on the road

Day 10: On the Road in Stone Town

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Our last day on the road, we stopped in Stone town, a once sleepy beach town turned into a major port city for East Africa. Goods flow through here from Asia and the Middle East before traveling off to other cities. This port city also has a sordid history.  Hundreds of years ago, this was hub of the slave market where traders came from all over the world to trade in human flesh.

All of that is long gone, and now as you walk around the city, all you’ll notice is the intricate wood carved doors. Zanzibar is known for their beautifully elaborate woodwork designs.

Day 7: On the Road in Zanzibar

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Today we left the dusty safari and headed to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania. Near our hotel is a small fishing village where the local fishermen go out on their dhow every night and come back early in the morning with their catch.  As they get closer to shore, the sail is lowered as they prepare to unload their fish to be sold at the nearby fish market.

Day 5: On the Road in Lake Eyasi

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There are 216 different tribes in Tanzania, all speaking different languages.  We spent the day with a small tribe that lives around Lake Eyasi. Like most tribes, the men and women have separate roles. Generally, the men are responsible for the hunting and providing.  They hunt everything from birds to baboons to antelopes. The women, on the other hand, stay home and take care of the children and make jewerlry to sell at the market.

Here, the men are roasting an antelope  over the fire. We were invited to taste the meat, which tasted like smoked venison. As honored guests, I even got to wear the crown made from the head of a baboon.

Day 4: On the Road in Ngorongoro

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We visited the original Maasai tribe that still lives in the Ngorongoro conservation area.  While visiting the tribe, we learned about their culture and their way of life.  We were given a tour of their home, the market area and saw their famous jumping contests.  It’s interesting to learn about these people who live their life so completely cut off from modern civilization.

Day 2-3: On the Road in Serengeti

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The endless plain of Serengeti is filled with wildlife.  After spending a few days camping in the national park, we saw everything from gazelles to cheetah.  One of my personal favorites was witnessing a pride of lions tearing into their kill.  We were about 10 feet away from the scene, where the lioness were fighting over the last piece of the zebra, leaving nothing behind but the rib cage.  Nothing is more primal than watching one animal tear into another.

Day 1: On the Road in Tarangire

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Today is the first day of our African safari and we already saw so many animals!  One of the first animals we saw on the drive through Tarangire national park were a herd of zebras, they were just casually hanging out by the side of the road and completely oblivious to all the gawking passerby.  These zebras are even more beautiful in person.  Did you know that the pattern on each zebra is as unique as our finger prints?

Day 9: On the Road in Prague

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On my last day in Europe, the weather finally got warm and sunny.  We decided to take it easy and chill on a paddle boat on the Vltava River. From the water we had an amazing view of the bridges, Old Town and the castle. It was a nice change of pace to see Prague from another vantage point and a great way to end the trip.

Day 8: On the Road to Kutna Hora

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A short train ride from Prague is the small town of Kutna Hora where you will find the Sedlec Ossuary, more commonly known as the Bone Chapel.  Inside the church, bones and skulls have been made into all kinds of things, from chandeliers to coat of arms.  These bones came from the victims of the Black Death who were buried, then later exhumed and stacked in the chapel.