TravelStream™ news feed for member jeneggener on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jeneggener en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:28:25 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1245227777/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1245227777/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1245227777/tpod.html Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:28:25 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Lusaka, Zambia

As far as the quiz from my last entry I'm very disappointed in the lack of participation on your part.  I used to have a better success rate with my students turning in their homework!  Not that there was much competition, but my Mom won with 10 correct answers.  But I think she cheated so I'm not sure if she'll get the prize.  The following are some of the answers you gave that I feel I need to correct...-"hello" in Hindi is not "shalom" and it's not handing over a stick of deodorant-the festival in Ahmedabad was not Cinco de Mayo-the Mursi tribe is not known for their Marvin Gaye rendition of "Mursi, Mursi Me"-a burning ghat is not a doobie-the Swahili word "jambo" does not mean "bite me"-I did not see John and Katie mating in the Masai Mara National Park-the reason for not climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was not because I had menstrual crampsThanks for the laughs :)I'm not sure why I called this blog "Around the world in ~365 days".  I knew I wasn't going all the way around the world, only halfway around the world.  And I didn't even make it the full 365 days, only 352 days.  But the countries I've visited and the cultures I've experienced are of a completely different world than the one in which you and I live.  The cultures I've lived in for the past year believe in arranged marriages, dowries, sacred cows, female genital mutilation, lip stretching, body scarification, drinking cow blood, polygamy...  They have survived genocide, communist occupation, dictators like Idi Amin, post-election violence, Tamil Tigers, overpopulation, poverty, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS...  And yet through all this devastation you find the friendliest people in the world.  They say "hello" to you as you pass them on the street and hope you have a few minutes of time to spare so they can find out more about you.  They'll offer to buy you a chai so they can sit down with you and practise their English and learn about American culture. And what is American culture?  Money, cars, big houses, iPhones, expensive clothes, working too many hours, and somewhere family fits in there.  People ask me about traditional American dancing.  All I can answer with is Native American dancing.  People ask me about traditional American food.  Ummm...hamburgers and hotdogs?  Barbecue?  Fried chicken?  We're a country of immigrants and generally our favorite foods are international cuisines.  Please correct me if I'm wrong, but North Americans don't have a strong traditional culture.  Yet we're the envy of the world.  So many people dream of emmigrating to the US and living the American dream.  What they don't realize, though, is that they'll quickly get sucked into the fast-paced American way of life and slowly lose their traditional culture that they're so proud of.What I do know, and what scares me a bit, is that coming home after this trip will be more of a culture shock for me than travelling through any of these countries.  I haven't touched a cell phone in a year, I haven't driven a car in a year, I haven't paid bills or worked in a year.  I'm sure I'll be fine, but I hope I can quickly readjust to the life I used to live.You might ask me how my life will change because of this journey.  Honestly, I'm really not sure.  Being away from your family and friends and being alone for an entire year brings out the best and the worst in you.  I always knew what my strengths and weaknesses were, but they seriously make themselves prevelant on a journey like this.  I hope to continue to improve my strengths and work hard to diminish my weaknesses.  I hope to continue to dedicate my career to the disadvantaged.  I hope to volunteer on a more regular basis.  I hope to spend more time doing the things I love and am passionate about.  And I hope to continue travelling during my summer breaks from work.A lot has happened at home since I've been gone.  Obama being elected as the first African American president in history, the economic crisis, friends having babies, my brother and sister-in-law having a baby, losing a friend I care deeply about...I'm sorry I've missed all of these, especially the birth of my nephew.  I'm also sorry I've missed an entire year of the lives of my cousins' and friends' children.  Orly and Abby are walking, Ava just finished her first year of school, Braya is talking in full sentences, Maggie's a big sister now!  I regret missing out on a lot of things this past year but I wouldn't have given up this experience for anything.  It's overwhelming thinking back on everything I've seen and done.  Once I'm reunited with all of you I'm really not sure how I'll begin to share my journey with you.  Where exactly do I start?I would like to thank those of you who have emailed me regularly.  You don't understand how happy it made me seeing and reading emails from you.  Even if it was just a line or two it meant a lot to me. And for those of you who never or hardly ever emailed me...well, I'll have a few words for you when I see you.I've made a couple of lists as I rap up this trip...What I will NOT miss from this journey:-long, hot, bumpy, smelly bus journeys-trash everywhere, especially in India-I'm sorry to say this, but African body odor-bland African food-living out of a backpack for 12 months and wearing the same few articles of clothing and a single pair of shoes-not having a home, always on the move-blackouts-very slow internet connections or lost connections while typing a blog entry-mosquitos, cockroaches, and endless other insects-sleeping under mosquito netting and smelling of mosquito repellent all the time-little control over what I eat-sleeping in strange beds night after nightWhat I will miss from this journey:-everyday meeting different people from around the globe-spotting the Southern Cross constellation every night which always reminded me of where I was (Shit...I'm in Africa!!)-amazing Indian cuisine (well I've been missing this for 5 months now)-everyday being open to the possibility of a new adventureThanks for reading...peace,Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1244779200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1244779200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1244779200/tpod.html Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:41:58 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Livingstone, Zambia

Greetings from Zambia!Thanks to everyone who wished me Happy Birthday.  It ended up being a very, very sober evening.  I'm expecting some of you to have the tequila ready upon my return home in 6 days!!!From Cape Maclear I took the bus to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.  I spent three nights there and then caught the direct bus to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Both Lusaka and Lilongwe seem to more like large suburbs rather than capital cities with not much to do.  I did manage to get a pretty good haircut in Lilongwe.  It was much needed since it's only my second haircut in the past 12 months.I am now in Livingstone, on the border with Zimbabwe, and where Victoria Falls is located.  Locally know as "Mosi-oa-tunya" or "Smoke that thunders", Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  The falls are a part of the Zambezi River and are 1.7 km wide and drop 108 meters.  They seriously put Niagara Falls to shame.   You can visit the falls from both Zambia and Zimbabwe.  The Zimbabwean side offers better panoramic views but the Zambian side gets you up close and personal (and soaking wet!) to the falls.  I was hoping to see the falls from the Zimbabwean side as well, but I would have needed to buy a visa to enter Zimbabwe and then buy another visa to re-enter Zambia since I only got a single entry visa for Zambia when I entered.  I did, however, get a pass to walk across the Zambezi Bridge (so I did step foot into Zimbabwe) to see if anyone was doing the 111 meter bungee jump off the bridge, one of the highest bungee jumps in the world.  Unfortunately, no one was jumping at the time.I'm not even going to attempt to explain the feeling you get standing right in front of Victoria Falls.  All I'll say is that they are simply magnificent and they make you feel so incredibly small and weak.  There's a path that leads from the easternmost part of the falls and runs the length of the Zambian side of the falls.  At one point there's a footbridge you must cross where you get absolutely soaking wet just from the mist rising from the river below.  I was completely shocked by the size of the falls (they're 1.7 km long!!) and yet I only saw half of them. Being the teacher that I am and considering this should be my second to last blog entry from this trip, I have the urge to assess all of you on how much you've been paying attention to my blog.  I have come up with some questions that I would like you to answer WITHOUT looking back on my previous blog entries.  If you don't know the answer, just make something up.  I'm hoping for some good laughs.1.  What was the first country I visited on this journey?2.  Who did Emperor Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal for?3.  There was an incident one night during my camel safari in Rajasthan, India.  What happened?4.  How do you say "hello" in Hindi?5.  What was I doing for 2 weeks in Mcleod Ganj, India?6.  What's a burning ghat? (found on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India)7.  What's the historical significance of the Bodhi Tree? (The original is in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and a cutting of the original was brought to Bodhgaya, India)8.  Who founded the Motherhouse in Calcutta, India?9.  What course did I complete in the Andaman Islands, India?10.  Where did I spend New Years?11.  What festival was going on when I was in Ahmedabad, India?12.  What movie opened in Mumbai the day AFTER I left India.13.  What is the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia known for?14.  How did I injure myself in Uganda?15.  What does the Swahili word "jambo" mean in English?16.  What (or who) did I see mating during my safari in the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya?17.  What does "mzungu" mean in English?18.  Why didn't I climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania?19.  What was different about the diving in Lake Malawi from all of the other diving I've done before?20.  How many countries have I been to on this trip?21.  What was your favorite blog entry? 22.  Comments/complaints/suggestions about my blog?I'll let you know who the winner of this quiz is in my final entry.  Maybe there'll be a prize involved?I'm flying home in 5 days!!  WOOHOO!!!  BOOHOO!!!Happy Belated Anniversary Brian and Chrissy!!Happy Birthday Rich, Scott, and David!!peace,Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1243361663/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1243361663/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1243361663/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:43:58 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Likoma Island, Malawi

Greetings from Lake Malawi!Luckily when I was getting ready to leave the guesthouse in Mzuzu I met someone that was driving back to Nkhata Bay and ofered me a ride if I could just wait a few hours while he ran a few errands.  And it just so happened that he's one of the owners of the dive shop in Nkhata Bay so I got some great info about the diving there.Nkhata Bay is about an hour east of Mzuzu on Lake Malawi.  It's a popular spot for backpackers for its relaxing atmosphere nd beautiful bay location on the rocky shores.  I stayed at Butterfly Space, run by two British girls, on the edge of the peninsula that has huts and a dorm right on the shoreline and they are involved in a lot of community projects in the area. I generally spent the mornings walking around town and the afternoons and evenings back at Butterfly reading or hanging out with the other travelers there.  I did one day of diving in Nkhata Bay, one morning dive and one night dive.  It's freshwater diving here which I've ever done before.  The biggest differences between saltwater and freshwater diving is the aquatic life and the topography.  In freshwater there are no corrals, instead there are incredible rock formations.  The fish I saw were mostly cichlids of which there are hundreds of varieties in Lake Malawi each having evolved differently due to their surroundings.  There are also these fish, I don't remember their name, that create these craters in the sand that can be up to 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep where they lay their egs and keep their young.  I also saw a mouthbreeder, where the female keeps her eggs in her mouth and the male fertilizes them in her mouth.  The fish spend most of their infancy in their mother's mouth, only let out when it's feeding time.  If a predator swims by the mother will gobble up her young back into her mouth.  On my dive I saw one with her babies, each about an inch long and there were probably 20 of them.  As I approached she opened her mouth and quickly got her babies safe inside.The night dive was probably the best night dive I ave ever done.  As soon as you reach the bottom you're surrounded by about 20 dolphin fish which are about 3 feet long, they come out at night to feed, and follow you throughout the dive.  I also saw 3 catfish, which I've never seen diving before.  Two were large, about 2-3 feet long, and one was a juvenile catfish.  And as if the dive wasn't spectacular enough, as we surfaced we were surrounded by a blanket of stars above and it was such a clear night that you could see the Milky Way.There's a ferry that runs the length of Lake Malawi, taking one week for the round trip, and stopping in a few cities along the lakeshore and the islands of Likoma and Chizimulu, which are located in Mozambican territory but are a part of Malawi.  On the southbound trip it stops in Nkhata Bay on Monday departing at 8:00PM and arriving in Chizimulu around midnight.  These islands are very small, traditional villages, without any cars (however I saw a couple of cars on Likoma Island).  Due to the ferry schedule, if you stop in the islands, you must wait one week for the ferry to take you back to the mainland.I started in Chizimulu, the smaller of the two islands.  There's only one place to stay on Chizimulu and luckily it's a backpackers place and I met the owner, Nick, in Nkhata Bay who was also on the ferry as well.  I went on two dives with Nick and saw lots of crabs, a few mouthbreeders, a couple of catfish, and the first dive had some incredible swimthroughs within the rock formations.  The other days I spent reading on the beach, going for swims, and walking around the island. There's supposed to be a dhow (local sailboat) that brings passengers to and from Chizimulu and Likoma Islands everyday.  Depending on winds, it's scheduled to leave Chizimulu at 10:00 AM.  I arrived at 9:30 but didn't see anyone around the boat or any passengers waiting.  I asked a few people and they said that because there was no wind they didn't know when the boat will leave, but maybe around 2:00.  I decided to sit and wait for awhile to see if anything would happen.While waiting some young boys, mostly naked, were playing in the water and climbing onto the dhow and jumping into the lake.  I slowly reached for my camera to try and sneak a few pictures of them but they caught me.  What resulted was numerous photos of the boys posing for the camera, mostly in kung fu positions, then running up to me so they can see what they look like.  So there I am the only mzungu (white person) around with a swarm of dripping wet naked boys surrounding me, running back to pose for another picture and running back to me to see the picture.  This went on for about 10 minutes until they started touching the camera and getting it wet.  I said "No more" and put my camera away.  They looked very upset, but within a minute they just ran back to the boat and continued their playing. After only 15 minutes of waiting some people started loading up a motorboat so I went over to ask if they were going to Likoma, which they were, so I asked if I could get a ride.  It just so happened that the Chizimulu football (soccer in America) team hired this boat to take them to Likoma for a match with the Likoma team.  It ended up being a very exciting boat ride.  The team sang and chanted the entire time to get psyched for the match.  I have no idea what they were saying but I enjoyed the entertainment.I spent 3 nights on Likoma Island, The Isle of Baobab, doing pretty much the same thing as I did on Chizimulu.  I did two more dives here which were very similar, but somewhat sad since these were the final dives of this trip.  One day I walked into the main village which is about 45 minutes from where I was staying and checked out the tiny market and St. Peter's Cathedral, which is the largest cathedral in central Africa.  It just so happened to be Sunday and the service was in session when I arrived.  Unfortunately I got there during the sermon so I didn' get to hear any singing.  But I was shocked to see that the men and women sit separately. I took the ferry early Tuesday morning back to the mainland to Nkotakota, a 12 hour journey, where I spent one night.  The next morning I took a variety of minibuses and a pick-up truck to Cape Maclear where I've spent the last couple of days.  Today is my birthday so I was hoping there's be some lively people here to help me celebrate the big 35.  There were two Dutch girls here but they left this afternoon.  As long as there's no tequila involved, which I'm sure they don't have here, it should be a fairly sober evening.Yesterday I met a few rasta guys and they made me a barbeque dinner on the beach (I did give them a few dollars for the food).  They had fish themselves but they made me a vegetable stew with rice.  They had a drum with them and later in the evening they started drumming and singing.  Of course I didn't know any of the songs until they started in on the Bob Marley portion of their playlist.  Yesterday the two Dutch girls and I found a boatman to take us out today a few hundred meters to an island for some snorkeling this morning before they left.  To all of the teachers out there - good luck with the rest of your school year.  And to the graduating seniors that are reading this - congratulations!!  Please email me and let me know what your plans are for next year.Happy Birthday to me and to Cortesi!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1242725640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1242725640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1242725640/tpod.html Thu, 21 May 2009 06:40:39 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Livingstonia, Malawi

Hello everyone!I have a return date!  When I came back from Zanzibar I spent a couple of days back in Dar and my main goal before leaving for Malawi was to book my flight home.  After doing some research on the internet I found the best deal leaving from Lusaka, Zambia.  I was, and still am, hoping to spend some time in Zambia, especially to see Victoria Falls, but depending on how much time I spend in Malawi, I may just need to get a last minute bus to Lusaka and fly stright home without seeing the country.So I went to the South African Airways office in Dar to book the flight.  It was a very emotional experience and I actually had tears filling my eyes.  The first image to come to mind to explain how I was feeling is that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that's not really accurate since I don't feel like I'm in a tunnel or a bad place, and waiting for it to end.  I have, however, been ready to come home for quite some time.  Yet I know that as soon as I'm home I'll wish I was back on my trip.  So I have mixed emotions regarding the end of this journey.  So I'm leaving Lusaka on June 18th and will be back in Chicago on the 19th, after 26 hours of flight and connection times.  So if you want to take me out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, or cocktails I will gladly accept the offer and I can start making appointments now :)From Dar I took a 12 hour bus ride to Mbeya in southwestern Tanzania near the Malawian border.  Across the street from the bus station were a couple of guesthouses and since I was just leaving for the border early in the morning I didn't want to go too far from the station.  The first guesthouse had shared bathrooms, which is fine, but the toilets were squat toilets so I quickly decided to check out the place next door.  They had shared bathrooms as well, but with western style toilets so I chose to stay here.  The next morning I returned to the bus station to find a dala-dala to the border.  I had to take two dala-dalas to get within 1 km of the border, I walked to the border, got my Tanzanian exit stamp, walked the 300m across the border, got my Malawian entrance stamp (free for US citizens!) and found another dala-dala to Karonga, the nearest town of any sorts.  I was planning on spending the night in Karonga, but after walking around and checking out the grungy guesthouses that were charging way too much for what they looked like and seeing all of the closed restaurants, I decided to walk back to the bus station and find a dala-dala to the next town south, Chitimba.  Here, I know there was a backpackers campsite also with dorm rooms on the beach of Lake Malawi, Africa's third largest lake, where you can see the distant hills of Tanzania on the other side of the lake. One day I spent hanging out on the beach, reading and listening to music.  The next day I left my pack at the campsite and brought the few things I needed for one night's stay in Livingstonia, named after Dr. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary who came to Africa in 1859 to try and end the slave trade and introduce commerce and Christianity.  He is also the namesake of the famous quote, "Dr. Livingstone I pressume".  The problem with Livingstonia is that there is no transport that trudges up the 16km of gravel road up a mountain that increases about 800m in altitude.  So you have to walk it and hope that some truck will just happen to pass by going in your direction and offer you a ride.  Well, I had no such luck on my way up, or down actually.  It took about 2.5 hours to reach Mushroom Farm, a permaculture campground on the edge of the mountain with spectacular views, where I was going to spend the evening.  After dropping off a few things at the campsite I continued the trek to Livingstonia, another 5km. It happened to be election day in Malawi, with the incumbent president being highly likely to win another term in office.  When I finally reached Livingstonia I witnessed the long line at the polling station.  I sat on a tree stump to watch the action for about half an hour and talked with a few locals about the election.  They were all confident that the current president will win but they each gave me different answers as to when the results would be broadcast.  One man said 24 hours, another said 3 or 4 days, and yet another said 2 weeks.  After 30 minutes the line of voters had not moved an inch. I walked through town to the Mission Church and the Stone House which is now a museum explaining and illustrating with photographs and artifacts the life and works of Dr. Livingstone.  Honestly, in my opinion, the church and museum are not worth the treacherous 16km hike up the mountain, but the views during the hike and on top of the mountain were spectacular. After walking the 5km back to the Mushroom Farm, I took an amazing open air hot shower heated by fire, had a great meal, sat by a campfire with the Australian guy temporarily in charge (the owner is about to return home for a few months), and before retiring to bed I helped him feed the pig and put the chickens inside their pens for the evening.The next morning I made the hike back down the mountain.  I was hoping to spend another night or two at Mushroom Farm but I only brought enough money up with me for one night and I was NOT about to go down to pick up more money from my pack and hike back up.  So I walked back to Chitimba Beach Campsite to pick up my pack and find a bus to Mzuzu, the next town southwest about 2 hours away.  I stayed at a backpacker's hostel/campground for the night and today I'm heading back to Lake Malawi to Nkhata Bay, a popular traveler's destination.In case I don't write my next blog entry in time...Happy Birthday Ava!!I hope you are all doing well and enjoying springtime in Chicago or wherever else in the world you are!peace,Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1241788620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1241788620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1241788620/tpod.html Tue, 12 May 2009 04:53:15 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Zanzibar, Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania

Jambo!I would like to wish all of the Mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day and to all of you a very belated Feliz Cinco de Mayo.  I hope you celebrated Cinco de Mayo in my honor with a few (or many) shots of tequila.Karibu (welcome) to Zanzibar Archipelago, the "spice islands", well known for their white sand beaches, crystal clear blue water, large Muslim population, Arabic influenced culture, slave trade, birthplace of Freddie Mercury, and of course its spices.Historically the islands were visited by traders and sailors from Arabia around the 1st Century and Persian traders around the 8th Century.  Between the 12th and 15th Centuries the archipelago was trading gold, ivory, spices, wood, and slaves with India, Arabia, Persia, and other Asian territories.  This is how Islam and the Arabic architecture made its way to the islands.  The Portuguese arrived in the early 16th Century and temporarily took control of the islands, but were challenged and defeated by Omani Arabs.  Oman gained control of Zanzibar and in 1963 Zanzibar became independent from Oman.I took the ferry (US$35 one way!) from Dar to Stone Town, the main city and attraction on the largest island, where you can get lost wandering the labyrinthine alleyways, witnessing Arabic style houses, mosques, Indian influenced buildings, bazaars, and of course the obligatory tourist shops.  When I first arrived in Zanzibar I spent four days in Stone Town, two days diving which was very nice but nothing spectacular, I went on a spice tour one day, and amazingly ran into two girls I met in Ethiopia.  They've been traveling for about 4 months in Africa and when they arrived in Stone Town they were tired of traveling and enjoyed the lifestyle and culture here so much that they decided to find an apartment and are renting it for about 6 weeks.  One afternoon we went to the market and we cooked up a delicious vegetable curry at their apartment which reminded me of how long it's been since I've cooked because I barely remembered how to chop veggies properly.  They offered me their spare room which I will probably accept for a few days after I return from the northern beaches.   I took a dala-dala (local minibus) to Kendwa, a beach on the northern tip of the main island and spent 6 days relaxing on the beach reading and swimming during the day, playing beach volleyball in the late afternoon with the local boys and a few other travelers, and spending the evenings with some of the other travelers I've met at the beach.  You probably think my travel story is unique, but you should hear about some of the other travel stories.  There's a British guy who's been traveling overland from England, through Europe, the Middle East, into Africa to Cape Town.  From Cape Town he's taking a 30 day cargo ship to Australia.  There's an American guy that is working for an organization where university students can travel abroad for a semester and earn college credit by volunteering in local villages.  He just finished one trip with a group that volunteered through Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.  He's getting me into contact with the organization because I think this is something I would thoroughly enjoy being involved with.  Then I met a French guy who at the age of 18 decided to start traveling and has been for the past 10 years.  He works it out that when he needs money he goes to a French commonwealth country where he can find a job paying minimum wage and the French government pays him some kind of monthly welfare of sorts.I spent one day diving while I was here at the Mnemba Atoll which is on the northeast side of the island.  It's supposedly the best diving in Zanzibar.  It's a tiny privately owned island where you have to pay a fee just setting foot on their beach but the water surrounding the atoll is crystal clear and the diving was significantly better than around Stone Town.It just so happened that while I was in Kendwa there was a Full Moon Party where I was staying.  For the past 4 days there were only about 20 people staying here, but the day of the party shuttles and taxis kept showing up bringing more travelers that were staying in Stone Town and other parts of the island.  Since it fell on a Saturday night many locals from Stone Town came up for the evening to celebrate the full moon as well.  Luckily with it being low season the party wasn't overly crowded so you didn't have to wait long at the bar and there was plenty of space to dance.  I heard that during the high season they expect about 1500 people to show up to a Full Moon Party, but this one I guess there were only about 200 people.  Most people were dancing but many of us spent the evening sitting in the sand around the campfire.  There was even an acrobatic show where half naked guys wearing grass skirts with perfectly toned bodies gave an amazing performance of their talents.  Somehow I lasted until after 5:00 AM, got a few hours of sleep, then spent the following day reading, sleeping, and listening to music in the shade (I have horrible tan lines right now).   I just got back into Stone Town and will probably spend a couple more days here then take the ferry back to Dar and look into getting a bus ticket into Malawi, possibly the final country on this trip :(peace,Jen 
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Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Jambo! I just came back from a 4 day camping safari in the Serengeti, Ngorongora Crater, and Lake Manyara.  The first day we spent in Lake Manyara and we saw some baboons, lions sleeping trees, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and a leopard sleeping in a tree. The next day we drove to the Serengeti which comes from the Maasai word "siringet" which means "endless plain".  It covers almost 15,000 square kilometers and is contiguous with the Masai Mara in Kenya.  Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with the Serengeti.  When observing wildlife you can never be assured of seeing anything specific, but I was amazed at the lack of life that we saw.  What we did see was very impressive, but there were times on the game drives that we wouldn't see anything for over 30 minutes. What we did see was the annual wildebeeste migration.  There are over one million wildebeeste in the Serengeti and as the rainy season comes to an end they form immense herds near the remaining green areas and start to migrate north and west towards the Masai Mara.  They migrate back to the Serengeti around August-October.  A few of the herds we saw only had a few hundred wildebeeste, but others had thousands.  As far as you can see in one direction there were wildebeeste covering the plains up to the horizon. We also encountered quite a few lions, two of which were on day one of their 7 day mating ritual.  The first couple of days consists mostly of foreplay, teasing and growling.  About every 10-20 minutes the female will circle the male and lay down in front of him getting into position.  He will then mount her but within seconds they will show their teeth, growl at each other and he will dismount and lay back down.  After a couple of days of this they actually get down to business and get it on.  We watched for about half an hour and saw this teasing happen three times.  I took some videos with my camera and tried to include one here but it just too long to upload on the computers here.  So you'll just have to wait until I get back to see them. The following day we drove to the Ngorongora Crater, one of the largest collapsed volcanoes in the world, at about 20 km in diameter.  Animals can come and go as they please, there's no entry fee for them :), but most of them choose to remain inside the crater because of its permanent water supply and grassland.  Because of the limited space inside the crater wildlife is fairly concentrated and can be seen in all directions.  Here we saw wildebeeste, elephants, zebras, a few lions, one cheetah, buffalo, ostrich, flamingos, baboons, and a couple of rhinoceros but they were too far to see very well and you can't drive off the track. The Ngorongora Crater sits in the Olduvai Gorge where you can see the different layers of volcanic deposits left over the past 2 million years.  Much paleontological studies have been done here, most notably by Louis and Mary Leakey.  In 1976, Mary Leakey discovered a trackway of footprints near here that were identified as australopithecus afarensis, in direct evolutionary line to homo sapiens and dated 3.6 million years ago.  The location and angle of the big toe of the footprints proved that these hominids stood upright.  There's a museum here where you can read about the Leakey's and their 50+ year research from the Olduvai Gorge and there's a replica of the trackway of the footprints. I'm back in Arusha now and planning on leaving for Dar es Salaam tomorrow.  I hope you're well. Congratulations Chrissy and Brian!!! peace, Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1240500900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1240500900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1240500900/tpod.html Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:09:26 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Moshi, Tanzania

Jambo and karibu (welcome) to Tanzania, home of the Serengeti and the highest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 5896 meters/about 18,000 feet.  I took the bus across the border into Moshi, a smallish town at the foot of Mt. Kili.  I realize one of my plans at the beginning of this journey was to was to climb Kili.  Well, I changed my mind quite some time ago, for a variety of reasons.  Number one reason is that it's bloody expensive.  It'll cost about $1500 for the 7 day hike.  In addition to that I would have to buy some cold weather gear and hiking boots.  I only brought one pair of shoes on this trip, my Keen sandals.  I didn't want to lug around a pair of hiking boots for one year only to wear them a couple of times.  So, yes, I have worn the same pair of shoes everyday for the past 10 months.  Hakuna matata, don't worry, I wash them regularly so they don't smell too bad.  Reason number two for not climbing Kili is that I don't know if my body can handle it.  There's no technical gear involved in the climb, but I haven't been sleeping well lately and I just don't think I have the energy to do it.  Reason number three is that I have no desire to climb to the summit of a mountain just to say that I have done it.  Climbing to the top of Machu Picchu in Peru was different.  You don't just climb to the top, look around, take a few pictures, and climb back down.  You hike through the Andes for 4 days to reach probably the most magnificent ruins I have ever seen.  For me, seeing these incredible Inca ruins was reason enough to endure the climb.  Plus, I was a hell of a lot younger back then!  I guess the final reason for not climbing Kili is that it's low season and no companies have any travelers climbing right now so I'd be doing it alone, with a guide and porter of course.  OK, enough trying to justify my decision.I decided to take a day trip to Marangu village, which is one of the starting points of the hike and home of the Chagga people.  I had my guide first take me to the park headquarters to see the starting point of the Marangu route.  Then we walked through the village to a waterfall, stopped at a shop so I can taste the local banana beer, went down into the Chagga caves where the Chagga people used to hide when they were fighting with the Masai people, and then we walked through the market.A few of you have requested more photos with me in them so I included a couple for your viewing pleasure.And for those of you who keep pestering me on my return date, I'm thinking about coming home mid-June, which is 2 weeks shy of the planned 12 month travel time, but I don't think any of you will mind me coming home a couple of weeks early.  And Lynne, we'll talk about a move-out date later.  I'm sure I can crash with friends and family for a couple of weeks.My plan next is to go to Arusha, which is only an hour and a half from Moshi, and do one final safari to the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.  More info to come later....peace,Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239528240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239528240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239528240/tpod.html Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:07:32 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Mombasa, Kenya

Jambo!Mombasa is Kenya's second largest city located on an island on the southeast coast and has a large Muslim population.  From the moment I arrived I noticed the temperature difference.  It is extremely hot and humid here and I haven't sweat this much since Ethiopia.  The Old Town of Mombasa consists of a myriad of winding alleyways that one can easily get lost in.  The main sight in Old Town, and in Mombasa iteself, is Fort Jesus.  This is  a fort built in 1593 by the Portuguese, converted into a government prison from 1895-1958, and turned into a historical monument in 1960.  I actually didn't even go in.  The entrance fee is US$10 and I heard that it's not even worth it. Nearby was a gallery that has changing exhibitions by local artists.  Right now there was an exhibit of photographs from the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya.  President Kibaki hd won his second term in office, however, his opponent, Raila Odinga, claimed that the poll was rigged.  What resulted was months of mass riots between the various ethnic tribes in Kenya where homes, churches, shops, etc. were set into flames.  After only one month about 1000 people were killed and over 600,000 were displaced.  Otter, Valatka, and Dallacqua- you'll love this.  I was walking around Mombasa and this young girl, a foreigner, ran up to me and said, "Do you remember me?  We met in Mexico when you took your students there.  I was in the other school group".  She reminded me what her name was, and of course, I already forgot it, but she was one of the girls from the college group from Texas.  And it wasn't the little bitch that was hitting on Johnny.  Anyways, she's teaching in Mombasa for a year.  What a small world!Next I spent two days on Diani Beach, which is about 30 minutes south of Mombasa once you take the ferry off the island.  I can't say it was paradise, it was actually far from it.  There weren't a lot of travelers so it was nice and quiet, but the beach was full of so much seaweed that you can't even find a place to sit down in the sand.  I never even made it into the water.  There are a couple of dive shops but it's not the season to be diving here and they were charging 75 Euros per dive!  So I didn't get to dive either.  Instead I spent my days at Forty Thieves, a beach bar/restaurant, reading and drinking Tusker beer. After Diani Beach I went to Malindi, another beach town about 2 hours north of Mombasa.  Getting here, however, required many, many transfers.  First I had to take a matatu (East Africa's public transportation-minibuses) from my guesthouse to the main junction.  From there I had to take another matatu to the Mombasa ferry.  Then I had to take the ferry across into Mombasa.  Next I hopped on another matatu to take me to the part of town where I can find a matatu headed to Malindi.  This last matatu ride to Malindi should have taken no more than two and a half hours, but remember, we're on African time here, so it took 4 hours.  Malindi is another beach town known to attract Italian tourists.  Other than the excellent pizza I didn't see the big attraction here.  About half an hour away is the Gede ruins.  There doesn't seem to be any records of the Gede's existence in any historical texts but it seems like Gede was established by the 13th Century.  What remains amongst the ruins are tombs, homes, mosques, and a palace.I'm probably leaving for Tanzania tomorrow.  I feel bad that I've spent less than three weeks here in Kenya, but other than more safaris and more beaches there's nothing else left to see.  I'll definitely miss the friendly people here (especially all the good looking men!) with their huge smiles saying jambo!  What I won't miss is the various men that have asked me if I want to make an Obama baby (White American mother and Kenyan father) with them.  My only response has been, "Not with you!"  I'm actually surprised I haven't seen as much Obama influence here as I thought I would.  Even in Ethiopia most towns had an Obama Restaurant or some kind of Obama shop.  I remember an Obama Tire Shop in one town.  But here all I've seen are Obama calendars and posters in shops.I hope you're doing well and I look forward to hearing from you.peace,Jen
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239361500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239361500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jeneggener/9/1239361500/tpod.html Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:40:03 -0400 Around the world in ~365 days

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Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Jambo! (Swahili for hello)Happy Birthday Susan!Happy Easter and Happy Passover!I've been in Kenya just over one week now, a few days in Nairobi, the capital, then I took a 4 day camping safari in the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru National Parks, and now I'm back in Nairobi again.  Nairobi has a population of about 4 million and is considered the cultural hub of East Africa and also the most dangerous city in East Africa.  I don't see the danger here, I find it just as safe as any other city, but I also haven't been roaming around the city at night much.The safari was absolutely fascinating.  I spent 3 days in the Masai Mara and one day in Lake Nakuru. East Africa has what's known as "The Big Five".  These are the 5 animals that the British were most afraid of when they came to Africa; lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, and rhinoceros.  I was lucky enough to see all of the Big Five plus many, many more animals.Visitors are pretty much guarenteed to see 4 out of the Big Five animals, with leopards being a rare sighting.  Not only did my group see two leopards, but we saw them mating.  Male and female leopards are only seen together when they're mating, but they mate for multiple days.  The ritual only lasts 7-22 seconds with a lot of sleeping in between sessions.  The two leopards we encountered were at first sleeping, then the female started crawling around the male to show her interest.  The male finally stood up, mounted her, and within a blink of an eye, he dismounted and went back to sleep.  How typical, huh?Another rare site that my group saw were cheetahs, the fastest land mammal on Earth being able to run up to 115 km/hr (about 90 mph).  At one point we saw two cheetahs, but they were very shy and kept moving away from our truck.  Another time we saw one cheetah and was able to watch him for about 30 minutes.  At first he was just standing there almost posing for us, then he passed right in front of us, layed down in the grass, and started his search for a meal.  Eventually an impala came within striking distance and the cheetah was off runnning.  It was amazing to see him run, unfortunately they ran into the bush out of our site so we don't know if the cheetah was successful or not.We saw so many families of lions that we actually stopped reaching for our cameras when we spotted them.  Lions are so adorable and definitely have the maeurisms of a cat that it's hard to believe that they're one of the most feared animals in the park.  Our guide spotted a dead cow in the distance so we drove over to it and found a lioness nearby.  As we watched, the lioness slowly started coming closer but, unfortunately, never started her feast.  Nearby, however, we did witness a jackal feasting on a gazelle.One of the most beautiful animals in the park, in my opinion, is the zebra.  We saw so many everyday but I never got tired of watching them.  Here's a list of all of the animals I saw over the four days: lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros, giraffe, wildebeest (too far for a decent pic though), cheetah, zebra, hippopotamus, crocodile, impala, gazelle, monkey, baboon, jackal, warthog, hyraz (like a big rat), dik dik, topi, eland, waterbuck (all 4 types of antelope), ostrich, stork, flamingo, eagle, and many other bird species.One afternoon we went to a Masai village, one of the major tribes of Kenya.  The son of the chief brought us around the village explaining their way of life, showing us a traditional dance, and bringing us inside one of the manyattas (huts where they live).  There's a ceremony where all boys of around 14 years old are circumsized. If a boy doesn't scream or cry this is a sign of his strength and that he has what it takes to be a warrior.  These boys then go off together into the bush for 3 years and cannot return without the head of a lion.  Our safari guide said later that this tradition doesn't exist anymore because it is illegal to kill a lion, but according to the Masai they still practise this.  When the boys return from the bush they are ready for marriage.  The father chooses his son's first wife, but the boy himself can choose his own future wives.  The number of wives a man can have depends on the amount of cows the family has to give the wife's family as dowry.  Girls undergo genital mutilation at the age of about 8.  Just like for the boys in the male circumcision, many girls bleed to death and HIV is spread easily because they use the same knife on all of the children.  Because they stitch the girls up after the procedure to only allow for urine, blood, and a penis to pass, many girls and babies die during childbirth because the girls are not able to stretch large enough for a baby.  I took over 800 pictures during the safari and I wish I can share more with you, but here is a small selection.     My next stop will probably be Mombasa and the beaches along the east coast.  I hope you are well and I'll be in touch soon.peace,Jen 
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Jinja, Uganda

Greetings everyone!Since you last heard from me I have spent three days in the Ssese Islands, three days in Jinja, with a couple of days in Kampala in between.The Ssese Islands are a series of islands on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake and the source of the Nile River.  This is not a place to come if you're looking for excitement.  It's where you come for some good old "r & r".   I spent three days here laying in a hammock reading, playing cards with the few other travelers here, and drinking beer at night by a campfire.One day a Danish couple and I found a local guy with a canoe that took us for a 3 hour canoe ride along the island.  We stopped at one point and went for a nature walk through the forest.  We timed the trip so we would be paddling back to the campsite during the sunset. After spending a couple of days in Kampala, I headed out to Jinja, the second largest town in Uganda, situated on Lake Victoria.  This is where the actual source of the Nile is located where the water from Lake Victoria starts its 6650 km journey to the Mediterranean Sea.  There's an uninspiring plaque located at the source and nearby is a shrine to Ghandi since some of his ashes were scattered here on the Victoria Nile.Jinja is also home to some of the world's best, and wildest, white water rafting.  I went white water rafting in Peru about 10 years ago but that was just grade 3 rapids.  In Jinja, there are a few grade 3 rapids, but there are more grade 4 and grade 5 rapids.  In Peru I don't remember having to wear a helmet and I certainly don't remember a safety boat and safety kayakers following our raft down the river.  I knew this was going to be a scary experience, but how could I turn down grade 5 white water rafting down the Nile River?  I couldn't!The 6 hour trip consisted of about 16 rapids along 31 km of the Victoria Nile.  After the instructor went over some basic commands like forward/back paddle, everyone to the left/right of the boat, get down, it was time to learn a very important lesson:  what to do when the boat tips.  Now, I didn't say "if" the boat tips, I said "when" the boat tips.  There's about a 90% chance that your raft will tip and lucky us...we tipped twice!!  The first time we tipped wasn't so bad at all.  I did as I was told and held onto the rope on the side of the raft.  We all went flying into the rapid but I just held on for dear life and was only underwater for a couple of seconds, came up to the surface, and rode the rest of the rapid holding onto the side of the raft.  The second time we tipped was a bit scary for me.  I ended up underneath the overturned raft.  While holding my breath I had to find my way to the edge of the raft to pull myself out, all while going through a grade 5 rapid.  I'm not going to try and hide how scared I was at that moment.  I still can't believe I didn't shit my shorts.  I did lose my shorts at one point though.  In between rapids sometimes we would have 20-30 minutes of just relaxed drifting down the river where we could hop in the water for a swim or even to take a pee.  By the end of the day I was so tired that I couldn't pull myself back into the raft so the instructor pulled me in by my lifejacket.  Well, while he pulled me up, my swim shorts decided to stay in the water and the lucky instructor got to see the whitest part of my body...my ass!Other than the two scary rapids where we tipped, the rest of the rapids were complete adrenaline rushes.  One grade 5 rapid ended with a drop down a 15 foot waterfall.  Sounds scary but it was so much fun.  It took a couple of hours, and a couple of beers, for the trembling to stop in my hands after the trip.  This was one of the scariest things I've ever done but I made it through with only a couple of minor injuries.  During one of the rapids I lost control of my paddle and it whacked me in the chin.  The next morning I woke up with a nice bruise about 2 inches in diameter.  Also, one of times when the raft tipped I jammed my pinky finger and the next day my hand swelled up to about two times its normal size. The rafting company also has a 44 meter bungee jump at their campsite.  Don't worry...I didn't do it.  You can't pay me enough money to bungee or skydive.  But I did witness a couple of people successfully jump and a couple of other people pay their money only to chicken out once they were on top of the platform.   Sorry, no refunds! I'm back in Kampala now and I'm heading out to Kenya on April 2nd.  Nine months gone, only three more to go!I hope you are well.peace,Jen
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