Wild Wonderful Ouaga

Hey guys!  Since I have nothing to do around here, why not start this up again?? 

Its been a long four years,  but we are back in Africa!  Burkina Faso, to be exact! Ryan and I knew that we would be back on the continent sooner rather than later, but we both had different ideas about where we would actually be posted.  I have three rules when it comes to moving to Africa.  It might make me sound "boujie" or stuck up, but they are my rules. 

Sabrina's Three Rules of Postings to Africa are:
1-There must be a beach with in an hour driving distance.
2- The at least second language of the country must be English
3- There must be DPO mail available.

And with Burkina, I got the mail. (which might be going away :( ) And now that i see it written down, my list is boujie.  Oh well, deal with it! 



OK, so lets go back a couple of months.  Almost a year to be exact.  Ryan was scheduled to go TDY from Stuttgart to Norfolk VA.  And while he was there we were going to find out where our next PCS would take us.  So this did happen.  And at first we were headed to Kinshasa, DRC.  Ummm.  Well, that is certainly not what I expected.  But I started to do my research.  Eh, seems like it will be ok after the initial psych out that comes with these big moves.  Fast forward a couple of weeks, to this phone call:
Ryan- Hey babe,  hows it going?
Me- Fine, why are you calling?  (See people, I don't even talk to my husband who is across the ocean on the phone!!)
Ryan- Weeeeeeellllllll...
Me- Lawd, where are we going now?
Ryan- You are so good.  Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Me- Gesundheit.

Cue the freak out again.  And cue the research.  Thank goodness we had friends that were already posted there, and we were in touch on the regular. (Thanks Dom!)

Here is a little disclaimer.  Do not google Burkina Faso.  Unless you want to know things that you probably do not want to know about the country.  Its one of the poorest in the world.  Things are not safe outside of Ouaga.  And this is now where we live. 

I know, I know.  K and I would not have been able to come here if it were not safe.  Ouaga itself is great (so far).  Our neighborhood is ::nice:: But the icing on the cake are the people.  Holy moly, you will not find a nicer group of people.  Always offering help, and definitely always with a smile.

This move was a little different than our last to Africa bc of the training and experience we have as a family.  When we arrived in Rabat and Ryan went straight to work, I locked Knox and I in our bedroom and didnt leave until Ry came home.  And i did that everyday for about two weeks.  I was terrified.  This time around was a little different.  Yes, Ryan went to work right off the bat. Grrrr.  But I came in with a better attitude.  What is the point of being scared?  (Of course its ok to be scared, but it didnt help me last time) This time I had to show Knox that everything is and will be ok.  I was harassed more walking around the streets of Morocco than I am here.  I just get looks now, but always followed by a smile and a wave.  I have gone out by myself.  I have walked to and from the school a dozen times.  Yes, its only two blocks away. But I did it.  I have ventured to the embassy on my own.  I can do these things now.  I have grown as a person, and I have a little person who depends on me to be the mom he needs.  We have a housekeeper and a gardener who are here every weekday during the day, and a night guard every night.  So I am never alone in the house.  Oh and of course we have LaceyLu and our newest addition, Franklin.  (oh my obsession with tortoise health should be a whole different blog post!)

Wow, this is turning into a long rambling post about blah.  Sorry, folks.  I promise other posts will be more organized and thought out.  This is a great way to bide my time until I might have something to do.  I am **patiently** waiting for our shipments.  Supposedly one will be here this week and another next week!  If there are a bunch of rambling posts about nothing, just read them and laugh at me, for my amusement. 

Im going to try to remember to bring my stuff out with me when i leave the house, I dont usually bring my phone anymore. Hopefully there will be photos to add soon.  Everyone keeps asking for a tour of the house, so maybe Ill do that today.  Maybe.

Also, our old skype phone is up and running and you can call it like any other US number.  Let me know if you need it.  Facebook is always a great way to get a hold of us, also we both now have BFA whatsapp numbers, and now thanks to Cam Im on something called MarcoPolo.  She cracks me up! 

OK, well let me publish this and get the ball rolling on our ever exciting and always expanding Malarone and Mosquito Nets Adventures!

Cheers from Ouagadougou!

West-Central Africa Part 1: Gabon

These last two posts on our trip to West-central Africa come a while after our time living in Africa came to a close.  In all the hustle and bustle of moving, the blog was, admittedly, left behind in all the dust.  But now that we're sitting here in Germany, it's time to finally catch up with all we've missed on our September trip to Gabon and Sao Tome.

This trip was special since it was our last official trip as part of FAO in-region training (where normally you try to use up as much of your remaining budget as possible).  I can say that we ended on a high note, but not before going through a few trying experiences in Gabon that exemplify the spirit of the phrase "T.I.A." or "This is Africa."

Our trip began, as usual, with our night flight from Casa to Libreville (it seems like being exhausted is a pre-requisite to traveling to and from Sub-Saharan Africa).  We landed in Libreville to be eventually whisked to our hotel just in time for a nice early morning nap at about 5:00 AM.  On the plus side, that night in the hotel was free. There was no whisking involved, we sat there for an hour waiting for the hotel shuttle.  Meh. 

Now, this being out last big trip on the continent, we couldn't leave without having one of those "Murphy's Law" trips (you know, where "what can go wrong, will go wrong").  Gabon did not disappoint in this respect.  Our Gabon began easy enough with a (a usually delayed) flight to Porte-Gentil where we met with the owner of the tour company who sat us down to explain that "things go a little slower around here" due to the the lack of tourism-supporting transportation infrastructure as we've seen in other countries.  But the flight was uneventful, thank you very much, but it was the smallest airplane that I had been on in a long time. And we all know how much I love to fly!  So we get to PG and get in a cab and go to a cafe to wait out our time to get on the boat.  Which, silly me thought it would be a boat boat.  Nope, it wasn't.   When we boarded the first boat for our scheduled 4-hour float to Loango Lodge, this truth set in quickly.  Well...after a few hours, we hit a substantial "bump" which turned out to be some some floating wood in the open estuaries waters of coastal Gabon.  This wood damaged the propeller, turning our 4 hour trip in to a six-hour trip.   On the plus side, we did stop for a bathroom break at a local village that treated us to some homemade palm wine.  Imagine a dry white wine with some vinegar added.  Nevertheless, it helped the rest of the boat ride go by a lot easier.  The kid (as always) enjoyed every second.

Start of our trip, landing at the oil town of Porte-Gentil from the Capital of Libreville.  Optimism is high

Our stop for palm wine from a plastic motor oil bottle.  What could go wrong.

Cruising the inland waterways of Western Gabon

We finally arrive to the dock, and our guide said to wait right here Ill be right back...an hour later he pulls up in this shanty wagon of a safari truck.  Half the seats are missing, my seat was not attached, there was no windshield or mirrors...We all climbed in thinking that it would be a short ride to the lodge...another hour later, with SUPER sore bums, we arrive at the Loango Lodge. Our lodging and food were absolutely amazing at our safari lodge in Loango park (cut off from the world it seemed but we had the place to ourselves).  The next morning, we boarded a boat that, hours ago, had been completely submerged due to a heavy rain storm the night before and possibly a lead in the hull.  The assurances that all was well (including the engine), we began our 2 hour riverine journey to the off-site lodge at Akaka camp. Our guide was amazing at spotting wildlife, like just amazing.  The tiniest and best camouflaged snakes were no match for his eagle eye! Well, wouldn't you know it, we had engine trouble about half way through, slowing us to almost dead speed, adding a couple of hours to our little canoe trip.  Sure, we got a longer boat ride, but we got to meet some lovely people from a research group who let us call our home base to send another boat back to get us (2 hours away).  We loved the birds as well as the forest elephants who came to greet us.  The highlight of our day came as we were walking around the trail through empty cabins and were greeted by a sizable forest elephant who obviously had no problem hanging out with us.

The infamous "Akaka Camp," our home after we broke our second of three broken boats for this trip.

Our forest elephant friend just welcoming us to his camp.  He doesn't get many visitors.

Finally leaving camp!

One packed lunch and four hours of waiting at the "Akaka Camp" with a (thankfully) sleeping kid , we began our long 3-hour voyage back to the Loango Lodge, pretty much just done with the day's experiences.  Night soon fell upon us and as our boat had no lights whatsoever (that's not dangerous right) we were delighted by soft but ominous glow of distant flames jetting from the tops of distant oil wells (the lifeblood of the Gabonese economy) and electric glow of the brackish water krill (or whatever tiny sea life) that lit up as they were churned up by the boats wake speeding through the night.  It was kind of surreal and I wish I had a picture. It was surreal but also terrifying.  When i told the guys that I was extremely nervous about the voyage they all laughed at me.  Thanks for the reassurance. 

All smiles (most of the time).  Love this kid!

I hate to say it, but Gabon may have been kind of a "miss" as far as our Africa trips go.  For Ryan only though, I really did enjoy Gabon minus the boats.  We spent more time trying to get somewhere (in very uncomfortable situations) than actually seeing things.  Instead of just continuing the complaint train, I'll just say that our experience with Loango National Park was actually very nice (what we saw of it) and almost made up for the improvised water taxi (rowboat with a 50hp outboard) completely over capacity with commuter trudging through hippo infested estuaries (we saw quite a few) on our way back to Port-Gentil to catch our hopper back to Libreville.  The birds were rare and beautiful (including the elusive Rosy Bee-eater) as well as some unique land and sea life.

Done with this whole thing.  The "water taxi" leaving for Port-Gentil. We kicked a few locals off the boat, sorry!

In short, Gabon is a country huge in potential for tourism but maybe not quite there yet.  I'm glad I saw it, but probably won't need to head back in a hurry.  From Libreville, we continued on our journey west to the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.  Read on, reader.

Random picture taken at Libreville airport.  The most orderly line I've ever seen during my year on IRT.

As Ryan said before, it has been a while since we even thought about writing a blog post about our last trip in Africa.  I am sad that all the details are not fresh in our minds, because it really was an amazing trip!  But on to Sao Tome, the best tiniest awesomest island I have been to!  (Well besides nantucket, but thats neither here nor there!) 

East Africa Part 3: Tanzania

To all our faithful readers, my apologies for sitting on my hands for so long and not getting around to part 3 of our east Africa trip.  Tanzania has been, so far, one of our most favorite countries for many reasons (including the abundance of wildlife and everything about the island of Zanzibar).  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Where to begin?

Immediately upon arriving by air in Dar es Salaam from Kigali, Rwanda; I couldn't help but be struck by just how incredibly busy the place was for a weekend.  I didn't want to see how crazy it would be on a weekday (luckily we had our chance at the end of the trip).  Dar es Salaam (to the common tourist) is really not much more than an unfortunate speed bump on the way to either going on an epic safari elsewhere in Tanzania or going to Zanzibar.  We would be doing both in that order.  There isn't much to see in Dar except hoards of people and even more cars--so many in fact that people leave their house 2 hours early to travel 10 miles down the road.....it's that bad.  He isn't exaggerating, folks!  One of the more ironic things I think I found was the hurried and generally passive-aggressive attitude of the city whose name in Arabic means "house of peace."

Anyway, it wasn't long before we found ourselves on a medium-size turbo prop plane heading out to Arusha to begin the first half of our Tanzanian adventure.  The trip actually began before we hit the ground, catching a glimpse from inside the plane of Mount Kilimanjaro "rising like an empress" through the blanket of clouds (you're welcome for getting that song stuck in your head now).  This was actually a pretty good picture of Kili as we were later told, "she's a shy mountain."  I am very proud of the fact that I have seen the top of Kili.  Sure it was from an airplane, but beggars cant be choosers.  Plus, I bought Ryan an epic shirt that reads "Kilimanjaro, if you cant climb it...drink it!"  

The airport is as probably as "sparse" of an airport that I've seen in Africa thus far.  They wheeled our luggage out on a cart and it was a free-for-all to grab our stuff and find our trusty guide to bring us out to our safari camp home for the next 3 nights.

The peak of Mount Kilimanjaro poking through the clouds

Arusha airport.  Our noble steed, greeted by Mount Meru off in the distance

Right there is the entire airport. 

"Do it yourself" baggage claim.  T.I.A.

When in Maasai country, one must watch out for cows!

Driving from Arusha to our camp/lodge, one begins to get the feel of being in what most westerners think of as "Africa."  The great Rift Valley that stretches from northern Mozambique to the Red Sea.  The openness of the grassy savannas that surround the famous Serengeti plains.  These things paint the quintessential picture of what most people consider as Africa--never mind the desert to the north, the rain forest to the west, or the High Veld far to the south, to name only a few examples.  

On the way, we were fortunate to be able to stop and meet some Maasai in their village.  The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people who's lifestyle focuses largely around raising cattle (seen as the ultimate source of wealth and status).  Made famous by the colorful red and blue robes and their high-jumping dances, the Maasai are often found near (and sometimes within, because of their nomadic lifestyle living within a National park is no big deal!) some of the best national parks of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya.  We were welcomed with open arms and treated to some singing and dancing as well as a tour of a traditional Maasai hut (made of animal dung, sticks, and grass).  Even Knox got in to it as went off to play with the other kids of the village.  Of course, at the end, we were warmly invited to browse and buy some handicrafts to "help support the village."  Either way, it was a fun experience. 

Our home base for the next three nights was situated some distance from Arusha in a village called Mto wa Mbo, roughly meaning "mosquito river."  The name did not disappoint.  Apart from swatting malaria-infested insects all night, we were treated to all the trappings of village life including the barking of wild dogs roaming the streets all night, smells of burning trash, and parties that would make any American fraternity proud.  Our host was very nice.   The accommodations....let's just say they were "rustic."  I think the reason Ryan has been putting off this blog post is because he knew that I had a lot of things to say, and not of the nice sort.  I dont know if it was because I was not feeling well while we were in Arusha...I had a TERRIBLE chest cold...or if it was the promise of a wonderful camp, but I just felt the accommodations felt way short. But, it happens.  I know that we cannot stay in a five star hotel where ever we go, but this place was like putting lipstick on a pig.  The food was awful, the sleep was terrible and I was sick.  And then miserable.  I am sure during peak season this place would be great, we were the only guests and I feel that we were an afterthought.  It sucks, but it is what it is.  And we all lived through it.  

Safaris are therapeutic.  There is something calming about escaping the rest of the world to go where the beasts call home.  Unlike in a zoo, the animals are not named, but nevertheless it is their land and their home, and we are just visitors.  Over the next three days, we visited Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire national parks.  Each as different as the last with a wide array of animal and plant life.  I will let the picture do the talking as they say more than I can in a thousand words.

The baboons were ruthless.  You had to keep you windows up or they would reach right in and snatch any food/babies left unsecured

Ngorongoro crater as seen from the top.  This thing is huge with its own separate ecosystem

Hyena just moseying up to the car

The crested crane, the national bird of Uganda

Couple of lioness on a fresh kill (with jackals and vultures patiently waiting for scraps)

Some huge ostriches

Even bigger Cape Buffalo

Hippos, not rocks

I love this rock....

The fog creeping over the edge of the crater

Making memories with the kiddo

Plaque dedicated to park rangers who lost their lives while in the line of protecting wildlife.  The demonstrates the ruthlessness and hostility of illegal poaching to this day

I love baobab trees!

Lazy leopard just lounging in the tree

Giraffes at the watering hole.  They are most vulnerable while drinking so their buddies keep a sharp eye out

The iconic acacia tree

Next, we flew to the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of mainland Tanzania. Wait wait wait, slow your roll there, kid.  Lets just take a few steps back to the Arusha Airport and flight to Zanzibar.  So yall read above that the airport is tiny, and surprisingly very busy.  The flight we came in on to Arusha was the biggest airplane that can land there.  I think there were about 30 of us on the flight.  All I could think about was the teeny tiny plane that I was going to have to get on to go to paradise.  And practically cried standing on the runway.  Yup, bc there is no where else to go.  The poor guy at the refreshments stand gave me a discount on my beer bc I was shaking so bad.  Tiny Cesnas were whizzing by every three mins.  The laid back relaxed pilots were all just hanging out together waiting for their numbers to be called.  Tourists of all ethnicity were climbing into these itty bitty planes with out a care in the world.  How do they do it??  Thankfully, I didnt have to find out!!  All of a sudden, straight out of the heavens, came a giant plane.  Ok, well not giant.  But it did carry more than ten passengers.  My tropical paradise awaits!  I cannot say enough great things about this place.  It may even be my favorite place in Africa for many reasons.  For one, they unlike anywhere else (including the rest of Tanzania).  The island actually claims a semi-autonomous government from Tanzania.  Zanzibari society and culture is so diverse due largely to the smattering of history going back to ancient Persians and Arab traders, Portuguese colonists, an Omani Sultanate, Germans, and British.  The attitude is a laid-back island mentality based on the mantra of "hakuna matata" ("no worries" in Swahili).  It is an island paradise remplis with spice plantations, cocoa plantations, picturesque beaches and quaint fishing villages.

We stayed in Stone Town, famously known as the birthplace of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the band Queen.  Our hotel, the Tembo House (Tembo means elephant in Swahili), was amazing and fashioned on old Indian-Arab style right on the beach with a nice little restaurant/bar right next door on the beach.  Stone Town is an amazing, highly "walkable" town with a complex, but very clean, market/residential medina with winding alleyways and beautiful doors that were fashioned on the old Indian tradition with spikes to keep away the elephants (not really a problem on Zanzibar, but cool enough).

The medina on a quiet morning

Arab style door frame (look at the intricate woodwork)

The old catholic church in Stone Town.  There are only a handful of Christian churches here against the largely Muslim backdrop but they are all old beautiful

Indian style door

Freddie Mercury's childhood home in Stone Town

Forodhani Park (where Mercury is rumored to have taken his first steps) the morning after the bustling night market

Old colonial HQ building

Apart from Stone Town, we enjoyed seeing the pristine beaches on the different sides of the island and touring the spice plantations that made the island an important trading location back in the day.  Of course we left with bags of spices and other must have souvenirs like hats made of out palms.

One of our guides at the spice plantation showing us a local fruit that women (and I guess some men) use as makeup

King and Prince of the Palms!

Tortoise shelter on the north side of the island

We also found some time to spend celebrating the kid's birthday

Sadly, the time came when we had to leave our island paradise.  Normally the ferry from Stone Town back to Dar es Salaam takes about 1 hour.  We had the pleasure of experiencing some of the highest waves the channel had seen for a while, and even in the upper deck in the "VIP" section of the ferry, the voyage was anything but smooth.  Waves tossed and turn the boat so badly that the captain had to slow to about half speed, making our journey last over twice as long.  Meanwhile, it was all that we could do to not toss our own cookies as seemingly every other passenger on the boat was going though motion sickness bags like it was their job.

Needless to say, we eventually made it back to Dar and eventually made the long flight to Qatar then on to Casablanca to round out our eastern Africa experience.

Stayed tuned for our last IRT trip: Gabon and Sao Tome.