Travel Stories

... doesn't everyone from Cape Cod begin their Africa journeys by going west to San Francisco ...

I think of myself as being on a "spiritual" path, on a
spiritual quest, that experiencing spirit wisdom and sacred wisdom, whatever
they turn out to be, if noting more than a greater attuning of my sensory
instruments to feel the vibration of the others' sensory instruments, the other
hearts beating, the other molecules spinning in ritual dance. But let us
move on.

I am planning on
traveling in sub-Saharan Africa and hope to be there for two full months.
I intend to begin my journeying there in late November, 2012 going from
Johannesburg, SA, where I first arrive and will stay a day or two to recover
from the flight, to Meseru, Lesotho. I have a lot of work to do before I
depart. And it is not gratuitous to say I'm not as young or fit as I used
to be and that my aging spurt since returning from my last voyage requires
immense accommodation including carrying a complete pharmacy of daily and emergency medications that take up half my little pack.

I record my "plan" here to see how much comes to pass,leaving boston 11/26 to Joberg, SA
and some local travel including Lesotho b4 returning to Joberg and b4 camp
Sizanini starts.I plan to fly from joberg to dar es
salaam tanzania on the afternoon of 12/19/12 with my sister Sheryl, who will
also have been at the camp. in
Tanzania we plan to go on safari, and then on to Zanzibar, after which she’ll
return home and I’ll go on – inshallah – to Moshi, Arusha, the Serengeti,
Olduvai, Ngorogoro, and from there overland to Nairobi –despite state
department warnings – and then on by air to Addis and Lalibela in Ethiopia,
letting Eritrea go, based on state department warnings, and maybe if there is
time to one west African country (Senegal?) … and, if sam is in euro, to come
home via a visit w him and a return flight to boston probably around
2/4/13. Man tracht got
lacht.

My sister Sheryl plans to rendezvous with me in Joberg in early
December before we spend 10 days as international volunteers at Camp Sizanini,
http://www.globalcampsafrica.org/programs/, a camp aimed at enhancing the lives
of vulnerable South African boys and girls aged 10 to 15 by providing HIV/AIDS
prevention education and training through high-impact residential and day camp
experiences and continuing education. I trust there will be more to say
about Sizanani anon. Camp ends 12/18, after which Sheryl and I fly to Dar
es Salaam, Tanzania, and from there on to a tenting safarideep into the bush.
http://www.kwihala.com/ruaha.htm. Christmas morning we fly from
Kwihala to Zanzibar, after which Sheryl will return home and I’ll go on –
inshallah – to Moshi, Arusha, the Serengeti, Olduvai, Ngorogoro (all inTanz),
and from there overland to the Masai Mara and Nairobi, in Kenya – despite U.S.
state department warnings – then on to Addis and Lalibela in Ethiopia, (but not
Eritrea - in deference to U.S. state department warnings), and maybe, if there
is time, to Senegal in west Africa, returning home around 2/2/13. But as
I need to say ... and as we all know too well ... man tracht got lacht.
So I’m counting on your good wishes. And the good intentions
of the guides.