Without accommodation but armed with a permit to see the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda, I took my time riding the 150km toward Volcanos National Park. Following signs for a lodge, I soon found myself 30km away from the park and down a narrow muddy dirt track heading to a gorgeous lake. But it was too […]
With neatly terraced hillsides, rolling mountains with tropical vegetation Rwanda looks like the Africa I’ve come to know and love. Hard working people in the fields, bicycles, hand and donkey carts move goods from source to market to home and colorfully clad women using their heads to carry vegetables, bananas, water, firewood, grass and just […]
He was very formal, personal and service oriented if not a slightly meek. When he brought me a bottle of the local beer in a 330ml bottle, I admitted my surprise. Most beer in Africa is served in 500- 1.0L bottles. Rarely does one find what we are accustomed to in the US: the equivalent […]
The votes were tallied and the verdict was delivered — from the taxi driver, bus boy, ex-pat mining executive from Australia, the bus driver and the prostitute at the bar of the Talapia. It was unanimous. To get to Rwanda if not going by ferry boat, then the road to Shinyanga then Kahama to Ngara […]
My eye seems to be a bit better today. Still blurry but not so much itching or soreness. I think it’s turned the corner. As for my teeth and bones? The roads through the Serengeti perhaps are best spent in a 4×4 rather than a loaded motorcycle. I was worried about Simon’s break-neck speed through […]
I sure hope the eye is getting better. But I’m having self-doubts that I’ll ever see clear out of that eye again. Fear. “You’re not afraid of riding alone through Africa?” Ben or others would ask, “No. But I’m afraid I’ll never see right again.” Thanks to the helpful reminders of Ben, both Simon and […]
There’s no question that visiting Tanzania’s world-renowned national parks is an expensive proposition. While budget travelers like me can camp and cook our own food, there’s no escaping the high cost of park fees. At fifty dollars for each twenty-four hour period or faction thereof, it’s easy to rack up a couple hundred dollars in […]
Sitting between just 300-600 feet above sea level and bordered by the western escarpment of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is home to perhaps one the largest selection of bird species in Tanzania. We arrive at our campsite, which sits atop the escarpment looking over the valley, lake, and national park, a couple […]
Leaving perhaps the last bit of civilization I’ll see in a week I ask Simon to stop at a supermarket where I can buy some water, savory and sweet treats and a couple bottles of wine. Yes. You can find decent South African wine here in Arusha. Later I learn there is no corkscrew. Never […]
So it seems that things are coming together. I only wish the pinky finger on my right hand would see some reduction in swelling and pain. Why is it that the smallest appendages cause the most pain? At least I will have some reprieve from throttle twisting while bouncing around in a Land Cruiser crossing […]
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