy place to travel. Some places are a bit difficult and mildly out of reach without our own transport, but we have been managing very well.

Thus far we have been in Victoria Falls Town > Bulawayo > Matopos National Park > Masvingo > Harare

Tuesday - Crossing the Boarder bridge: After the Lion Encounter in Zambia, we crossed over to Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe and wrote you the last blog. We really jumped in the deep end in Zimbabwe, unsure where to go, one reason is our Lonely Planet guide book seemed to be written 10 years ago and secondly because most places were quite far and required your own transport or a serious amount of time and patience. After chatting with a few locals we built our game plan and relaxed a bit.

Wednesday - Combis (minibus): We were out the door by 6am and on our way to the minibus station, which turned out to be a van on the side of the two lane highway. By now we had the trick, sit in the front and you have much more room. These vans which hold around 20 people, often very tight together are a great place to talk and chat with locals. We really got a good feel for the place talking to people on these minibuses. We arrived in Bulawayo (pop 1 million) around 3pm and were soon out the door to book a tour/safari the next day in the Matopos National Park. Just as we were at our wits end as most places were out of business or not running tours due to the lack of tourists in Zim, we found a great lady called Mrs Bell in the tourist information office who sorted everything for us including logistics for our trip to the next place (Great Zim). That night we enjoyed dinner at the sports complex next to our hostel.

Thursday - Matopos: Matobo National Park or Matopos as its nicknamed was a very interesting and beautiful place. We were told the history of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe including many of the Shona stories. The park was littered with huge granite boulders and much of the day was spent on safari animal spotting. We stopped at one point to look at cave paintings which were approximately 20,000 years old and quite good art, even for today! Zimbabwe seems to have a horrible problem with poaching as we barely saw any animals and this was one of their main national parks. Rhino horns can fetch as much as $250,000 in China - so you can imagine what's happening in this poor country. We were able to see a small family of giraffes, warthogs, and several antelope. The best part of the trip was talking with our guide who was very open about Zimbabwe.

Friday - Great Zimbabwe: Seems they shorten everything in Zim. Well they call this place Great Zim. Zimbabwe in the Shona language means - Big Stone Houses, named after the UNESCO site - Great Zimbabwe. Built more than a thousand years ago, making it the second oldest archeological site in Africa - after Egypt's many places. The Zimbabwean government will tell you this place was built by the Shona, but Marina and I believe an alternative theory that this was built by Arab or Chinese traders. The Shona seemed to occupy it for several hundreds of years, but they only lived in mud huts inside the stone walls. Given there are no similar places where the Shona lived around Kenya or Tanzania and even before this time the Chinese were pretty good at "wall" building, I think this seems easy to figure out. However it's quite a sensitive political topic.

Saturday - Cooking in Harare: I haven't mentioned about this, but Zimbabwe seems to imports everything. As a result the prices for food and many things are very similar to back in the US. We would be stuck in Harare for a few days so having a very nice kitchen at our disposal we decided to cook. It's been a while, but we whipped up a delicious spaghetti meal.

Sunday - Tree lined streets: Harare is a really pretty city, but just needs a bit of cleanup. Yesterday we walked all through the city enjoyed its central Harare Gardens and National Gallery. The hostel we are staying in has a lot of fun backpackers so we heard stories of travelers enjoying West Africa, and even getting through Nigeria.

Now we are off to Malawi tomorrow morning. Malawi's people have a reputation for the friendliest in Sub-Saharan Africa, so we will see how it goes.

Until next time,

Dan and Marina

Week 57 - Zambia

Hangin at Kariba Dam

Victoria Falls

Baboons near the falls

Grrrr!

Two ladies playing

Zambian trail

I'll start with the unusual - Hello, Good morning!

In Zambia they speak numerous tribal languages such as Bemba, Tonga, Ngoni and Lozi - although like India, everyone seems to just speak English as the connecting language. The papers, radio stations, and television channels are mostly in English.

The biggest thing I have learning about Zambia, is wow how different they are; and I mean in a GOOD way! Zambians are super friendly. Different to our first few weeks in Africa, when people on the street talk to us (I mean bothered or harrassed us); in Zambia its hello, how are you. Lusaka is especially a great place to visit, we freely walked around the leafy green streets (in the day) and people couldn't have been nicer!

The main topic now is the presidential election coming up next month. I thought Peru's election was crazy with six candidates, here they have 20 and all real competition! From the rallys we have seen and conversations had, Zambians are very passionate about politics and certainly about change! With fuel at nearly $2/liter (almost $8/gallon) in a country where a waiter in a restaurant earns $50/month, life is not easy!

Zambia is one of the most Christian countries I have ever been to. Before any long bus ride, you will be lead by a preacher who says a good 10 minutes of prayers and gospel. Most of the passengers participate with an "AMEN" or a few other words. Of course all of this is in English. However the strange contrast to this religious society is witchcraft! With even the educated members of society believing in witches flying on broomsticks and other bizzare occurances, this is not a boring place to visit!

Our path: Nakonde > Lusaka > Siavonga > Lusaka > Livingstone

Tuesday - Welcome to Zambia: Since I wrote you last time we boarded our long bus ride to Lusaka, ending 2 straight full days of bus travel! What a journey, but we made it!

Wednesday - Zambeef Steak: Just on the drive into Lusaka (Zambia's capital) I knew this place would be different. Firstly its green and normal looking; secondly we exited the bus and were not being pulled in all directions; and lastly, people say hello and aren't looking for something. Yes, I was going to like Lusaka and I haven't even told you the good parts yet. The best part is the nightlife. We hadn't been out one night yet in Africa! Partially because of safety, but also because there wasn't much going on in any of the places. Welcome to Lusaka; the city is full of excellent restaurants. We went to a steak house called Marlin and this dinner would give Argentina some competition! Well, we had Moshi beer rather than delicious wine, but the food was superb. That's not all, afterwards we went to a bar! Yes, a nice bar which could have been out of any posh outdoor area! We even had martini's - now that is living!

Thursday - Lake Kariba: Lusaka does have a manic bus station, but its not too bad, its the minibus terminal where the central market is located. Different to our experience on this trip, it was busy and chaotic, but people were very friendly and pointed us in the right direction. We boarded a mini-bus (normally an 11 seater, filled with 20 people and about the same size worth of baggage - which was mostly grain and produce - no live chickens on this one! We arrived at the lake which was more of a holiday for us. The lake has nice hotels and we were lucky enough to secure a room just 15 feet from the water's edge where we relaxed and I swam a bit. Although you need to be on your guard around here as Hippos are seen and if you get to close, well I don't know if they would even need a box to send me home!

Friday - Kariba Dam: We made a few friends with a just married Zambian couple who were staying next door to our room. We spent the day with Chardley and Faith, first going to the Kariba dam which built many decades ago and now we have Kariba lake to enjoy. Unfortunately the project displaced many people who practiced witchcraft causing the builders many misfortunes (two floods, one draught, and a few small natural disasters)- still don't believe? Our new friends were fantastic and taught us many things about Zambian life.

Saturday - Premier League: Africa is wild about football (soccer) and especially the English Premier League. Most east African men will have a team, Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, or Liverpool - that's pretty much it. I'm not sure, but are there any other teams?? :D haha. We made it back from the lake to go shopping at a local craft village and then headed out to watch the Arsenal. That night we enjoyed the delicious food at Marlin again and went out for a few drinks to take advantage of NIGHTLIFE, which we might not see for a while after Zambia.

Sunday - The town of David Livingstone: We arrived by 3:30pm and started planning our strategy for this event filled town. Our hostel, what a hostel, had a pool, Irish Bar attached, pool table - not too bad if you were wondering how hostels are in Africa. The best part of this place is the name - Faulty Towers! How could we not stay here! That night we went out for Indian food which would have been good even in London!

Monday - Victoria Falls: We woke in the morning and made our way to what may be Africa's most beautiful sight! David Livingstone commented: "No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight" (Livingstone 1857) The trails around the falls offer very different views and we enjoyed the area for a good few hours. At one point even stepping in the river on top of the falls - I joked with Marina about falling in the water would be a long way down. The falls as you will see from the picture are very wide, I would say certainly almost 2km (over 1 mile). The falls drop into the Zambezi river and further downstream is the Kariba Dam and Kariba lake, the quick, but painful way back to our cottage next to the water.

Tuesday - Lion Encounter: This morning we played with baby lions! Need I say more, ok I will. We went to a Lion sanctuary where they raise lions and release them into the wild and were able to play with the cubs, pet them and watch them (as close as we wanted). They were very much like domestic cats, however as they were just six months of age, so they wouldn't eat us yet.

Now we have crossed the boarder and are writing you from the comforts of Mugabe's empire - the land of Zimbabwe!!

What's next, we are planning on heading south to Bulawayo and then to the Great Zimbabwe National Monument.

Talk to you next week,

Dan and Marina

Week 56 - Tanzania

Braving the wild in Ngorongoro Crater

Our path in Tanzania

Did you see my lunch?

Cute little hyenas

Masai people - they do not seem to be afraid of the lions!
Evil Vultures!

Mama and Baby

Hungry Hungry Hippos

Jambo, Mambo!

Wow, what a topsy-turvy week we have just had. After leaving the mountains we still faced a few up and downs, but thankfully nothing that couldn't be resolved.

Just a few of our findings about Tanzania;
Firstly, this place has the harmonious cultural mix of Singapore - the streets are filled with Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians all in their traditional clothing - well besides the Christians. Its absolutely amazing!

Secondly, There are Masai people all over the north of Tanzania. They wear the traditional red garbs along with tire tred sandals - to prevent from the evil thorns of Africa (think Aruba Craig). You will see the Masai not only in the villages, but in cities as well and they sometimes assimilate into regular jobs including tourism.

Lastly, I can promise you that wireless internet is easier to find in South America than electricity is in Tanzania! The whole country is run on generators which provide the cities with a buzzzzz; unfortunately not a good one!

Our path thus far - Arusha > Serengeti Park > Ngorongoro Crater > Arusha > Mbeya

Tuesday - Bogus Safari: Let me say this, Tanzania is a taxing and challenging country to backpack. This isn't due to the lack of hotels or infrastructure, these are fine, but there seems to be a con-artist convention in every city in the country. Thankfully we have been lucky to meet some nice and honest people. This morning we booked a safari to go to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and we were due to leave at 3pm. Too good to be true, well yes it was. So far in our trip, it has been safe to assume that tour companies in the Lonely Planet books are solid and may over charge, but they will not con you. The safety is in their reputation. Unfortunately we took the usual precautions, but were very unlucky. As we were due to leave a dodgy guy showed up and raised our suspicions. To cut a long story short, we gave them another chance, despite this individual and went 2 hours by taxi to the camp where we were to meet our new group and join their safari. On arrival there was no group or tour guide, just 5 con-artists in the camp trying to cheat us. Their objective was to keep us at this hotel and delay us over and over then charge us ridiculous amounts for the hotel and food to where we wouldn't get a refund. It was fairly easy to spot once we got there. Also, the tour agents now had all their phones off. Thankfully our taxi driver was not in on the scam and noticed this also and was kind enough to drive us back to Arusha - he didn't get paid either for not leaving us there. We arrived back at our hotel by 10pm and were just happy to be out of the scam; the next day we would attempt the task of trying to retrieve our money.

Wednesday - The real deal: Thankfully our threats of calling the police were actually concerning for them. The Tanzanian police must do a lot more than those in Argentina. We were given our money back and went shopping immediately for a new tour. However, this time we decided to book our own private tour rather than risking the chance of being mixed on another tour. For the last blog didn't I tell you we are social people, haha, more isolation. Our new tour was set to start the following day and we had a close inspection of our guide, cook and the Toyota Landcruiser. Now with time to relax, we spent the day running a few errands and enjoying an outdoor lunch and coffee and cake somewhere that looks like Patisserie Valerie in London.

Thursday to Sunday - Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater: If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend a Tanzanian Safari for a top 10 list of things to do in the world! Wow, it's just raw beauty and this is what the world was like before we changed it! No I'm not going all hippy on you and yes, I have been wearing the same shirt for 2 days, but you will see when you go; such a magical experience! The first day we drove to our camp Seronera in the middle of the Serengeti. Yes, I did say camp. We camped out in the middle of the park, no fences, guns, or anything, just us, the other people and lots of animals all around! You don't see too many animals close to the tents, other than the small scurrying animals looking for breadcrumbs. Everyday we saw such an amazing array of animals. Our 4x4 SUV had a removable top that just extended up so we could stand and have shade over our heads. I'll just give you the details on the animals we saw; 12 vultures eating a large carcass, multiple groups of lions (one occasion 4 cubs playing by themselves, two males lounging around, 3 females which walked by our car possibly touching it with their fur, and a pride of 14 lions who were eating what was likely to be a Zebra while the vultures thought they could move in) and several other groups of lions, we saw a few leopards (one in a tree with a gazelle carcass), several cheetahs (one which was hunting, but the hartebeests managed to elude them, jackals on the prowl, dozens of hyenas (a pack of 11 with blood on their fur who had just polished off some creature), 500+ elephants many with young babies (one sunset they came just by our truck), possibly 200 giraffes all over the place, three black rhinos which are very elusive, velvet monkeys and baboons all over the place, thousands of wildebeests, thousands of gazelles, hundreds of hartebeests, thousands of African buffaloes, thousands of zebras (which were just beginning the mating season so couples were sitting in fields hugging, yes hugging each other), warthogs all around the place digging, hippos cooling off in the water and occasionally on the shores,buzzards, eagles, storks, cranes, starlings, secretary bird, and many crowded carnes (google image these). The scene was just stunning every day. This time of year in the Serengeti the landscape is very arid and has some small trees and bushes, with mostly plains. The second day we went up in the afternoon to Lobo in the very north near the Kenyan boarder and there were many large boulders and lush green water fed areas. The third night we camped just above the Ngorongoro crater rim. Millions of years ago a gigantic volcano erupted in Tanzania, leaving the worlds biggest volcanic crater (20km wide or 12 miles) which is now home to one of the highest concentrations of animals in the world. Every day we were fed very well although always hungry for more animals, to shoot! With the camera I mean! :D

Monday - Safaris from the highway: Yesterday was a tiring one. We had an all day bus from Arusha (in the north) to Mbeya all the way in the south (20 hours)! During the drive during the sunset we passed through a national park, strange to have the highway go through, but we were able to see a dozen giraffes many of which were feeding by the road. Welcome to Africa! Despite getting in around 2am, we were able to quickly find a hotel and get to sleep.

So what's next; I'm now writing you from Zambia and we are waiting for our over night bus to go to the capital Lusaka, no rest, too much to see!

Quahari,

Dan and Marina

Week 55 - Tanzania

The top of Africa - oh yeah baby!!!

Meet our new friend - Kili

A view of the glaciers on top

our team


View from Barafu camp

Some of the bizarre vegetation

How the porters carry things

Mambo Kaka! (this isn't what you think you Russians & Italians)

We came, we climbed, we conquered Kilimanjaro!

Tanzania is certainly what you get when you expect raw Africa! Whilst it's very touristy for the safaris, trekking and Zanzibar, the cities are wild and chaotic.

I can tell you that our bus ride from Dar Es Salaam to Moshi was the scariest one of our entire trip!! If you can take your mind back to the 80's when Barbie first hit the shelves - do you remember the chaos of people trying to buy these; well imagine we are Ken and Barbie and its 9:30 at night in Tanzania. Thankfully we came away unscathed with only Marina's mirror stolen from her bag; pretty much all of our zippers open - bags that is.... It's certainly worse than any bus ride in Venezuela or Ecuador! Don't worry, its all pretty safe, just a bit of petty theft attempts before you start telling us to come home..

The story of this blog is about Kilimanjaro and our true conquests of Africa's tallest mountain!

Our path thus far: Dar Es Salaam > Moshi > Kilimanjaro National Park > Arusha

Tuesday - Wednesday: Preparations: The feat of traveling from Nungwi (northern Zanzibar) to Moshi in the same day (by only public transport) is truly monumental. We had to run onto the ferry to Dar and purchased the last two seats on the last bus at 1pm. Let me say, Marina also had to fight to get the tickets past numerous men with strong elbows - Russian women are indeed tough, as you will also read later. I can tell you after this bus ride and arrival in Moshi I was shocked we still had our belongings and the sanctity of the room was priceless. On Wednesday we started our hunt for a trip to the top of Kili. This was surprisingly easy. The price of this trek was double our cruise in the Galapagos, and this was a really good deal. The government in Tanzania has its hands out in every direction sucking in a good portion of the tourist dollars, and as you would guess, giving very little back to the local people who are lucky to earn a 100 or 200 dollars US per month. In as little as 2 hours we had arranged a 6 day trip via the scenic and reportedly more difficult Machame route. This was a private trek just for us and we personally had 8 Tanzanians to help as guides, cooks, and porters. This is one of the major advantages of booking locally. We think we are social people, but when climbing, get out of our way and we don't like a group slowing us down. Is that a bit rude? :D

Thursday - Monday: Kilimanjaro (5896 meters or 19,457 feet): Friends gave us great advice to help us pick this trek and it was certainly the right one! We were at the gates by 10am and the first ones to head off. The hike on Day 1 was very scenic going through varying landscapes from dense forest inhabited by monkeys to arid desert with cacti. We finished the day around 2pm and had a lot of time to relax. Thankfully for the first time on this trip we had porters to carry our things - so we snuck in a little Jonny Walker in the bags adding a little extra enjoyment to this afternoon. Being a little bit of diehard trekkers, we went for combining day 2 & 3 into a long day's hike. Our porters weren't too happy, but agreed. Now this gave us a challenge and we passed many groups of people on the way. I would say the amount of people climbing Kili on the Machame route is similar to our experience on the Inca trail. Although 99% of people go so slow its easy to just pass them. All of the camps were ideally located and we had great views of Kilimanjaro each day. On top of that, as we climbed in July providing clear skies with no rain during the trek. On Day 3 we hiked for about 5 hours making it to the Barafu camp where we would start our summit the next day. On day 4 we started with the sunrise around 0640 and started the tough hike to the top. This was a bit of punishment as I was calling the trail easy thus far. This day was truly challenging, not only due to the steep incline, but when your above 5,000 meters (16000 feet) every step is 2 or 3 times tougher. As we approached the summit the views were mind blowing, but the true visual pleasure was Kili's glaciers! Said to be receding and completely gone by 2020, these things were monsters and comparable to the Perito Moreno (glacier) in Argentina! Once near the summit Marina's altitude sickness was really kicking in and she almost had to be dragged for the last 50 meters. Major credit to her for hanging in there and accomplishing the task. Emanuel our guide said she was the first girl he has taken to complete the climb in 5 days! I can tell you reaching the top of Africa is pure bliss, mixed with a headache. I was ok until the top, but it wasn't too bad; the excitement was incredible. As we decided to start in the morning rather than at night for the sunrise, we had the entire summit to ourselves to enjoy. On day 5 we hiked the remainder of the way down and made it yesterday to civilization! Being stingy with our days, we picked up our bags and jumped in a bus for the city of Arusha, the best place to arrange safaris.

Next on the list - the Serengheti and Ngorongoro Crater! Bring on the Lions!

Quoharey!

Dan and Marina

Week 54 - Zanzibar

Our nightly view of Nungwe, Zanzibar!

Jumbo!

We are now in Africa and enjoying this remarkable place; grant it, we haven't gotten off the tourist trail yet, but that will be later in Tanzania! In the mean time we are going to appreciate some of the most famous places this continent offers!

You may wonder why I haven't titled this post - Tanzania, well, Tanzania indeed owns Zanzibar, but historically speaking, Zanzibar has been its own entity, albeit owned by many different empires, mainly and most recent before Tanzania, the Omani! The Arabian architecture is evident as you stroll through Stone Town - Zanzibar's capital. Another group of people who have settled in Zanzibar are Indians and we were sure happy to see them as we arrived and read the menus of Zanzibar. Whilst most of the Indians in Zanzibar are very well off, the restaurants have really picked up their cuisine and provided us delicious spicy food. In the past the main route to Zanzibar was by boat from India and many spices were traded here, some of which you can still smell in the markets and see in Zanzibar's cuisine.

Speaking of India, I would have to say it was the last place in our travels we have seen such amazing clothing the women wear. Whilst also very conservative in dress they wear these stunning garbs when swimming. The colors are an amazing array of the rainbow and left me staring, not in culture shock, but in true interest.

Electrifying, well, that's not a good way to describe Zanzibar during the moment due to its shortage of the sparky utility. Power cuts are a daily occurrence and it's not uncommon for the electricity to drop 10 times/night! In fact, in December, "coincidentally" before the elections, the Tanzania to Zanzibar power cable was severed and Zanzibar was without electricity for three months!

Our path - Dar es Salaam > Stone Town > Nungwe

Friday - Slave Market: Not the most beautiful start to a day, but I'll tell you more soon. We landed in Dar es Salaam around 0630 and made a bee line trip to the port and headed to Zanzibar. I am never one to skip the main city, but I hear in Africa things are different. From what I saw of Dar, I wasn't excited, but who knows, maybe if we gave it a chance, possibly on the way back. Once in Stone Town, Zanzibar, we didn't realize it was the high season and stupidly didn't book accommodation. Nothing too tragic, but it took a while to find a place, whilst dodging the many touts. Eventually we were settled in a room with a stunning view and started our exploration of this labyrinth town. The most impressive site of our trip was the Slave Market where the abolition of slavery was delayed until the 1870's, making this location the last known slave market. Seeing the tiny quarters where so many people were held was gut wrenching. We later went to Mercury's for drinks and dinner - named after Zanzibar's most famous person - Freddy Mercury! After we stumbled upon a night market which was a seafood paradise! We had just eaten, but still found room for a grilled calamari and a crab claw the size of Marina's hand ($6)!

Saturday - dalla dallas: After a taxi "issue", we caught the local bus from Stone Town to the northern most point of Zanzibar, called Nungwe. The ride was a very cool and authentic experience. We sat next to a local businessman who spoke excellent English telling us about his time in Wales, during which we had live chickens two seats from us. Once in Nungwe we found a nice hotel and made our way to the beach. The turquoise waters reminded me of our recent trip with the family to Aruba. The rest of the day was all about relaxing on the beach, having a few drinks and a delicious seafood dinner that evening.

Sunday - Diving the Indian Ocean: Zanzibar is well known as an excellent place for diving so we figured we would try our luck. Before we even entered the water we saw multiple dorsal fins only 50 meters away showing a good sign of marine life. No not sharks again, these were curious dolphins checking out the dive boats. The dives were stunning, and we saw a huge variety of fish, a turtle, giant groupers, blue lion fish, and spectacular fields of coral. We used the rest of the day once back on land to repeat the previous days lazy behavior, sun, drinks, and seafood!

Monday - Rock Lobster & Barracuda: Well, I can't really report on what we did today as it wasn't much. We were at the beach early and soaked in lots of sun. Besides my Russian lesson and Marina's completing a few chapters of English we didn't do anything productive. This was our last day of rest before we take on the continent. For dinner tonight we had a fabulous meal - Rock Lobster and Barracuda - all for the price of a Burger King meal for one in Oslo!

So what's next - tomorrow we are heading for Moshi and the task of climbing the biggest mountain and also volcano, in Africa - KILIMANJARO!

Until next time,

Kwa Heri,

Dan and Marina

Week 53 - France & Luxembourg

Stunning Strasbourg

Luxembourg City

Vianden Chateau

Vianden from above

Bonjour, Moien,

Back in London now and all ready to rock off to the cradle of civilization - AFRICA!!!

However, we aren't there yet, so let me tell you about my trip to France & Luxembourg last week.

I'm sure most of you know all about France so I'll concentrate on the Alsace region where I traveled. This area has been a constant fight between the French and Germans exchanging hands many times. From the look and feel, its certainly French, however, its German roots are firmly secured in its cuisine. Unfortunately it wasn't the lovely Bavarian cuisine that I am now addicted to! If you have a hankerin for raw-looking pork knuckle or organs, you will love Strasbourg! They have such a bizarre cuisine.

Sunday - Baeckoffe: I arrived in Strasbourg, France before dark and made my way out to enjoy the splendid French architecture. There are only a few countries in the world that give me a great feeling just being there and France is certainly one of them. In typical European fashion, the old town is surrounded by a river and is the center for Strasbourg's history and entertainment. In the center of the old town is the towering Notre Dame cathedral with its cool Gothic architecture. Having had a few late nights in Munich, I was keen on an relaxing time. I managed to weed through a few restaurants not finding any food to my liking, which is impossible in the rest of France and managed to locate the town's specialty - Baeckoffe. The dish is a concoction of several types of meat including potatoes cooked in a wine sauce. Pretty decent food, especially with a glass of Bordeaux, however, they snuck in a pork knuckle...

Luxembourg is one of Europe's smallest countries, although it packs a serious financial punch for its weight. Known as a tax haven, its not surprising to see the numerous expensive German cars flying down its hilly streets. Luxembourg City, its capital is set in a very dramatic setting with numerous peaks and valleys offering a superb view in most areas of the city.

Luxembourgeois is a very bizarre language. At times, I thought it was Russian. The language, to me, does not resemble, French, German or Dutch, despite the proximity of where these languages are spoken, however they do seem to have some of the same words. As you will have seen above and below (next to the French), good morning and goodbye are very unique. If you have a chance, you need to hear this language!

Monday - Plaza de Armes: France was just a short stint and my real excitement was getting to Luxembourg to complete my last European country. My first footstep in Europe was in May 2000, with Rob Glynn in Paris, France and I haven't looked back since. I'm not sure why I left Luxembourg until the last of the 44 countries, but I can say it certainly wouldn't be last in a ranking of interesting places on the continent! I arrived in Luxembourg city by early afternoon and made my way out to see its sights, hoping that if I ticked them off, the next day would be for the countryside. My self-arranged tour took me past the Grand Ducal Palace, Notre Dame cathedral - yes Europe has a few of these things, the castle ruins, and several of its squares. Just as in most South American cities, Luxembourg City has a thriving Plaza de Armes which has numerous outdoor cafes full of post work groups and couples dining.

Tuesday - Vianden Chateau: I woke up early to head out of Lux city and to see the countryside. My first stop was this remote country area near Bourscheid Castle. Due to my comments on the last blog about the ease of travel in Europe, the gods punished me and I spent a good 90 minutes looking for my trail through the Ardennes up to the castle. Only about 40 miles away was the famous Battle of the Bulge. Eventually, I was on my path and hiking up to the castle which is in a state of disrepair, but still showed remnants of its glorious past. The castle dates back one thousand years and allows great views of the surrounding Luxembourg countryside. Later in the day, I took a train and bus to reach the town of Vianden; a pristine European town, featuring a beautifully restored landmark called the Vianden Chateau (however looks like a impressive castle). Besides having an amazing setting in this gorgeous little town, you can walk through the castle and view the rooms in their original state and function. Later that night I went out for dinner and drinks with a few Koreans talking about their travel stories in London and our stories from Korea.

Wednesday - Air France: I had an early flight, waking up at 4:30, nonetheless I made it back to the best wife and best city in the world!

What's next for us - On Thursday we fly out to Tanzania! So we look forward to hitting the beach in Zanzibar and diving it's electric blue waters!

Wish us luck on our next adventure in Africa!

Au Revoir, Addi

Week 52 - Norway & Germany

Did anyone see the Vikings?

Oslo Opera House

The top of Mt Zugspitze with Jon Lurie

Enjoying a Beer Garden with Kenny and Rob

Partying with the Panter

Guttentag!

I cannot tell you how comfortable travelling Europe has been, great efficiency and the many conveniences. Good news, Marina has successfully gained her necessary visas for Africa, so we are rearing to go; however, will enjoy the next two weeks in Europe. The European summertime is incredible!

My path thus far: Oslo > Munich > Garmisch-Partenkirchen > Munich

Norway, Europe's second richest country, is very well off indeed. Norway's tourists always complain about the price of beer and well the price of EVERYTHING in Norway; so let me elaborate: Beer (pint) is $13-18 EACH!! I didn't eat at Burger King, but a Whopper meal is $16!
Perpetual daylight, Oslo is north enough to be free from any true darkness during the summer months. The sky is dark blue from 11pm - 3am when the sun starts to rise; very enjoyable when exploring Norway's capital.
Summer houses: Norwegians and especially Oslo's residents go to their summerhouses on the fjord for boating, swimming and relaxing. For my next trip there, I want one!

Sunday - Boxing: By 8pm I was checked into my hotel and was out seeing Oslo. I found a sports bar to watch the Haye v Klitchko fight. There I met quite a few Norwegians that took this lone solo traveler under their wing. Although Haye didn't win, most of us were cheering for him and had a good night.

Monday - 4th of July party: Being Sunday (the 3rd), I suppose the Americans in Oslo, there must be a lot of us, threw a huge party in central Oslo with lots of BBQ stands, live music and a car show.

Tuesday - All nighter: I was glad to get a good sleep the night before as this was going to be a long day. My bus to the airport would leave at 4am to the airport so I didn't keep my hotel room; you can guess these aren't cheap either. I spent the day seeing Oslo's sights. Notably, the Viking Museum with its original ships, the Framm museum showing Norway's explortion of the North & South poles including the actual ship which they sailed, also the Kon-Tiki museum which is a tribute to Thor Hezerdahl who sailed all over the world in a boat made of papyrus reeds. Later I toured the Nobel (Peace Prize) museum and then the Royal Palace, which was open just for a month in July. Towards the end of the day I took a Fjord cruise seeing many of the summer houses and gorgeous scenery. If anyone is wondering, a fjord is just an underwater valley which typically provides numerous islands. Around 11pm I went out to have a few beers and more Norwegians again were very hospitable taking me into their group which quickly killed the hours before I needed to get my bus. They distracted me enough to not leave early and when I reached the bus station, the room containing lockers (and my bag) were LOCKED!!! You can imagine how I felt! Thankfully a cleaner showed me an open door allowing me to get my bag, just 10 minutes before the bus left. There was not another bus for 4 hours and I can only guess what a 90 minute taxi in Norway would cost...

Deutschland - aka Germany!!!!

I've been to Germany a few times before so I knew what to expect, however the biggest surprise has been the food. I have somewhat written off German food, but every meal I've had has been delicious! The general theme of food is pork, beef or chicken, with potatoes and gravy. Maybe I'm just missing this type of food, but it has been excellent! I can say, I love Bavarian food!
German Beer - I don't need to tell you how good this stuff is, its arguably the best in the world, my rankings put it just after Belgium as the number two. One piece of advice when getting beer in Germany - don't order a Radler! It's not beer! Brits - think Shandy... yuk!
Olympic Bid -Sadly, Germany had prepared numerous festivities for their win of the 2018 winter Olympics, but Korea spoiled our party :( However, people just seemed to get on with it and still have a good time in the beer gardens.

Tuesday - Garmisch: Jon Lurie, who shared the best man job with Raj for my wedding was arriving in Munich that night to hangout for the next few days. Until then, I needed to kill about 9 hours in Munich, remember I hadn't slept the night before. I did a fairly good job, but wisely, I noticed a lot of people sleeping or relaxing under trees in the parks of Munich. Not being in South America, I felt pretty safe and enjoyed a few hours of fantastic sleep! Jon landed as planned and soon we were in route to the Bavarian town of Garmisch. We didn't waste time and were soon out enjoying Germany's tastiest product - BEER!

Wednesday - Zugspitze: Well, I'd like to add the Zugspitze to the list of mountains climbed on this trip, but we took the lazy way up. On top, nearly 3,000 meters high (10,000 feet) is Germany's highest beer garden where we indulged in both delicious beer and filling food. Today was the day when Germany lost the Olympic bid, but that didn't keep us down, in fact, Jon had his first ever Jagerbomb!

Thursday - Neuschwanstein castle: Leaving Garmisch we drove to see the place Disney modeled their castle after. Neuschwanstein is the perfect example of Bavarian architecture! We spent the night in Munich visiting beer gardens along with Jon's friend Christian; such a great time!

Friday & Saturday - Munich's kicking nightlife: For the weekend I stayed with a good friend from MessageLabs - Kenny Abe. During the day visited a posh beer garden in the suburbs and then headed to Lake Starnburg. There we rented a boat with a few of his friends, swimming and cruising around. Both nights we went to happening bars staying up to the early hours. Felix Panter joined us on Saturday night making the weekend a cool MessageLabs DACH reunion!

So what's next; I will go to Strasbourg, France; then up to Luxembourg for my last European country. When I say last, yes, I will return to London, but more interesting - I will have now seen every country in Europe! I am pretty excited, so bring on Luxembourg!

Auf Wedersehen

Dan