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Archive for August, 2006

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Dispatch… From the Frontline – Across the River and Safe

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

We are stuck in Brazzaville an extra day due to flight problems and there is internet.  In case the world news is talking about the local crazies fighting in Kinshasa I thought I would let you know we are safe.  After arriving yesterday I wanted to go to Kinshasa DRC for a looksie but the guy at the bar said he can hear shooting.  We walked a few hundred meters down to the river and found the locals hanging out watching across the Congo River to Kinshasa (two closest capitals in the world I think).  Sure enough mortars and bullets are being fired in Kinshasa… better than fireworks unless you are on the recieving end.  So this is my first experience near a war zone.  The rowdies seem to have calmed down today.  I wonder what will happen after the runoff election in October – might not be too good.  The up side is more sales for the American arms dealers…

Out of the Office…

Saturday, August 19th, 2006

I start the adventure to the Congo – Republic of Congo and Central Africa Republic tomorrow.  I have been in Namibia this past week.  It started very poorly including being quite sick, but it has ended very nicely.  A bunch of elephants, lions and giraffes will do it every time.  And lest I forget the anti-biotics.  I think I had been ill since I left Uganda a month ago.  I just had little stuff that didn’t impede my Zanzibar, gorilla or Cape Town adventures, but they didn’t go away.  And then they grew into bigger problems.  On Wednesday, I actually thought I might have to call it quits and get to a real doctor and I thought the Congo looked like an impossibility.  But after twelve hours, the anti-biotics turned me halfway into a new man.  Just a bad memory now.  I had asked doctors about when I should know to take them, but no one ever described the crap that just doesn’t go away.  Now I know!  Low-level stuff for a couple of weeks and I am blasting it with Cipro.  I’ll talk more about Namibia later.

[read on]

The Other Africa – Like Waking Up from Your Worst Nightmare

Saturday, August 19th, 2006
I landed at Cape Town and got through customs around midnight after starting the day at 4:00 AM.  Speaking of customs as well as immigration, Africa is really wonderful.  I have had no hassles nor have I seen anyone being ... [Continue reading this entry]

Gorilla Photos

Sunday, August 13th, 2006
Here's the first real attempt to get photos up and running.  Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with photos so far, but I like the few gorilla photos that I made small enough to show.  I am in ... [Continue reading this entry]

DRC – Dictators, Civil War, Lava and Gaseous Lake – Better Than I Imagined!

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
When I first met Paul, my Volcanoes Safari driver, I told him that I planned to go to DRC and if he had a problem with that he was just going to have to live with it.  I was a ... [Continue reading this entry]

More Monkey Business

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
Before talking about DRC and Genocide, let's finish up with the primates... well I guess it's all about primates so let's say the four-legged primates.  The Uganda side of the Volcanoes NP is called Mgahinga NP.  This same park continues ... [Continue reading this entry]

Bubba and Me

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

On August 3rd, I woke with high hopes to see the gorillas at Volcanoes NP again.  It had rained hard all night and the rain continued to pour as we ate breakfast.  Charlie and Sharon had permits, but their son ... [Continue reading this entry]

Close Encounter of the Large (and Small) Furry Kind

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
On August 1st, my driver, Paul, and I head out of Kigali for Volcanoes National Park in Northwest Rwanda. Before leaving town, I visited the Genocide Memorial which is astonishing. I'll save the cheery topic of genocide for ... [Continue reading this entry]

I Committed a Crime in Uganda with Two Men with AK47s

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
While absolutely true it's a bit of a fun stretch! I will do another post after this one to explain my three legal gorilla treks, but I thought I would jump right into the last one which was not ... [Continue reading this entry]

Down on the Farm

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006

Well, I really haven't explained why I left Uganda a week early. Sure the country is nutty and maybe more-so than the other countries I have visited, but that was only part of the story. And I really ... [Continue reading this entry]