walk the earth

Home!

2006-05-25T23:10:00.000-05:00

Well, I spent my official last night of the trip in London with Tim and Pascale. It was really good fun. We went out for a beer at a pub on the Thames and then dinner near Tower bridge. They're both doing quite well, working and enjoying London life. It was fantastic talking to Tim again about all of the adventures we all shared (with Matt of course) through Nepal, Tibet, India, Switzerland, and Germany. He remembered things I had forgotten and vice versa. It would have been awesome if Matt had been there to complete the crew, hopefully all three of us can meet up someday soon. Right now Matt's in South America, and from all reports, it sounds like he's having an excellent time.

Enjoy some of the last views of the trip.

Tim, Pascale, and I. In London.

Tower Bridge, London.

the wharf area, Thames river, London.

Tower Bridge and Thames River, London.

Night London.

A couple of odd signs on the walk by the river:

steaming X's? hmm. And what exactly makes it anti-climb paint?
it wasn't slippery...

I slept well on my last night and had a quick breakfast the next morning, said farewell to Tim. I took the Tube to Heathrow and boarded my last plane of the journey.

It was great; my flight home was the most comfortable of the trip. Nice new airbus, Virgin Atlantic tricked it out with bigger seats, huge flat screens for all, a great entertainment system with 20+ movies, tv shows, video games, music, live flight maps with satellite imagery, and great food. With all that in economy, I can't imagine what's in First Class. Because of all the toys, I didn't sleep at all.

First sight of America below, it had been quite a while.

I'm roughly estimating 38,000 miles covered, The vast majority of those on 18 separate flights, but substantial miles were covered on various buses, trains, taxis, matatus, tuk-tuks, boda-bodas, bicycles, and footsteps. 20 countries visited, passport filled, new pages added, all in a little less than 9 months. 254 days, not that I was counting.

So, right, I'm back home. Safe and sound. Trip Done. Over. Finished. Feels weird. But so great to see friends and family again.

My folks met me at Washington/Dulles with a sign which read "MOLONEY," I picked them out of the crowd instantly. It was great, hugs all around and lots to talk about. There was also a nice "welcome back Pat" banner on the house. I'm extremely lucky to have such understanding and supportive parents, family, and friends. Thanks again for giving me the confidence to reach high, always knowing there's a big net to catch me if I fall. Luckily, this time, I didn't fall.

Sure, I left some skin in a few places, on a road in India, and on a bike trail in South Africa. Spilled a little blood, swallowed my pride, learned to be patient, learned when shut up, and more importantly when to speak up. Got sick a few times, went liquid, never trusted a fart, barfed until I couldn't barf anymore. Made new friends and no enemies, fell in love, fell out of love. Was sometimes freezing cold, boiling hot, incredibly tired, exhausted, frustrated, scared; but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I was pick pocketed, lost some things, but ended up gaining so much more. Spent money, but earned experience.

So what's next? Good question. I'll let you know when I find the answer.

London Layover

2006-05-23T07:32:00.000-05:00

The weather was pretty cold and rainy in Kaapstad (Cape Town) for my last few days, but since having mostly fine weather on my first visit, I couldn't complain. Still had one last nice afternoon for a run around the city and some outside market souvenir shopping. I also caught up with the lovely and gracious Sara and friends who are studying abroad at the University of Cape Town. I had met them a few weeks before at a hostel in Plett Bay and again in Storms River. We sank some pitchers of Sangria at a waterfront Mexican place the night I got back from Durban and then we all went out to the bars near UCT. It was a really fun night, and a good time spent with a good group of Americans. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone back home, still can't believe it's tomorrow.

I also bumped into Toya from Buccs and we went out to some live music on Long street. Then on my last night, I went out for a really nice sushi dinner with Sara and Liz at a cool seafood place and some good times at a few bars afterwards. After that fun last night in Africa, it was goodbye. I packed up for the long flight to London and took off. British Airways made the ride comfortable and easy and I had some interesting company on that trip too.

So yeah, back in London now. I was in Africa for quite a while, and a few things jumped out at me when I got here. First, there's so many white people. Obvious I know, just not used to it yet. And what's with everyone so dressed up, clean, and in such a rush? When the train into the city stopped briefly, someone made an announcement as to why the train stopped and when it would start again, amazing. It's almost as if time and schedules are important here. I'm afraid this will take some getting used to.

I met up with Tim at his new apartment, uh, 'flat' and am now touring around the city. We're going out tonight, then I'm heading home tomorrow. I will talk to you all soon, and in person.

I'd like say a very sincere thank you to you and everyone else who's followed, enjoyed, commented, contributed, sponsored, joined up, and whom I've met during this trip. It's been an absolutely fantastic journey and adventure, which you've all contributed to in some way. All of you have enhanced this experience and motivated me to share it with you as much as I could, and I wish I could have done more. Thank you all and I'll make a more official farewell post sometime after I get home.

Just so you know, this whole trip started as a brief conversation with Matt while in my car on I-270 a few years ago. He had just come from Africa and was saying how much he'd love to go back and climb Kili. I said if he ever did that I'd like to join him; and look what happened. We certainly climbed Kili and did a whole lot more. Big things start small.

Lekker Bru

2006-05-19T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been an active trip up the coast from Jeffery's Bay with lots of fun in the sun. I've officially started the journey home, by catching a flight from Durban back to Cape Town this morning. From here, I hang out for a few days in the 'Mother City' (Cape Town was the first settlement in South Africa, by the Dutch), hopefully catching up with a few friends I've met along the way. Then take a long haul to London on the 22nd. It's a quick stop there to catch up with the London crew and then back to Frederick, Maryland on the 24th. When saying I'm from "Frederick, Maryland" the following conversation usually ensues: Where's that? It's on the east coast, near Washington DC, the Capital. Oh, is that near Seattle? Nope, that's Washington State, on the west coast. Oh, East coast? Yes, the east coast, the side that New York is on. Oh ok! I got it. So I usually just say "Maryland, near Washington DC, below New York."

Anyway, from J-Bay, I headed to Port Elizabeth, a bigger city for a night, then on to East London. Stayed at a cool place there called SugarShack, right on the beach, then headed off inland to a place called Hogsback. J.R.R. Tolken (author of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings) apparently once lived and got some of his inspiration there. It was easy to see why, all around there were mountains, waterfalls, and thick lush forests. I went for a couple of great hikes, and one sweet bike ride. Met some fun Swiss, a crazed Scotsman, and an even crazier South Africa who were all up for some fun in the mountains. The Scottish guy, Stu, was the chef at the hostel and avid mountain biker, it was really fun to be out on the bike with another keen rider.

View from the hostel lawn.

A beautiful fall day in the Southern Hemisphere.

One of many cool waterfalls.

The swiss crew I went hiking with.

Sunset, moon rise. Wax on, wax off.

the view from the hostel tree house, 40ft up a shaky ladder in a huge pine tree. A tricky climb with cold beer in hand.

the Hogsback Inn, nice spot.

The trail markings were hard to miss.

Madonna falls.

Waterfall # 342...

Sunset, moon rise.

I turned on the lights and look who's on my bed! no joke.
My Reef flipflop gently escorted this guy off the bed and onto the floor. He was then flung, again by flipflop, out the door and safely into the yard. This scorpion was actually not too dangerous, big pinchers/small stinger means he uses his pinchers to kill stuff and not the stinger, so it would have only been as bad as a bee sting. Not that it stung me, or the sandal.

After sunset, then moon rise. The stars were spectacular. We were so far from any cities, they some of the best I've seen, clear and bright.

From Hogsback, I caught a shuttle van to Cintsa and the awesome backpackers place: Buccaneers. It was a really really great place.

View from my room.

One of the staff and Toya, my Israeli scavenger hunt partner. Everyday at 4pm there's a free activity for everyone with free wine included. What an inspired idea? We won the scavenger hunt and had a lot of fun doing it. We won a free breakfast the next day and made it huge.

Went for another bike ride. From the hills to the ocean.

ocean view, fun fast downhill.

We rode across the beach back to Buccs.

My place.

The volleyball with free wine crew. left to right: Peter(Ireland), Caroline(Ireland), Sam(UK), Kate(Scotland), Girl on bench smiling?(S.Africa), Steve(Ireland), Emily(UK), Mark(Denmark) sitting on the ground, Maria(Denmark), and Richard in blue shirt(UK).

Amanda(Minnesota, USA) and me on the breakfast deck. She worked at Buccs and was super cool and great fun. She lead the scavenger hunt (with free wine) and the mud walk through lagoon (with free wine).

View of the lagoon and beach from the 'main house' at Buccs.

View from bus window on the road to Durban.

Lekker Bru roughly means "Nice One Brother" in Afrikaans and is heard quite frequently whilst traveling around S. Africa.

beach life

2006-05-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

the careless and the carless

2006-05-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

Around the coast of South Africa, east of Cape Town, is the 'garden route.' I headed on a bus from Cape Town to the beach town of Plettensburg Bay, or Plett. It was a quiet little spot tucked into a huge bay which routinely gets visits by all kinds of whales, dolphins, sharks, and seals. Because it's almost winter here in the southern hemisphere the water is quite cold, so I opted for a nice long day hike around a cool pennisula instead of a swim.

Hike around Plett bay.

This side was getting bashed by the Indian Ocean, while the other side was pretty calm and had hundreds of seals lying about.

Storms River
After two days in Plett at a great hostel, I headed up to Storms River to do some more hiking and biking... I met a big group of American girls on holiday from their semester at University of Cape Town, a fun bunch for sure, we hung out for a bit.

Went for a mountain bike ride with an Australian girl, April, in Storms River. It was so much fun to be back on a bike again, it was 22km ride with a ambitious hike in the middle. great day.

The very dark waters of the storms river dump into the Indian ocean just down there.

the unfinished bridge we walked across to get to the National park on the other side. It held.

art?

a cool waterfall that I could hear but not see off the side of the trail. I cut through the thick bush down to it and got a couple of good photos; and also picked up quite a few ticks in the process. After coming back up to the trail, I danced around stripping off my cloths trying to get all the ticks (they carry some funky disease). I think I was successful, no symptoms yet. fingers crossed.

me, bike, happy.

On the ride back into 'town' I saw these guys playing soccer and thought it looked nice with the mountain in the background.

downtown Storms River.

From Storms I took yet another bus (i've been thinking about changing the name of this blog from 'walk the earth' to 'bus the earth,' as that would be just as accurate.) Anyway, it was a quick ride to Jeffery's Bay where I am now. A great spot right on the beach, fun crowd, great surf, just about perfect.

location, location...

Oi, oi! Adrian, my roommate and surf buddy, saying hello at the Island Vibe Backpackers. We may suck at surfing, but have a great time out there.

View from the loo.

wind blown surf right on our doorstep.

The sweet guesthouse kitchen, where I whip up massive bowls of pasta and my current breakfast favorite; toast covered in baked beans and a silly amount of cheddar melted on top. a healthy start to a day on the water.

The Cape Escape

2006-04-27T11:04:00.000-05:00

After a long cold wait at a gas station for my bus to arrive in Keetmanshoop, it finally did at 11pm. Things can change quickly while traveling, sometimes better, sometimes worse. As fun as sitting around at a gas station for three hours with the local folks of Keetmanshoop, Namibia was; it was about to get a whole lot better. The bus came. I got on, found my seat next to a trio of girls from Finland who were also on there way to Cape Town. We got along well and made good time out of the 3am border crossing into South Africa. We drove through the night and into the next afternoon before finally rolling into beautiful and sunny Cape Town, South Africa.

"Travel the world over and you will not find a more beautiful city than Cape Town" said the travel guide, and it was right on. This is a Fantastic city in an extraordinary location dominated by impressive Table Mountain. Where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet at the south western tip of the African continent has always been a strategic shipping point, this city has really done a good job of making it's harbor the center piece. Not like any other African city I've seen, I have to remind myself constantly that this still Africa.

I also met up with an American in the Peace Corp, Kevin from St. Louis, on the bus. We got some lunch after the trip and then split up to head to our respective hostels... while walking down Long street looking for Long St. Backpackers, I bumped into my old travel mate, Dave the British Safari Guide! Because of my Fish River Canyon non-adventure, our schedules had realigned and we had great reunion. Talked about all we had each done since Malawi and had a great time for the next few days checking out the city and surrounds.

welcome to cape town, seth ifrika.

The waterfront and Table Mtn.

downtown.

Went on a tour of Robben Island, the prison island just off the coast where Nelson Mandela was held during Apartheid.

Nelson Mandela's cell.

Robben Island tour.

guard tower, robben island.

The hot ride which took us to the island. The sea was angry that day, there was quite a bit of puking going on during the 20 minute ride out. Dave and I held it together, but when this older gent behind us tossed cookies down the front of his shirt, I got up to get some fresh air above deck.

a friendly seal on the docks.

After two days of cloud, rain, movies with my good friends Dara and Dave, malls, and bars!, it finally cleared up again and we headed up the mountain above the city.

view hiking up Table Mtn.

Dave overlooking Cape Town on Table Mtn.

The city center and harbor.

Looking west.

I told you it was beautiful.

Splash down.

We hiked up around 3pm (because Dave was so hungover (Cape Town has great nightlife) from the night before he couldn't get up before 2:30pm despite my attempts to wake him earlier by hitting him with a Masai club.) We took the last cable car down the mountain after sunset. To be fair, had we gone up any eariler we would have been in the clouds, so it really worked out for the best.

The 'table cloth' being pulled down over the mountain at sunset.

The 'twelve apostles' run down from the mountain on the western side.

On Dave's last full day in Africa we rented a car to explore Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope which is about 50 miles south of Cape Town. Great fun.

Our ride. The powerful 1.3 liter Mazda 323, 5 speed gearbox, 4 wheels, 1 trunk; about the most basic car on the planet.

Yes, yes they are. They stole Dave's sandwich off the table and were chased away by the waiters with slingshots. sorry I should have got a photo of that too.

The Cape Point lighthouse.

it's a beautiful day, don't let it...

We are far from everywhere.

it's a lizard. Andrew, what kind?

Dave and I at Cape Point. We'd come a long way through Africa together and had lots of really good times, it was really fun to meet up again. There was a huge wall map of Africa at our hostel and we retraced our steps from where we met up in Kampala, Uganda. If you find a map of Africa, have a look, it is quite a way to Cape Town, many a bus ride, let me tell you...

face off: mazda 323 vs. female ostrich.

it was a draw.

a hyrax. It's apparently related to an Elephant?

And there were penguins too.

Today I hiked up Lion's Head, a mountain overlooking Cape Town and next to Table mountain with a friend I met in Namibia, Max from Vancouver.

Max climbing up the chains on Lion's Head.

top rock.

We hiked up Lion's Head, then across the 'Lion's rump' to Signal Hill and then back down to the Waterfront area downtown. big day.

another view from the hike.

i'm enjoying an apple at the top.

bye bye.

Next stop Plettensburg Bay up the East coast on the Garden route.

freefall!

2006-04-19T07:20:00.000-05:00

The Namibia tour ended with a stop in Swakopmund on the west coast. Swakop has lots to offer: I chose skydiving. Isabella and Karen from the tour were very keen to do it too, so we headed off to the airport, all very excited.

Swakopmund airport, a dirt runway in the desert, next to the ocean.

This little plane on right took me up to 10,000 ft, door open the whole time, and then I (while strapped to an instructor, Paul) jumped out. It was nuts, and so much fun! The wind was screaming as we fell going faster and faster getting louder and louder. I opened my mouth to take a breath but couldn't close it again, we were going so fast. I thought the wind was going to tear everything off me, watch, shoes, and goggles. We free fell for about 30 seconds to around 3,000ft and then Paul pulled the chute. And instantly everything went quiet. We floated down from there and he gave the controls to me to do some spins and dives, awesome time. The view on the plane ride up was really cool, the Atlantic ocean crashing into an ocean of sand dunes with quad bikes driving all over the dunes. I also got a DVD of the whole thing.

blue steal.

Away we go. Isa and Karen went up after I made it back down, the plane didn't have room for all of us at once.

Coming in for a soft landing.

Glad to be back on the ground. Smiling for the video camera on Paul's arm.

Karen, Me, and Isa after returning to earth. From here we headed back to the guest house, cleaned up and went out to dinner at Cape to Cairo with the whole group from the trip, a great end to a great day.

...Since then I've spent the Easter weekend in Windhoek hanging around trying to organize some hiking in the Fish River Canyon, with no success. Then I took a bus south to Keetmanshoop, where I've been for the past two days, but still haven't been able to sort out a hike. Sadly, the Fish river is massively flooding at the moment, so no hiking in the canyon. I tried to organize a hike outside the canyon but couldn't get permission to go it alone, must pay for a guide, and there's few other travellers in the area to come along. So, I'll just have to save it for later. Next up, Cape Town!

whatever's clever

2006-04-18T05:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Namibia.

After meeting back up with Isabella in Windhoek, she twisted my arm and made me go on a 4 trip around the country taking in some of the highlights. We headed off from Windhoek in the morning and were quickly out of city and into the bush or 'veld'. From there we headed to Sesreium through Solitude and then onto Soususeveli and the huge sand dune ocean. A very cool sight.

The beast from the east, another Toyota Land Cruiser. On left is our guide "Beanie," Isabella, and Katie.

Massive Cricket. There were honestly thousands of these all over the roads. They come out after the rainy season to eat and get run over by the hundreds by our fast moving Land Cruiser.

In my hand, they are big and apparently delicious.

Beanie looking funny taking photos of the group with everyone's cameras. She was a fantastic guide, lots of fun.

View from near our campsite, day 1, walking to a dune.

Hiking from camp to one of the dunes to watch the sunset.

Hiking up a dune at Sousesevlei at sunrise on day 2.

Sun up scene over the dunes.

Rob, a Kiwi (New Zealander) hiking up one of the dunes. Later in the day, Rob and I hiked up the "crazy dune" which is aptly named because it is considered crazy to hike up it. It was straight up and very hard to climb as the sand would just slide down covering our feet and making progress quite slow. Two steps up, one step back...

Water in the desert? It's not a mirage, the rainy season just finished and this will be gone soon.

Next up was the dry lakebed of Deadvlei, a nice hike over the dunes under the punishing sun.

dead tree in deadvlei. These trees are preserved by the dry air and have been here for hundreds of years.

Katie, a friendly American law student, hiking up part of the "crazy dune,"aka "big daddy."

Rob on top of the "big daddy"dune, cool view, completely exhausted.

Me on top after a heck of a walk up. You can see where we came from below in the background left. I was glad I had two liters of water, drank it all and then some more when we made it back to the truck. It was an awesome run/fall/crash down the face of the dune, really steep down back to the dry lake bed below.

Scenery from the top overlooking the Namibian desert.

another dead tree at deadvlei.

A nice walk through Sesriem canyon later that day.

I just like this photo, I think it came out well. We found a baby 'horned adder' snake in the parking lot, very poisonous with cool little horns on its nose. Sorry, couldn't get close enough for a photo, as it was very poisonous and seemed a little bit angry.

Springboks.

Isabella, the cool German doctor who was kind enough to put up with me for the past few weeks, is looking none to pleased to have her photo taken whilst overlooking the scenery on the way to Swankopmund.

eat at your own risk.

The Smoke that Thunders

2006-04-13T04:50:00.000-05:00

Victoria Falls is known as "the smoke that thunders" in chichewa (the local language), and thunder it does.

In Lusaka, Zambia I met a British/Chinese guy named Kun (pronounced "Quinn") at Chachacha backpackers who was also heading to Victoria Falls/Livingstone so we took a 7 hour bus down there together. It's was an easy (rooster free) ride and once there we checked into the awesome Jolly Boys backpackers in Livingstone. Upon arrival I saw a couple of friends that I'd been traveling with for a while and was happy to meet up with again, Steve and Isabella. They'd met up with Andy (UK) and Nina (German) so there was a good group instantly, sweet. We cooked a dinner together and planned some fun for the next few days.

The next morning Kun and I took the shuttle to the Falls and spent most of the day checking them out on various hiking trails and viewpoints all around on the Zambian side. Victoria Falls is shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe; you can cross over to either country on a huge bridge over the gorge with spectacular views and a 300ft bungee jump.

The gorge between Zambia and Zimbabwe with the Zambezi in between. Bungee is off the middle of the bridge.

With so much water pouring over the falls a soaking mist gets stirred up all around.

No photograph can do it justice.

overlooking the thundering falls and getting drenched.

Here in Southern Africa the rainy season has just finished. Because of this the Zambezi river, which flows over the falls, was running as high as ever. This was both good and bad. Good because the falls were huge, thundering, and awesome. Bad because the river was too high to go rafting, only one company was running the river and they were just doing rapids 14-23, not even half the river. A bummer, but there's plenty else to do around the falls and I kept very busy.
After checking out the falls all day, Kun and I walked into a 5 star resort nearby and bargained are way into a most spectacular buffet. It was a great feed and we gorged ourselves on the edge of the gorge and the falls, fantastic.

The next day Kun was keen to try the bungee jump so Isabella and I went to watch him do it/push him off if he chickened out. He did it with ease, it looked like tons of fun. But bungee's not really my thing, I passed. Later that day the whole group went on a sunset booze cruise on the Zambezi above the falls, it was a super fun all you can drink fiasco with about 30 people which ended with a birthday cake fight, we all made it back to Jolly Boys for a late night swim.

On the following day Kun and I were keen to do something active so we checked out the Gorge Swing. It was a great day filled with gravity and terror as we chucked ourselves off a massive cliff over and over again. The free fall was about 160ft until the rope went tight and pulled us away from the ground. It was so much fun but really really scary. We also went rappelling forwards and backwards, shot across zip lines and hiked up and out of the gorge many many times. We were completely spent by the end of the day and crashed out by the Jolly Boys pool which was filled, yet again, by bikini clad Swedes. Yep, another tough day in Africa.

lets fly.

being pulled back over the gorge.

terrified. this was my second jump on the gorge swing which was done facing the cliff with my feet tied together (so the rope wouldn't go between the legs...), the safety guy basically leans you out over the edge of the 300 ft cliff and then counts to three and lets you drop.

After five days of fun in Livingstone I got a great deal on transport to Windhoek, Namibia; where I am now. A safari trip from Windhoek had just finished its journey at Jolly Boys and the two guides were heading back to their base, I got on board with them in a 9 passenger Land Cruiser with trailer for the whole ride (~600 miles) for $50. Way cheaper and more comfortable than the bus! We camped overnight next to a massive meteorite and got to Windhoek in two days. It was really fun having the whole vehicle to myself and the guides, Benny and Martin were really good fun. We took our time and eat like kings having a big BBQ at camp. I met back up with Isabella in Windhoek and planned the next adventure...

alone again, on the road again

2006-04-03T06:19:00.000-05:00

Safari guide Dave and I said farewell in Blantyre, Malawi; and then there was one. Dave caught the ~28 hour bus to Jo'burg, South Africa to meet up with his work friends down there and to eventually head back to England. I took off on a 8 hour bus back to Lilongwe, Malawi's lazy capital and to start my south western migration to Victoria Falls and eventually to Cape Town. I had a great time travelling with Dave, we made a good team and had lots of fun together. He's going to spend about two months at home in England, and then will head back to Africa to work at a sweet lodge in South Luwanga National Park, in Zambia.

I had a really fun bus trip back to Lilongwe, had three seats to myself for the first couple of hours. I was reading and watching the beautiful Malawi countryside go by, then it all went so wrong. Our bus lost first gear, or something happened to the transmission. We didn't stop, but it slowed us down a lot. I had caught the 'SpeedLink' bus, not the express bus, so it was making lots of stops letting people on and off. So that was no big deal, just lots of gears griding and engine revving. Next problem: We were passed by another bus spewing dark fumes and then a few minutes later passed it on the side of the road. The other bus driver was waving his arm at our bus to stop and help, much to the protest of the passengers on my bus, we stopped. The other bus was toast so they all piled onto our bus, which was near capacity already. There went the seat to myself. I was joined by a nice older woman who had a rooster strapped to her back much the way they usually carry children here, and a couple of guys piled into the seat with us. Nice and smashed, the typical travel condition in Africa. This rooster just stared at me the whole time as if I was going to kill it, he was highly suspect of me as he should have been, i was hungry. The woman would feed it corn kernels every now and again after it would cluck a bit. I noticed she expertly had it's bum wrapped in a plastic bag, a rooster diaper if you will, to prevent it's stinky drippy poo from leaking down her back as she carried it.

The bus was super packed and we continued, gear griding away from every stop. All of a sudden, everyone on the bus erupted into shouts, whistles, screams, and pounds of their hands on windows; the usual symbol for distress. I had no idea what was going on, but figured it wasn't much, massive freak outs are pretty common and usually are caused by nothing. Well, not so in this case. Apparently, since the bus was packed, the roof had taken the overflow passengers and their cargo. Some of the cargo had not been properly secured, surprise surprise, and had flown off the roof as the bus got up to speed. So, the driver stops and a guy from the roof takes off down the road to recover said lost cargo. He returned with a bundle of tied up live chickens. They had flown off the roof, this was a big bus, and landed on the road, somehow unharmed. Tough chickens. So we continued and eventually made it to Lilongwe just after dark, and I took a taxi to a take away restaurant and ordered some chicken. It was delicious.

The next day I took a mini bus to the Zambian border and crossed into Chapata, a pleasant small town with a ShopRite supermarket, Barclays Bank, and hostel nearby. I went for a great run and got many strange looks, nobody runs around here. The next day I took a bus to where I am now, Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. I've been noticing as I progress south that infrastructure is improving rapidly. I'm loving it. Roads, there are roads! And usually they are more pavement than pothole, a welcome treat. And I'm back to the land of drinkable water, straight from the tap!

The 'plan' is to head to Livingstone, and see Victoria Falls. It's one of the 7 wonders of the world, and the 'adventure capital of Africa.' There's all sorts of stuff to do, rafting, bungee, rope swings, jet boating, helo rides, microlight flights, boat cruises, etc. I'll do something fun, not sure what yet. After that I'm thinking about heading west to Namibia and to see the Atlantic ocean again. I've almost circled the globe now, cool feeling. There all sorts of stuff to do there, including sandboarding down some massive dunes and going nuts in a dune buggy. After that, I'll try to do a hike in the Fish River Canyon, which is a second only to the Grand Canyon in size, near the South African border. Only trick with that is I need to find a group to go with, as there's a 3 person minimum to enter, it's a wild place, can't go solo. Then heading south south south to South Africa and all it's first world greatness. I'll hit Cape Town and then head up the coast to Durban, and hopefully have time for some surf lessons and then hiking in the Drakensburg range near Lesotho. Then it sadly comes to end my friends... I've booked a flight to London from Cape Town on May 22nd. I'll have a day and a half to catch up with some friends in London and then it's hop across the pond back home on the 24th of May. I have mixed emtions about coming home, definitely looking forward to seeing everyone again, and to having a return to normalcy. But I know I'll really miss the adventure of travel and life on the road. It sure has been fun, though tough sometimes, but always an adventure. Someone asked me what I would do differently if I was doing it all over again, I really couldn't think of anyhting.
I've got some short trips this summer that I'm really looking forward to, and some fun ideas of what to do with life after that... but I'm also open to suggestions. Comment away.

on the slow boat

2006-03-30T05:21:00.000-05:00

A three hour tour...

The boat trip down Lake Tanganyika was a nice change of pace from our usual modes of transport (the overstuffed minibus). There was four of us heading down the lake, Dave Maher (the always suave British safari guide), Steve (British), and Pierre (French). We split up into two first class cabins, which had two beds each. The cabins were pretty good, they were clean, had a sink, closet, and it came with sheets! Luxury. The ship had a restaurant with local dishes and a small bar serving beers, cokes, and peanuts. On board there were three classes (1st, 2nd, and floor), since the boat is a combination cargo/people mover, there was always a lot of activity going on, including an usually high amount of breast feeding. The MV Liemba is the only way for many lakeside villages to get supplies and pretty much their only access to the 'outside world.' The lake is massive, it's really like an inland ocean. It's the second largest lake in Africa, and the second deepest lake in the world. When we got out into the middle of it, you couldn't see all the way across, just water all the way to the horizon. The trip was to take about 2 days and we were planning to get off on the 10th stop, Kasanga.

Overlooking Kigoma, the main port on Lake Tanganyika.

We spent a couple of pretty lazy days in Kigoma waiting for the boat to arrive and then leave, but it was a scenic place on the northern part of the lake, in western Tanzania. Pierre was recovering from Malaria and we were just ready to hit the water. We got going about 4 hours late, pretty standard, and sailed off.

The mighty ship. ~93 years old.

usual on deck activity.

sailing off into the sunset. Day 1.

The captains view.

early morning on the lake, quite serene.

Pirates!
well not exactly. Most of the villages which are serviced by the ship don't have any docks, so the only way for goods and people to get on or off is to use these little tender boats. For them, it's big business and they jockey for position as soon as the Liemba comes to a stop. The guys climb aboard and get the stuff and people off the big boat and into their little one. A frenzy of activity.

The Steve. There was plenty of time to read, write in journals, and stare off into the distance. Day 2.

The mighty MV Liemba after we pulled into port at our destination: Kasanga, Tanzania.

Since the ship was late the bus we were to catch left earlier that morning, so we hiked into town and spent the night a local guest house. The place had no running water, just a bucket which collected the rain water off the roof. No electricity in the town, but this place had a small generator which ran the TV and Dish system, so we were blessed with South African soap operas at loud volume into the night. Priorities...

road scene, Malawi

The goat killer. This Toyota HiAce, the minibus of choice throughout Africa, hit a goat on the way to Mzuzu, the driver didn't even flinch, just kept on going. The goat was probably killed instantly as it was a clean head shot on the steel front bumper.

When we would stop to let people on or off during the minibus journey we had the option to buy various kinds of cooked fish. Delicious.

Local kids enjoying the digital camera. They would laugh in hysterics each time I showed them their photo.

Sunset from our dorm room, Nhkata Bay, Lake Malawi.

Dave and Cheryl, on Nhkata Bay. We first met Cheryl in Rwanda, she's Canadian on a African holiday and heading South also. So we all met up in Nhkata Bay for a few days. Steve and Cheryl have since headed to Victoria Falls, I'm hoping to meet up with them again soon.

Mayoka Village, our fantastic hostel on Lake Malawi.

Me on board the boat.

Made it to Mzuzu

2006-03-21T04:59:00.000-05:00

Had an excellent adventure down Lake Tanganyika and am currently in Mzuzu, Malawi. I'm excited to be in 'Southern' Africa now, having traveled through every country in 'East' Africa. I'm planning a lazy path from here down to Capetown, South Africa via Malawi, Zambia and then I'm not sure... maybe Botswana and Namibia or Zimbabwe and Mozambique, but all paths lead south. Any suggestions? I'll update fully as soon as I can!

Burundi or Bust

2006-03-14T04:10:00.000-05:00

The day after visiting the gorillas, Dave and I headed west in a packed minibus to the town of Gisenyi, on the north end of Lake Kivu. Kivu splits Rwanda from the Congo (aka Zaire, aka Democratic Republic of Congo) and is exceptionally beautiful. We had heard from a couple of other travellers in Rwanda that the Congo made for an interesting day trip. Just over the Congo border lies the town of Goma, which was half covered in hot liquid magma during a volcanic eruption in 2002. So we decided to cross over and check it out.

Lunch spot, beside Lake Kivu, Rwanda.
(Looks nice, right? A few minutes after this photo was taken a prostitute came over to our table and stole a french fry off Dave's plate, apparently upset after we rather directly declined her services.)

Lake Kivu, Rwanda.

Local transport. Goma, Congo.

Our transport. Goma, Congo.

The sights around Goma were refugee camps, Asian UN peacekeepers in APCs and Land Cruisers and hoards of shifty taxi drivers around a busy airport. A 20 minute ride out to the lava should cost $5, our lowest offer was $40, and the highest was $100, all bargaining done in French. Thus we took the motorcycles which were $5.

Lava flow covering village, Congo.

Crowned Crane, lunch spot, Congo. Best burger in Africa.

Local Beer. Delicious.

Another view of Lake Kivu, Rwanda. A nice lakeside stroll to and from the Congo border.

Rwanda to Burundi:
Burundi is a beautiful small country south of Rwanda which is currently enjoying peace after a 13 year civil war. We were planning to head to Lake Tanganyika, in Tanzania with a stop for a few days in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. Up until a few months ago, Burundi was considered off limits to travellers (see linked travel warning above) We had met a few travellers that had just come through with great success and reported a calm country with friendly people. I had been planning to go around the country through Tanzania, but that was pretty far out of the way, and transport would have been a combination of minibuses, pickup trucks, if anything. Not exactly ideal options. We found a direct bus from Kigali, Rwanda to Bujumbura, Burundi (Yahoo! Express) and had a tip on a good budget hotel there. So, we went for it. It was a superb journey through the most stunning country I've in Africa.

Typical road scene, Burundi.

Village near the Rwanda-Burundi border. I couldn't take too many pictures because the police are still a little weary of people with cameras.

While in Buj, we were trying to find a cargo ship to take us down the lake to Kigoma, where we'd get another ferry further south. However, we never found a boat that was willing to take us on the 16 hour journey, and really weren't all that enthused to spend 16 hours on a cargo ship either. While walking around the port we came across the Medicine San Frotiers (Doctors Without Borders) Logistics base and spoke to Stella, the manager there. She gave us to best quote of the trip: "You guys are brave, I think you're the first tourists I've seen." But she had no idea of cargo ships we could hitch on to Kigoma, so we took a minibus (as per usual) to the nearest town to the border, then a taxi, then had a couple mile stroll to the Tanzanian border post. Its not the "most popular" way to go, but it was really fun to do it.

Lets Go O's. Burundi kids near the Tanzanian border.

The crew crossing the Burundi-Tanzania border. It was a 1 or 2 miles from the gate on the Burundi side on a dirt road to the Immigration building on the Tanzanian side, a gorgeous walk through the woods.

Cross border commerce, Burundi-Tanzania.

The landscape between the two borders, looking into the Congo. Awesome.

Safe and sound in Tanzania. We've been in Kigoma on the shore of Lake Tanganyika for 4 days now, and were getting a little bored.

Dave and I going over the options for the day in Kigoma, there is a nice Internet cafe...

Ah, it's not that bad, it's a beautiful small town with a port. We're getting on the MV Liemba ferry boat today at 4pm for a two and a half day trip down the lake (which is the second deepest in the world, and the second largest in Africa) to Southern Tanzania and then onto Malawi. The MV Liemba is a 93 year old ferry, we hold first class tickets, we're bringing 12 liters of drinking water and some fruit. It should be very interesting... We've met up with the only other tourist in Kigoma, an Frenchman named Pierre, who will also be coming with us.

Roll around Rwanda

2006-03-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

Updated: Now with more words!

Rwanda is simply amazing. It's called the land of a thousand hills, but it has millions of them. Each one is lush and covered in terraced fields of banana trees, tea, coffee, etc. For a country that experienced a horrific genocide in 1994, it has made a remarkable recovery. The wounds are literally still visible around the country. There's a noticeably high number of amputees in Kigali, the capital. However, as it's commonly said, Rwanda is a country looking forward, not back. It's easy to forget what happened here, but essential not to. The international community failed to help Rwandans when they needed it most, by not stepping in to stop the massacre. So for the past decade they've been making up for it with "guilt money" as in an enormous amount of aid and relief. Almost every UN agency and NGO imaginable is here, their white Land Cruisers burning around town by the hundreds.

Dave and I took a two hour taxi from Uganda over the border and then into Kigali, the capital. The border was pretty chilled out, no tanks, and only a handful of armed men and lots of fuel trucks standing around a muddy road with some buildings. As an Americano, I get into Rwanda for free! no visa required, thank you. (Visas in Africa are generally an expensive and useless hassle, in my opinion. As I've seen on a couple of occasions my $50 USD bill go directly into the pants pocket of the Immigration official, and been issued no receipt. Hmm, that's odd? I would complain, but that would be extremely stupid. And would result in being delayed for not having some other form of paperwork, another passport sized photograph, or vaccination card; and then having to pay even more. I fund the ever expanding bellies of African immigration officials.)

French and Kirwandan are the primary languages here, so my two years of high school French got a real work out. Dave spoke it better than I, and was often looked to for translation when doing the always important work of negotiating a fair price for taxis, beers, hotel rooms, fruit, etc. I found that I could still understand conversations well and read menus just fine, so it was fun.

We spent a few days checking out the city in perhaps the worst hotel we could find. Hotel Gloria. HG had an excellent location in the city center, cheap rate, and that's about all. No water, pillows, mosquito nets, or electricity. It did however have a flock of the biggest mosquitoes I've seen to date, and they all seemed to be living in our room. I got a few bites. The hotel man, who we nick named "Shi-Thead," would come by around 6pm to spray toxic mosquito killer spray in our room. It was like tear gas, we would have to open all the windows, ok the one window, to let it dissipate. During the dissipation process, we would have to be far far away from the room, or we couldn't breath. So, the mosquitoes would leave and come back later through the open windows, completely defeating the death spray. I didn't shower for three days (no water) and was feeling a little less than fresh for a while. I did have the good idea of going to the Hotel Mille Collies (aka Hotel Rwanda, which the recent movie was based on) to use their pool and outdoor shower. The hotel, pool, and shower were excellent. Quite an improvement over Hotel Gloria. We took off for the North and the town of Ruhengeri the next day.

I came to Rwanda out of curiosity and interest. Curious to see a place that I remembered vaguely from the news long ago, and interested in seeing Rwanda's top draw, and the focus of Dian Fossey's research, the mountain gorillas at the Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes in the mist... A nice 4:30 am wake up call.

Parc National Des Volcans is where Dian Fossey did her famous study of the Mountain Gorilla, as made famous by the book and movie "Gorillas in the Mist." She was also murdered here, apparently by one of the poachers she worked very hard to keep out of the park.
The park is really an amazing place, it's very easy to see why she fell in love with the environment and the creatures.
Our day began at 6am when we met up with Steve and a Canadian named Cheryl. We had to rent a Land Cruiser for the day to transport us up to the park headquarters and then onto the trail head to our Gorilla group for the day, which was the 14 member Amahoro group.
We were grouped with 4 older Canadians, all from "ThUUUUnder Bay" Ontario. (as they pronounced it.) A nice group that was in Rwanda to build a school and develop a curriculum for the teachers as part of a church based organization. I forget the name. So we all piled into two Land Cruisers after meeting our guide for the day, aptly named Patience. He's been a guide for 7 years and was one of the people who habituated the gorilla group we would visit today. There's about 8 groups of gorillas in the Rwandan section of Parc National Des Volcans, a few that are habituated to humans for tourists to visit, a few that are left alone, and a couple that are studied by researchers.
So, we took off up the muddy road for about 25 minutes to the trailhead and the Canadians Cruiser got stuck, so they jumped into the back of ours. We all made it up there and hopped out, got some hiking sticks and were off!

Which way do we go? up. There's Patience, being ever so patience with our probably dumb questions about Gorillas, and explaining their diet and habits.

The Steve. Traveling with yet another Brit, they're all good fun.

huge earth worms all over the trail.

Mzungus in the mist. The hike up to the Amahoro group was excellent. We started in some farm fields just outside the park barrier and continued up on slippery, muddy trails for about 2 hours. The trail ended and we then followed trackers through some really thick vegetation to the actual gorilla group. It was misty and cool, perfect. Though, at times, slightly uncomfortable because of the stinging nettles which remarkably could sting us through our pants. Not to be out done by the nettles, there were ants that had a keen sense of direction and desire to congregate and bite a few of us in the 'crotch region.' They would start around the ankle, having easily penetrated our socks and pants, then make a mad dash for the old family jewels. We had to stop a few times so the women could go behind some bushes to extract these little biting bastards from their underpants. I found this quite hilarious until they got me, then the humor of the situation was somewhat lost as I dropped my pants in the middle of the jungle to remove the unwanted guests. Over the two hours I became pretty good at heading them off at the upper thigh, and had only one or two bandits make it across the proverbial 'border.' So ants and nettles aside, awesome hike. Once we got near the group, our patient guide, Patience, informed us that the trackers had lost sight of the gorillas and it would take up to 6 hours for us to find them. While the Canadians were freaking out and about to mount a full on hysterical tirade, Patience patiently informed them that he was only kidding, and pointed to where the Gorillas were quietly munching on some wild celery stalks. I've never seen a group of people go from extremely annoyed to extremely excited so quickly. I'm sure he does this same trick everyday, can't blame him. The reaction was pretty funny. Anyway, we walked up to the group and that's when the quickest one hour of my life began as I watched and took endless photos of the encounter with some of the rarest primates in the world. There are about 500 mountain gorillas left in the world, their habitat constantly shrinking.

We smelled them before we saw them, and then BAM, the silverback charged right up to us to make his presence known.

we got right into the middle of the 14 member group. They were climbing all around us and eating some veg.

This little fella enjoyed our company and was jumping all over.

daaaaa!

Heeeead. like an orange on a toothpick. The big cranium of the silverback.

silverback

enjoying some celery.

we got too close and he politely asked us to back away. It may be difficult to tell from the photos but this guy was over 500 pounds.

I filled my memory card with a few hundred photos and a video or two of the hour with the gorillas, it was beyond words. So cool, and very surreal. We were surrounded by misty volcanic mountains, the thickest vegetation and there were 14 mountain gorillas playing and eating all around us, not the least bit put off by our presence. I felt like the silverback was going to look at me and start talking, they were so much like us. It's hard to explain I guess, but I'll never forget that hour. magical.

All Over Uganda

2006-03-02T04:11:00.000-05:00

daaaaa! dirty dirty.

Since my last installment I've covered a lot of ground. I've been enjoying Rwanda for about a week, and will attempt to sum up the past few weeks getting here.

After Dave and I returned to Kampala, from sipi falls we headed north to Murchison Falls National Park. Murch is famous because the river Nile pumps through a 18 foot gap in some rocks to form a massive and powerful waterfall. We had a terrible time getting up there, as there's limited transport options. Most people visit the park with they're own vehicle, but sadly we're not most people. We took a crowded bus for a 6 hour ride to the northern town of Masindi, spent the night at a nice little place with TV (and electricity, a nice treat). Spent the next day trying to figure out how to get into the park, which is another 100 or 200 kms north of Masindi. We decided to take a minibus taxi, known as a 'ma-tatu,' to a small town called Bellisi. From Bellisi, we were told we could get 'boda-bodas,' or motorcycle taxis, the final 33kms into the park, where there was a nice lodge waiting for us. Well, the taxi ride was wicked. A 14 passenger toyota hiace minivan can actually hold up to 26 passengers + a few chickens, and a roof full of cargo. I thought the wheels were going to come off, as dave and I were crammed into the last two seats in the back with people on our laps. It's all about profit maximizing on an African taxi, each person meant a good fare. No matter the comfort or delay to let on and off these 26 people, and nevermind the damage this does to the old hiace. The road was less road than pot hole, when it had pavement, which wasn't often. We finally got to Bellisi after a long long ride, but the fun was only about to start.

Bellisi is nothing but a few shacks at a crossroad. There are exactly two boda-bodas in the whole place, which is lucky i guess, but not when you're trying to negotiate a decent price. The drivers knew full well that they were our only hope. We couldn't walk, there are lions in the park, which might eat us. By this point I was smelling like a rotten goat, and was covered in dirt. Sweating a lot in the taxi, with open windows to let the dust in was kind of like getting tar and feathered. Well, we finally got a half decent price (still 3x too much) from these guys, after a pleasant 15 minute standoff. We were finally on our way, it was about 4:30pm at this point. 33km doesn't sound far, but on a tiny motorcycle (moped), on sandy dirt roads with a full backpack on plus the driver, it wasn't the most enjoyable journey. But I was still laughing most of the way, it was pretty comical. That all came to an end once we entered the park and were attacked by tsetse flies. These flies can kill cattle, their bite seriously hurts. They were laying into us without remorse, I would smash one and then watch it fly away totally unharmed. But we lived and finally made it to the 'Red Chili Rest Camp.' It was awesome, cool little huts, showers WITH WATER (not always a given), and great food. We had a couple cold beers to celebrate our arrival.

Lazy croc.

Ghetto zoom lens through the binoculars.

Hippos are not friendly, but delicious.

Mooven, these longhorns were all over the road on the drive back to Kampala.

Downtown Kampala, Uganda. A fantastic African city, my favorite thus far.

The next morning we booked a boat trip up the river to see the falls. It was sort of like a river safari trip, as the banks of the Nile are covered with crocs, hippos, elephants, buffalo, birds a plenty, etc... It was great fun, and was full of great folks. We met a really nice Canadian couple on a super 3 week safari around east africa. Barb and Scott were in their early 30's and remembered the days of backpacking on a budget. They felt sorry for us after we told them about our trip up and offered us a ride back to Kampala in their super sweet Land Cruiser. NOT ONLY did they give us a ride ALL the way back, they gave us a couple of cold beers, bought us lunch, a few drinks, and dinner back at their 5-star Sheraton, we topped it off with a swim in the hotel pool. Ahhh. awesome. Thank you Barb and Scott!!!! Dave and I got some hilarious looks walking in there with our packs on, totally covered in dirt. We rocked up to the bar and one of the bellmen came over to take our packs and hide them behind the bar. too funny.

We spent a 2 days in Kampala hanging out with the small group of friends we'd made at the hostel. On our last night we all went out for an Ethiopian dinner and then to a pub to watch the Real Madrid v Arsenal soccer match. Ugandans are huge soccer (football) fans and it was a wild night. The next morning we headed south to Masaka, a small city and jumping off point to the Ssese islands. The "Ssese's" are africa answer to the Caribbean. A small group of islands in Lake Victoria. We met up with two of our friends from the hostel, Carolyn and Becca. They're British medical students do a semester of study at a hospital in Masaka. They had a great group down there, and we spent the next day, 23 feb (Ugandan Election day) hanging out at the local pool teaching the locals how to land on their backs whilst attempting a flip (my technique). The election is Uganda's first presidential election with multiple parties involved. Meaning the last few elections had only one party, so it was no surprise who won. The current president, Museveni, has been there since 1986, and while he's done a very good job in my opinion, many people were ready for a change. All was going smoothly in the run up to election day, but many were worried there could be trouble on election day. We thought it wise to be out of the capital on that day, as did the State dept, who sent me a few emails encouraging I vacate the capital on election day, and "maintain a high level of awareness." So we made a strategic withdrawal, and hung out by a pool that day keeping up US-Ugandan relations with a few beers and a couple belly/back flops.

We made it out to the islands the next day on a car filled ferry, it was a beautiful trip. The islands are very lush and not so populated. We settled into the 'Hornbill campsite' which was great. Its run by an old dutch guy and serves some of the best food I've had, including a massive tub of guacamole. Becca and Carolyn met us out there for the weekend and we all had a great time lazing about and going for a short hike. After they went back to Masaka, Dave and I headed out to the infamous 'Banda Island' that we'd heard about from a couple of folks at the backpackers in Kampala. Banda is run by an old British-Kenyan who lives out there by himself sort of running a resort, but mostly making his own banana liqueur, drinking most of it. While he was nuts, he did cook up an awesome lunch and was very entertaining.

After Banda, we headed back to the mainland and continued our journey south, heading for Rwanda...

Sunset over Lake Victoria, Ssese Islands, Uganda

Our camp was at the bottom of this hill, right on the beach. The four of us hiked up for the sunset and beers. The fancy new ferry boat can be seen parked at the dock in the background, it was donated by the Dutch.

Oh yeah, self timer professional I am. The three Brits were very kind to put up with this yank for so long.

Luke, the Dutch owner of Hornbill campsite took us out to Banda Island on his old boat. It was a fine ride on the calm lake. Lake Victoria is massive and incredibly beautiful.

Lunch spot on Banda Island.

The boat returns to the beach at the Hornbill campsite.

welcome to the jungle

2006-02-21T08:12:00.000-05:00

We've got fun and games.

Here are some photos from around Jinja, Uganda, before and after our rafting trip.

Bungee jump platform over the Nile river at the Adrift Rafting HQ. Take it easy, I didn't do it. I have no desire to bungee jump. Well, truthfully, I do have a slight desire to bungee jump but this one wasn't all that high and it was too expensive.

Mr. Matt and Mr. Patrick, before we hit the (croc free) white water of the Nile. Our last day was fantastic, rafting was an excellent way to end our time together. Matt's in Europe/UK now, catching up with old and new friends, and then heading to South America. He's hoping to get work with his engineering firm GHD in Santiago, Chile. "Ever been?" "Why yes! Twice last year!"

Sundowners on the banks of the Nile. A strong finish.
(Tim: Notice I'm drinking with my left hand, and Matt's drinking with his right. Buffalo!!!!!!)

Our boat crew. Me, Matt, Dave, and Juliean

The impressive plaque at the start of the Nile river. Lake Victoria is to my left, and the river goes to the right. Not that you can see it very well, but it is behind those trees.

The Boda Boda. Our preferred mode of transport. Driver, Dave and I, plenty of room, very comfy...

Kayak launch ramp into the Nile at Bugagali Falls. Brady, Andy, Chad are you seeing this?

Sunset over Bugagali Falls, Uganda.

Background:
Dave and I spent a few days in and around Jinja and Bugagali Falls relaxing by the river and planning our next few weeks in Uganda. (as shown above) We were both keen to do a lot of the same things (Mt. Elgon, Muchasion Falls National Park, Ssese Islands, etc) and get on well, so we've decided to stick together for a while. Having a qualified safari guide along has many perks, and he's had some limited success with the ladies by dropping "well, actually, I'm a safari guide..." I'm still using the old standby: "All I have are these damn Nepalese coins..." with (not surprisingly) little success.

Up Mt. Elgon
From Jinja we took a taxi for an hour or two North to the town of Mbale, which is the access town for Mt. Elgon. We waited for about five hours at the bus station for the Mbale bus which never came, then gave up and got in a taxi. Elgon is a massive mountain, not so much in height, though it's a respectable 14er. It's sports a 80 by 50 Km surface area, and (~12 million years ago) was the highest mountain in Africa. But around that time it had a massive eruption, as volcanos do, and now has a gigantic crater at the top and is thus quite a bit shorter than it used to be. We would hike up the Sasa route and then down the Sipi trail to the beautiful Sipi falls. We were planning on a 5 day/4 night hike. Dave and I supplied all our own food, and carried our own packs. For food we brought a 4.4 pound bag of rice, a pound of pasta, one loaf of bread, 4 cans of tomato paste, 3 cans of tuna, 2 cans of pineapple chunks, peanutbutter, jam, 8 chocolate bars, and a couple bags of cookies. This served us well, but we ran out of everything but the rice and bread by the last night, and it turns out Dave's not the biggest rice, PB&J, or tuna fan... I think he was pretty hungry by the end of it.

The friendly gal at the Mt. Elgon National Park visitor center, where we secured our permit and paid for our (mandatory) ranger/guide and porter, convinced us that we were 'strong' and 'not old and slow people.' So we opted to save a little money and do the hike in 4 days/3nights. This would be pushing it a little, but seemed well within our abilities. Since the altitude wasn't all that, I was confident in the shorter schedule as was Dave. We met our park ranger/guide that night and talked it over with him, no problem, easily done he said. Mike was his name and he was a head guide at the park, we were in very good hands. The porter, Elisa (male), seemed keen and we went to sleep that night at the base of the mountain at a cool little guest house with great food called "Rose's Last Chance."

The next morning we got up, had breaky, and met up with Mike and Elisa. Mike was decked out with is olive green ranger uniform, rucksack, and AK-47. He was looking rather militant. The AK seemed a little excessive, but he insured us it was for our protection from wild Buffalo, Hyeena, etc. All he would do is shoot it in the air if something came to close, just to scare them off. I guess that's the cheapest noise maker the Uganda Wildlife Service could find? Anyway, it was kinda cool having an armed escort up and down the mountain for four days. Not that we came across any buffalo, hyeena, etc.

The trail up was a beauty, through lots of small villages full of little kids yelling "Mzungu, how are you?" Mzungu = white person. Lots of fun as a few kids followed us up for a little while.

Mike our commando looking park ranger/guide. He was great, very friendly and full of insights about the parks enviroment(s).

A nice junglish start.

Almost to the end of the first day, we made it thorugh the jungle/rain forest into the mooreland and then to the heath zone. Something like Kili. You can see the ranger's hut in the background of this shot.

Mike and Dave atJackson's Pool, early in the morning on summit day (day 2).

Jackson's pool an the rim of the crater ridge in the background.

Mike and I at the summit, Wagagai Peak.

Summit shots.

Dave and I, on "top rock."

Dave's blister, ouch! This is back at camp after coming down from the top. He popped it and powered through the next day, which we had a 35km hike way across to the other side of the mountain and back up over 4000m. Day 3 was way harder than summit day (day 2), but went through some awesome landscapes with perfect weather.

Day three. lots of up and down as we worked our way across Mt. Elgon to the Sipi trail. This section was recently burned in a brush fire. We saw a couple of fires the night before we started, and then saw the evidence whist on the mountain.

Dave and Mike in another wild landscape.

Our armed guide and porter, Elisa carried a machete the whole time. But it was only used for cutting firewood, and our sweet custom bamboo walking sticks. We cooked over an open fire each night at camp, these guys are pros.

a typical section of trail, day 3.

The cave we slept in day 3.

same cave. awesome camp!

Day 4. down to Sipi falls.

sorry, ran out of time, I'll finish the captions and update you all soon! hope all's well back home.

African daze

2006-02-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

After the Serengeti safari, Andrew and I said farewell to Matt for the time being and headed back up to Nairobi. Matt took off for Zanzibar, and some R&R on the beach. Andrew had to catch a flight out of Nairobi at 11:30pm that night. We got into Nairobi around 7pm, and headed to the famous restaurant "Carnivore." At Carnivore you, surprisingly enough, eat all kinds of meat. Waiters walk around with different animals on a stick and carve you off as much as you want. A fine way to end any Africa tour, by eating all the animals we had spent the past few days watching. My favorite was probably ostrich, while Andrew seemed to enjoy the camel best. It was good fun and a great way to send him off. I had so much fun the past few weeks and was pretty exhausted from it all. I headed solo into Nairobi and hit a dorm bed in the hostel for the next 12 hours at least. I spent a few days relaxing around Nairobi and planning the next adventure. Matt and I had left with tentative plans to meet back up again in Kampala, the capital of Uganda (just west of Kenya). I headed there on a 12 hour bus ride over some of the worst roads i have ever been on. Just the bus ride was an adventure. About a third of the way into the ride the axel broke off and was bent under the chassis, we had to get a replacement bus which didn't take all that long. Finally got into Kampala at night and I was personally escorted to the 'new taxi park' by two nice Ugandan cross country runners that I had befriended on the bus. They found the right taxi for me and got me the right price, and I was off to the 'Backpackers Hostel.' A fantastic place it was, with all kinds of great folks. Hung around Kampala for a few days organizing a rafting trip for when Matt showed up and hanging out with a good group of folks from all over the place. Matt showed up on the 4th with a British guy named Dave, who he met on the bus from Dar es Salaam to Kampala. Dave's a great guy, a licenced safari guide in South Africa and working on his certification in Zambia. He also has a degree in Zoology. We had a fun night on the town in Kampala, went to sports bar and watched some of the African Cup soccer matches with a rowdy crowd. The next morning we headed to Jinja, a hour or so drive east on the North Shore of Lake Victoria and the start of the Nile river. The Nile, longest river in the world, starts here and works its way north through the Sudan, and Eygpt. It sports some world class whitewater and we were keen to raft it. We went with Adrift (http://www.surfthesource.com) and had a hell of a good ride. There were a bunch of class 5 rapids, it was great. We went through one rapid and got devastated, flipping and swimming. We made it successfully down after that, completely flipping over only once more. We had lots of time to just hop out and swim through the calmer sections. Swimming in the Nile, amazing day. We finally safely made our way through the last rapid called "the bad place." It was super fun, and a fitting way to end our time together, Matt and I said our heartfelt goodbyes as he was heading back to Nairobi, for a flight to London on the 8th. It was sad to see Matt go, we've had an incredible time together and will hopefully meet up in South America sometime in the near future, but with funds falling fast, it's all up in the air.

I'm now traveling with Dave the zoologist and safari guide. We just got back from NE Uganda, and a four day trek up the 5th? highest mountain in Africa: Mt. Elgon (14,193ft). It was a spectacular hike and I'll get photos online and tell you all about it soon.

Serengeti Safari

2006-02-05T07:42:00.000-05:00

After our spectacular time on Kili, the three of us spent a day or so relaxing in Moshi, Tanzania; and arranged a 4 day Safari. Safari means 'journey' in Swahili, and what a journey we had.

The Safari we planned included 3 days/2 nights in the Serengeti National Park and 1 day/1 night in the Ngorogoro Crater. These are about the two best parks to view game in all of East Africa, and perhaps the world. To say I was excited about it, would be quite the understatement. Andrew was also really looking forward to it and kept saying how much he wanted to "see animals eating other animals." While that didn't quite happen, we did see some of earth's most amazing creatures and had a fantastic time. We again went with MEM tours for our safari, and rode around in one of their pimped out Land Cruisers. Enjoy the photos below with captions explaining the trip...

The crew on the rim of the Ngorogoro Crater, Tanzania. We drove around the rim of the crater on our 6 hour drive from Moshi to the Serengeti. Ngorogoro is on the way to Serengeti, so we got a glimse of what we'd be coming back to see in a few days, stoked.

Ngorogoro is a volcanic crater with a surface area of 20 square kilometers. It's packed full of wildlife and is probably the best spot to see the most animals because they're all confined in this small space. Steep, heavily vegetated slopes shoot up to the rim 600m above. This shot was taken from the south east rim looking north west.

Mr. Swahili, Andrew Eckert. He took it upon himself to learn a lot of Swahili while in Africa. He bought a English-Swahili phrasebook and kept it on his person at all times. The phrasebook was hilarious, it must have been written back in the colonial days because it contained some really insensitive phrases. Our favorites included: "Show me native dances," "This needs more salt," "Try to be cleaner," among many others. Andrew would use his Swahili skills, not the previously mentioned phrases, at shops and to our safari guides much to their amusement. They really appreciated his efforts with their language and it was just good fun. I wish Andrew was still in Africa! It was really great having him here.

Upon arriving at the entrance gate to the Serengeti National Park, we immediately came across a heard of elephants as they walked past the visitor center. As seen behind Andrew. One of the bulls (male) elephants mock charged a group of tourists that got a little too close. Good fun, and a great start.

After passing through the visitor center and main gate, we entered the vast plains of the Serengeti. Small 'islands' of rock stick out of an ocean of gold grass to provide these lions with a nice spot to relax before sunset.

We were extremely lucky to see this leopard up in a tree on our drive into the park on the first evening. It was either hunting or harassing a group of monkeys also in the tree, and then jumped down and slowly walked directly in front of our truck. A fantastic start, I had hoped to see a leopard, but never expected it to be so soon or so close. Leopards are very rare to spot and are usually only seen from a distance.

my favorite animal for sure.

Sunset over the Serengeti.

Our driver, Mike, let Matt and I take a turn at driving, it was great fun. Matt was keen to put the pedal down and Mike had to tell him to slow it down a few times, the Cruiser had some serious go.

I took a turn for a while and pulled up next to a lion with a buffalo kill, good times.

One of the many colorful lizards around our lunchtime beer spot.

Andrew chasing and trying to catch one of the many colorful lizards around our lunchtime beer spot.

Three examples of the elusive homo siapen siapen (aka human). They are a bipedal primate of the superfamily Hominoidea, together with the other apes. However, humans have an erect body carriage that frees their upper limbs for manipulating objects, and a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, emotion, and introspection. A rare find in the Serengeti, especially these three with their unusually light skin tone. They must apply protective layers of 'sunscreen' up to 3 times per day to protect their delicate skin from the harsh equatorial sun. In this acacia tree one can be seen sleeping after a hearty feed, one is looking for possible mating opportunities and/or food, and another showing his powerful teeth to ward off would be aggressors.

Giraffes are hilariously awkward creatures that look the most silly when trying to run. The scene is not captured well with still photography, you must see it in person.

We sadly got a flat tire on our way back to Ngoro from Seregeti, but luckily were met by a few local Masai guys and had a good time hanging out with them.

Andrew looking tough, next to a Masai warrior.

One of my favorite shots from the whole trip, a Masai in Matt's avaitors.

The landscape in between the plains and the lush Ngoro crater.

An elephant decided to raid our campsite on the rim of the crater. We did our best to ward him off by standing far away, staring, and taking many photographs. None of our techniques proved effective as he walked into the middle of camp to have a cool drink from the water tank.

Beats the zoo.

Matt Jackson, Australian wildlife expert.

The scene around camp. Andrew is in there somewhere.

We were powerless to stop the beast.

This looks like a nice spot to rest...

The drive out of Ngoro...

The Kili Klimb

2006-01-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

1-20-2006

The first day started with a hearty breakfast at the hotel across the street, Kindiroko. The of Kili from the rooftop restaurant was excellent, as you can see. I felt that a clear start to the hike was a pretty good omen, as Kili is usually behind a dense layer of cloud. The mountain was clear, cloudless, and very imposing. It's a massive volcano, and had us all just a bit anxious to get going.
We were picked up in a super sweet Land Cruiser, 11 seater, totally decked out for safaris. Snorkel, and all. We rode out to the MEM office, just down the street really, finished paying up (about 860,000 Tanzanian Schillings each...) With all our gear, and guides, and their gear, and a couple of porters, finally we were off! To the Machame gate and the real start, boots on dirt.

We went with MEM for both our hike and following safari. The owner, Mohammad, is very professional and runs an impressive operation out of his swank Moshi office. We paid a little more than we had intended for both the climb and safari, due to the Jan. 1st 2006 hike in all Tanzanian National Park fees. No small percentage increase here, nope, all the the fees doubled! The thinking behind the huge jump being that TZ parks are getting very popular and the government wants to make them more exclusive, ie less crowds. So for us budget boys, the time to come would have been a month ago, but we had no idea about the price hike... It turned out to be worth every penny/schilling.

The Mountain

Kilimanjaro, which can be loosly translated into "Mountain of Light," rises out of the relative flatness of its surroundings quite impressively. The skyline of Moshi, where we were staying to organize the trek, is dominated by Kili when it's not covered in cloud. When we first arrived, it was hidden from us and didn't appear until the night before we were to start. At 5892 meters up (19 330 ft) the peak, aka "Kibo" is covered by rapidly shrinking glaciers. While the mountain is not "technically" difficult to climb, meaning we didn't have to use ropes, ice axes, crampons, etc... It is a world class workout and physical challenge. The hike up Kilimanjaro also kills a whole lot of people. A few weeks ago, 3 Americans and two of their Tanzanian porters were killed in a freak rock slide on the Western Breach route. That route, one of the most direct, is now closed. Two days after we summited, on 27 January, two western trekkers died in separate cases of altitude sickness or heart failure, details were still sketchy. Both were on the dangerously quick but most popular Marangu route, aka the 'coca cola' route.

There are many routes to chose from on Kili: Machame, Umbwe, Shira, Western Breach, Rongai, and Marangu. We chose to go for the Machame route, aka 'the whiskey route.' Not simply because of it's 'cool' nickname. Machame is known for its spectacular views, good acclimatization, its not the most popular, about 2nd, we'd stay in tents (not 'fart box' shelters), and it has (arguably) the highest success rate of getting people to the summit. We planned a 6 day hike, and to cut costs we insisted on carrying our own packs. Mine was pretty light at 14 KG or 30lbs. One must hire a guide and a bunch porters to climb Kili, it's not a Tanzanian welfare program, although it does seem that way at times. We definitely could have summited with a little less support, but it was great having a full team with us. There were some nice perks...

So, our MEM crew consisted of the following: 1 Guide, 1 Assistant Guide/Cook, and 4 porters. This was a pretty ridiculous team to support just the 3 of us, but we were soon to find out why they were all needed. The level of comfort and care was HIGH!

First up when we got to the campsite each day, our tents were pitched for us, we got served hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits/cookies, and fresh popcorn; immediately. Meals, a minimum of 4 courses each. Mornings, hot tea/coffee and cookies in bed. We weren't exactly roughing it, and I could definitely (but wont) get used to this level of service in all my outdoor pursuits. We got our money worth, that is for sure. The best of all were the desserts. Oh my, fresh pineapple, mango, watermelon, that was the icing on the cake. We were treated like royal guests by the crew, it was excellent to be spoiled.

All those luxuries aside, the hike was tough. The first two days were pretty standard really, still at low altitudes, breathing easy, and a moderate ascent. We gained a lot of elevation quickly and by the second night we were back in thin air again. Ah, I miss Nepal. The environment changes were the coolest. Here's a day by day:

Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Very lush tropical forest to slightly less tropical but still forest. Cool views all around and up to the summit. A soaking rain shower on the way up made it feel all the more tropical. All gear happily stayed dry as Andrew had brought us plastic pack liners, complementary of course, from the United States Government (our always silent sponsor). We met the other groups on our route that night, which included a contingent from the Singapore Army, all very nice guys, who were fitness instructors on an Army sponsored climb. Also met a well traveled and well climbed Canadian retiree named Ben, he's spending his new found free time hiking the big mountains of the world. Good on ya Ben. We'd meet up with all these folks and more each night at camp, as we were on similar schedules up ze mountain.

A wild start at the Machame Gate.

Day 2: Machame Camp to Simba Camp

Out of the forest and into the "Heather" and "Moreland" zones. Ecosystems quite unique with a few plant species that are only found on Kili and Mt. Kenya to the North.

Day 3: Simba Camp to Barranco Camp

Barranco was my favorite campsite by far. The huge trees, up close view of Kibo, the valley below streaching out into infinity. They all came together to make a truly magical place on an already spectacular mountain.

He's a tiger.

Room with a view.

Our trusty lead guide, Eugene.

Day 4: Barranco Camp to Barrafu Camp

Our last real sleep before the summit push came at Barranco, from there we had a long 7 hour hike up to Barrafu. Barrafu was an unwelcoming moonscape set on each side of a rocky ridge. Our tents (set up before we arrived by the awesome porters) were set among boulders, but well blocked form the wind. We were supposed to sleep here from about 5pm until 11:30pm, before setting out for the Summit. While we tried hard to find sleep, it eluded us. The combination of elevation and excitement got the best of us, I caught about an hour before being awoken and gearing up to go.

Simon Peter and I. Simon is going for the Kili ascent record, in under 9 hours. Insane.

Day 5: 12:20AM Summit Push

Fideles, our favorite porter, woke us up at 11:30pm with hot tea and some cookies. We readied ourselves and our packs the long hike up. The stars were alive in the crystal clear sky, the Milky Way was vivid above, as was every constellation imaginable. It was indeed a perfect night to hike.

A light wind kept us cool but not cold on the way up. I had on my usual summit outfit: everything. Which this time included: polypro thermals top and bottom, smartwool socks, Cloudveil pants (thanks Brady!), blue NF longsleve (thanks Dave! it was my 21st birthday present and one of my best articles of clothing.), NF fleece, waterproof shell jacket, yak wool hat, headlamp, fleece gloves, and goretex mittens over those. I was perfect, until we got to the rim, then the wind got to me and I threw on Andrew's stand by down jacket over top of it all. So I was actually quite warm at the summit.

We were power breathing from 12:20am until the summit was reached at sunrise, so for at least 6 hours straight. Anytime I stopped totally concentrating on the taking huge inhales and forceful exhales, a vise like headache would quickly remind me to keep the breathing going. While none of were taking Diamox, a drug that artifically increses your respitory rate, we did have it with us just in case one of us needed it. Luckily we didn't. We did take good ol' Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) once before the summit push to relieve the minor headaches already brewing in our brains. Other than that, it was a supplement free climb, aside from a shocking about of tea and hot chocolate/milos. Just as we were getting to the crater rim, I started to feel the effects of the altitude, and noticed it in the other two as well. Basically, we were losing our balance more easily than usual. Particularly when I'd turn to admire the view, I might stumble my feet a little as I got moving again. Also, time or my concept of time got altered. When I thought 5-10 minutes had passed, 30-40 had actually. The two breaks we took on the way up went by in an instant, just enough time to down a snickers and some partially frozen water. By the time I banged my bottle lid on a rock to break the ice and got a sip, it was go time. Also getting an essential pee was time consuming process with all that stuff on. After six hours of constantly steep hiking, we made it to the rim of the crater. This was the pyscological summit for me, as I knew if I got here in good shape, I could go the further 45 minutes to the actual summit and to the top of Africa: Uhuru Peak. After a quick stop at the rim, we pushed up to Uhuru. The sun was almost peaking over the eastern horizon which was on fire in mixed shades of orange, red, pink, and blue. We all had our cameras our and firing away from then on. Enjoy:

We could see the curve of the Earth. Seriously.

On the top!

Some Whiskey on the Whiskey route, thanks Tim!

To get back down, we took the Mweka route, it was super quick, but very pleasent.

Fideles, our man.

our pimped ride.

spending bills... really not all that much. $1 USD = 1200 Tanzanian Schillings.

the old post...

We made it to the top! Just wanted to quickly let you know we're back down and safe. It was an awesome and amazing experience, which I'll share with you all in detail asap, with photos of course! check back soon.

i could only get a few photos online now. we just got back from 4 days in Serengeti National Park, incredible time. Andrew, sadly, leaves tomorrow. I'll head to Nairobi with him and then ? I plan to update fully from Nairobi! But for now, enjoy the mountain.

View from our Breaky spot.

On the trail up, day 1, Machame route "whiskey route"

From camp 3, Kibo, the summit of Kilimanjaro.

Under African Skies

2006-01-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

Vast and Beautiful is Africa. Not a whole lot of time, but I was able to get some photos online for your enjoyment. I've enjoyed being behind the camera as much this week as ever in my life. Got to Nairobi, Kenya on 1/11/06. Spent the night in Nairobi Backpackers which was excellent, and met a really great group. We checked out Nairobi a bit, but really just looked to book a budget safari for the four days we had to wait for Andrew to arrive. We ended up booking through another hostel, and BUDGET it was. We saw incredible game, as show below... but had some truly laughable accomodation. luckly, we had a cool guy from Conn, Kirt; along for the safari with us. He's a real adventurer, having just summited Mt. Mckinley last year, amazing. Great company for sure. So, it was 4 days, first one at lake Nukuru, days 2 thru 4 at Masi Mara game park. both are very well know in Kenya, and was an awesome first safari!

White Rhinos at Lake Nakuru

mother and baby.

The King.

ROOOAR! ok, it's a yawn.

Baboon!

The morning drive into Masi Mara. we would listen to Toto, 'Africa' on Matt's iPod during the drive, to get pumped. great song, great place.

lion cubs at Masi Mara. I could watch lion cubs playing for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. they're my favorite for sure.

As if someone went nuts with black paint on a white horse, the Zebra are an omnipresent feature of the Masi Mara landscape.

And a Giraffe by request.

breakfast of champions, nothing beast buffalo in the morning. they go for the tongue first, appearently the favorite part for the lions...

we were so close that we could hear the bones crunching and flesh tearing. sweet.

she was perfectly content having us around, and almost on que would turn to the camera. awesome.

ele's

At the hippo pool, with a few crocs thrown in for good measure.

Our AK-47 wielding park ranger. to protect of from the hippos, of course. Hippo's cause more human deaths in Africa than any other animal.

A Hippo covered bend in the Mara river.

another favorite.

Nairobi Backpackers

presently in moshi, Tanzania. Picked up Andrew on the 17th, bused down here on 18th, arranged trek on 19th, leaving for Mt. Kilimanjaro tomorrow! We're doing a 6 day trek up the Machame route. met our guide, Eugene, seems great. We're all very very excited, and a bit anxious, it's a high mountain! wish us luck!

fotos

2006-01-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

Here's some photos from the adventures in Europe, i've added captions to a few but ran out of time... heading to Kenya in a few hours, should really get packed. Next stop Nairobi!

An avalanche seen from Jungfraujoch, we heard the roar before we saw it.

The lion of Lucerne, Switzerland

A fine time to fly...

A ton of snow on the wing of our flight from Zurich to Berlin. We took off a little late, but no drama.

Janet, Lynda, and Jen on the first morning in Berlin

The boys and the Berlin wall.

Checkpoint Charile

Beautiful Berlin

The infamous Berlin wall.

The Holocaust memorial, Berlin.

I like this shot of Matt walking through the Holocaust memorial.

A good night shot of a Christmas festival in Berlin.

Cool car I cant afford...

at New years celebrations, Brandenburg gate, Berlin.

Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic.

Me and the Charles bridge in Prague.

Church inside the Prague Castle.

A sample of Prague's gothic architecture

Overlooking the city in Prague.

the famous Old Jewish Cemetary, Prague.

Another Charles Bridge shot, Prague.

Chuch of Bones, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.

Me on the train to Kutna Hora.

Fun with bones, there were bones from over 40,000 people arranged around this church, very creepy.

More of the bone church...

a nice 'easy' flight.

Tim and Pascale, my excellent London tour guides.

Tynsky Church at night, Prague.

The first sign I saw once I got off the train in London. Comforting.

the classic London shot, which everyone takes. so i had to, couldn't resist.

Big Ben.

Sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time...

Trafalgar Square, London.

"Look kids, Big Ben, Parliment..."

Czech Yourself

2006-01-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

1/2/2006 - 1/5/2006

Lynda and I got a train from Berlin to Prague on the 2nd, I had originally planned to head to Holland, Belgium, and then the UK. But, Lynda was going to Prague and invited me along. She's cool, a friend of a friend of Tim's. A tv producer in Sydney, for a motorsport show, 27, a good travel companion for the week. All in the swiss house had been to Prague, and loved it. so I'm in Prague. She had prebooked a hostel in the "old town" near the Tynsky church. Turned out to be in the absolute heart of the city, perfect spot. We've walked all over the place, having cheap, great meals and beers (Pivo!) Saw the castle, charles bridge over the famous vtavla river and the usual tourist sights. Went 60Kms on the train today out to Kutna Hora, home of the famous "bone church." The bones of 40,000 people are on display as wall ornaments, chandoliers, etc. very sick but oddly cool. Heading to London tomorrow, easyJet, then its a few days of pounding the Pound Sterling (horrible exchange rate for us Yanks) 1.00 United States Dollars = 0.569186 GBP, das ist nicht gut. Mr. Matthew and I are off on the 10th to Nairobi and the Afrika Adventa begins. We meet up with ANDREW on the 17th and attempt to climb/hike/walk and vomit from altitude our way up Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

More photos to come in the next few days...

Hold on tight, and enjoy your ride.

2006-01-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

Recap: Wengen to Berlin.

12/23/2005-
Met Tim, Pascale, Jen, and Lynda (all Australian) in Zurich airport (Flughaufen) and quickly hopped a train to Wengen, via Bern-Interlaken. The swiss train system is amazing, best, most efficient, cleanest in the world (so far), and all for a reasonable price. Swiss perfection. The airport was also immaculate, modern and efficient. Everything has its place and its multiple purpose in Swiss-land. We got into Wengen and were floored, it was even better than we had hoped, and was looking its best after a fresh dump of pow. Our chalet, 'millennium,' was on the top of a building, huge porch, living room, fireplace, big modern kitchen, exactly what you'd want in a ski place. And in the freaking alps.
Wengen is all resort town, no compromises, tram runs straight into it, which had been wiped out by an avalanche in 1999. So that's all new, and you can see fancy avalanche barriers high up in the hills. Trains bring people and everything else up to Wengen, and then onto the slopes and over the mountains to Grindlewald, the next valley over. We skied the resort Jungfrau.

12/24/2005-
Christmas Eve:
Woke up early completely jet lagged, worked out with John and Matt (must keep fit for KILI!), got breaky, made it in our own Kitchen! First time in 3 months i've had a kitchen with a full on fridge, with food in it! Washed my toothbrush under the faucet without fear for giardia, cryptosporidium, and all our other favorite intestinal friends causing havoc. Drank glassfull after glorious glassfull of tap water! oh how i love trusting tap water again. Oh, and did I mention EVERY bathroom has plush toilet paper, flush toilets, toilet seats, and running water! Welcome to the future.
Went with the boys to check out rental equip and lift passes, walked out with a 6 day pass, and a hot pair of all mountain Rossi's. John (Aus), brought his ski boots which fit me, and he was planning to board all week. So I saved a bit of money on renting boots, nice one John. While the others were getting settled John, Marielle, and I headed up mountain to check out the trails mid morning, glad we did. Blue bird day, perfect conditions, took more runs than I should have then headed downtown to try and find my parents hotel. As previously explained, I ran into them on one of the paths, had a grand reunion, fit for the big screen. They came back to the chalet and I introduced them to everyone. They got on like old friends with all, as usual. We, (Tim, Matt, and I) eat an awesome meal at their place that night, went to midnight mass at a funky little church and crashed out quickly, it was Christmas.

12/25/2005-
Christmas Day:
Got up, went for a ski, another great day, some low cloud had a nice inversion. Mom, Lynda, Jono, and Pas cooked our feast. We had a great Christmas dinner and opened presents late. I got all sorts of good stuff: London Underground boxers, socks, Superfeet insoles (feet are loving them), and to top it off Mom and Dad hooked me up with a mini swiss army knife/ 1 Gig USB thumb drive. Matt picked up the guitar and we all sang along a bunch of songs, it was great, great fun.

12/26-28/2005-
Alpinlife:
Ski, Ski, Ski, Jungfrau is among the best ski resorts I've been to. It sports an amazing lift, tram, train network, and it's a bargain compared to skiing out West in the US. Lots of different terrain, all you need. Skied with Jim and Kath a lot, got cloudy for a few days, had some poor vis, but the snow came too. All would meet for lunch everyday at the top restaurant, Eiger always present in the distance. Dinners at the Berghaus (J&K's haus) became the norm, trips to the Co-Op had me stocked up on supplies, all hanging out each night at millennium and drink, drank, drunk. Got called out on Buffalo club violations many a time. Jono, Pas, and Lynda cooked up some good food all week.

12/29/2005- Jungfraujoch
Mom, Dad, and I got up early and took the highest railroad in Europe to the Jungfraujoch, on the Eigergletscher train through the massive Eiger. Insane engineering, which was all done around 1900. Observatory, shopping area, restaurants, museums, ice caves through the glacier, research station, these swiss just out did themselves. While on the observatory deck, we heard, then saw an avalanche, it was nuts.
After a few hours, we took the train back down to Wengen and said our goodbyes. Jim and Kath were heading off to Lucerne. Their visit was excellent, we had tons of fun together and everyone adored them. It was however, far to short. They loved Wengen and I loved the week with them, very lucky to have them come over.
I skied a little bit that arvo, took my last run down the world cup downhill course and then back to the chalet for the last time. Very sad to leave that place, it's been a trip highlight for sure. We started packing up and getting ready to hit Berlin.

12/30/2005-
Cleaned house, took out the heaps of empty bottles to the recycler, walked into town and got the train to Lucerne. Had a quick stop for lunch in Interlaken, about four hours in Lucerne, saw the lion, old bridges, etc. Ate some McDonalds, all we could afford, thats when i put some photos online, and headed for the aeropuerto/flughaufen/airport. It was snowing quite heavily in Zurich and we were unsure if we'd take off or not, but those swiss had it dialed. Took off a little late in half a foot of snow, no drama. Got into Berlin pretty late, got slick Merc cabs to our Hotel "Comet" and hit the sack.

12/31/2005-
Woke up in Berlin, the hotel had a great breaky, went on a long, frigid, walking tour of the city. It was a great tour that pretty much covered everything. Brandenburg gate, Reichtag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, holocaust memorial, museum island, churches... We got some tasty kebabs, went back to the hotel to warm and wash, then hit New Years in front of the Brandenburg gate. It was snowing, then raining, but still a good time. We ran in the new year listening to an odd mix of euro, Spanish, American pop. Just about perfect.

1/1/2006-
Museumed and walked around East Berlin with Jen, Lynda, Jono and Janet. The boys and Pas were on a more intense museum marathon, and we all met up later that evening for a beer hall dinner somewhere in the city. The Checkpoint Charlie museum was especially cool, there were so many insane ways people got across the border, very clever.

best week ever

2005-12-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

Im very sorry for the lack of wordsmithery, but Ive had zero time to hit das cafe de Intraneten. In Berlin at the moment, super fun, with the full crew. heading to New Years at the Brandenburg Gate, did a good walking tour of the city today. Cold and snowy, beautiful in Berlin. I promise to fill you all in on our awesome time in Switzerland, the good times there can not be overstated. It was so fun, beautiful, amazing. Like being home with my mom and dad there, and a great croud of friends. Many thanks to everyone for the Christmas presents, and happy birthdays. and Happy New Year!!! Wish I could be with you all too!

This is Wengen. Photos now, words later.

Downtown Wengen. It's a small resort village high up in the alps, just at the bottom of the Jungfrau ski resort. no cars allowed, save a few taxis, just a train to get the people up there and back. There's a tram, cable car, in the center of town to the ski slopes. On the other side of the mountain is the massive Eiger, quite a famous mountain.

Our chalet and crew, on arrival.

Me and the Eiger, its an extremely impressive peak.

Our chalet living room, matt and I stayed up stairs in the loft, there were 3 bedrooms downstairs, two baths, kitchen, deck, awesome.
the crew was: John, Marielle, Jono, Janet, Pascale, Linda, Jen, Matt, Tim, and I. Plus my folks! Whom everyone loved, I heard "your parents are so cool" many times, and they are, they came all the way here to visit! Most were Australians, save me, Pascale (NZ), and Marielle (French).

The original crew on our sweet deck.

The crew with Mom and Dad. I was walking down one of the snow covered paths looking for thier hotel, and just saw Mom and Dad walking towards me. it was a reunion fit for the movies. Lots of hugging, kissing, smiliing, a great way to meet back up after 3 months away. classic.

The Eiger in a early morning cloud inversion.

Awww, they can still tear up the slopes with the best of them. We had a great time skiing together all week.

ReeeeeeeCOLA, it says on the gondola car. The alps were all i expected and more.

One of our fun filled nights together, I wish we had a few more weeks of this!

At the 'TOP of Europe" the highest train station, which goes right thru the Eiger, more about this crazy spot soon.

Wunderful Wengen

2005-12-24T04:08:00.000-05:00

India didnt give up without a fight! Matt, Ian, and I (Tim flew out of Goa) took a cab to the airport at 1:30am and almost hit a couple of rickshaws, very very close. Our cab driver, was pretty young and didnt really know how to drive, nor did he know where the INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT was. WTF? One would think that would be a place a taxi driver would know, but right, its India. So, eventually made it there slowly and and intact. had a 6 hour delay because of smog in Delhi, my flight was Bombay to Delhi to Frankfurt, Germany. So I missed my flight to Zurich, spent the night in a really nice hotel in Frankfurt, and flew Lufthansa to Zurich the next morning. I can not explain how much better Lufthansa was than Air India, but I cant complain too much, at least the flight was safe if not comfortable. No aircon during the six hour delay, while we were sitting on the hot runway.
Met up with Tim and the crew in Zurich, hopped a 3 hour train to Wengen, just near Interlaken. Its absolutely amazing, snow paradise, our chalet is SICK, and brand new. heated bathroom floors, sleeps 12, killer view, great group too. will show pics soon. My folks get in this arvo, waiting for them, cant wait to see them!