After our boat safari the previous night, it was easy to get up early the next morning as I was going on my first official land safari. We would be in the safari jeeps that you see if you google “safari”. I bundled up as the morning would be cold, got my binoculars and camera, and headed to the truck. After I got in the truck, I was promptly handed a blanket. This was a necessity as the sun was…
Continue Reading “Safari by Jeep, Canoe, and Foot in Botswana, Africa”
As I mentioned in my previous post, I didn’t do much sight seeing in Lomé, Togo as I spent most of my time teaching. However, on the final Saturday I did have an opportunity to go out and see some of the sights. The fun part was that I didn’t go alone. I shared that experience with a high school student from Togo. Many organizations try to help children around the world. One of the ways they do this is…
Our trip through Madagascar continued the next day as we left for Antsirabe. It was another long day on the road. Luckily we stopped in a little town for lunch where we were provided with singing and dancing by the locals. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of opportunities for work outside of Antananarivo, so I assume this was probably considered a good job, especially when they can receive tips from foreigners. After our lunch (I had noodles and…
Continue Reading “Encountering the Indri Lemur in Madagascar’s Rainforest”
Our journey inland began early the next morning. We loaded into our little bus and set out for a long journey. When I say long, it’s not long because of the distance, but because driving in Madagascar is an adventure of its own. The roads are not taken care of, and you spend a lot of the time slowing down to avoid potholes. One can also be stuck in village traffic along the road. For these long drive days (6-10…
Continue Reading “Lemurs and other Unique Creatures in Madagascar”
Madagascar wasn’t a place that had been on my bucket list, but I sometimes like to take the country less traveled, less traveled and far. Madagascar is so far away that getting there was an adventure in itself. As you can imagine, there are no direct flights to Madagascar. I first had to fly to Istanbul where I had a 12 hour layover. Then I took a flight to Madagascar via Mauritius. Fortunately I was able to do a free…
Continue Reading “Andrea Begins An Amazing African Adventure in Madagascar”
On Thursday of our journey through three byways in Oregon, we started the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. However, it is a long byway so we did not finish it. We drove through the Hells Canyon area and ended up just past Joseph in the town of Enterprise. Today, Friday, we would finish the byway and begin to make our journey back home. In looking over the guide for Hells Canyon Scenic Byway, I realized we had missed an important stop,…
Continue Reading “Driving From Wallowa Lake to Pendleton, Oregon”
During our trip to Northeastern Oregon, we have followed two different scenic byways. On Thursday we would begin the third and final byway, the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway. This route starts in Baker City and goes for over 200 miles so we will not finish it in a day. While there is an emphasis on the Hells Canyon, this byway offers more than just that particular location. The first place we stopped goes back to the storied history of Oregon.…
Continue Reading “Cruising Oregon’s Hells Canyon Scenic Byway”
When we drove through Tillamook on previous trips, I never saw any beaches. The town is actually some distance from the ocean. I always wondered if there were any beaches in the area worth visiting. Monday was the day we were going to figure this out. We planned to drive the designated Three Capes Byway and discover what beaches existed along the way. Highway 101 goes along much of the Oregon coastline with beautiful ocean views. However, as it nears…
Continue Reading “Tillamook County Beaches on the Three Capes Byway”
We don’t usually go anywhere over Memorial Day weekend as we don’t want to fight with the traffic and crowds. However, this Memorial Day weekend would be a bit different. The last of my uncles died recently, and his family was having a memorial service for him on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The service was in Salem, Oregon. We decided to go to the service and then drive over to the coast to explore the Tillamook area. To…
Continue Reading “Neskowin and Nestucca, Great Sites South of Tillamook, Oregon”
As our journey through Southern Colorado was coming to an end, it was time to decide how we were going to get to the airport in Denver. That may not sound like such a big deal, but it turned out to be more difficult than one would expect. My initial plan was to return to Denver via a road that was not quite as far south as we had come, but would still be in the southern part of the…
Continue Reading “An Unexpected Stay in Glenwood Springs, Colorado”
