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Archive for July, 2006

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The Baby Factory – Lights On (Well, Every Other Day!), Nobody Home

Monday, July 31st, 2006

I’m having difficulty writing this blog entry because my experiences have been so good so far until I entered the Twilight Zone called Uganda. I thought I could just write about the positive aspects or not write anything at all (my written journal is empty), but those options seem dishonest. The biggest problem I have is that the opinions I have about what I have experienced in Uganda are probably as much a reflection of me as they are of the country. I decided to leave Uganda a week before I was scheduled to leave and I am now relaxing in Zanzibar (well, I started this in Zanzibar where anything other than a nap and a mojito is difficult to finish). I’ll just shoot from the hip regarding Uganda and see where this goes…

[read on]

Strange Daze Indeed

Monday, July 31st, 2006

So I leave a little hideout on the north point of Zanzibar called Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel and fly to Nairobi. I was disappointed about leaving paradise and the chance to swim with more dolphins, but the most anticipated days of the Africa adventure are coming up in Rwanda and Uganda visiting with the highland gorillas so the disappointment wasn’t too long-lasting. I fly Precision Air which is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways. My bag doesn’t arrive in Nairobi. “Please call Zanzibar and just confirm that it is on the delayed flight” which went from earlier than my flight to much later, I requested. “Person that can call is not here”, they reply. “You’ll deliver it to my hotel when it arrives?”, I ask yet assume to be true. “Security risks prevent that”, the reply. “We will call you this evening and here are three numbers you can reach us” including their mobile. “And you WILL deliver it first thing in the morning – I fly to Kigali leaving the hotel at 7 AM and then I go into the Rwanda mountains on safari Tuesday AM.” “We will call.” I tried to forget the enormity and timing of my lost backpack. I had to cancel my dinner at Carnivore because I hakuna matata’d (no problemo) it by flying in flip-flops, shorts and t-shirt. It’s just a 75 minute flight. As the night went on all I could think about was that Zanzibar Airport is chaos with lacking security and one can imagine many opportunities for a stolen bag once you start dwelling on it. At 9:30 PM, no call has come through meaning to me that it did not make the following flight. I call mobile… mailbox full! No answer at other two numbers. Of course! So by time I realize that I have no anti-malarial pills, clothes, chargers, extra memory and batteries for cameras, there is no sleep to be had. I will have time in Kigali on Monday, but I was just told that Kigali is about 20 years behind Kampala and I know Kampala would be an absolute struggle to recover the must-haves like clothes, shoes and anti-malarial. Plus they speak French and Kinyarwandan. I of course fall asleep around 5 AM only to have the hotel forget the wakeup at 6 AM. Since I have no clothes, toiletries or other stuff, waking at 6:20 is OK. Right as I am walking out the door, the phone rings. “We have found your bag and it will be at your hotel in 20 minutes.” “It came in last night and you forgot to call”, I testily replied even though I was totally elated to get this call. No reply…

[read on]

More Photos!

Sunday, July 30th, 2006
I have sent most of my photo CDs home and anxiously await hearing that they arrive since I have no backup. But I made some CDs the other day and some of the photos were reduced in size on ... [Continue reading this entry]

Flipper and Me

Saturday, July 29th, 2006
Another monumental day with nature today. I am in Zanzibar staying at the north end of the island at a beach resort. Went out snorkeling today and our boat came upon a school of bottlenose dolphins. I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Photos!

Friday, July 28th, 2006
I think I have finally taken enough time to come up with a plan for loading photos into my blog stories at the time I take the photo and write the entry. Let's try a couple... The baby elephant that ... [Continue reading this entry]

Hello from Kampala, Uganda and Site Management!

Sunday, July 16th, 2006

First the technicalities... I have finally figured out how to get the blog entries to display newest to oldest! Now the "previous entries" button is just that! And you can quickly see if there is a new entry because the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lebanon

Sunday, July 16th, 2006
I am sad today. My goal to see every country along the Mediterranean as well as Syria and Iran next year looks so hopeless this morning. I am wondering if I will need to change the order of ... [Continue reading this entry]

Can’t We All Just Get Along

Sunday, July 16th, 2006
I can't say that I am a fan of anything Rodney King ever did, but I love this quote. I want to have three tee-shirts made for the remainder of my trip when I get back in September. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tale of Four Cities… The Modern Life

Sunday, July 16th, 2006

Going from the far reaches of African countryside to the inner cities is an amazing contrast in life. Contrasts and Contradictions is what Africa is all about. I have visited five cities and I would like to tell ... [Continue reading this entry]

Barabaig Tribe aka The Rainmakers… The Traditional Life

Sunday, July 16th, 2006

Before coming to Africa, I knew I would meet a lot of different peoples and I was interested in three different groups - 1) the traditional African, 2) the modern African and 3) the ones in between. Although the ... [Continue reading this entry]