It has been some time since I posted. Not for lack of interesting things to say, but rather a lack of decent Internet connections, and time to upload photos and such.
Evan and I had a great time traveling in Mauritania and Senegal, doing anything from a 6 day camel trek to visiting another college friend at her Peace Corps village in Senegal. After some time in Dakar getting our visas we flew to Douala and meet Bragg, spent the night on a black sand beach, and have now moved into his house in a village about 10km outside Bamenda. As soon as I find the time, I will post much more about our travels up to now, but for now am going to enjoy the Christmas and New years festivities here in the village, and with other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's).
If anyone would like to call, we do have a cell phone that can accept international calls, but making international calls here is prohibitively expensive (upwards of $3 per min). So if anyone gets a hold of an international calling card and would like to contact Evan or I, our number is 011 237 7655 7905. We are about 8 hours ahead of the west coast, just FYI.
Have a great holiday season, I miss you all.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Camel Trekking and Mauritania
Now that I have some time here in Cameroon, I will catch y'all up with what we did on the way down here, pardon the flashback in time.
Ahh, camel treks, so beautiful yet so painful. The highlight of out time in Mauritania was hands down the 6 day camel trek that we did over the dunes of the Sahara. To get to the village where we got on the camels was a journey by itself. From the mountain in southern Morocco we took a 4 hour bush taxi to a town where we caught a 17 hour bus through Western Sahara (essentially Morocco) to Dakhla. We we stayed 2 nights there to try to exchange our money into Mauritanian ouguiya as there are only 2 ATMs in Mauritania, and we were not going to get to them until after the camel trek, after about 2 weeks. Since both the Moroccan and Mauritanian currencies are not allowed outside their borders we got a little taste of the black market (on thanksgiving no less). This involved asking around in the market to find a guy who took us to his tailor shop where each of the 4 of us exchanged $300 worth. So while huddled at a counter in the market we counted out about $1200 of Moroccan, and then $1200 of Mauritanian. Needless to say it felt a bit sketchy to have over $2400 of currency on a table where the local folks are lucky if they make $10 in a day.
After getting our money sorted out we hitched a ride in the back of a truck, and then in a bush taxi to the border. At the Moroccan side of the border while waiting to hitch a ride across the no-mans-land we saw a truck smuggling cigarettes get riped apart by the border patrol and the driver get arrested. The 2km or so between the borders consisted of an unmaintained dirt road through a mine field, with plenty of reminders of land mines can do to a car if it strayed too far from the road. Once across the border we spent the night in Nouadhibou.
The following day we caught the night train towards the Adrar region where we rode the camels. This was no ordinary train. It was a 2.3km long coal train with 3 decrepit passenger cars at the back (though most folks ride in the coal cars). The passenger car did not have cushions on the seats, and the windows did not fully close, leaving us cold and covered with dust. We hoped off the train in Choum just before dawn and got a 4 hour truck ride to Atar, where we ate and took another 2 hours to Chinguetti. This small Oasis town at the end of the road is where we organized and started our camel trek towards the town of Ouadane.
Each day of journey was roughly the same, lots of beautiful desert broken up with breaks for tea and food (the tea is brewed for a half hour on the fire making it black as coffee, and then is sugared to excess and served in a pair of shot glasses). The day would start by waking up with the sun and staying under the 2 blankets until convinced to brave the cold by the tea the guides prepared. After a quick breakfast of bread that was made under the fire the night prior we helped pack the camels and set off. For the first half of the day we walked alongside the camels as it was still cool, and we didn't want to tire the camels too much. Lunch would be the same pasta with sardines that we would have for dinner, followed by a 2-3 hour nap/ reading session through the hottest part of the day. Once it strayed to cool a bit we would load the camels with us on top, and continue moving for the remainder of the day. When we found a good camping site we would set up our bed which consisted of a large woven mat and 2 blankets. After a dinner of fishy pasta we would have 3 rounds of tea, and watch them cook the morning's bread in the earth under the coals of the fire. And now for the pictorial tour:
Evan and I rockin our desert head gear. 
Walking like an Egyptian with a sore butt.
Me and my camel, Gurggles McGee... he made awesome noises when i got on, maybe I'm fat.
My defence from the killer sun and dust stroms.
Ahh, camel treks, so beautiful yet so painful. The highlight of out time in Mauritania was hands down the 6 day camel trek that we did over the dunes of the Sahara. To get to the village where we got on the camels was a journey by itself. From the mountain in southern Morocco we took a 4 hour bush taxi to a town where we caught a 17 hour bus through Western Sahara (essentially Morocco) to Dakhla. We we stayed 2 nights there to try to exchange our money into Mauritanian ouguiya as there are only 2 ATMs in Mauritania, and we were not going to get to them until after the camel trek, after about 2 weeks. Since both the Moroccan and Mauritanian currencies are not allowed outside their borders we got a little taste of the black market (on thanksgiving no less). This involved asking around in the market to find a guy who took us to his tailor shop where each of the 4 of us exchanged $300 worth. So while huddled at a counter in the market we counted out about $1200 of Moroccan, and then $1200 of Mauritanian. Needless to say it felt a bit sketchy to have over $2400 of currency on a table where the local folks are lucky if they make $10 in a day.
After getting our money sorted out we hitched a ride in the back of a truck, and then in a bush taxi to the border. At the Moroccan side of the border while waiting to hitch a ride across the no-mans-land we saw a truck smuggling cigarettes get riped apart by the border patrol and the driver get arrested. The 2km or so between the borders consisted of an unmaintained dirt road through a mine field, with plenty of reminders of land mines can do to a car if it strayed too far from the road. Once across the border we spent the night in Nouadhibou.
The following day we caught the night train towards the Adrar region where we rode the camels. This was no ordinary train. It was a 2.3km long coal train with 3 decrepit passenger cars at the back (though most folks ride in the coal cars). The passenger car did not have cushions on the seats, and the windows did not fully close, leaving us cold and covered with dust. We hoped off the train in Choum just before dawn and got a 4 hour truck ride to Atar, where we ate and took another 2 hours to Chinguetti. This small Oasis town at the end of the road is where we organized and started our camel trek towards the town of Ouadane.
Each day of journey was roughly the same, lots of beautiful desert broken up with breaks for tea and food (the tea is brewed for a half hour on the fire making it black as coffee, and then is sugared to excess and served in a pair of shot glasses). The day would start by waking up with the sun and staying under the 2 blankets until convinced to brave the cold by the tea the guides prepared. After a quick breakfast of bread that was made under the fire the night prior we helped pack the camels and set off. For the first half of the day we walked alongside the camels as it was still cool, and we didn't want to tire the camels too much. Lunch would be the same pasta with sardines that we would have for dinner, followed by a 2-3 hour nap/ reading session through the hottest part of the day. Once it strayed to cool a bit we would load the camels with us on top, and continue moving for the remainder of the day. When we found a good camping site we would set up our bed which consisted of a large woven mat and 2 blankets. After a dinner of fishy pasta we would have 3 rounds of tea, and watch them cook the morning's bread in the earth under the coals of the fire. And now for the pictorial tour:
The typical view from atop the camal, note Adam's guitar and the large rolled mat.
Evan and I rockin our desert head gear.Walking like an Egyptian with a sore butt.(Dont let the blanket fool you its actually quite painful after a while)
Me and my camel, Gurggles McGee... he made awesome noises when i got on, maybe I'm fat.
My defence from the killer sun and dust stroms.Sunday, November 23, 2008
Going to Cameroon
So, its official, we have our tickets to fly from Dakar to Douala on the 22nd of December after of 4 days of fighting with online travel agencies, who for some reason did not want to take our money, go figure. Big relief on our part, as we were looking at missing the holidays with him, arriving in January. Now everything is on track and we will be to Braggs place in Cameroon by the holidays. We will most likely be there for at least 2 months, traveling in Cameroon and becoming involved with some of the projects that he and other Peace Corps folks are working on.
Some have asked for a mailing address while I am in Cameroon. I have Braggs address below. Keep in mind that you need to have his name on it, and that it can take upwards of a month for letters and packages to make it there from the states.
Rev Brian Bragg
c/o Peace Corps
PO Box 215
Yaounde Cameroon
Some have asked for a mailing address while I am in Cameroon. I have Braggs address below. Keep in mind that you need to have his name on it, and that it can take upwards of a month for letters and packages to make it there from the states.
Rev Brian Bragg
c/o Peace Corps
PO Box 215
Yaounde Cameroon
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Morocco in a Nutshell
Hey there All,
So our time in Morocco is coming to an end as we make our way towards Mauritania and Senegal. So I figured it was about time that I listed a bit more about where we went and what we did. In the spirit of brevity, i figured I would describe some of the highlights of the trip thus far, and then for those of you who like to follow along on google earth, I have a chronology of our route listed with some of the place names.
Some of the highlights:
By far, the greatest highlight of the trip has been our host, they have made the trip what it has been. Ahmed and his friends, who first hosted us in Marrakesh were immediately our good friends and by the end after all of out time together, we were like brothers. In Marrakesh we would stay up late in the night drinking tea, joking and playing cards. Ahmed skipped his classes to join us for the trek in the Atlas where he acted as our ambassador to the local communities, making the whole experience much richer.
As we made our way Ahmad was always there to help us by text message, from telling us when Obama won to getting us in touch with friends to stay with. When we came back to Marrakesh we were welcomed as family complete with a feast to send off our traveling companion Sjoukje. Then Ahmed took to skipping class again to travel to his family in the south for a celebration of the birth of his first brothers first son. Among tremendous amounts of introductions and food we were given rings by his father, a jewelry maker, saying that he thought of us as sons.
Throughout the trip these personal connections with local people had made the experience much richer. Rather than just seeing places we have the great fortune to experience them with enthusiastic locals.
Evan, Sjoukje and I with our host Ahmed (in the back) and Hamdi (on the left).
Another of the highlights, aside from the trek and the Hammam, was a football match that we went to in Casablanca. Yet again this was the result of a great host who was nuts for his team, Raja. An entire day was dedicated to the event, with a pastry filled breakfast. The walk to the stadium was like walking towards a war zone, with hundreds of police and barricades. Our host explains how when Raja plays the other Casa team the whole city is full of riots, forcing them to play that match in other cities. After walking to the stadium and getting our tickets we got some more food and practiced the many cheers that were required to be a proper fan. We took our seats at the top of the stadium early to watch the place fill with madness. Throughout the match with Fes the majority of fans were on their feet reciting their well rehearsed cheers, which can be seen in this YouTube video,(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HbUGnOQ9tc) though our game lacked the fire. During the walk home from the match, which ended in a 1 - 1 draw, we saw the most dangerous football hooligans, 12 year old kinds. The police don't let unsupervised kids under 18 in because they are the crazed ones who threw things and started fights like a pack of ravenous monkeys.
Our group getting ready to enjoy the football match of Raja and Fes
The primary highlight that was not a direct result of our hosts were the roman era ruins that we explored in Rabat while waiting for our Mauritanian visas. The site was originally built buy the Romans, built on top of by one of the kings, and has since been overtaken by a colony of storks. The tranquil site was a nice break from the hassle of morocco and the bureaucratic hassles at the embassy.
Some of the ruins in Rabat
Enjoying the sites on the Sjoukjes last day, just as a huge group of tourists comes in like school childrenPlaces we went; a Chronology
October
23rd - Arrive in Marrakesk.
26th - Marrakesh to Imlil, next to Jabal Toubkal for the 5 day trek.
31st - Imlil to Marrakesh, saddly not in costume.
November
2nd - Marrakesh to Ouarzazate, for our desert loop to Fes.
4th - Ouarzazate to N Kob to Tazzarine to Rissani, Lots of driving through beautiful desert.
5th - Rissani to Fes, to meet Hala and Adam for his birthday.
7th - Fes to Casablanca, change of plans, turns out embassies are closed on the weekends...
9th - Casa to Rabat, to get visas and enjoy some Roman ruins.
11th - Rabat to Marrakesh, received like family by Ahmed and crew to see Sjoukje off.
14th - Marrakesh to Essaouira, stayed with a cop friend of Ahmeds.
15th - Essaouira to Agadir to Bouzakarne, home of Ahmed.
17th - Bouzakarne to Tiznit, stay with more of Ahmed and his family.
19th - Tiznit to Tafraoute, relax for a while in the desert mountains.
Other Photos
October
23rd - Arrive in Marrakesk.
26th - Marrakesh to Imlil, next to Jabal Toubkal for the 5 day trek.
31st - Imlil to Marrakesh, saddly not in costume.
November
2nd - Marrakesh to Ouarzazate, for our desert loop to Fes.
4th - Ouarzazate to N Kob to Tazzarine to Rissani, Lots of driving through beautiful desert.
5th - Rissani to Fes, to meet Hala and Adam for his birthday.
7th - Fes to Casablanca, change of plans, turns out embassies are closed on the weekends...
9th - Casa to Rabat, to get visas and enjoy some Roman ruins.
11th - Rabat to Marrakesh, received like family by Ahmed and crew to see Sjoukje off.
14th - Marrakesh to Essaouira, stayed with a cop friend of Ahmeds.
15th - Essaouira to Agadir to Bouzakarne, home of Ahmed.
17th - Bouzakarne to Tiznit, stay with more of Ahmed and his family.
19th - Tiznit to Tafraoute, relax for a while in the desert mountains.
Other Photos
Nkob, one of the desert towns we passed through.
The Hassan II Mosque in Casa. St Peters could fit inside the prayer hall.
The final pass on the trek.
The main square in Marrakesh during the day.
Same square in Marrakesh 30 min later, now ready to serve dinner.Thursday, November 13, 2008
Never Been So Clean
It has been a very busy couple of weeks as we have been touring Morocco with our fiend Sjoukje from the Netherlands. Yesterday after returning to Marakesh our trio meet with our host as well as Hala and Adam. Feeling rather durty we decided to try out the Hammam, or traditional bath house. We set off in the evening with our hosts, towels and soap to the neighborhood Hammam. After dropping the ladies off on their side, we entered the changing room, shedding all but the undies. We then descended into the hottest part of the Hammam, which is like a VERY hot sauna heated through the floor by a wood fire, which they also bake bread with. The first room in the Hammam is the cool down room, and the room get hotter the farther you go in. Usually you go to the hot room and work your way out.
After 15 min or so of laying on the ground softening-up we smeared ourselves with the traditional soap, which resembles a cross between molasses and grease, and continues to roast in the hot room. When sufficiently soft we moved from the very hot room to the hot room, We then took turns getting battered by the "rubber" who is the reason we got so squeaky clean. First, this 200 pound man, also only in undies, stretched me out. Not just a pre-game warm up, but a forced stage 3 yoga session. some of these poses included him, 200 pounds and all, sitting on my shoulders with me face down pulling my legs up over his shoulders, jamming my face into the hot tile floor.
After we were sufficiently loosened, the rubber then proceeded to scrub us down. All of I could think of to describe the feeling was like a dirty grill being scrubbed with a stiff metal brush, pealing of layers of old meat. It was not just a bit of dead skin, it was enough that it rolled up into spaghetti-like rolls, which were then washed off with plenty of buckets of cold water.
After our encounter with the Rubber we slowly made our way to the cooler rooms, and out. The whole ordeal took about an hour. Over our post-battering dinner we made plans to do it again, enjoying the experience immensely.
Today we said good bye to Sjoukje, who we could not convince to quite her nursing job and travel with us. We are currently in Marrakesh and are going to wake up early tomorrow to make our way to the coast with our host Ahmed. We will then begin heading south to Ahmeds home town to meet his family and attend his first nephews naming ceremony. After a few days of getting a first class tour of that area he will come back to school and we will continue heading south, with the deserts of eastern Mauritania in our sights.
More pics and stories of Morocco will come soon... ish.
After 15 min or so of laying on the ground softening-up we smeared ourselves with the traditional soap, which resembles a cross between molasses and grease, and continues to roast in the hot room. When sufficiently soft we moved from the very hot room to the hot room, We then took turns getting battered by the "rubber" who is the reason we got so squeaky clean. First, this 200 pound man, also only in undies, stretched me out. Not just a pre-game warm up, but a forced stage 3 yoga session. some of these poses included him, 200 pounds and all, sitting on my shoulders with me face down pulling my legs up over his shoulders, jamming my face into the hot tile floor.
After we were sufficiently loosened, the rubber then proceeded to scrub us down. All of I could think of to describe the feeling was like a dirty grill being scrubbed with a stiff metal brush, pealing of layers of old meat. It was not just a bit of dead skin, it was enough that it rolled up into spaghetti-like rolls, which were then washed off with plenty of buckets of cold water.
After our encounter with the Rubber we slowly made our way to the cooler rooms, and out. The whole ordeal took about an hour. Over our post-battering dinner we made plans to do it again, enjoying the experience immensely.
Today we said good bye to Sjoukje, who we could not convince to quite her nursing job and travel with us. We are currently in Marrakesh and are going to wake up early tomorrow to make our way to the coast with our host Ahmed. We will then begin heading south to Ahmeds home town to meet his family and attend his first nephews naming ceremony. After a few days of getting a first class tour of that area he will come back to school and we will continue heading south, with the deserts of eastern Mauritania in our sights.
More pics and stories of Morocco will come soon... ish.
Friday, October 31, 2008
First Week in Morocco
Hey there All,
The past week has been busy and fun. I arrived safe and sound last thursday the 24th in Marrakesh, Morocco. Shortly after arriving in the main square i meet with Evan and our host Ahmed, who is a masters student at the local university. His house has been a great place to crash, fll of fun characters and much laughing. We contacted him through a really cool website Couchsurfing.com, which is how we plant to use through our travels. The basic idea of the project is to connect travelers with folks who are willing to offer their couch and host folks from around the world. Back in Seattle we have hosted and toured travelers, and set up events, and Evan used the site to connect with folks while he was traveling through asia earlier this year.
The first couple days were spend touring the city and meeting other Coushsurfers. We spent the first day with a surfer from Brazil, touring the never ending maze of narrow market streets. Then next evening we meet up with Evans friend Sjoukje from the Netherlands who will be traveling with us until the 13th. We then went to the meeting of the Marrakesh couch sufing group, which was about 20 or so folks. About half were local hosts, and the other half were travelers from all over. The meeting is essentially just an excuse to get together and chat about anything from language to places to travel.
In these few days we got to be good friends with our host Ahmed and his house full of great guys. He has been an amazingly generous host, opening his house and his life to the three of us, making us tea, letting us take over his room, and helping us navigate the city. This is the amazing part of couchsurfing, insted of being stuck at a hotel, we have been able to make a friend in the city, which has deepened the expereince greatly.
On Sunday the 26th we convinced (not hard) Ahmed that he wanted to come with us to do some trekking in the Atlas mountins, which he had never visited. Since it is so late in the season we were not able to go through the High Atlas, as snow is already covering the passes and the guest houses are closed. Insted we did a 4 day route out of Imlil area near the high peaks, which had some amazing views of both the high peaks and the dry flat land to the west. For the 4 nights we stayed in guest houses, or Gites, which allowed us to carry only small day packs. Ahmed was invaluable in helping to translate and get us good deals, as most of the guides and guest house owners are ruthless in trying to get as much money out of tourist as possible. Below are a few photos along the way.
Evan and Sjoukje enjoying some tea. We got a good portion of out hydration from tea along the way, so sugary and delicious.
A good potion of the walking was on narrow roads between villages. It was great to see that all ofthe illages took on the color of the soils around, on one hill a grey, with a deep red on the opposing hill.
Evan and Ahmed with the daily cloud cover building over the high peaks.
After we were done freezing in the mountins we went back to Marrakesh to spend a rainy day with our friends at Ahmeds house. Once the passes cleared today we were able to catch a 5 hour bus over the Atlas to the semi desert town of Ouarzazate, which is where numerous movies including Gladiator have been filmed. We will be spending a few days here before mking out way north to meet Hala and Adam in Fes.
The past week has been busy and fun. I arrived safe and sound last thursday the 24th in Marrakesh, Morocco. Shortly after arriving in the main square i meet with Evan and our host Ahmed, who is a masters student at the local university. His house has been a great place to crash, fll of fun characters and much laughing. We contacted him through a really cool website Couchsurfing.com, which is how we plant to use through our travels. The basic idea of the project is to connect travelers with folks who are willing to offer their couch and host folks from around the world. Back in Seattle we have hosted and toured travelers, and set up events, and Evan used the site to connect with folks while he was traveling through asia earlier this year.
The first couple days were spend touring the city and meeting other Coushsurfers. We spent the first day with a surfer from Brazil, touring the never ending maze of narrow market streets. Then next evening we meet up with Evans friend Sjoukje from the Netherlands who will be traveling with us until the 13th. We then went to the meeting of the Marrakesh couch sufing group, which was about 20 or so folks. About half were local hosts, and the other half were travelers from all over. The meeting is essentially just an excuse to get together and chat about anything from language to places to travel.
In these few days we got to be good friends with our host Ahmed and his house full of great guys. He has been an amazingly generous host, opening his house and his life to the three of us, making us tea, letting us take over his room, and helping us navigate the city. This is the amazing part of couchsurfing, insted of being stuck at a hotel, we have been able to make a friend in the city, which has deepened the expereince greatly.
On Sunday the 26th we convinced (not hard) Ahmed that he wanted to come with us to do some trekking in the Atlas mountins, which he had never visited. Since it is so late in the season we were not able to go through the High Atlas, as snow is already covering the passes and the guest houses are closed. Insted we did a 4 day route out of Imlil area near the high peaks, which had some amazing views of both the high peaks and the dry flat land to the west. For the 4 nights we stayed in guest houses, or Gites, which allowed us to carry only small day packs. Ahmed was invaluable in helping to translate and get us good deals, as most of the guides and guest house owners are ruthless in trying to get as much money out of tourist as possible. Below are a few photos along the way.
Evan and Sjoukje enjoying some tea. We got a good portion of out hydration from tea along the way, so sugary and delicious.A good potion of the walking was on narrow roads between villages. It was great to see that all ofthe illages took on the color of the soils around, on one hill a grey, with a deep red on the opposing hill.
Evan and Ahmed with the daily cloud cover building over the high peaks.After we were done freezing in the mountins we went back to Marrakesh to spend a rainy day with our friends at Ahmeds house. Once the passes cleared today we were able to catch a 5 hour bus over the Atlas to the semi desert town of Ouarzazate, which is where numerous movies including Gladiator have been filmed. We will be spending a few days here before mking out way north to meet Hala and Adam in Fes.
Folks should send me addresses and phone numbers, as I lost the note book I wrote them in.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Passing through London
Hey there,
So, after leaving the trail crew in North Central Washington, I have gotten a good tour of the states and am now in London, and will fly out tomorrow afternoon for Morocco. I first went back to Seattle to prepare a poster that I presented at the Soil Science Society of America conference in Houston. In Houston I not only meet alot of fascinating researchers, but got a chance to meet some couchsurfers randomly in the park, a guy from Idaho who came down to help with the clean-up who was staying with a really cool local. After a night of getting to know them I was very much back in the mood to travel, seeing new places, and getting to know great people.
After that I went back up to Michigan and Minnesota to visit with the folks, and them to Chicago to hang out with the bro before catching my flight to London. In Chicago I had an interesting start to the trip by leaving my credit card at a restaurant, and just when I thought I was ready to go, I realized i forgot my Typhoid pills in the fridge. No worries, I just got a nice tour of Chicago picking up all my forgotten belongings, while getting another chance to play with my really cute nephew and still getting to the airport with plenty of time.
Once in London I took the train across town to my fiends Hala and Adam's place, which is above the pub where they both work. After a quick lunch I headed back into town to so some sight seeing. I hopped off the tube near the financial district, and took a walk up the River Themes, seeing many of the historic sights of London. Here are a few shameless tourist photos:
Me with the London bridge
Hey look its Big Ben, with my goofy face next to it.
Well, now I am about to turn in after a great concert at the pub. I'm looking forward to meeting up with Evan tomorrow in Morocco to figure out where we are going to go hiking.
So, after leaving the trail crew in North Central Washington, I have gotten a good tour of the states and am now in London, and will fly out tomorrow afternoon for Morocco. I first went back to Seattle to prepare a poster that I presented at the Soil Science Society of America conference in Houston. In Houston I not only meet alot of fascinating researchers, but got a chance to meet some couchsurfers randomly in the park, a guy from Idaho who came down to help with the clean-up who was staying with a really cool local. After a night of getting to know them I was very much back in the mood to travel, seeing new places, and getting to know great people.
After that I went back up to Michigan and Minnesota to visit with the folks, and them to Chicago to hang out with the bro before catching my flight to London. In Chicago I had an interesting start to the trip by leaving my credit card at a restaurant, and just when I thought I was ready to go, I realized i forgot my Typhoid pills in the fridge. No worries, I just got a nice tour of Chicago picking up all my forgotten belongings, while getting another chance to play with my really cute nephew and still getting to the airport with plenty of time.
Once in London I took the train across town to my fiends Hala and Adam's place, which is above the pub where they both work. After a quick lunch I headed back into town to so some sight seeing. I hopped off the tube near the financial district, and took a walk up the River Themes, seeing many of the historic sights of London. Here are a few shameless tourist photos:
Me with the London bridge
Hey look its Big Ben, with my goofy face next to it.Well, now I am about to turn in after a great concert at the pub. I'm looking forward to meeting up with Evan tomorrow in Morocco to figure out where we are going to go hiking.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Next Adventure - West Africa
Hey there All,
In the next few days I will be starting on my next adventure, this time through West Africa.
I Arrive in Marrakesh, Morocco via London on October 23rd , and will travel with my good friend Evan to visit our friend Brian Bragg at his Peace Corps home in Cameroon. In addition to visiting, I plan to take a close look at community benefits from Fair Trade Cocoa, and at traditional crops of the region.
The only fixed points on the Itinerary are our arrival dates, and that we will be in Cameroon for the holidays. We will have many options in our trip, but some of my thoughts on where this will take me:
1) We will probably spend our time at the beginning in Morocco catching the last of the trekking season in the High Atlas, and will fly to Cameroon either from Morocco, or from Dakar, Senegal in Early to mid December.
2) Once in Cameroon, we plan on some hard core hanging out with Bragg, hopefully getting involved in some of the work in the area, and traveling in some of the country with him. We may be there a matter of a few weeks, or a few months, or use it as a base camp while traveling in the area.
3) There is a potential side trip to visit and volunteer with another friend, Sheela in Uganda. If we head that way, we will probably fly into Nairobi, and I will probably take the chance to tour the region, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
4) Once we are ready to move on from Bragg and Sheela, we will begin our overland journey North. We both prefer the mountains and deserts so will probably stay inland more than hugging the coast. This will consist of alot of busing and sight seeing, but when we find a nice place, we may be there for a week or more.
5) As we get into the Cocoa producing regions of West Africa, especially Ghana, I will begin spending alot of time getting getting in contact with some Fair Trade organizations and farmer unions. To really get a good idea of the benefits of Fair Trade practices, I must get a good feeling for how the cocoa is grown, transported and sold, which most likely take multiple months. I am excited to get my hand dirty working on some farms, talking to farmers and union/ trade officials as well as agricultural workers in the Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's).
In the next few days I will be starting on my next adventure, this time through West Africa.
I Arrive in Marrakesh, Morocco via London on October 23rd , and will travel with my good friend Evan to visit our friend Brian Bragg at his Peace Corps home in Cameroon. In addition to visiting, I plan to take a close look at community benefits from Fair Trade Cocoa, and at traditional crops of the region.
The only fixed points on the Itinerary are our arrival dates, and that we will be in Cameroon for the holidays. We will have many options in our trip, but some of my thoughts on where this will take me:
1) We will probably spend our time at the beginning in Morocco catching the last of the trekking season in the High Atlas, and will fly to Cameroon either from Morocco, or from Dakar, Senegal in Early to mid December.
2) Once in Cameroon, we plan on some hard core hanging out with Bragg, hopefully getting involved in some of the work in the area, and traveling in some of the country with him. We may be there a matter of a few weeks, or a few months, or use it as a base camp while traveling in the area.
3) There is a potential side trip to visit and volunteer with another friend, Sheela in Uganda. If we head that way, we will probably fly into Nairobi, and I will probably take the chance to tour the region, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
4) Once we are ready to move on from Bragg and Sheela, we will begin our overland journey North. We both prefer the mountains and deserts so will probably stay inland more than hugging the coast. This will consist of alot of busing and sight seeing, but when we find a nice place, we may be there for a week or more.
5) As we get into the Cocoa producing regions of West Africa, especially Ghana, I will begin spending alot of time getting getting in contact with some Fair Trade organizations and farmer unions. To really get a good idea of the benefits of Fair Trade practices, I must get a good feeling for how the cocoa is grown, transported and sold, which most likely take multiple months. I am excited to get my hand dirty working on some farms, talking to farmers and union/ trade officials as well as agricultural workers in the Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's).
6) The general route will take us from Cameroon through East Nigeria, up to the deserts of Niger, southern Algeria, and Mali before heading south to the wetter areas of Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote de Iviore, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, and back to Morocco. If we have the energy and finances we may then head east towards the mid-east, through Algeria, Lybia and Egypt.
7) Wherever this trip takes us is sure to be an excellent adventure. The whole trip may take as little as 6 months, or could be well over a year, depending on finances and desire to come home.
While I am away I will post on this blog every time that I can, with stories and pictures from the road. Those who want to follow and comment on this blog can sign up, which is super easy, especially if you have a Gmail account. I will check my regular email, but with the length of time between checking, messages can easily get lost, so posting a reply here, or contacting me on Couchsurfing are the best bets.
Also check out Evans blog at http://evansjourney.blogspot.com/ for more about or trip.
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