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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Brooklyn, New York
As much as I love to travel, I also love spending time in New York City, especially when the weather is nice. One of the best ways to get to know the city is by walking, and you can walk across this iconic bridge spanning from lower Manhattan to downtown Brooklyn. The Brooklyn bridge is one of the oldest bridges in the United States.
There are designated walkways and bike lanes on the bridge so you’ll never have to worry about oncoming traffic, but make sure you walk off to the side to avoid the bikes that come whipping by. Once you get to the half-way point, stop at the lookout points where you can check out the Manhattan skyline.
Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing. If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.
Stylish and arty, Melbourne is the second most populous city in Australia and also our last stop on our trip down under. This city full of edgy street art, modern architecture, iconic lane-ways and multicultural cuisines all reflect its trendy personality. Here are the highlights of some of the places we visited in and around Melbourne:
Essaouira, Morocco
On our way to Essaouira, a coastal city in western Morocco, we saw these tree grazing goats. They were sitting in the thorny argan tree chilling out, so we had to stop on the side of the road to take a few pictures.
Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing. If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.
Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
Koh Phi Phi island was made famous in the movie and the book, “The Beach.” The story talks of a pristine island in the Gulf of Thailand, uninhabited and forbidden; on which there lies a beautiful hidden beach and lagoon – walled in by cliffs and untouched by the tourist industry. As we landed on the island, we were disappointed to see that the once pristine beach is over-run by tourists and the clear water glistens with oil slicks from the motor boats that truck people in and out every day.
Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home. Most of my photos have little or no post processing. If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.
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.
life after 9to5 