out of touch...

hello my friends.

haven't posted lately. when that happens, it's either i don't have access to the internet or the cost of hooking up is outrageous.

it's been so long i had to review my last posting.

but to be brief, i did make it to malawi (in fact i'm currently in lusaka, zambia). it took 48 hours to get there, including a hell ride in the back of an open pick up truck. that ride from mocuba, mozambique to milange at the malawian border, took 5 hrs. it was 3 hrs. in the dark of night with rain coming down.

i thought i was in steven spielberg's Amistad, with my 20 other passengers.

from there i headed to cape maclear on the shores of lake malawi.

my immediate impressions of malawi: crowded, lots of coffin builders, seems to be better off than the mozambicans, and, man, they seem to be happy.

there was no internet access in cape maclear. i spent 5 days there just chilling out after the bus ride from hell. it's so beautiful there...

from there i made it to lilongwe, the capital of malawi.

i completely messed up my rendezvous date with the s.s. liemba on lake tanganika (sp). i had to hoof it back to lake malawi for more r&r. i'm not perfect yet, but i'm getting good at chillin'.

just yesterday i made it to lusaka after one of the most convoluted route/transport itineraries i've ever encountered.

there are numerous stories to tell and people to mention.

i'll save those till next time. plus, a big announcement.

but, to keep everyone abreast of the upcoming itinerary. i should be in northern tanzania by the beginning of next week. inshallah, of course...

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.

buy bubba a beer fund.

it's tough out here for a traveler.

the world price for pizza and beer (and cost of internet time) is extremely volatile.

besides, there are many of you out there wondering how to buy this wretched blogger a beer after a bloody bad bus ride.

well here's your chance, i've added a "donate" button to the sidebar (way at the bottom). contribute to the "buy bubba a beer" fund and you too can be a friend of bubba... (for those worried about internet security i'll send you my snail mail address.)

leave your particulars and you'll even get a postcard (if available) from bubba. wouldn't that be swell?

thanx to all the friends of bubba.

one more...[UPDATE]

one more pic. this one from dune 45 in the namib desert at sunrise...

we stayed in sesriem. click here. if you follow directly west on the google map, along a valley surrounded by the orange dunes, the closest dune to the faint road is dune 45.

some more photos...

mystery animal #1: a certain animal we ran into in etosha national park. i luv etosha.

they call these zebras in etosha...huge herds of them.

travel tip #2 and a photo (finally)

finally, the first photo. i luv maputo. the internet cafes here are great. this picture was taken during our makoro (push-canoe) trip through the okavango delta.

travel tip #2. get yourself a silk sleeping bag liner next time you're traveling. very comfy for tropical weather. it's a bit pricey. $48 at MEC but well worth it.

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.