Tunisia: From the Mediterranean to the Sahara

Greetings!

We're headed off on April 20th to Algiers, Algeria for a week.  Then, we fly to Tunis, Tunisia for 16 days.  Highlights include plenty of medinas (markets), museums, Roman towns and ruins, the third largest Roman amphitheater, the legendary home of the lotus eaters in Homer's Odyssey, lots of mosques and troglodytic settlements, the village which served as a shooting location of Episode IV of Star Wars, a private tented camp established and maintained by the tour company in the Sahara desert, camel and horse-drawn carriage rides, a visit to a carpet workshop, and to the fourth holiest Mosque in Islam.   We'll have dinner with local families, listen to lectures on women's rights in Tunisia, and stop by North Africa's American Cemetery and Memorial paying tribute to those fallen in World War II, and explore ancient Carthage and the ruins of Virgil's Aeneid.  We'll take lots of photos, and be back on May 12th.

Friday, Oct 10th, Cape Town, South Africa

 

With our flights beginning after dinner, and our transportation to the airport beginning at 3pm, there wasn't much time for anymore adventurrs.  Nevertheless, Wayne took us on a walking tour of an upscale waterfront just below Signal Mountain.  We watched paragliders land on the long grassy stretch next to the breakwater.  

At the end of the coastal walk, we turned inland and cut through the community park between the golf course nd the soccer fields, just in time to catch two youngsters cooling their feet in the stream.

We'll be flying tonight from here to Washington, DC's Dulles Airport, and then from there to San Fransisco.  Barring air traffic controllers going out on sick leave, we should be getting into the west coast tomorrow morning.

To see all of the photos we took this morning, click on Friday, Oct 10th, Cape Town, South Africa.

Thursday, Oct 9th, Cape Town, South Africa

Greetings!

Our second to last touring day found us stopping by the Iziko Natural History Museum to see cave paintings, and all the stuffed animals and birds we've seen on this trip (plus a few we haven't seen), the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and a cooking class taught within a local Malay community on a hill high above the city (Bo Kaap), 

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Thursday, Oct 9th, Cape Town, South Africa.

Wednesday, Oct 8th, Cape Town, South Africa

 

Today was a day of driving.  Not like most other drives, where miles of uninspiring dirt roads took us across desert and dying trees.  No, this drive was a coastal and mountain drive - to the gorgeous scenery which surrounds the city of Cape Town.  To see the 6.5 million inhabitants of the metropolitan area around Cape Town.  

We did see animals, and one in particular which we hadn't seen before (Ostrich).  And we made it to the southern most point (at least that's what the sign said) on the African continent.  

And we reached the Cape of Good Hope, one of the most photographed pieces of land.  We passed on waiting in line for an estimated 3.5 hours to ride the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.  Instead, we derove up to Signal Mountain to see if any hang Gliders were taking advantage of the heavy winds.  None found, but plenty of tourists were finding just one more magical view. 

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Wednesday, Oct 8th, Cape Town, South Africa.

Monday and Tuesday, Oct 6th & 7th, Cape Town, South Africa

Today, we traveled from Livingstone to Cape Town.  Shortly after breakfast, we returned to the large theater in which last night we saw a wonderful performance of Simunye Spirit of Africa.  Today, we heard a lecture on Dr. David Livingstone, the first European to witness the magnificence of Victoria Falls.

Others in our group took helicopter flights over the Falls area, and were able to get up close with elephants at the Shearwater Private Reserve.  

After lunch, we were driven to the Livingstone Airport, and were flown to Cape Town for our Post-Trip experience.  We'll meet our new Trip Experience Leader (Wayne) when we land, and will be with him until our flight home on Friday evening.

We began Tuesday by visiting the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which we had visited on our first trip to Cape Town eleven years ago.  Coming back to this Botanical Garden was the main reason Pat signed up for this trip, and the opportunity to share this spot with BT was important to her.  It didn't disappoint us, and our timing was perfect to see many of the most spectacular gardens ever.  

Next, we drove to the District Six Museum, the Homecoming Center which is dedicated to facilitating the resurrection of the community of 60,000 individuals who were evicted from their land during the height of the apartheid era in South Africa.  Beautifully presented in voice and visual contributions, the museum documents the history of the Group Areas Act of 1950 in the 1966 bull-dozing of a major municipal district.Adding to the tragedy is the complete failure to implement the restitution called for under international pressure.

Heading down to the waterfront, we were treated to a great young song and dance group performing in a square near the docks.  If there is one common characteristic evident everywhere in our African travels, it is that Africans have learned to integrate music and dance into their lives well.  And as we showed in our group's invitation to share our music and dance talents, we have none.

After dinner, our guide (Wayne) led us on a walk through the tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly streets which surround our hotel.  We scouted out the layout we'll need to know to visit more of the City sights on Thursday.  

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Monday, Oct 6th and Tuesday Oct 7th, Cape Town, South Africa.

  
 

Sunday, Oct 5th, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Greetings!

This is probably the day that we have all been waiting for - visiting the Victoria Falls.  The day began early with a short drive from our hotel to the entrance of the park.  Our Guide, Thompson, then hosted our walk along the Zimbabwe side of the Gorge to the 16 viewpoints.  Normally, the mist from the Falls requires raincoats, but this is the dry season, and we were able to negotiate the trail and rocks easily.

Each of you should include the Falls on your bucket list, and try to experience it within a group like those offered through OAT.  You'll also want to make room in your baggage to bring back your choices of the local carved and woven art displayed everywhere.

Returning for brunch, many of our group took advantage of helicopter rides over the Falls, and visits to local elephant rescue centers.  I'm catching up on blog posts, purchasing tickets for a local play tonight after dinner, and anticipating the arrival of custom t-shirts prepared to our specifications by a young entrepreneur we bargained with at lunch yesterday.

To see all of the photos taken this morning, click on Sunday, Oct 5th, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Saturday, Oct 4th, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

This morning, we got up early, said goodbye to the Camp staff, and were driven to our local airstrip to catch two small planes to the border of Botswana and Zimbabwe.  On the way to the planes, we saw another majestic -looking Sable Antelope.  At the border, we left Botswana and crossed into Zimbabwe.  We're all getting very good at clearing immigration and customs, with the help of our OAT Trip Experience Guide (Thompson),  

After lunch at our hotel, we walked into town to shop and retrieve some cash from a bank.  We're staying at the Shearwater Explorers Village,, very near the center of Victoria Falls. 

Finally, we were driven to selected resident homes for a dinner and evening to get to know the families.  This is a regular feature of OAT, and one we thoroughly enjoy.

To see the few photos we took today, click on Saturday, Oct 4th, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.