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Archive for the 'Africa' Category

Walk like an Egyptian

( Africa )

We arrived in Egypt at roughly 6pm. We were immediately wrangled in by a local travel company offering to plan out every moment of our stay. I was a bit hesitant, but somehow he had already sweet talked Eva with an excursion to Luxor and promises of air-con vans ands English speaking guides. [...]

Dubai or Disney?

( Africa )

So how do I describe Dubai? The best way I can think is to call it the Middle-East’s own fantasy land. In fact, they are currently working on the next largest theme park, Dubai-Land

The first thing we did in Dubai was to go out into the desert in a 4×4 Toyota LandCruiser (luxury style) and [...]

Safari-tastic!

( Africa )

And so began our adventures in the African bush!
Our Safari departed from a great little backpackers (guest house) in Jo’burg, SA. It was pretty cool seeing Lynn and Clint (Mark, Rob) in this setting. Lynn kept raving about how cool youth hostels are! Our guide Mary-Ann picked us up at 5:30 am and we set [...]

Cape Town, SA!!!!!!!!!

( Africa )

Jay and I got into Cape Town June 7th to find a cold winter wind greeting us with fog so thick we had to cut our way through to find our rental car in the parking lot.
When we left Mauritius, Gally warned me that I would cry in my pillow at night saying, “I miss [...]

Not so Le Morne

( Africa )

After leaving Grand Bay, Mauritius we headed to the most southwestern tip of the Island to Le Morne on the 29th of May.  This beautiful peninsula got its name when, in the early 19th century, escaped slaves climbed the 556m cliffs for refuge. Upon hearing other climbers near, the slaves panicked and threw themselves off [...]

Misadventures in Kite Surfing

( Africa )

I recently celebrated my 29th birthday.  Since we were in India, Eva could not get creative and decide on an appropriate gift.  So she waited until our anniversary drew near and surprised me with the green light on Kite surfing lessons.  For all that know me, I am a junky for anything involving a board [...]

Dead as a Dodo-

( Africa )

The coat of arms of Mauritius shows two animals, a sambur deer and the lovely dodo bird whose docility was rewarded by extinction.Poor things…
Lonely planet offered this information:
“Illustrations from the logbooks of the first ships to reach Mauritius show hundreds of plump flightless birds running down to the beach to investigate the newcomers.  Lacking [...]

What a small world it is!

( Africa )

One of the benefits to knowing May Bensen is that she knows all the movers and shakers in Raleigh, North Carolina.  She is, what you call in the business, well connected- (by the way there are thousands of benefits to knowing her- but to name them all would take too long).  So, when May found [...]

Mauritius, how delicious!

( Africa )

I could not possibly explain the delight, enthusiasm and relief I felt when, outside my plane window, Mauritius appeared.

It was like being a drunken sailor, seeing his first mermaid.  I could not believe my eyes- the sheer beauty of the island was blatantly obvious, even from above the cloud line.

Before our descent I knew things [...]

Getting Ready

So, at this point we have anounced our trip to almost everyone we know.  The response has been amazing.  We received over 20 supportive emails in the last week. This is going to be great.  I am so stoked that we have such a cast of supporting friends and family.  In fact, we have quite [...]