Wendy and Rob go travelling

That's all, folks!

2009-02-10T12:20:00.000-08:00

The trip is over. We put our car on a boat at Alexandria and flew home. The guys who work on the boat decided to have a cigarette-smoking and oil-smearing party in our car which was nice of them. Otherwise we welcomed the return to family, friends, comfort and good food. It is a strange feeling being back. The skies are grey but we don't get guns pointed at us. Life may work here but its a bit less vibrant. We are already thinking about the next trip.

Egypt is a bit of a letdown after Sudan

2009-02-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Since all the land crossings between Egypt and Sudan are closed we were forced to take the ferry up Lake Nasser from Wadi Half to the dam at Aswan. In many ways this was the end of our trip since once we reached Egypt we had access to ATMs, hotels and a chance to relax. Also despite the fact that we had enjoyed Sudan so much, it is still Sudan and things can go wrong. It felt to us like being in Egypt would be like being back in Europe. In fact it was a dump, populated largely by overweight tourists and pickpockets. We spent the majority of our time haggling with customs agents. It took 3 days to get our car through customs in Aswan and the best bit of 2 days to get it out at Alexandria. Because we were pressed for time and unwilling to suffer the oppression of the tourist-pickpocket hordes we skipped most of the cultural glories Egypt has to offer. We saw Abu Simbal from a distance as our ferry sailed past, drove straight past Luxor and barely managed to force ourselves to the Pyramids at Giza. The exception to this was the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo which was magnificent. Egypt is probably better seen as part of a short trip rather than at the end of an exhausting year.

Wadi Halfa

2009-02-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

The most expensive hotel in Wadi Halfa costs a princely $5. In return for that you get 4 walls of sorts, a floor complete with cockroaches and pupae, a roof and two beds. The beds don't get changed but this is good as guests benefit from the leftovers of the previous occupants' dinner which lingers on the beds. As an added delight no real distinction is made between the loo and the shower which creates hazards for the bleary-eyed and bare-footed morning showerer. We arrived in Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan to catch the ferry up to Aswan. We arrived a few days early so spent a delightful couple of days camping out in the desert and by the Nile. Unfortunately the vehicle barge leaves before the passenger

ferry so for the last night we had to brave the local accomodation. It was special.

Nubian desert

2009-02-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

The journey from Karima to Dongola crosses the desert and takes out one of the big loops of the Nile. The road is now sealed unlike those further north. From Dongola north the road passes slowly through quiet villages at the side of the Nile. It is a delightful route. About half way up the road leaves the Nile and goes out into the desert. This became a little more exciting since the bush on our rear right shock was playing up again so we crossed the desert section with our shock tied on. Fortunately it held. A big new road is being built the whole way up to Wadi Halfa so in a few months people will be able to drive from Europe to the Ethiopian border on sealed roads. It won't be long before you can drive the whole way to Cape Town in a normal passenger car but that wouldn't be fun as you would miss out on the best bits.

Jebel Barkal

2009-02-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Nuri

2009-02-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

El Kurru

2009-02-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

Meroe

2009-02-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

We are in Khartoum (and for once this blog entry isn't months out of date)

2008-12-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

We haven't blogged for ages. This isn't entirely due to lethargy. Surprisingly, the internet access we have had for much of the way recently has been terrible, and the blogger website appears to be blocked by Ethiopian censors. Anyway we have finally caught up with where we are. We drove into Khartoum (the capital of Sudan for those whose geography is a little rusty) yesterday, which wasn't a great day to be on the roads since it is the day before Eid Al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice and the most important holiday in the religious calendar (and it coincides with the Haj - that special time of year when millions of muslims trample each other in Mecca). Everyone was driving home to slaughter goats and celebrate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac because a voice in his head which he attributed to God told him to. The devil tried to intervene, wickedly suggesting he shouldn't murder his own son, but fortunately Abraham ignored this evil influence to continue on his filicidal path before God relented and let him substitute a lamb. Even more amazing than the story is the fact that it is used as a source of moral education by many hundreds of millions of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Anyway Sudan shuts down for a couple of days so we have been relaxing in Khartoum right at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles. From here we head up the big loop of the Nile to see the Sudanese pyramids. We have a ferry booked across Lake Nasser from Wadi Halfa to Aswan on the 17th Dec and fingers crossed should be in Cairo for Christmas.

Lalibela

2008-12-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

We love Ethiopia. The coffee is strong and bitter, the injera tibs is our favourite food (unusually it is even better in its home country than in New York), the landscape is beautiful and the people friendly. Unlike what one sees on TV the country is quite fertile. Most people live in the highlands which are cool. The famines which seem to be most people's expectation of the country happen in the eastern lownlands. We spent a few day exploring Addis and getting our car fixed - properly this time - before heading up to the north to see the ancient rock-hewn churches. Lalibela where the greates concentration of these 13th century churches are found publicizes itself as the 8th wonder of the world. It is a fairly remote mountain town which lives up to its publicity. Christianity spread south through Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia around the 5th century AD. It was later largely supplanted by Islam in Egypt and Sudan while Ethiopia - the land of Prester John - hung on to its own version of Christianity. The churches are carved out of the bedrock, many of them from a single piece of rock. They were built over decades, with the exception of one which was supposedly built overnight by a queen with the assistance of angels. She had probably been chewing a lot of khat, the regional stimulant.

An interesting journey through northern Kenya up to Ethiopia

2008-12-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

And by interesting I really mean long, dusty and very frustrating. We got stuck in Nairobi for a while fixing the Landcruiser. After we took it in to Toyota in Nariobi for a service, the messed up so many things that we spent the next week trying to repair the damage they had done. Anyway we finally left for the long road north. The road is good for the first 300kms or so up past Mt Kenya to Isiolo and then turns into a really nasty corrugated nightmare. It is nothing like the roads we were going through in Cameroon which were deep mud, but was almost more uncomfortable because the corrugations are quite large. Once we past Archer's Post (which we learnt is where the shifta - or Rendile bandit - territory starts) our right rear shock came off. After a quick call back to Footloose in the UK, we tied it back on. We carried on rather tentatively and by nightfall crawled into Marsabit where we replaced the shock. We left Marsabit early the next morning and carried on up to Turbi where apparently it gets more dangerous and where we had to take a police escort. This was provided at some expense, and given there hasn't been any trouble since 2005 (when admittedly 90 people were massacred by Ethiopian cattle thieves) it seemed the police escort was more to do with padding their pension funds than protecting us. On the way up to the border at Moyale our replacement shock bust its seal and started leaking oil so we slowed down and didn't crawl up to the border until late in the day, but we were delighted to be there. The road from Moyale north to Addis Ababa is perfect, so we could relax. This feeling raplidly faded once we learnt that we couldn't get a visa at the border (despite getting both the US and UK embassies to call them to beg for us), and so couldn't get into Ethiopia without going the whole way back to Nairobi to get our visa there, which in turn was a problem since our vehicle was in no state to go back over the corrugations. After a moment of questioning how we could have been so dumb to head out there without a visa when our book (which we hadn't read) clearly states you can't get a visa at the border, we formed a plan of action. We headed to the first place in Moyale where one can buy a beer, which happens to be the Prison Canteen, conveniently located right next to the prison. Over a few calming beers we hired a driver with his own Landcruiser to drive us back to Nairobi. Mohammed was his name, and he was a fanatical Muslim, intent on converting us to Islam. Soon after he started preaching I decided to ride in the back of the van leaving Wendy to learn exactly which aspects of her life are haram (which seems to mean immoral) and to learn from her new teacher how a second wife is a great way of stopping prostitution. Mohammed in another life was also a race driver. He took us the whole way from Moyale to Nairobi in 15 hair-raising hours. We did it in three days. The visa took 10 minutes and another 15 crazy hours later and a huge number of dollars poorer we were back at the border. Next time we will read the book

KENYA - Lake Nakuru

2008-12-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

Lake Nakuru is famous for it's soda lake that attracts tons of flamingos. It's so incredible to see. You drive up to the edge of the lake and see these pink swaths of color across the blue water outlined by the white pelicans and the black cape buffalo. The only thing that is a bit nasty is the SMELL. You can only imagine what heaps and heaps of bird poo smells like. We also saw a wild rhino, and a mommy monkey carrying her baby monkey, which never gets old no matter how many times you see it.

KENYA - Treetops and Sweetwater

2008-12-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

We all suited up for some game watching and headed to Treetops Lodge, an old English establishment that literally started out as a treehouse where the Queen of England was staying when she got the call that she was going to be Queen. Pretty cool. Now it's a very big treehouse where they lock you in at night and you are in the middle of the park right in front of a watering hole where you can watch the game come and go. You eat cafeteria style with the rest of the lodge and they send your food down the middle of the tables on a conveyor belt. I heard they served Spam there but that turned out to be a cruel rumor.
THe next day we went to Sweetwater Reserve and I saw my first RHINO!!! Although it was in captivity, and was at the time being reintroduced into the wild, it was amazing to see up close. They are HUGE. And not a little bit scary. Afterwards we drove around the park and got to see another rhino in the actual wild, along with cape buffalo, lots of elephants, and warthogs (which for some weird reason Gerald decided were his favorite. I think they look like guys from Jersey with mullets).

KENYA - Masai Mara Game Park

2008-12-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Our stay in the Mara Lodge in Masai Mara with Gerald and Rebecca was definitely a highlight of the trip. First of all, the company was fantastic! Rebecca recommended we stay at the Mara Lodge, and it didn't dissapoint. After the car decided to embarass us in front of our friends (suspension arms broke, relay was knocked loose after Rob hit a pothole at alarming speeds, all our controls were knocked out, etc), we had a bit of a hairy trip to the park. But the struggle was so worth it. We would take game drives during the day and then come back to the lodge and settle in next to a fire, and right in front of us was a river with hippos, crocodiles, and tons of birds. We all had such a blast and will definitely go back to stay there again.

Zanzibar recap

2008-11-13T05:48:00.000-08:00

Kenyan/Tanzanian coast

2008-11-05T23:04:00.000-08:00

We have had a relaxing time in the last few weeks cruising up the coast. From Dar Es Salaam we crossed to Zanzibar before heading up into Kenya for Tiwi, Mombasa, Watamu and the highlight Lamu up by the Somali border. Our chill out came to an end in Nairobi for the US elections. The city was fun - and we were out very late last night - but rather more subdued than we expected. Still, Kenyans seem ecstatic about Obama's victory. In parallel we have been trying to get a Sudanese visa. No progress in Dar or Nairobi. We are hoping it will happen in Addis.

Makuzi Beach on Lake Malawi

2008-10-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

After Cape Maclear we headed north to Nkhata Bay, another small village on Lake Malawi. Again, as you can see, it was a stunning setting. Beautiful sunsets right in front of you with hardly anyone else around. Talk about a romantic place! Rob took a kayak out and snapped some amazing photos of the fish eagle. We hung out with another couple from England who were doing a little trip around the east to check out some of the hotels as research for their future business. And the hotel owners were so kind that on our last night, they decided to make it extra romantic for us and put our dinner table out on the beach and lit by candlelight. The night was perfect, with the exception of one small problem... There are these swarms of insects that you can see out on the lake during the day that are ENORMOUS. Literally from miles away they look like huge plumes of smoke coming up out of the water. As they come on land, the locals take baskets and capture them and then grind them onto a paste and eat it for its protein value. Yummy... Well that night just a hatch came onland and you couldn't believe how many there were! They were everywhere - in your nose, your ears - but we stuck it out on the beach while everyone else locked themselves indoors. All I have to say is I am happy it was so dark out there cause I am sure I got way more protein than I would have liked out of that meal....

Cape Maclear

2008-10-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

Mt Mulanje

2008-10-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

While Wendy took a day to chill in the relaxing Lukhubula Forest Lodge, I raced up 3,000m high Mt Mulanje. It is known for its steep ascent and thick mists, but since it is the dry season here it was just steep ascent, burning hot sun and fairly hazy air so the views weren't as great as they could be. The mountain is very interesting with a rolling plateau at 2,000m, crossed by valleys and with peaks rising out of it. I spent one refreshingly cool night up on the plateau before getting up at 4.30am to hit the summit just after dawn. The air above about 2,900m was clear but the haze below obscured the views out over Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. My guide Anthony had a urgent message from his Mum so we didn't linger too long at the top and decided rather foolishly to run the majority of the way down. I hobbled into the lodge just in time to join Wendy on her way down to town for a well-earned pizza.

We are now in Malawi

2008-09-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

We haven't been blogging much recently. For some reason we can't work out we just haven't been able to get decent internet access in the places we have been in the last few weeks. This is strange because travelling up the east coast of Africa is so much easier than the west. Anyway we are in Blantyre and will be in Malawi for another two weeks or so. We will be working with Sponsor a Mum for a few days before climbing Mt Mulanje in the south and then making our way leisurely up Lake Malawi towards Tanzania.

Mozambique

2008-09-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Mozambique is stunning! We headed up the coast and stopped at a few towns along the way. The beaches are very beautiful with crisp white sand and deep blue ocean and lagoons. Rob went diving off Vilanculos which has a great reef and tremendous visibility. He saw a group of devil rays, an enormous potato bass and (maybe) a small shark in the distance. We took a boat out to one the five islands off the coast of Villanculos where Wendy chilled out and read her book and met a few locals that tried to make her eat a fruit that looked nasty so she politely declined. At night we ate the freshest seafood - giant prawns and grilled calamari. It is such a polar opposite experience than coming down the west coast! It is a great place although with ever increasing amounts of tourism will probably lose its allure in the coming years.

God's Window

2008-09-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

After getting Rob's passport in Pretoria and spending some great quality time with Rob's cousins we headed north to Pilgrim's Rest where we stayed for the night. From there we did a day trip to what they call "God's Window", a beautiful lookout point from where you can see all of the surrounding countryside and mountains. It was spectacular, even though it was a bit hazy and swarming with tourists. Wendy spotted this enormous bug that was about 4 inches in length and had the most incredible colors. It moved very slowly, so we figured it must be poisonous... didn't even jump when we got close to it, but it tasted good ; ). We spent the day jumping out at different viewpoints and taking in the sights and ended up in the sleepy old mining town in a pub that used to be a church. Met some interesting locals that entertained us for the night, then we were off to Mozambique the next morning!

On our way to Mozambique

2008-09-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

The British embassy has finally got over its incompetence and managed to issue me a new passport so we are ready to head out. Our trip from here takes us up to Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. We need to be in Nairobi for the first week of November to meet friends and so that we can party with the Kenyans when Barack Obama wins the US presidential election. It is goodbye to my South African cousins who have looked after us so well and back to the rigors of the road.

Drakensberg

2008-09-16T23:09:00.000-07:00

We spent a few days relaxing up at a beautiful spot in the Drakensburg. It gave me an opportunity to get my rock shoes back on. This was not a pleasant experience. Six months sitting in a car have transferred what little uppper body strength I used to have into an expanded waistline. Also the bouldering was made more interesting by a pack of babboons which got upset when I strayed a little too close to them.

After 24,000km we have made it from London to Cape Town

2008-08-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

Southern Namibia and Namaqualand

2008-08-30T03:22:00.000-07:00

After our hot air balloon ride we headed south to camp one night near the Quivertree Forest and a Mesosaurus fossil site. The night camping was perfect as it was so clear you could see tons and tons of stars. After Rob cooked his famous pasta out of the back of the truck we pulled out some chairs and just marvelled at the sky. The next morning we took a quick walk thru the Quivertrees, which actually aren't trees at all but overgrown aloe plants. We learned about their adaptive structures used to deal with such a dry climate. They store so much water in their branches that they can live through a drought up to 4 years long.Then we went to see the Mesosaurus fossils which I was overly excited about. I always wanted to see dinosaur footprints and I had every expectation that they would look exactly like the ones you see in cartoons. The Mesosaurus lived approx 280 milliion years ago and looked a bit like a small crocodile. The longest one grew up to 3 feet long. The fossils are still in the rocks on a local man's farm and they continue to find new ones all the time. Definitely amazing to see! We crossed over into South Africa and timed things perfectly to capture the spring wild flowers which cover the hills of Namaqualand in spring. Unfortunately this year was not one of the best but it is still a beautiful display.

Hot air balloon over Namib-Naukluft Park

2008-08-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Up at 5am for my birthday present! I must say I wasn't exactly thrilled when the alarm clock went off, but as soon as we got going I couldn't wait to get up on top of the dunes and check out the views at sunrise. As you can see, it was incredible. Later on in the day, I felt like the whole experience was so surreal (and so early in the morning...) that I almost wasn't sure if I had dreamed it or not. I am quite the lucky gal to be getting married to such a romantic. Best birthday gift ever!!!

Sossusvlei

2008-08-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

After Etosha we drove down through Swakopmund on the coast and then to Sossusvlei where you can find the highest and most beautiful red sand dunes in the world. Chances are if you have seen any photos of large red dunes, they were taken here. And man are they incredible! I have been looking forward to Sossusvlei so much because fo my (Wendy's) birthday Rob promised me a sunrise hot air balloon over the dunes followed by a champagne breakfast. Trust me, after trekking thru Angola and DC, this was a much anticipated stay. We hiked the tallest sand dune in the world named Big Daddy which is 1,000 feet tall, yet doing it in the sand and the heat made it feel like about twice that. But the views from the top were extraordinary and we got to run straigh down the side at top speed which was SOOOO much fun! Definitely my favorite part of the day. At the bottom of the dunes is Deadvlei where the once flowing riverbed lays cracked and completely dry and the few trees that remain stand eerily still in what will soon become thier graveyard.

Skeleton Coast

2008-08-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

The skeleton coast is known for its desolate nature, fogs, shipwrecks and not much else. It is where the desert hits the Atlantic. A few plants struggle through by extracting water from the fog.

The area is home to Welwitschia mirabilis, a very strange plant with a short trunk, two leaves and no living relatives that lives in the middle of nowhere. Not a bad life. More detail on why it is interesting by clicking here.

Etosha National Park

2008-08-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

We have made it down to Namibia which is a truly stunning country. For starters, they speak English. Secondly, rather than badly potholed roads with burnt out trucks littering the side, the roads here are either tarred or very well maintained gravel. Finally it is just a beautiful place with a mix of desert, plains and rugged mountains.

We made it over the border from Angola with a sense of relief. While nothing went seriously wrong during our time in Central Africa, it was always the hardest and most dangerous part of our trip so we are both happy to have it behind us.

Our first stop in Namibia was Etosha, a park that is so rich in wildlife that at one waterhole we saw more game than in all the other parks we have visited put together. It was beautiful.

Angola baby, yeah!

2008-08-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have so much to say about Angola. In the begning, we were a bit nervous about driving through this county that has been ravaged by war for approx a ridiculous amount of years and just recently (since 2002) has achieved some sort of peace. We heard stories of abandoned tanks, shelled towns, and undescribable beauty. The county was not at all easy to get into, but once we were there, we were amazed by the incredibly gracious nature of the people and the beautiful architecture that once graced the country's towns.

Goodbye Congo, Hello creepy DRC

2008-08-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

After much delay, we finally got into congo and thru the other side to DRC. Upon arrival of the Congo border from Gabon, we were told that we couldn't drive that day due to local elections. So we decided to camp there for the day. We took some seriouosly amusing photos of the kids that had way too much interest in our every movement. They didn't leave our side until we told them to leave if we promised them that they could watch a movie on our laptop at 5pm that evening. Sure enough they all showed up and proceeded to watch the Simpsons in a language they couldn't understand but were clutching their bellies in laughter all the while. It was magiacal to watch. One of the boys decided that I was his wife and (as you will see in the photo) proceeded to place his hand on me and proclaim me his rightful property.
Then we arrived in Brazzaville, where we stayed for quite a long time at the Hippocame Hotel, which is amazing for overlanders as their abundance of information is as plentiful as their abundance of hospitality (as well as their abundance of embassy personel who want to throw Jack Daniels down your throat....eckhhhhhhh).
So we pulled ourselves away from Brazzaville and got on the ferry to Kinshasa, DRC. THIS FERRY HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CREATE HAVOC IN THE MIND. ButI must say, if you tuck yourself into the wormhole in your brain titled "it's not your problem", you can hobble off without looking back. Otherwise, you're screwed.
DRC is creepy. That's all I have to say. Rob has been sick from the one night we spent there in a hotel that offered him up a plate of meat that looked as if it sat on the side of the road for six months and then someone bought it and then ran over it eighteen times in an eighteen wheeler. Yup, he hasn't left the bathroom since. Au revoir DRC...

Info on visas for Angola, DRC, Congo, Gabon

2008-07-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

We finally got our Angolan visa! Life is good. We are taking a break for the next two weeks. We fly to NYC tomorrow. We fly back to Johannesburg on the 9th and up to Brazzaville on the 11th to start all over again.

A number of people have asked us about visas for central african countries so here is our experience.

You can get visas for Gabon and Congo at the border. I think Gabon was about $70 and Congo $100. (As an aside we got all our visas for the trip at borders except Mali, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon...and now Angola).

The big problem is DRC and Angola. The DRC embassy in Brazzaville will give you a visa very easily, but it is of no use, because the DRC authorities on the ferry from Brazzaville to Kinshasa won't let you in unless you have a visa for either Zambia or Angola. It is no use saying you don't need a visa for Zambia - they need to see a visa in your passport. There is no Zambian embassy in Brazzaville and the Angolan embassy doesn't issue visas. (They did make an exception and issue visas to a group just before us but then refused to make any further exceptions.)

So, if you are travelling overland down to Brazzaville make sure you have either an Angolan or Zambian visa before you arrive in Brazzaville or you will get stuck. The Angolan embassy may start issuing visas again but don't hold your breath.

Monkeyland!

2008-07-21T09:34:00.001-07:00

Bloukrans bungy jump

2008-07-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

It's the highest bungy jump in the world and I thought I was going to die. My jump was terrible. I was so scared of jumping I was going to turn around and walk away, but in doing so tripped and fell 700 feet off the edge.

We haven't blogged for a while

2008-07-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry about that. We were stuck in Brazzaville for about 10 days, much of it spent at the Angolan embassy grovelling in vain for a visa. Once they finally said no, we booked (at exorbitant expense) flights down to South Africa. We have left the car in a hotel in Brazzaville (the Hippocampe - anyone travelling through Africa overland should stay there), and have been down in the Cape for just over a week. We flew down to Cape Town and went to the Angolan embassy for a visa. The embassy in Jo'burg had already refused so it was down to Cape Town or New York. We dropped the passports off and filled in the forms last Monday, and then headed out to Paterson, just north of Port Elizabeth to stay with cousins of Rob's.

Paterson is located right in the middle of a whole load of game parks so we spent much of the week looking for animals.

We are a bit stuck in Brazzaville

2008-07-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

We made great time down through the thick forests of Cameroon and Gabon and crossed into Congo two days ago. We spent a day stuck at the Congolese border while local elections shut down all activity, then continued down to Brazzaville. The route we are taking is far from the most direct way down to South Africa but avoids the truly terrible roads and ninjas - the local bandits - who hang out in western Congo.

Everything was going far too well until we arrived in Brazzaville and learnt that one can't get on the ferry to Kinshasa (capital of Democratic Republic of Congo) without proof of onward travel from DRC (ie an Angolan visa) and you can only get the Angolan visa at Matadi, which is inside the DRC. Which all seems like a system perfectly constructed to frustrate travellers like us.

Anyway since then some friends of ours did manage to persuade the Angolan embassy here to issue a transit visa, despite the huge sign outside the embassy which says "No Visas". We will try our luck today. I have written a humble begging letter to the ambassador. It may take a few days, and even if it doesn't work we have a few other options.

Cameroon is stunning

2008-06-25T01:32:00.001-07:00

After our epic journey through the mud we headed down to Limbe on the coast to relax for a couple of days. The country in beautiful with a thick cover of rainforest. It rains fairly relentlessly at this time of year, but when the sun comes out it is all worth it.

We are now in Yaounde, the capital. We have fixed our car. Our mud adventure had written off the brakes and we needed to replace all our filters. We have also ripped a piece off the side of the car but its only cosmetic. Later today we head down to the Gabonese border, after which we cross into Congo, DRC and then Angola. We met a South African couple coming north who have given us all the info we need to get down to Namibia without straying into bandit territory or getting stuck on terrible roads (or, as they did, both at the same time!). We feel confident about the rest of the trip south, although securing visas for DRC and Angola may be a little tricky.

The main road from Nigeria to Cameroon has seen better days

2008-06-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

We crossed the border from Nigeria to Cameroon near Ekok at about 2pm last Friday, intending to spend the night in Mamfe, about 40 miles further on. A day and a half later we limped into Mamfe, having spent the intervening time in a giant mudbath. The road from Ekok to Mamfe goes through the rainforest. It is a stretch to call it a dirt road. In fact it is a stretch to call it a road. It is more like a swimming pool. Or a construction site. After 10 minutes on the road we found ourselves stuck in a mud hole about 15 feet deep with 5 feet of water at the bottom and no traction for our wheels. It was raining, and the only way out of the car was to climb out of the window. Still, with smiles on our faces we broke out the shovel and hooked up the winch to a conveniently located tree. Within an hour we were free. This was fun! 10 minutes later we were stuck again. On about the 10th time the fun started to fade. Still it was an amazing experience. We only managed to get through the whole thing because we got so much help from locals. Every time we got stuck people would emerge from the jungle, dive into the mud and start pushing. We carried on deep into the night as locals had advised us it was too dangerous to bush camp. We were covered in mud. The car is coated with mud inside and out. Overall, however, it was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.

A race through Togo, Benin and Nigeria

2008-06-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

We are now under a little time pressure to get down to Johannesburg so we can fly out to the US at the end of July so we decided to start moving south. We raced across Togo and Benin. We crossed the border between the two just as Colonel Gaddafi was in town with a huge Libyan delegation. Despite our best efforts we didn't get to meet him, but we did get to meet the huge numbers of troops on the road from the border to the capital Cotonou.

Nigeria was not the most pleasant place. Every few miles (literally) we were stopped by police who asked for money. We managed to get through the country without paying out once, mainly by offering them our love in place of hard cash.

Nigeria is a strage place. Once you get over the money thing - everyone is looking to rip you off (no surprise to anyone who knows Tunde) then the Nigerians are very warm and friendly people.

We miscalculated our trip from Lagos to Benin City. Expecting it to be just a couple of hours drive, we went out for a rather late night in Lagos and planned to leave late the following morning. Our 3 hour trip ended up being a 9 hour nightmare, when cars driving on the wrong side of the road, overturned trucks and stomach-churning potholes conspired to create the worst traffic jam imaginable. Driving late at night on Nigerian roads feeling a little tender from the night before is not for the faint-hearted!

Sponsor a Mum researches maternal mortality in Hodzo

2008-06-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

We decided to meet back up with our friends from England, Antonia and Toby, and go to one of the villages outside of Ho in which they are doing some research for the charity they are starting named Sponsor A Mum. So we took Heather out with us for the day and had a first hand experience listening to some of the broad range of issues these women deal with regarding maternal health. This happened to be a day when the govt was sponsoring a free clinic with immunizations and weight checks for the babies, so there were plenty of women to interview. Heather and I sat through ten heartbreaking stories while Antonia asked the questions. These women typically do not have money to get to a hospital because the transportation alone is too expensive, and the fathers of the children refuse to help them out in most cases. They must earn the money themselves just so that they can have a birth attendant in their home when they deliver, and they typically do this by carrying 70 pound jugs of water on their heads for many miles back and forth to the villages for up to 1 dollar a trip. All this and they are 6 to 9 months pregnant, so one can imagine the problems this poses to their actual delivery. One particular women was in labor for one week and gave birth to twins, at home. Should she have had any major complications (even though she bled for 5 hours after giving birth), she would have died due to the fact that she could not afford transport. And this was in a relatively wealthy village compared to what Antonia and Toby had seen thus far. It was an extremely emotional day that affected all of us deeply. Rob and I plan on getting much more involved while we are here and after we return, and they are setting us up to go into some villages on our own and conduct our own research along the way. Toby and Antonia are now off to Afghanistan to continue their work. We are thinking of you guys!

Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary

2008-06-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Our second attempt to find some monkeys was rather more successful. At the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, rather than walking around hoping to find the monkeys they bribe them out of the trees with bananas. While not so good for the long term health of the mona monkey population, it provides great viewing for the white american monkey population (as well as the dirty brown british monkeys). The monas are very tame, lack sharp nails and don't bite (much) so you can feed them bananas straight from your hand. They are very human. They are quite shy, and keep their eyes nervously locked on your own as they edge up and then grab banana from your sweaty hand.

A nature fix around Ho (its actually a town in Ghana)

2008-06-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

We headed back from Lome into southeastern Ghana and the beautiful countryside around the town of Ho. We started off in the Kalakpe Resource Reserve, which is described as being rich in birdlife, monkeys and antelopes. We were slightly disappointed that the monkeys and antelopes were away in New York for the weekend and the birdlife consisted of two chickens. Still we had a nice walk with our armed guide Godwin. North of Ho we checked out Mount Gemi and the beautiful Ote Falls.

Ghana is an incredibly religious country. Every aspect of life has a strong religious influence. Taxis usually have religious phrases on the back ("Trust in God" is a common one since the brakes rarely work).

A visit to the Fetish Market in Lome, Togo

2008-06-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

Togo and Benin are the countries where voodoo originated, and the fetish market in Lome (the capital of Togo) is the place to go to buy all the latest voodoo accessories. The fetish market is to Lome what Harrods is to London. Except it smells a bit worse. It is rather a ghoulish place featuring body parts of just about any animal you can imagine, all of which are used to make potions to ward off evil, bring luck or secure love. It is quite a sophisticated business, with an international network of suppliers and a monkey as the security guard. Less amusingly there are plenty of endangered species there including gorilla hands, leopard heads and an elephant foot.

Kakum Rainforest Park - followed by lunch with crocodiles

2008-06-09T00:59:00.001-07:00

Kakum Rainforest Park is a 360sqkm reserve of relatively virgin rainforest. It contains hundreds of species of butterflies and many mammals - although we didn't see many of these since our guide was on the phone with her son. He used to be a farmer near Kumasi when she spoke to him last year. She was surprised to learn he was now in Italy.

For lunch we stopped at the curiously-named Hans Cottage Botel, which doubles up as a crocodile farm. Fortunately we weren't on the menu for lunch, although some of my chicken kebab did end up in the water as crocodile bait

Cape Coast and Elmina

2008-06-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

Ghana's coastline is dotted with colonial era castles, initially built to control gold and other commodity trading operations but then transformed into hubs of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Cape Coast's castle alone saw more than 1 million slaves pass through the door of no return onto the slave ships anchored just offshore. The majority of them died. It made for a slightly chilling visit.

From Timbucktu down to Accra. A sandstorm hits us near Mopti

2008-06-01T10:28:00.001-07:00

Wendy's friend Heather was flying in from NYC to Accra so we had to call an end to our adventure in the Sahel and head down to pick her up on the 31st. The journey from Timbucktu to Accra is about 3 fairly long days of driving, so we livened it up a bit by stopping in various villages along the way and breaking up the trip in Ouagadougou where we saw some great live music (and Wendy even managed to persuade me to dance which doesn't happen much). The villages were quite tough. The current high prices of food and fuel are hitting these areas hard, since many of the villages are too dry for them to be self-sustaining in food. Many have sold their animals (which act as an insurance policy against hard times) and so have no protection against continuing food shortages. Already signs of hunger are everywhere. On a brighter note we were hit by a sandstorm just before we got to Mopti. The sand cloud built on the horizon and grew until it hit us, with strong winds lashing the sand against us. The light was an extraordinary orange. All driving was out of the question, so we just stopped and watched. For days afterwards we were cleaning sand out of our ears, eyes and clothes. Actually it is still in my clothes because I haven't washed them but that is another story.

We are in Timbucktu

2008-05-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

After driving 11,000km from London, we have made it to Timbucktu. We are on one of the world's slowest connections so apologies for the lack of detail. Yet again it is really hot here - it cools down massively in about two weeks when the rains start. This morning we all got rather grumpy due to dehydration, lack of blood sugar and as we are literally the only tourists in town we are a magnet for every single "guide", hack and rip-off artist in town. After we managed to shake off all the hangers-on, we toured the mosques (all about 14th century but unfortunately can't go in now) and saw some of the historical libraries that are sitting around in family homes here. The town is rather unimpressive compared to Djenne but the history, the challenge of getting here and the views out deep into the Sahara keep it magical.

Journey to Timbucktu

2008-05-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Dogon country - Teli

2008-05-24T09:40:00.001-07:00

Dogon country - Djiguibombo

2008-05-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Dogon country in central Mali is a great place to go hiking, as long as it isn't the single hottest week in one of the hottest countries on the face of the planet. So rather than trekking we took a guide and some friends along in our car to check out the villages. The Dogon country is perched on a stunning escarpment, with former Tellem (pigmy) villages in the cliffs many with burial grounds accessible only with ropes and a scattering of Dogon villages at the top and bottom of the cliffs. The heat (a recurring theme here) was quite extraordinary so after some limited exploration we all collapsed back into the air conditioned car. The Dogon have interesting carvings (especially doors) based on a complex mythology - more available here.

Djenne

2008-05-24T09:21:00.001-07:00

We were lucky in Djenne and were able to go into the Mosque which isn't meant to be open to the unbelieving public since an Italian photographer took a few liberties with the place years ago. Fortunately the Imam's son has a taste for the high life and so for a generous fee we got to look around inside. It was beautiful, as well as being a nice escape from the heat

Djenne

2008-05-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

The journey from Djenne to Bamako was long but well worth it. The mosque was rebuilt in 1907 out of mud bricks and it is absolutely stunning! We were there on market day so we walked through the absolute craziness in 110 degree heat. Brain sizzling... Bought a blanket from a local co op and met an awesome English couple who decided to join us on our journey all the way up to Tomboctou!! The town was very dusty and the architecture of the houses was primitive yet pristine. All in all it was an amazing day!

We are in Mali

2008-05-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Bamako the capital of Mali on Friday evening. Saturday we checked out town, visited the National Museum which has a great collection of West African cultural antiquities and braved a number of the markets.

Sunday we head out to Djenne and Mopti (check out the mosques here and here) before carrying on up the Niger river to Timbuktu. We will also go through the Dogon Country and if it isn't too hot (unlikely) we may go trekking.

Contacting us

2008-05-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

We will soon be heading out into the sticks again for a while and our regular cell phone has only erratic network coverage so here are some ways to get in touch with us.

1. Email - this is most reliable but obviously we only check it when we can. ehst76@hotmail.com and rob.mackay@usa.net

2. Comment on this blog. Whenever we check email we also check the comments. Not that many of you actually bother to comment. Anyway just register and then leave comments. It is quite easy.

3. Skype. For those of you who don't know it Skype is an almost free way of making international calls. Go to skype.com, download the free application, put about $10 into an account and it will last you for months. When we are online you can skype our computer and if not you can skype our phones for a tiny fraction of the normal price of a call. Our skype ID is rob.mackay

4. Satellite phone: this will only work when we have it turned on and we are outside and you can't leave voicemails, but it will work everywhere we go. The number is as follows:
calling from the US: 011 8816 3162 1970
calling from the UK: 00 8816 3162 1970

5. Regular cell phone. It won't work everywhere but you can leave messages.
calling from the US: 1 917 403 5877 (its not an international call)
calling from the UK: 001 917 403 5877.

6. Smoke signals: make sure they are really big so we can see them.

Relaxing in Dakar

2008-05-08T02:00:00.000-07:00

We are now in Dakar. We are actually in Dakar right now (as opposed to writing this blog entry a couple of weeks after the event) and life is good. We are staying at a nice hotel, with proper loos and a pool. The sun is out (but it isn't as hot as Mauritania), the sky is blue, the ocean is just feet away, we are both healthy and happy, Obama is showing Hillary who is boss and the dollar is bouncing back against sterling so life is very good.

We will chill here a few more days to give us time to get visas for Mali and to get the car serviced, then we may pop into The Gambia before heading inland to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Our timing is excellent since the Dakar Biennial, a local contemporary art show, kicks off tomorrow. Unsurprisingly Wendy has already managed to meet some local artists and secure an invitation so that will keep us busy.

Across the border into Senegal. A bunch of crooks at the border help themselves to our funds!

2008-05-08T01:57:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago we headed south from Nouakchott to the Senegalese border. Southern Mauritania gradually gets a little greener as one travels south which provides a relief from the desolation of the north. We hit the border in Rosso, a famously corrupt crossing point. Immediately we were surrounded by touts wanting to help us through the formalities, change money, sell us car insurance, ask for the contents of our car and generally find other ways to relieve us of the burden of our worldly possessions. We changed money and bought car insurance there (and got ripped off on both as we hadn't done our research up front) before we headed off along a 90km piste to cross the border at Diama, a much quieter and less corrupt crossing point. This didn't cost us any time since the Rosso frontier point closes from 12pm to 3.30pm for (a nice long) lunch. The route also took us through the wetlands alongside the River Senegal and the Djoudj National Park where we saw lots of birds among the reeds and warthogs regularly crossing the piste. The border crossing at Diama was quick and easy (although quite expensive). The whole day got more expensive when we dropped off someone we had given a lift to in Saint Louis, and a cop pulled us over claiming we had done this in an extremely dangerous place (which was absurd). Anyway after threatening furiously to hang on to our papers and send us back into town to pay a fine at the police station, he said that a small cash payment could ease the situation. It was late in the day, we didn't want to drive after dark and we still had a way to go so we relented and paid our first bribe of the trip. The policeman's fury was replaced by handshakes and broad grins as he insisted he was now my best friend. Its a shame to come across this corruption. While it doesn't really affect us too much, it acts as a huge drain on the local economy when almost every transaction is subject to the same costs and uncertainties and so dramatically holds back many African economies.

Nouakchott

2008-05-08T01:43:00.001-07:00

Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania, a country that contains little but sand. It is very hot, very dry and often quite windy which fills the air with fine sand and dust. The forecast (above) is pretty constant. Temperatures while we were there were over 100F in the shade and our car recorded at one point 120F. Disturbingly, it isn't even the hot season yet. Our journey through Mauritania was uneventful, except for a rather extended bathroom break. Having sensibly drunk gallons of water to stay hydrated, Wendy spotted some very limited cover and pulled off the road into what turned out to be the softest sand in the Sahara. For a few moments the car fought through it, before the wheels broke through and with a shudder the engine stalled leaving us bodded down in sand. We got out and started digging. Fortunately the Mauritanians are some of the nicest people out there, and soon a few passers-by had stopped to help out. After much digging, sweating and pushing we gave up and resorted to the winch, connected it to another 4x4 and one minute later we were back on firm ground. It was a useful lesson for us.

A long hot drive across the Western Sahara and Mauritania

2008-05-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

After our adventure in the Djebel Sahrho we crashed for the night in a campsite in the town of Foum Zguid, one of the kicking off points for camel trains across the Sahara (Timbuktu 52 days travel south east). We then started a long journey across dirt and sealed roads first across to the coast at Tan Tan, then south through the Western Sahara stopping at Laayoune and Daklha and then crossing the border into Mauritania and down to Nouakchott. The route was interesting at times, with beautifully sculpted dunes being scoured by the wind and the deser ending abruptly in high cliffs over the Atlantic Ocean. We typically drove about 10hrs each day and were wiped out by the heat. The border crossing was interesting. The Moroccan side involved hours of sitting around and waiting but both imigration and customs went well and there were no outrageous demands for money. We took a guide through the 4 miles of infamous no-mans land between the Moroccan and Mauritanian border posts since the whole area is mined. I don't know how people could get through there without a guide since the safe route weaves its way through a maze of interconnected pistes and burnt out cars. The Mauritanian side was quick and efficient (once it reopened from lunch at 3pm). Just after the border we passed the famous 3000-car iron ore train on its way inland to Choum.

Crossing the Djebel Sahrho

2008-05-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

After crossing the Dades Gorge we decided to head up into the Atlas Mountains for our first true off-piste experience. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it basically means off road. We took a dirt road up into the mountains where it soon became a small rocky track that wound up and down the sides of the mountain. It was so much fun! After a very long day of driving, and as the sun was soon to set, we came upon a "hotel" in the mountains. The name was Hotel Tiza, but it was basically a nomad family who had a house and a room to rent. The family, led by Ahmed, was so welcoming and warm and they refused to let us cook our own dinner (even though we were really looking forward to cooking up some lamb and pasta...). We sat on the floor around a table with the kids and the grandmother and the parents and had some tagine and tea. It was a beautiful night. The next morning it was up at at the crack of dawn to continue our drive down the mountain.

Vallee des Roses and Dades Gorge

2008-05-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ait Ben Haddoud

2008-05-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

We left Marrakech to head down towards Ourzazate, across the Atlas mountains in the desert south of the country. Along the way we stopped in Ait Ben Haddoud, an old Berber mud-built village by a dry river bed which takes seasonal snow melt from the mountains out into the desert. It is a stunning village that has been used as a set for films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. We stayed the night here with electricity intermittently cutting in and out. The candles made for a romantic evening. The flies less so.

We are now back in Marrakesh

2008-04-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

So our Asian side trip is over and we are back on track. We have been relaxing for a couple of days here and tomorrow (Monday) plan to head down across the High Atlas to Ouarzazate before we get back to the coast north of Laayoune. We will probably be out of touch for a little while - maybe until we are through Mauritania and get to Dakar in Senegal. We should be there in about two weeks.

Pragya and Raj's wedding

2008-04-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

The main reason we went to Kathmandu was for Pragya and Raj's wedding. It didn't disappoint. It lasted three days, featured extraordinary costumes, a great band and Raj was even given special permission to wear makeup which he seemed to enjoy. We didn't have the slightest idea what was going on much of the time so we just tagged along as Raj was carried over to Pragya's house (he intends to start commuting to work this way), looked on with pity as they sat through countless hours of sanskrit and then in horror as they had their feet washed in public. It was a magical if somewhat exhausting experience. Next time any of you are planning a wedding and the astrologer recommends 6am then kindly get another astrologer. Thanks to Rebecca for some of the photos.

Trekking - return to Pokhara

2008-04-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Trekking

2008-04-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Trekking above Pokhara - Panchase

2008-04-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Next day up at 6 for breakfast and then we were off to Panchase. This was our longest day of trekking, about 6 hours, and the landscapes were changing throughout the entire day. But the one thing that remained fairly consistent were the LEECHES!!!! UGHHHH!! As soon as our guide said "leeches", I looked down on my shoes and there were so many of them!!! So of course I couldn't stop staring at my feet the entire time, which is obviously not the best way of walking on slippery rocks, and I ended falling on my bum a couple of times. And I was SURE they were getting into my socks, which completely freaked me out, and sure enough when we stopped and I took off my shoes one little sucker had found the only hole and climbed right in. Ugh. Leeches aside, the trek took us to the most amazing little village where we set up camp and spent another night under the stars.

Trekking above Pokhara

2008-04-26T05:28:00.001-07:00

We decided to do a four day trek while we had some time in Nepal so we arranged everything with a company called Tiger Mountain (they are amazing by the way - if anyone ever wants to use them they come very highly recommended). So we got up early one morning and took a 25 minute flight to Pokhara. The experience at the airport was interesting. I am learning that in a third world country, don't plan on doing anything on time cause it just ain't gonna happen. All part of the experience. Off we went, just a bit late, and met our team in Pokhara. We then drove about an hour up into the mountains and began our trek. First of all, the sherpas that came with us were the most incredible guys. They carried these packs that weighed about 120 pounds each up these small trails. And they did it in 90 degree heat with smiles on their faces. They were always singing and so warm and helpful, and it completely blew me away. It also made it MUCH harder for me to complain about anything...

So the first day of trekking was short but very, very sweet, and we arrived at our camp just before it stormed so it was pretty cloudy. Then came the rain, and boy did it ever! We sat in the tent for awhile to let it pass, and when I came out, I was treated to the most spectacular view I have ever seen. The clouds had parted to reveal the Himalayan mountain range, enormous snowy peaks that shot straight up into the sky, and I stood there for I don't even know how long and just muttered "wow" over and over again. They were so close it seemed I could almost touch them, and so powerful that I wouldn't even want to get that close. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. That's what it's all about, I suppose.

Kathmandu and Swayambunath Stupa

2008-04-25T06:12:00.001-07:00

Off we go to Khatmandu for our final stop on our Asian wedding tour. The city is kind of hard to describe. We arrived the night before the elections were taking place, and it was like a ghost town. Everything was shut down, and the city was experiencing it's daily cut of electricity for 4 hours or so, so it was eerily silent. Two days later, when everything opened again and we ventured into the town, it was like someone just hit the on button. The craziest traffic I have seen so far (even worse than Shanghai), people EVERYWHERE on the streets, rivers that smelled pretty awful, the most beautiful brilliant colors of clothing set against a backdrop of dusty orange buildings, chickens clucking on the street, donkeys pulling on the road, and just all around craziness. But it felt so alive, and I couldn't seem to take it all in at once.
The temple we climbed up to is also nicknamed the monkey temple (see video). It was very peaceful in an organized chaos sort of way, and the prayer wheels that surrounded the temple showing years of wear signified the amount of people dedicated to coming up here to meditate and pray.

Great Wall of China

2008-04-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. The Great Wall truly does not disappoint! To think that this structure was built between 5th century BC and 16th century AD, and it stretches over 4,000 miles, and there were no motorized vehicles at the time, and the mountains that surround it are sometimes unthinkably steep, all overwhelm you a bit when you are actally standing on top of it. Not to talk about the other rather creepy rumor that nearly 2 million people died during the construction, and most of them were just built into the wall....

We took a cable car up to the top and then took the more challenging route that ended with about 500 steps straight up and very narrow. One girl that was with us vomited at the top. We got a kick out of that. The views from the top were stunning, although because of the pollution, even out that far, your sight distance was limited. I would have to vouch for both of us and say this was our favorite day in China.

All in all, China was not what we expected. Much more hectic. What we saw was extraordinary - the size of the cities and the beauty of the history but also the extent of the pollution. Overall we were pretty relieved to get to Nepal.

Beijing - Forbidden City and 798

2008-04-25T05:30:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Beijing very excited to see the what kind of impact of the upcoming Olympics was having on the city. Along with the outrageous stadiums they have built and the extensive advertsing campaigns going on, we were most intrigued by the amount of censorship that goes on here. Any stories on Tibet were blacked out on CNN, and after the protests in France of the Olympic torch, headlines in the CHina Daily newspaper would read "France greets torch with passion"... It truly makes you appreciate even our biased media back in the states.

We ventured into the Forbidden City in the center of town across from Tianemen Square. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. It is absolutely beautiful, and even amidst the awful pollution that has covered in dust some of the surviving relics, it has a magical, surreal effect on anyone who enters.

Our last stop was 798, the famous art district of Beijing. It is an old Russian factory complex that has been turned into a maze of galleries of all sorts. Unfortunately while we were there they were putting all of the power lines undeground so the streets were nearly impossible to walk on as they were all being dug up, and Rob and I spent most ofthe day cracking up at the western women wearing fancy clothes and high heels and teetering all over the place while being led around by rather embarassed Chinese guides. Luckily, I left my heels at home... We found a few interesting pieces but nothing to write home about and after a few hours of jumpng over trenches into galleries without power, we decided to call it a day.

Shanghai

2008-04-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

After the heat and humidity of Singapore we headed up to Shanghai to check out the art scene.

Wendy almost died in the car when we took a taxi from the airport. The drivers here are CRAAAZZZYYY! As we are weaving in and out of traffic in a taxi that could pass as a tin can, Rob is playing a game on his Blackberry while Wendy is white knuckling in silence. Rob looks at Wendy and says "are you okay?" and Wendy murmurs something like "uh huh" and then Rob says " why dont you put on your seatbelt" and Wendy shrieks "because there aren't any!!!!". Simultaneously the driver is picking his nose and spitting out the window. Welcome to Shanghai...

On another level, Shanghai is breathtaking in many ways. For starters it is so polluted that on some days you can't see the top of the skyscrapers. Secondly, it is so large it makes New York look like a little village.

Its a fun place. The food is great. The city has huge energy and we had a fun time. We met with some friends who live there and got a great insider's tour of the restaurants, bars and clubs.

The skyline at night is incredible. It is like Times Square times 50. Rob and I just could not get over the enormity of it all.

We spent some time checking out the art scene here. A friend set us up with a Turkish woman who teaches art at the NYU branch in Shanghai and also has her hands in just about every other art related area in the city and she showed us around the Moganshan district where the majority of the galleries reside. I was shocked at how expensive everything was, in some rare cases literally 6 times what would be asked for in NYC. Nothing really caught our eye so we left Shanghai empty handed, but full of the experience we had in this crazy city!

We've been a little quiet recently

2008-04-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

We interrupted our Africa trip to head out to Asia for two weddings. We left our car parked in a hotel car park in Marrakech, dropped by London to pick up clothes for these weddings and flew out to Singapore.

Jos (its actually a guy's name but neither the name nor his appearance hints at it) and Joelle got married in Raffles.

They had a beautiful wedding in the garden there, during which anyone foolish enough to be wearing antiquated wedding clothes designed for a chilly UK climate melted.

Afterwards we headed inside for a chinese banquet with outstanding speeches. The night went on quite late.

Wendy has left me for another man

2008-03-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

And you can see why!

Essaouira - the windy city

2008-03-24T01:50:00.000-07:00

Fes - view from a taxi

2008-03-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

More sights and sounds of Fes

2008-03-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

Medersa Bou Inania in Fes

2008-03-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

Fes tannery

2008-03-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

The powerful smell emanating from some of these ancient tanneries is quite overwhelming. A part of the process of turning the animal hides (camel, goat, sheep, cow) into leather involves marinating them in pigeon poo for a few weeks. Given these tanneries have been around since the 13th century, a slight pong is understandable. Fortunately our guide, who not surprisingly was also a leather goods salesman, gave us each a handful of fresh mint to cover the smell.

WE ARE IN AFRICA

2008-03-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made it to the dark continent. As you can see I am fitting in just fine. Here is my casual dress for when Rob lets me take off my full burqa. I also have to walk 15 paces behind him at all times and address him as The Big Cheese.

I am just joking. We are in Fes in Morocco, typing on an Arabic keyboard so qpologies for qny typos. The city is incredible, huge bustling streets, vibrant colors and even more vibrant smells. Rob blends in perfectly.

The people are incredibly nice and the food is delicious. Have a look at the videos and turn up the volume to get the sounds of the city. We will be sad to leave here in a few days.

Check out the history of Fes here (it goes back to the 8th century while most of the enormous medina is 13th century.

We are also adapting well to our new camp lifestyle. We have even learnt to hand wash our own laundry. Wonders never cease. Allah be praised

In search of Rob's family roots in Gibraltar

2008-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

One of my main objectives during this trip is to get to know Rob better. Since we are in Gibraltar, and the English roots are very strong here, I did a little research and found out that Rob actually has some distant cousins here. What is most remarkable is that their mannerisms are almost identical, even though they have never met - it is amazing! Check out below:

In all seriousness, I actually hiked up the Rock of Gibraltar to see these guys and they were so cute. Check out this video.

We also got our first view of Africa! I was so excited I could barely contain myself. All this work and I can finally understand what we have come here for. Now it is finally within our reach. Here is the view across to Morocco from our bedroom window.

In Granada for the Alhambra

2008-03-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

In our continuing quest for spiritual enlightenment we have rejected our bourgeois lifestyle of hotels and restaurants and have embraced a new, purer and more environmentally considerate life of camping and cooking our own food. We are loving it, although a pained expression clouds Wendy's face whenever she comes near me and she asks frequently if we can upgrade our shower (which is a hand operated car washer).

Having said that, we are eating very well. Wendy cooked some of the best omelettes I have ever had this morning, while last night's lamb chops disappeared in moments to be replaced by contented smiles.

We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Alhambra which was almost as good as the omelettes. It is a fortified complex of palaces - from both Christian and Muslim rulers - churches, gardens and courtyards on a hill above Granada in the foothills leading up to the snow-topped Sierra Nevadas. It is a beautiful spot.

Far more interesting than such cultural glories, however, is the fact that we are sleeping on top of our car. It is quite comfortable and surprisingly spacious - but that was last night when it was unsasonably warm and very still. This evening we are huddled around a fire in the restaurant of the campsite since it has turned cold and there is a gale blowing outside. So it remains to be seen how we will sleep tonight. Still, however it turns out it is far nicer to wake up to birds singing than to fire trucks racing down Broadway.

The Sevilla Serenade...

2008-03-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Sevilla was our next stop. We stayed in a hotel that was about a 25 minute walk outside of the city center. And what a beautiful walk it was! It took us past the Plaza de Espana and through some beautiful gardens that at certain points reminded us of tropical rain forests. The birds were all very vocal and the people flew by on bikes and horse and carriages. I spent a bit of an afternoon sitting on a bench with a ice cream (how cute..) watching the river that flowed thru the park, and it was all very serene until a few rusty beer cans floated by. The cathedral in the center of town was ENORMOUS. It looked like it was stitched together through so many different periods that i couldn't really grasp it all. That aside, the interior was cavernous and stunning. One night we went out to meet a friend of my friend's (Heather) brother (Josh). His name was Vincento (and i believe it still is). We went to his bar and had some wine and next thing you know I am being sweetly serenaded by a band of spaniards, and they even kindly inserted my own name into the chorus. (If you don't understand why half the last few lines were green then click on them). Well of course I ate it up and gave them a bigger tip than i should have, but they were STUDENTS and i remember how hard it was when i had to sing on the streets of Philadelphia for book money. Well not really, but that got Rob off my back. So Vincento was then kind enough to take us out to dinner with his friends and we had a blast. After some amazing food and even better company, we called it an early night (at least for Spanish time..). The next morning we got up, picked up our clean clothes (YEAH) from the lavanderia, and headed off to our campsite in Granada for our first night camping out!!

La Mezquita de Cordoba

2008-02-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

Cordoba has to be one of the most interesting places out there. And so after a day and a half of being here we decided to interrupt our lunch to go and check out some of the history. Due to the plagiaristic wonders of the internet, I can now reliably inform you that Cordoba was the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica and the Moorish Al-Andalus Caliphate. You gotta love Wikipedia! Anyway as a result of all this prominence and religious back and forth, the city contains some gems, foremost of which is the Mezquita, or Mosque. Within the mosque, which was built from the mid 8th century onwards, is the cathedral. After the reconquista the Spanish religious leaders showed remarkable restraint and sense in not knocking down the whole thing but co-opting it for their own purposes. The end result is tremendous - the whole complex is a mix of Islamic and Christian design and imagery. Surrounding the vast, gloomily lit domed interior are a mix of ornate Catholic chapels and Islamic prayer niches covered with calligraphy. It is truly stunning. Check out way more about it at a few of these links: Sacred Destinations, Islamic Architecture, or this gallery

Cordoba mas buena

2008-02-28T09:46:00.001-08:00

CORDOBA!!!! What can we say?? We both agree that it is the best part of our trip so far. Although getting into town was a bit of a pain in the hoohaa because i had to drive this enormous vehicle through streets the size of a small escalator. Rob was extremely patient, as usual, and got out of the car and directed me to backout of a dead end one way street and make a hairpin turn while a line of extra small (smart) cars waited and honked their tiny horns. I sweated through my shirt... BUT, it was so worthwhile as the city is absolutely amazing. We spent one entire day not doing anything but eating way too much tapas while sitting in the sun on the corner of a very small street and having beers. It was a great day off from either driving or sightseeing.

We are soooo off of the Spanish timetable of eating and going out. People here do not have dinner until 10pm, and Rob and I have been showing up at restaurants around 7pm like "where's the food and people?" and everyone is till pretty much on siesta time. So tonight we booked a restaurant for 9PM!!! We are almost cool...

Picnic, bad haircut, madrid and a gas station

2008-02-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

So after leaving Bilbao, we were off to Madrid! We decided to pull over on the way to check out the lunching capabilities of our vehicle. We were both very impressed, making jamon y quesa sandwiches with mustard and mayo and a yogurt for dessert. THe chairs were taken down from the rooftop storage box and we sat on the side of a dirt road and checked out the haystacks. Some guy on a tractor kept chugging by and waving, each time having something different to yell over the drone of his engine. It was a beautiful day and the food was four star.
Then all hell broke loose. I decided to get my hair chopped off in madrid, and i have been saying for months i would "wait till madrid cause they will have a funky place to get my hair done".
Well, unfortunately I was lost in translation and when i asked for a "funky" haircut at a very bizzaro salon in a bizzaro neighborhood downtown, i think they heard "funny" cause i came out looking like a lead guitar player from a really bad 80s heavy metal video. Think Foreigner, but worse. I pouted around for longer than i should have and then pouted some more but i think i am over it now and enjoying the 30 minutes less i need to spend in the shower putting a rake through my hair. All is back to normal.
The Prado museum in madrid was very cool and we saw a Modigliani (my favorite!!!) exhibition at the Thyssen Fondacion. I was getting goosebumps all over the place...
Then we headed south to Cordoba, and took the gas station shot at a roadside stop. Open it up in a larger window, it is pretty cool. With shots like this, i think Gursky should call me for a few tips.

The Guggenheim

2008-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

So we finally got to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao!!! First of all, no photos can do the architecture any justice. It is situated right on the water and is incorporated into it's surroundings so seamlessly that you almost miss it.... well not really, but you get the point. Every corner (although there are no "real" corners) has it's own character. Even the view from the back that is lined with garbage pails is stunning. Gehry left no detail overlooked.
Enough about the outside. The collection is AWESOME!!! Rob was having a grumpy morning and wasn't feelin so great but i quietly convinced him to come along to see the museum and within minutes of it's approach he had a huge smile and was feeling in tip top shape. We spent about 4 hours inside and I put as much to memory as possible. It allows me to take a nice tour again in my head before I go to sleep at night. There were some pretty impressive Koons paintings inside and the Richard Serra exhibit left both of us speechless. One of my best memories thus far.

We are in Bilbao

2008-02-21T21:44:00.000-08:00

We are really here just to see the Guggenheim. We don't want to make you all jealous but it is about 70F here so we were sitting out in the sun yesterday. Pretty much the same as New York in February. Off to see some art today. We don't have any photos from here so you can check out the Guggenheim's website instead by clicking here. We drove past the building yesterday and it is even more amazing than it seems in the photos.

An ascent of Txurrumurru (seriously)

2008-02-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

We are in Basque country which means crazy spelling. Driving down from Biarritz to San Sebastian in northern Spain we saw this peak in the foothills of the Pyrenees and decided to pop up it for some exercise. It is situated in the Aiako Harria Natural Park just inside the Spanish boder and is a fairly gentle walk up with some fun scrambling and bouldering at the top. The whole place was covered with sheep and wild ponies which made Wendy very happy. Afterwards we came on down to San Sebastian for the evening.

Biarritz baby, yeah!

2008-02-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

Ugh...I can't STAND Biarritz. It is so sunny and the water is so blue and everyone is happy and Rob is making me run with him. This place could use a good dose of bad English weather and some even worse pub food, and then i might feel a bit more at home.
In all seriousness, we are having a blast on the first leg of our trip. We are currently on the south west coast of France and it has been in the upper 60s and sunny the entire time. All of our meals have been outdoors on a patio or a deck overlooking the sea. It really is heavenly. Today we are off to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim!! I am so excited! Until next time, au revoir!!

Travelling down through France - Mont St Michel and La Rochelle

2008-02-18T00:42:00.000-08:00

We left Caen Sunday morning to drive down the Atlantic coast towards Spain. We stopped for lunch at Mont St Michel before heading on past Rennes and Nantes to La Rochelle where we stopped for the night. Beautiful small town.

The weather is getting warmer as we head south. We are aiming for Biarritz tonight and then Bilbao for the Guggenheim. The vehicle is performing well and amazingly we don't seem to have forgotten anything!

We're leaving now!

2008-02-16T01:14:00.001-08:00

And here are a few more

2008-02-06T10:12:00.001-08:00

To stop Tara getting any more upset here are some more pictures of the car

2008-02-05T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here is also a short video tour of the car, and I finally got round to adding one in the blog entry from a few days ago (ie two entries before this one). Before anyone asks we still haven't left. We are now up in Scotland scouting out places to get married.

We got a little lost on the way to Africa

2008-01-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

We are currently in Cervinia, Italy. It is just below the Matterhorn opposite Zermatt in Switzerland. It is stunning. We got a little delayed registering our car so rather than sit around stewing in England decided to head out and have some fun. Wendy was skiing today and has nearly got over the psychological trauma that was inflicted on her as a child!

Our pimped out ride

2008-01-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

We have been promising for a little while some pics of our ride. The crew at MTV (aka Paul and co at Footloose) went crazy and decked it out with speakers, TVs and in-car jacuzzi. Check out here for a video tour by Wendy.

We are back in business

2008-01-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

All of you sitting behind your desks at work will be delighted to know you have an alternative way to get through the hours until you go home. No longer will you be restricted to watching monkeys misbehave on youtube or the world's markets fall apart on Bloomberg. Now you can read our blog again which will bring light and happiness to your lives.

We have been working hard to get ready for the trip. The vehicle is ready - I will post some pictures this evening. We just need to register it somewhere (we are trying Vanuatu - don't ask why) and then I need to get my passport back (I lost it, which doesn't bode well for the trip) and then we are ready to go.

Here is our snazzy logo which is going on the side of the car.

A fairwell to Farmers

2007-11-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

We said goodbye to the Lake District tonight. After our hike up Jack's Rake, we went down to the Farmer's Arms to say goodbye to Malcolm, Jane, Becky and Chris and Toby. It was emotional.

Wendy shows Jack's Rake who is boss

2007-11-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Today we took a great final hike up the Langdale Pikes (familiar territory), but added an extra leg up Jack's Rake. Rob has been eyeing this particular climb for quite awhile, but Wendy was a tad bit nervous that she wouldn't be able to step up to the task. It is a rather steep ascent up the side of a rocky crag, and you are pretty exposed to a drop most of the way. Although it looked rather intimidating, it proved to be easier than expected, and SO much fun!!! This was just the perfect final day of hiking in the Lake District. These past two months have been just magical, and we can't wait to come back and visit our mountains and lakes in the very near future.

THe red line up the side of the crag is the path of the actual climb.

Kirby Moor in a storm

2007-11-12T10:44:00.001-08:00

I (Rob) recently bought a mountain bike. I go cycling up on Kirby Moor where the local wind farm is located. Last weekend I was up there when a storm hit, which made things quite exciting. Simply getting onto the moor was difficult as I had to push a gate open into the wind, which was pretty much impossible. I went up there to shoot some film of the wind turbines in strong wind but unfortunately almost all of them were shut off as the wind was just too strong. Eventually I got too cold and had to head home.