SnailTrails

Season's greetings & new adventures

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:09:00 -0500

Dear friends and followers of the SnailTrails team!

2011 was an exciting year, no doubt! News channels are reviewing the momentous events of the year (especially the Arab spring), while the SnailTrail teams vividly remembers starting the year on Lake Malawi, then heading up to Egypt and coming home in late April after two years and some 110000km on the road!

This website has gone a bit silent since then, the last seven months kept us unusually busy (compared to the preceding two years...)! Family and friends, jobs, an unusually large household compared to life in Archie, working up our diaries and photo collection all contributed to a "fast forward" feeling that brings us to Christmas and the end of this year!

Very astute readers might have noticed that the little dot on the SnailTrails world map has left Europe and is now positioned in West Africa. This is a tiny bit premature, I'll admit, but that's where the SnailTrails team is headed - Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, to be precise. Archie is already on his way there (by container), the rest of us will be following at the beginning of January! The move is of a professional nature, but we'll no doubt have opportunities to explore the region in our spare time.

We'll keep you updated via this website about this new adventure ("Letters from Burkina", or something like that). If you were interested in our travels, but don't want to be bothered anymore, no problem: please use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email that led you here. SnailFriends: if you have forgotten your login and/or password, get in touch!

All right then, enjoy the rest of this year, transition festively into 2012 and start planning your visit to sunny West Africa!

With all our best wishes for the New Year

Your SnailTrails team

Home Sweet Home

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:04:00 -0400

After exactly 22 months and 19 days on the road, we're back in Luxembourg! Yes, it was an emotional moment, after not having seen family and close friends for such a long time.

A first detachment welcomed us at the border in Schengen: my sister (with Ceylan, her golden retriever), friend Isabelle with my godson Eli (I'll remind him when he's older that we first met on the parking lot of an Esso station...), a few members of the Luxembourg Land-Rover Club - and the press!

The guys from the Luxemburger Wort (the largest daily paper in Luxembourg, in which we published a fortnightly column during the trip) wanted to catch us "fresh" from the trip. After a brief interview in their headquarters in Luxembourg-city, we finally left for Stadtbredimus, the idyllic village on the banks of the Moselle river, where part of my family comes from - and where we'll settle down for the time being (email us for contact details or check the SnailFriends section).

(Ferry Alexandrie-Venise)

It is still not easy to describe our state of mind right now. We are very grateful to have been able to complete this adventure in good health and without any accidents or without having ever feared for our safety. A bit of pride is involved too, for having found the strength to leave our comfy lifestyles and go out into the world. We have our heads crammed with impressions from visiting half the world in a - relatively - short time. There are no regrets therefore about the trip having ended now - all this needs to sink in and settle before we can think of new adventures!

(Venice: what a welcome in Europe!)

That doesn't mean there won't be any challenges: already after a few days, we realise that we're going to lose some of that near-absolute freedom we've been enjoying these two years. We need to write down appointments, think of when the garbage truck comes, be on time at meetings, I might even have to go back to wearing a watch!

(Austrian landscape at the Achernsee near Innsbruck)

At the same time, it's fantastic to be able to chat with family & friends "live" (meaning, without Skype...), to not have to think about a camping spot for tonight, not to have to fight off beggars all the time, to find a well-stocked supermarket with all our favourite foods (although veggies don't taste as good as they look), to speak your own language, to be in familiar surroundings, to be home.

The website will remain online for some time: some sections need to be completed (especially the one with tips & tricks), I'll post a post-trip assessment of our equipment - and keep you informed about upcoming projects (there is talk about a book, let's see how that goes). Also, we would value feedback on how you liked the website so far, including suggestions for improving it in the future.

Having more than 200 registered readers and several thousands of monthly "hits" has supported us in updating the site regularly, and has given us a feeling that we're not alone "out there"... So, thanks for your steadfast support in this regard!

I would also like to seize this opportunity already now to express our gratitude to those among you who supported us more particularly during this trip, either through managing our affairs here in Luxembourg, welcoming us (often as complete strangers) into their homes in many different countries, or helping us with advice and information along the route. This sort of trip is unimaginable and actually quite senseless without such encounters: please stay in touch - and visit us in Luxyland!!

The land of the pharaohs

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:13:00 -0400

The border to Egypt we cross while we are fast asleep, well, for a few hours at least. It would be exaggerated to pretend that we really slept on that dirty ferry boat from Wadi Halfa (Sudan) to Aswan. We begin to count the final hours on board of the ship as soon as the sun begins to rise but have to wait a few more hours until our odyssey is over and everyone has obtained a visa. Finally they let us loose in Egypt, the ancient land of the pharaohs!

Our Egyptian journey begins with mixed feelings. It is less than two months ago that the Egyptian revolution of January 25th took place and the country got rid of President Mubarak. Since then the military is in power and the country seems to be calm. We are, however, a little tensed (just look across the border to Libya!).

The city of Aswan, however, welcomes us in such a friendly way that we forget all our worries immediately. The formidable Nile streams leisurely through the city, on its shore grow beautiful palm trees, surrounded by giant sand dunes. We watch picturesque Felucca boats and horse carriages passing by, have a tea and join the locals in smoking a chicha (waterpipe). The atmosphere is extremely relaxed. Yes, there is a soldier or policeman at every corner, but even those guys are relaxed and smile...

"It will take a few days until we will manage to release your trucks from the harbor", explains our Egyptian "fixer" Mustapha. (In order to accelerate things our Wadi-Halfa-clique decided once more to hire a fixer.) On Friday no one works in Egypt, on Saturday a referendum takes place to decide about the Egyptian constitution, not before Sunday can we begin to release "Archie" from prison. Luckily the boys are in charge to get our trucks back while we humble females enjoy ourselves in town. The Egyptian border procedures must have been really painful, just imagine...

Imagine a filthy small harbor, hundreds of refugees are waiting for their papers to be processed, garbage and fish rotting under the burning sun. Egyptian civil servants take their time (where is the engine number!?), drink a tea or two, have a chat, snoke cheap Egyptian cigarettes (probably conficated from some poor soul), everyone speaks Arabic (only)... Half a day later we have our "Archie" back, he is in really good shape and is now equipped with interesting new Arabic license plates!

As soon as we have our trucks back our little Wadi-Halfa group splits up. Georges and I decide to drive back near to the Sudanese border to visit the temple of Abu Simbel. What follows during the next days resembles a cultural firework consisting of ancient temples, ruins, graves and sculptures - so beautiful that words cannot describe them. You really must visit those Egyptian treasures yourself! Right now is a good time because there are hardly any other tourists - if you visit them early you have the sites all for yourself!!!

Abu Simbel

Luxor temple

Karnak

Valley of the kings (seen from Assuan, no photos allowed on site)

Our minds still full of hieroglyphics, we leave Luxor's Valley of the Kings and drive into the Libyan desert. Beyond the border a war is in full swing, but we do not notice anything. On a perfect tar road we visit oasis after oasis but are not really impressed. The small villages have grown too quickly and have lost all their former charm. The white desert, however, is simply stunning!

Bizarre rock formations combined with splendid isolation convince to linger a little while...

...before we set out to visit the last remaining highlight of this journey - the Gizeh pyramids!

To finally be face to face with these ancient pyramids almost makes me cry. It is not the sight of the pyramids alone, but to reconsider how we got here! We indeed drove all the way from Halifax to Ushuaia and from Dakar to Cape Town and to Cairo! Our trusted Land Rover Archie has 110.000 kilometers more on the clock - and we have not been back home in almost two years!

And thus this journey ends: we have booked a ferry on April 10 which will get all of us from Alexandria to Venice. At Easter we are back in Luxembourg! You might ask what comes next?! Who knows - and anyway that is another story entirely!

On holiday in Egypt...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:17:00 -0400

A short note to those who regularly check our website: we're in Dahab, in the Sinai, where we'll enjoy a few days of beach life before starting our last leg across the Mediterranean and on to Luxembourg.

We're going to update the site in the next days with tales of our Sudanese and Egyptian adventures, so check back soon!

Across the deserts of Sudan

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:03:00 -0400

There are countries you only hear bad news about. The Sudan is such a country. Genocide in Darfur, a dictatorship-like government under Omar al-Bashir, the desire of the South to split from the North (is that really going to happen peacefully?)...

After reading the news, we would probably rather not visit such a country. However, fellow travelers tell a completely different story: the people in Northern Sudan are among the most hospitable people in Africa, you only get into trouble if you refuse an invitation to enjoy a cup of tea with them... We don't have a choice anyway - so let's go to visit Sudan!

We leave Gonder early in the morning, a perfect tarmac road takes us down from the Ethiopian highlands into the Sudanese savannah. In Metema/Gallabat, a dusty little village, the road is closed. with a rope. That has to be the border. Indeed we discover the Ethiopian and Sudanese border officials in some huts on the roadside. However, our timing is bad, we have arrived during their lunch break. It takes us about three hours until we have assembled all necessary stamps - what a torture under the boiling midday sun!

In the end we will never figure out if the (very friendly!) Sudanese border officials were even able to read our papers as they communicate in Arabic only. When you consider how much of an effort it takes to keep your papers in order - and then the border officials might not even be able to read them! We are also upset that no one bothers to inspect our "Archie" - had we only taken a crate of beer with us into the desert! People had warned us that alcoholic beverages are strictly forbidden and offences are severely punished (e.g. whippings!).

So it happens that our stay in the Sudanese desert turns into an involuntar withdrawal treatment. We are, however, rewarded with a stunning starry sky and incredible silence. No one bothers us, no one asks silly questions or begs for anything. From time to time herdsmen pass by but they ignore us completely! What a nice surprise after our unnerving Ethiopian experience!

The following day we meet an old comrade - the Blue Nile - and travel on its shores until we reach the surprisingly modern capital city Karthoum. In Karthoum we have some more paper work to do - like all foreigners we need to register our passports (the office is at the airport!).

The Nile (which consists now of the joint White & Blue Niles) has become an impressive river, we follow its direction until the city of Atbara. Driving in Sudan is actually a non-event, only the frequent road blocks are a bit annoying. At all crossroads the security police (no uniforms!) checks our papers and asks all kinds of questions. To leave the main highway and to snoop around (e.g. in the Darfur region) does not seem advisable.

From Atbara a perfect tar road leads to Karima and Dongola. We just briefly visit the pyramids on the roadside at Meroe as their sight is actually a little sad. The were robbed, partly destroyed and no one subsequently cared about them. Thus they look a bit like rotten teeth as they continue to crumble under the continuously blowing desert wind.

We don't have much time anyway as we have an important meeting: On March 16 a ferry boat is waiting for us in Wadi Halfa in order to bring us to Aswan (Egypt). The boat trip from Wadi Halfa to Aswan is a costly but unavoidable odyssey. Some overlanders rather travel trough Saudi Arabia to avoid this ferry trip...

If you do not want to travel to Saudi Arabia you must take the ferry across Lake Nasser. Yes, there is a road, but foreigners are not allowed to take it. Instead you need to catch a ferry (and a separate barge for the truck) in the dusty (boring) village of Wadi Halfa. There is so much incomprehensible paper work involved that we decided to hire a "fixer". Our fixer is called Mazar and does actually not much else but helping overlanders to get across Lake Nasser.

"Come a few days earlier to Wadi Halfa", urges Mazar on the phone. "The boat crosses the Lake more frequently than usual because of the Sudanese refugees fleeing the war in Libya". We (in the end "we" are 5 trucks and 28 people) thus arrive two days earlier in Wadi Halfa. Nothing really happens. Yes, the boat has arrived but it will take another day until all 600 refugees have left the ship and are ready to leave the harbor. "Tomorrow!" There is not much to do in Wadi Halfa. We drink tea, eat Fallafel, drink tea. The next day, we continue to drink tea, until Mazar shows up: "Quick quick, jump into your trucks - the ship is ready for boarding!" Half an hour later, we are still waiting, engines running, when Mazar reappears. "They have found a drowned guy in the Lake. He disappeared a few days ago and now everyone is going to bury him and say good-bye"...

As we arrive an hour later in the harbor we wonder why we were in such a hurry to embark on that ferry...! What a trashy boat that is! A swimming dust bin actually, really disgusting! Most of us sleep on the upper deck in the sleeping bags to at least get some fresh air. Archie is going to cross the lake on a separate barge and will arrive in Aswan a few days after us - Inch'Allah...!

The continuation of our journey in Egypt is of course an entirely new story....

Ethiopia, the Stuff of Legends

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:00:00 -0500

"Ethiopia" - who does not think about starving children in an underdeveloped country!?

Once we cross the Southern border we are therefore quite surprised so spot in Turmi dozens of modern Toyota Land-Cruisers packed with tourists. International tourism has long discovered the Omo-Valley and locals are fully aware of their fame. For each picture you have to pay, children do not ask for sweets - they demand sweets (money etc.). We prefer not to linger in the South of Ethiopia but quickly move on to Addis Abeba.

The drive to Addis is horrific. Not so much because of the road but because of the people on the road. Every-day-life happens on the road in Ethiopia. In other countries it is usually the market place where people gather - in Ethiopia it is the road. Children ignore their cattle and point their fingers at us screaming "you-you-you". Women seem to work really hard, carrying wood and foodstuff for their families along the road while men stand together in small groups and chat. Impossible - if not suicidal - to drive at night under such circumstances!

Initially, Addis Abeba appears just like any other African city: an endless traffic jam, tons of people and the usual herd of goats roaming. Right in the center of the city there is a campsite, tiny but cute: Wim's Holland House, where we meet plenty of fellow travelers who hesitate (just like us) to travel north due to the revolutions in Egypt and Libya.

Our weekend in Addis starts early at 6am with the sound of unnerving vocals from the nearby orthodox church. The mosque joins in just a few minutes later. Muslims and Christians have been competing for the Ethiopian souls since forever! The history of Ethiopia reads like a fairy-tale including emperors, kings and knights fighting gruesome battles. In comparison, the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy appears like a romance. So let's go to middle-earth and let the journey through time begin!

On a perfect tarmac road we travel north-west towards Debre Marcos. In this region, people seem to be really busy, hardly anyone bothers us by screaming "you-you-you". Once we reach the Blue Nile (Abay) the landscape becomes really dramatic. During millions of years the river has carved a canyon which looks like the big brother of the Grand Canyon in the United States. The road winds down into the canyon and climbs up on the opposite side. For our "Archie" this trip might be torture - for us it is pure fun!

On Lake Tana we take a break in Bahir Dar. The small city is not so ugly but we barely take notice. It is the picturesque lake and a cold drink that command our full attention. The south-west corner of the lake forms the source of the Blue Nile which is going to await us together with our old comrade - the White Nile - in Karthoum.

The monuments that we are about to visit now belong to the most outstanding buildings that Africa has to offer: the stone churches in Lalibela. Just to travel through the breathtaking landscape from Bahir Dar to Lalibela is already something you will never forget. I almost pity tourists that catch a plane from Addis to Lalibela and who will never experience those biblical landscapes!

According to a legend king Lalibela (1167 - 1207) had a dream in which God encouraged him to build a second Jerusalem. And King Lalibela did as required and carved eleven stone churches from the red vulcanic rock in Lalibela. Our tourist guide Josef (somehow all men in Lalibela are called "Josef") explains that the King needed only 23 years to complete the construction as angels continued working during the night.

Very unfortunately some of the churches are protected by ugly modern roofs to protect them - all financed by the EU! What a disaster - could someone please dismantle them!?

The road from Woldia to Maychew has very recently been paved by the Chinese (hurry, it won't last long!) and the drive could be just divine - if the children in the region would not have the nasty habit of throwing stones at everyone and everything (not only tourists). We were just annoyed, friends, however, lost a wind screen!

To find the right words to describe the road from Maychew to Aksum is difficult - simply "WOW" probably fits best. Fortunately we believe already that the way itself is the goal - because we are disappointed when we finally arrive in Axum.

Axum is for the Ethiopian Christians a city of similar religious importance as Rome for the Europeans. According to legend the old cathedral houses the ark of the covenant. Every year thousands of Ethiopians visit this dusty little town around the end of November. The rest of the year, time seems to stand still. Should one of the former kings come back to visit (e.g. King Ezana 325-355) he would be really surprised how little has changed during his absence. Only prices for restaurants and hotels have arrived in the 21th century and are just crazy.

Our journey through time is far from over yet - to the contrary! Those who continue the circuit trough the Simien mountains to Gonder (or Lake Tana) will find themselves in a surrounding which reminds of medieval times in Europe: villages look run down, dirty and poor. People and animals look scruffy and the road has disappeared. Instead we need to get across a huge construction area (end: autumn 2012) with bulldozers paving the way just in front of us.

Once we finally reach Gonder we first of all need to clean Archie from loads of dirt and dust before we visit the old city of kings from the 17th and 18th century. The palace district with its towers and reminds in an ancient pompous castle. In its heydays the glamorous city is said to have accommodated about 80.000 people - hard to imagine today when you look at its ruins.

But we have embarked on a journey through time, so we need to use our creativity just a little bit longer and imagine how Gonder once looked like - once upon a long long time...!

A short but hot visit to the Turkana

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 07:06:00 -0500

"All roads lead to Rome". But from Nairobi (Kenya) to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), there is much less choice for the overlander. One route leads via Marsabit to Moyale. It is much-dreaded by overlanders for its terrible corrugations, rattling man and machine into desperation. Fortunately, there is an alternative, along Lake Turkana into the middle of pretty much nowhere...

A short warning before telling you our story: even seasoned overlanders should not attempt this route without some level of preparation, as fuel, water and fuel supplies can be problematic on these 800km off the beaten track. There is a lot of good information to be found online. We preferred Dawie du Plessis' description, which we reproduce with comments on our "tips & tricks for travelers" section.

The nice tar roads surrounding Nairobi cease at the latest in Nanyuki at the foot of Mount Kenya. The tar has just disintegrated and given way to a washed-out sand track.

From Nanyuki to Maralal, we cross the extremely dry savannah, always with Mount Kenya on the horizon. Villages become fewer and fewer, and our encounters are limited to colorful Samburu and Masai herdsmen guarding camel and cattle herds.

What a surprise, when suddenly a herd of elephants crosses our path! Zebra observe us from a distance, the setting couldn't be more African!

The odd warrior can be seen, with their elaborate head-dresses (composed of feathers and plastic flowers). Fortunately for us, they go about their own business, fighting off cattle thieves and rival tribes.

In dusty Maralal, we are greeted by a bunch of youngsters, who only want to "help". In a way they do, as they direct us to the market stalls that sell what we're looking for, mostly fresh produce and beer - you never know when we can stock up again!

Soon after Maralal, on the way to South Horr, the sandy track becomes rocky. Some passages really take bites out of the tires, by they resist quite well, sparing us a wheel change in the brutal sunshine (with no wind).

At some point, the road drops back into the Rift valley, and the temperatures rise immediately. 40°C don't affect us much in the air-conditioned car, but at night, we're busy sweating in the >30°C temperatures.

After three days, Lake Turkana finaly makes an appearance! The lake at first appears lifeless. Surrounded by black lava fields, it looks more like an oversized swimming pool.

No trees, no shrubs to be seen on its shores. It it weren't for the thirsty camel herds and their (no less thirsty) Turkana minders, we would have thought we took a wrong turn and landed on the moon!

Loiyangalani, the oasis on the shore of the lake, is surprisingly busy. Members of all tribes of the region gather in the shade of the palm trees. They are especially numerous in this dry season, as nomads approach the "city" in need of water. It's also the season for cattle rustling and other (armed) skirmishes, that produce several dozen casualties every year...

We're not particularly worried though: people here seem to be happy to welcome foreigners, for the entertainment, and for the money they spend. It feels like a very immediate kind of development aid!

We follow the sandy track from Loiyangalani to Iliret via the Sibiloy National Park.

After Ileret, we cross the invisible border to Ethiopia. We wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the GPS device's beeping. Yes, here we are in Ethiopia now, but that's going to be a different story - stay tuned!

To the source of the Nile and beyond

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 06:01:00 -0500

After a fast run through Kenya (3 days with a 10$ transit visa), we quickly made our way to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, to meet up with friends. Kampala is known to overlanders for crazy traffic, deservedly so, especially if you don't know about the "northern by-pass road". It's not on T4A - yet.

As always, being pampered by friends is an extremely nice experience, and we indulged in many guilty pleasures (like daily sun-downers and shisha-smoking). It was our last "oasis" on the trip before reaching home. We'll remember the exceptional hospitality received throughout these two years from old friends and complete strangers alike and return it in kind once we settle down again - our first good resolution for the post-trip life!

While we decided not to push all the way to Rwanda, we still drove into the South-West corner of Uganda, near the borders of the DRC and Rwanda. On the way, we crossed the Equator (again), witnessed the extend of President Museweni's election propaganda and finally reached our destination.

Tea, coffee and banana plantations dominate the landscape in an area that has systematically suffered from the political troubles in the area.

An obligatory stop on the way back to Kenya, the source of the Nile at Jinja is indeed worth exploring.

Disfigured by a dam right at the exit from Lake Victoria, the shores of the Nile are very scenic a few kilometers downriver, as well as being a superior white-water rafting destination.

Apart from the beautiful setting itself, the atmosphere is special because we know the Nile will accompany us for a long time, through the Sudan and Egypt, all the way to the Mediterranean.

And because Victorian-era explorers were so fixated on finding the source, and we just drove here...

Now we're back in Nairobi, at the "Jungle Junction", THE overlander hang-out in this area. People spend time here recovering from the journey down south, or preparing for the trip up north, fixing their vehicles and hunting for visas. A lot of good information is exchanged, travel stories abound, all in a relaxed atmosphere.

Some idle time was used to visit the Karen Blixen Museum, of "Out of Africa" fame. Entry is pricey, but romantic movie (or indeed book) fans will not be able to resist.

After stocking up our supplies, we'll head off on Monday towards Lake Turkana and the Ethiopian border. There will be a good deal of off-roading, fantastic landscapes and adventure! We'll team up with an Aussie-German Toyo for this part of the trip: the more the merrier!

Don't be surprised if there won't be much activity on our website until we reach Addis Ababa! So long...

From Lake Malawi to Mt Kilimanjaro

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:43:00 -0500

We made it to the shore of Lake Malawi at Senga Bay in time for New Year's Eve celebrations. Fully expecting a sleepless night, we were not disappointed: loud African disco and rap blasted out of a huge generator-supported music system, with all songs repeated in a 2-hour cycle...

We popped the last of our South-African "bubbly" and welcomed the New Year under the starry East African sky, watching thunderstorms on the opposite shore of the lake. Not before thinking back to an experience-rich 2010 that brought us from the Pacific shores of Costa Rica to the shores of Lake Malawi! What an incredible safari (Swahili for journey)!

The stickers on Archie now regularly draw crowds who have a hard time believing that such a journey is even possible!

2011 will no doubt be another interesting year, as we complete the trip up through East Africa, Ethiopia, the Sudan and Egypt, then (most probably) around the eastern Mediterranean shore back home to Luxembourg. It not clear yet what the second half of the year will bring in terms of jobs and location, we'll find out soon enough!

Back to Malawi. The lake dominates our memories of this thin stretch of land squeezed in between Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Usually calm, but developing strong winds and waves at short notice, the lake supports a large number of fishermen in their dug-out canoes and rickety boats. Unfortunately, a nasty bug (spreading bilharzia) inhabits the intensely blue waters, and we don't go swimming longer than a short occasional dip, despite the heat.

It is with high expectations that we approach Tanzania. Without knowing it, Tanzania is what most people would describe when asked to picture Africa, influenced by famous documentaries. The large plains of the Serengeti, the unique Ngorogoro Crater, ice-capped Mount Kilimanjaro and the vast Lake Victoria are all part of that fame.

After a very enjoyable stop-over in the mountains near Iringa (imagine how we enjoyed the first cool night in quite a while!), we head for Dar-es-Salaam ("haven of peace"), the capital of Tanzania in all but name.

We narrowly avoid its permanent traffic jam and take the ferry across to the southern beaches for our first encounter with the Indian Ocean since Cape Agulhas.

Tanzania is a federal state, composed of the mainland, and the Zanzibar archipelago. The union has always been a difficult one, and the Zanzibaris are still today fiercely independent-minded, as we would find out on arrival.

Having left the car in a secure spot near Dar-es-Salaam ("haven of peace"), we took a posh shuttle boat for the 2-hour trip to Zanzibar.

On arrival, quite unexpectedly, a Zanzibari immigration check-point requested to see our passports, securely locked away in Archie. After providing a short, written apology, dictated to us in clumsy English ("we apologise for what we have done to you"), we're free to explore the famed spice islands.

In fact, we limit ourselves to the old part of the city, "Stone Town", which transports you from Africa straight to the Arab world, with its specific architecture, its mosques and its maze of narrow streets, used only by pedestrians and racing Vespa-drivers. Although the salt water, the rains and general lack of maintenance have reduced most buildings to shadows of their former glorious appearance, it is still possible to imagine the enormous wealth that was acquired here centuries ago through the slave, ivory and spice trades. Visiting the cavernous local market confirms this impression, as we barter for coconuts, spices and lunch.

After our return to Dar, we use the opportunity of a public holiday and the absence of traffic to leave the city towards Bagamoyo. This village on the mainland just opposite Zanzibar was the former staging posts for the ivory and slaving expeditions into the central african heartland. Early explorers, including Henry Morton Stanley, left from Bagamoyo with large caravans towards the Congo. The place doesn't seem to have changed much since then...

Shortly after Bagamoyo, we turn north towards the Saadani Game Reserve, looking forward to meeting fellow travellers from the times of our central and south-American adventures. After returning to their native Greece, they embarked on a new adventure, managing a high-end lodge on the Wami river. Our meeting was emotional, and we wished we could have stayed longer! We wish them plenty of success in this new and exciting venture!

At the time of writing, we are camping next to Mt Kilimanjaro, enjoying the cool atmosphere at over 1600m of altitude. The two summits, Kibo and Mawenzi have been gracious enough to lift their veils for us to admire them. Not without noticing that there is significantly less ice on the summit then commonly portrayed in advertising and postcards. As our host confirms, global warming has been changing the climate in the Kilimanjaro area rapidly and noticeably.

We'll soon exit Tanzania via Arusha, on our way to Nairobi (Kenya) and Kampala (Uganda). We've had to give up our initial plan to reach Kampala by crossing the Ngorogoro Crater and Serengeti National Parks, then continuing on to Mwanza on Lake Victoria and then Rwanda. We'll leave these Tanzanian highlights for a next trip, when we'll fly in with a sizeable amount of cash in our pockets to allow us to enjoy these places "in style".

Christmas in Zimbabwe and Zambia

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:29:00 -0500

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans": our Christmas plans (involving hammocks on a Mozambican beach) got stuck in the mud shortly after leaving the Kruger Park. Straight after the border post at Pafuri, South-African-style perfect infrastructure ends, and the earth road turns into an endless succession of stinky mud-holes. At least we didn't get stuck, unlike several other local vehicles we encountered - and rescued from their muddy parking spots.

A bit of mud wouldn't have stopped us, but the mighty, brown Limpopo did: even the locals didn't dare to use the completely submerged wooden structure across the river anymore. A local entrepreneur did offer an alternative, in the shape of an oversized bathtub moved across by human power. That seemed far too risky to us, and we decided to drop our Mozambican Christmas plans.

Back to the border, and on to Zimbabwe! Crossing the border at Beitbridge took us three hours. For once, the formalities were not to blame, but the sheer number of Zimbabweans returning home for the holidays. A caravan of overloaded old buses, trucks and pick-ups lined the road - given their mechanical state, not all would make it... At police check-points every 50km, locals were obviously invited to hand over some Christmas gift, but not the foreigners, apparently, always waived on.

There's more good news: fuel stations do sell petrol and diesel, and supermarkets' shelves are full. We can't find the delicacies that we got so quickly used to in Namibia and South-Africa, but there's no need to stock up on the usual items before coming to Zim. Rand and US$ are accespted: Zimbabwean currency is now sold as souvenirs to tourists: welcome to the trillionnaire club!

Christmas in Zimbabwe? Not something I was very keen on. And I was wrong: it's a beautiful country with charming people! Landscapes seem strangely untouched - and they are. On our way from Great Zimbabwe to Harare, we saw many abandoned farms and rotting farm equipment. The air is full of butterflies, and fields are not cultivated. As tourists, all you can do is spend some time in the country and help a few people get back on their feet.

There are some of the less pleasant kind to be found in Harare as well: in the middle of the city, one of our tires was stabbed, with the obvious aim to make us stop and rob us. But the thieves had underestimated the strength of the B.F.Goodrich tire: it withstood the attack, and we could move on unharmed. Apparently, this is a relatively frequent type of attack on cars with foreign license plates.

What are we doing in Harare anyway? Getting a visa: it's rumored to be the only place where travelers can get a n Ethiopian visa without having to send their passports home. And the rumor is true: 30 USD per person and a couple of hours later, we have our passports back, including a three-month multiple-entry visa!

Christmas eve in Zimbabwe: the hammock is now installed on the shores of Lake Kariba, instead of the Indian Ocean. The landscape around this artificial lake is superb, but there is a catch: it's infested with crocs! We enjoy the views from the Zimbabwean side first, then from the Zambian side, refreshing ourselves with cold beers, thoughts of snowy Europe - and the occasional thunderstorm. Off to the North!

Like Zimbabwe, Zambia is not yet on the map of mainstream tourism. The hilly landscape, covered in thick jungle, is rarely interrupted by a village. We bypass Lusaka and its Soviet-style architecture, and make good progress on the tarred Great Eastern Road. Two days and 1000km later, we arrive at the South Luangwa National Park. Parts of the park are inaccessible during the rainy season, but the bit that we saw was absolutely worth the detour (and the hefty entrance fees)! We heard the hippos in the river next to the campsite, and fought off thieving monkeys in the morning.

That's how 2010 comes to an end in Zambia, after a pleasant start in Costa Rica. An unforgettable year full of adventure and new impressions! Many thanks also to your moral support during the (few) moments when it was less fun.

We shouldn't be making too many plans, but our intentino is to be back in luxembourg on the 1st of May. Then again, "life is what happens when you're busy...".

A healthy and successful year 2011 to all of you!!