the blue list of africa...

Heading north from Sesriem to Swakopmund on the coast, the land was pretty bleak. There weren't many places to stop for gas except for an aptly named place called Solitaire.

The gas station here is famous for it's delish apple strudel. Mmmmm...fresh-out-of-the-oven 10 cm by 25 cm chunk of apple strudel. I looked for strudel in Frankfurt, Germany (waiting for the connecting flight to Jo'burg, SA) only to find out that it originated in Austria. It was ironic that I found it in Namibia (out in the middle of nowhere), a former German colony back in WWI. Anyway, I'm glad I got my studel when I did because shortly after this pic was shot, the "Rollen Hotel", a massive overland truck, rolled into the station. At least 30 German tourists piled out and they went straight for the apple strudel.

The Ultimate African Itinerary.

Recently I received an email from Aubrey (whose thinking of a prolonged 8 month trip through Africa) asking for a top ten list of must see/do's on the "dark" continent. That was a daunting task to say the least. After reviewing my responding list, I don't think I did Africa justice. Here is what I came up with:

1. Egypt. all the big sites in Cairo and along the Nile. if you want to get off the beaten path, i'd get out to siwa oasis in the west. Dahab's ok.
2. Sudan. see as much of this as possible. particularly along the Nile in the north.
3. Ethiopia. If there's only place you want to see that is Ethiopia: Simiens for walking, Lalibela, Gonder, Axum (maybe), Danikil depression (if you can afford it), Harar, Omo Valley, Gambella. you can easily kill a couple of months here. such a beautiful place. Test you mettle as a traveler though. The roads and people will challenge u.
4. Kenya. Definitely head out to Lamu on the coast. Nairobbery is not so bad. Couple of days to re-charge there. Didn't make it to lake turkana. My bad. definitely next time for me. if you make it there, please post the pix.
5. Uganda. Rafting the Nile is a must (here, Zambezi river in Zimbabwe or both). Lake Bunyonyi in the south. Kampala is pretty lively (ie. chaotic), definitely worth a visit. I was going to the north but got side tracked.
6. Rwanda. See the gorillas here. You'll be able to get permits on the spot. Pricey but worth it. Kigali is nice. Lots of genocidal memorials to visit.
7. Tanzania. I climbed Kilimanjaro a long time ago. Don't know if it's worth it anymore. it's nice up there though. Zanzibar is pretty interesting. Good source of photos. Ngorongoro crater is like a zoo (animals and tourists). I really recommend getting out to Kigoma and riding the SS Liemba down Lake Tanganyika.
8. Malawi. Another hangout spot. I'd recommend Senga Bay and Point Maclear if you want to hang out by the Lake. Livingstonia's not bad.
9. Zambia. I wish I spent more time here. Livingstone is a big tourist hangout. I believe that's your base for seeing Victoria Falls. They're pretty nice. But you can't go there without rafting the Zambezi, another must do.
10. Botswana. Expensive place but you must get to Maun and into the Okavango Delta.
11. Namibia. Etosha National Park, Swakopmund/Walvis Bay, and Sossusvlei are the must sees. in fact, if you only go on safari once, i recommend etosha.
12. South Africa. I wish I could spend more time here. Capetown and Johannesburg are nice. Kagaligadi National Park was just brilliant, really wild. The Garden Route is a bit overrated. I'd certainly check out the Otter Route next time. It's a hiking trail along the south coast.
13. Mozambique. Poor poor poor place. Maputo is a must. Pretty vibrant city. Go up to tofo if you're into snorkeling with whale sharks. You don't want to miss Ilha do Mozambique either.

Ok, I tried my best (I couldn't keep it to ten items). Just too many variables to crunch.

Tell me what you think of the list, 'cause I haven't been everywhere in Africa...

Not wanting to sound corny, I should have wrote, "go and meet the people and feel fortunate everyday that you're in Africa." Well, at least that's how I felt when I was there...

Aubrey is based in Dharamsala, India, right now, hanging out H.H. the Dalai Lama. Check out his blog Ketchup with Aubs for swell pix and stories of his travels.

bon ano!!!!

well, happy new year to all my loyal readers.

just came back to nampula from the ilha do mozambique.

spent NY's there. the actual NYE was really good. started slow. we, me and my guesthouse mates, didn't book a table at any of the local eateries. so, we were stuck without any dinner. no food, unless you called beer "food".

we made our way to the local movie house where they planned fireworks on the stroke of midnight. there were indian people setting out delicious food out on sidewalk tables. someone asked if the food was for sale. they replied that it was a private party but we could join in.

what a feed! several curries, chow mein like dishes, chicken. mmm... all washed down with fanta orange.

man those folks were nice...

fireworks were awesome.

my stay in ilha do mozambique will be best remembered for the number of ailments i was suffering. my left leg got infected some how. it started to swell horribly. i met a german med student who suggested that i take a course of cipro (antibiotic). within 24 hrs. the swelling had gone down. in the meantime i'd been fighting an upper respiratory infection (cough) with a 16 USD bottle of benylin cough syrup. after beginning the cipro treatment for my leg, the cough subsided as well.

two birds with one stone, eh.

no more infections please.

off to malawi tomorrow via mocuba, milange and blantyre. it's a rather obscure route. wish me luck.

cya on the other side.

security, security, security....

merry ex-mas to all my readers.

ex-mas was ok here. couldn't get in the mood. it was pretty crazy on the vilankulo beach though. mozambicans are total party animals.

still in mozambique. however, the pace has quickened. on boxing day i left vilankulo (finally) for ilha do mocimbique in the northern part of the country.

more than 48 hrs of transit time, topped by THE worst bus ride EVER.

first, it took 1 bus and 1 chapa ( passenger van) ride to the zambezi river on day 1. from the zambezi, i broke a security rule by traveling at night by chapa to quelimane on the coast. i was stuck at the open air bus station in quelimane (very dodgy place at night) for 4 hours (another security rule broken) while waiting for a 4 AM bus for nampulas.

at 4 AM, everyone piled into the bus. i mean it was a free for all. the potential for death was great. everyone was just pushing. i got the hell off that bus for i was crushed. clear example of the bus company not caring about their clients. those idiots should sell tix for their buses. there must have been 150 passengers in a bus designed for 105.

i eventually got back on the bus. however, i had to do some bus surfing (stand in the aisle) for the next 12 hrs to nampulas.

damn it was hot. i wasn't sure if i was going to make it. i had to ask my fellow travelers for water. i kept running out of my own.

i stopped the insanity last night.

it was dark. for security reasons i took a cab to the best hotel (which has passed it's best years).

so, later today i'm headed to ilha do mocimbique,"the oldest european settlement in africa". the chapa ride out there should be a piece of cake.

by the way, the africans hate these bus rides as well.

from ilha do mocimbique, i think i'm headed for malawi.

i might be there for NYE.

don't hold your breath though...

the republic of the 3000 km long beach...

quickie post.

here in mozambique still. seems like i've fallen into the beach jumping path of a million south african vacationers...

i keep forgetting to post some coordinates of the places i'm in. i just got off the hellish bus ride from tofo. look for my present postion of vilankulo. it's half way between beira and maputo on the coast. it's alright... the thing to do here is to take a dhow (local sailboat) out to the outlying islands. i'm not sure about that. it doesn't take much but i'm a bit beached out.

i'm not sure where i'll be for xmas.

i'm thinking of traveling to zimbabwe just for something different to do. zimbabwe...i love banana republicks.

i'll be back with more info. maybe some pics.

where are da white folks?

after eight hour bus ride, i'm in maputo, mozambique. it's a world of difference with respect to SA.

maputo's much more relaxed. it's dilapitated in a post-revolutionary war kind of way. that's ok with me.

my guesthouse ("the base backpackers") is located on salvador allende and the 24th of june streets, a couple of blocks away from mao tse tung avenue. you get the drift. this place, comrades, is a chocked full of communists. too bad every one's making bags of money on the 24th of june street.

everything is ok. i'm practicing sayin' obligado. food is cheap. internet is cheap. people are cheery. white mingle with black... what else can a traveler ask for, eh?

travel tip #1. always get your visa at the border if possible. even if you have to grease some palms to do it.

mozambique here i come...

it's official, i'm off to mozambique tomorrow. should be fun. should be cheaper. i hear the beaches are nice. but, i'm not that kind of guy. i think i'm headed to the north.

sorry to leave JNB. it's been really pleasant. the people are really nice. i just met a chinese guy/salesman in a electronics store. he was telling me about the small community of chinese folks in JNB. he's a native JNB'er and married a chinese JNB'er. he says he's a racist. ha! he's been in TO and Vancouver. Said he wants to retire in Canada.

i'll email from maputo.

godwilling, i'll survive mozambique. (considering my lack of knowledge of the portuguese language - i'm limited to obligato, por'va vor, and cervasa. crap. i don't even know how to spell them correctly.)

statistical update of phase one of trip:

km driven: 8000+ km
tanks of gas used: 18.