Egypt Observations

Egypt Observations

(Emma, Alex, Dana) Egypt is an ancient and wonderful civilization. Its 5,000 year old history dwarfs that of the US. The people are very kind and welcoming. Some observations and concerns about what we saw: 1. 4% of land in Egypt is arable; in the middle of all of this sand, it is the land […]

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Immodium Horribilis

Immodium Horribilis

(Greg) Woke up at 4:30AM for a quick excursion from Aswan to Abu Simbel and back. The one boy who most loves all things Egypt has been throwing up all over himself and his mother most of the night. At 5AM we help him decide to suck it up.  We’ll be back by noon. The […]

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Desert Doctor

Desert Doctor

(Greg) When David Livingstone traipsed across the African sub-continent, he and his exploring band were afflicted by all kinds of nasty maladies: tsetse fly-borne sleeping sickness, malaria, yellow fever and skin disorders of all types. So, as the 6 explorers, we were kind of hoping we might have the same kind of authentic experience. As […]

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The Ride

The Ride

(Andrew) Over rocks and over sand, our rides clamber along. We are riding to Ras Abu Galum to snorkel/dive in the Red Sea. Settings whiz by us like a slideshow. The town escapes us. We pass alongside the mountains, the rocky coast, the everlasting ocean, sandy beaches and natural perfect scenes. My head bobs up […]

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Diving in the Red Sea

Diving in the Red Sea

(Alex) Finally after months of pool sessions and class work, it is time for our open water diving certification. First we ride camels to the dive spot. The camels carry all our tanks and all our gear and even my Dad. Then, getting geared up is the challenge, making sure your wet suit fits, the […]

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Sleeping in a Zambian Village

Sleeping in a Zambian Village

(Emma) Kawaza village in Zambia was a great change of pace for our family. It was a happy place with many friendly, happy people. As we pull into Kawaza in our safari vehicle, all I see is hundreds and hundreds of little kids’ eyes turn to me. I didn’t know what to do. I was […]

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Chickering Kids Make a Difference

Chickering Kids Make a Difference

(Reis) On the first day of school in MA, we had breakfast with Sue Goatley in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Sue runs an organization called Children In The Wilderness Zimbabwe. Children In The Wilderness (also called CITW) raises money from private donations and Wilderness Safaris to help support kids in need. Each year they bring dozens […]

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Cheetah Chase

Cheetah Chase

(Alex) One way to find predators while on safari is to look for parked cars, another is to find them yourself. We usually do the second option, but in this case, we did the first. We went out with one goal, to find cheetahs. There are two main sets of cheetahs in the Maasai Mara, […]

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Waiting to Cross

Waiting to Cross

(Dana) 8:45AM. The thick train of thousands of wildebeest snake across the plain and winds down to the Mara River where we sit and wait. We have a perfect spot to witness a crossing. 9:20, the grunting/bleating increases as the group gains momentum. Walking becomes trotting. Thousands of hooves start thundering. Older animals butting youngsters […]

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Samburu Cell Phones

Samburu Cell Phones

(Greg) Today we changed our flight out of central Kenya so that we could visit the Wednesday market in Wamba. This region is almost exclusively Samburu, a colorful, proud and very traditional tribe of pastoralist cattle herders. Samburu people walk 20k or more to meet and trade on Wednesdays. It is a social as well […]

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