DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Great Pictures!
Soyez sages et prudents!
Soyez sages et prudents!
The Grand Adventure - Back to Africa!!!
- Thread starter Christian P.
- Start date
my first BigMac since Cape Town
we are in Egypt now...but my truck isn't. it's coming on the barge tomorrow from Sudan and then i need to extract it from Customs....
more soon
we are in Egypt now...but my truck isn't. it's coming on the barge tomorrow from Sudan and then i need to extract it from Customs....
more soon
lostworldexpedition
Explorer
Where in Egypt? What's next? C'mon Christian don't leave us hanging like this 
Take care and send our regards to Persephone.
Take care and send our regards to Persephone.
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Big Mac?
Not sure that's how I would celebrate making it to Egypt!
Congrats! Now, let's see some pictures of Petra!
(N.B. Took my own advice and went to visit the gorillas. Ours were in much, much deeper bush, so your photos are much better than mine! Bravo!)
Not sure that's how I would celebrate making it to Egypt!
Congrats! Now, let's see some pictures of Petra!
(N.B. Took my own advice and went to visit the gorillas. Ours were in much, much deeper bush, so your photos are much better than mine! Bravo!)
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well we have not reached Cairo yet. We are in Aswan waiting for our cars (we are traveling with a couple from South Africa and 4 motorcyclists) to arrive today on the barge. The ferry takes only passenger.
If everything goes well we should get our paperwork done today or tomorrow and the 4x4 released from the custom.
I have several updates ready but I left my laptop in the truck.
I'll give you just a little teaser for now...
If everything goes well we should get our paperwork done today or tomorrow and the 4x4 released from the custom.
I have several updates ready but I left my laptop in the truck.
I'll give you just a little teaser for now...
Kenya Part II - A fantastic time in Nairobi!
Kenya has two very beautiful and different sides.
First there are the parks, the animals and the scenery everyone knows about.
But as most of you must have guessed by now, Africa is not all about elephants, savanna and tribes.
We had the chance to discover and appreciate another city with a very bad (and unfounded) reputation - Nairobi.
I had the opportunity to stay in Nairobi twice - first when picking up Persephone and then on second occasion later while waiting for our visas for Ethiopia and Sudan.
I came back to Nairobi from Kigali to meet up with Marc who had spend some time hiking Mount Elgan and relaxing on Lamu Island.
So to illustrate the modern side of this great city and show the extent to which the reality is usually very different than the perception, let me describe a great weekend we had in Nairobi.
On Friday we spent most of the day running errants, appreciating the foresty and hilly neighborhoods, modern commercial centers and meeting friendly people all across town.
At night we discovered a great mexican/cuban fusion restaurant and then a glamourous lounge which makes you feel like you're in New York.
Through conversation with other travellers, we then found out that a music festival was taken place on Saturday - the first edition of Earthdance in Nairobi - an event celebrated all over the world in over 70 cities on the same day.
That was a perfect timing and a great occasion to unwind and share some drinks with the newly found friends...
Kenya has two very beautiful and different sides.
First there are the parks, the animals and the scenery everyone knows about.
But as most of you must have guessed by now, Africa is not all about elephants, savanna and tribes.
We had the chance to discover and appreciate another city with a very bad (and unfounded) reputation - Nairobi.
I had the opportunity to stay in Nairobi twice - first when picking up Persephone and then on second occasion later while waiting for our visas for Ethiopia and Sudan.
I came back to Nairobi from Kigali to meet up with Marc who had spend some time hiking Mount Elgan and relaxing on Lamu Island.
So to illustrate the modern side of this great city and show the extent to which the reality is usually very different than the perception, let me describe a great weekend we had in Nairobi.
On Friday we spent most of the day running errants, appreciating the foresty and hilly neighborhoods, modern commercial centers and meeting friendly people all across town.
At night we discovered a great mexican/cuban fusion restaurant and then a glamourous lounge which makes you feel like you're in New York.
Through conversation with other travellers, we then found out that a music festival was taken place on Saturday - the first edition of Earthdance in Nairobi - an event celebrated all over the world in over 70 cities on the same day.
That was a perfect timing and a great occasion to unwind and share some drinks with the newly found friends...
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On Sunday there was another event...a little more glamourous!
The annual edition of Nairobi "Concours d'Elegance" brought the most classique cars in a beautiful setting.
Of course Nairobi has some problems similar to most large cities - poverty, traffic jams, inconsistent infrastructures, electricity and water shortage.
But where else in Africa can you hear "God save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols on the local radio!
So after several days spent there, it was time to hit the road again and start our last leg of this adventure.
We headed North toward Ethiopia, stopping in a national park to break the 1000 km journey.
And take a rest from the dust...
The road up to Moyale is getting better (Chinese are working on it) but there are still some pretty rough sections, including a 250 km section of rocks which totally destroyed both my front shocks.
We eventually reached Ethiopia and entered a whole different world...
The annual edition of Nairobi "Concours d'Elegance" brought the most classique cars in a beautiful setting.
Of course Nairobi has some problems similar to most large cities - poverty, traffic jams, inconsistent infrastructures, electricity and water shortage.
But where else in Africa can you hear "God save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols on the local radio!
So after several days spent there, it was time to hit the road again and start our last leg of this adventure.
We headed North toward Ethiopia, stopping in a national park to break the 1000 km journey.
And take a rest from the dust...
The road up to Moyale is getting better (Chinese are working on it) but there are still some pretty rough sections, including a 250 km section of rocks which totally destroyed both my front shocks.
We eventually reached Ethiopia and entered a whole different world...
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Ethiopia - The Hamer Ritual
Almost everyday brings its share of adventure, but not all are equal.
Once in a while, you get that true feeling of discovery.
You're a bit scared, a bit excited, and you can feel the adrenaline rushing through your body.
That's exactly what was happening to me as we were walking down the dry bed of the river in a remote corner of Southern Ethiopia.
Marc, our local guide Azucar, the Hamer policeman we had picked up at the local market and I had been driving off road and walking for almost 3 hours.
We were trying to find the location of the Hamer bull jumping ceremony.
Everything started a few hours before. We had been driving for a couple days now and sleeping in the most basic accomodations in order to reach one of the few remaining area of Africa that has not been developped (although the Chinese are now building some new roads there too - hurry up before it's too late).
Along the way we stopped a few times to meet local tribes, even corrupting some of them with my Ipod.
And testing the local drink.
The Hamer are one of these tribes who - despite of daily contacts with modernism - have sticked to their traditions.
We first met many of them at the local Hamer market.
I had brought my portable printer so we could exchange pictures (digital for us, printed for them) and facilitate the interactions. Distributing free pictures, we soon became hugely popular and almost had to run away...
Almost everyday brings its share of adventure, but not all are equal.
Once in a while, you get that true feeling of discovery.
You're a bit scared, a bit excited, and you can feel the adrenaline rushing through your body.
That's exactly what was happening to me as we were walking down the dry bed of the river in a remote corner of Southern Ethiopia.
Marc, our local guide Azucar, the Hamer policeman we had picked up at the local market and I had been driving off road and walking for almost 3 hours.
We were trying to find the location of the Hamer bull jumping ceremony.
Everything started a few hours before. We had been driving for a couple days now and sleeping in the most basic accomodations in order to reach one of the few remaining area of Africa that has not been developped (although the Chinese are now building some new roads there too - hurry up before it's too late).
Along the way we stopped a few times to meet local tribes, even corrupting some of them with my Ipod.
And testing the local drink.
The Hamer are one of these tribes who - despite of daily contacts with modernism - have sticked to their traditions.
We first met many of them at the local Hamer market.
I had brought my portable printer so we could exchange pictures (digital for us, printed for them) and facilitate the interactions. Distributing free pictures, we soon became hugely popular and almost had to run away...
One of these Hamer traditions is called the Bull jumping and is described as a ritual to celebrate the passage to manhood and the readiness to get married. In order to prove this readiness, the man has to jump 4 times over a row of about 7 bulls and cows. This happens after the local women have been whipped for hours in a demonstration of their proud and love for the courageous man. Some of these women are not older than 8 or 9 years old.
This is not for the faint of heart. You may or may not agree with this tradition (some human rights association are trying to stop it) but as a privileged guest, you must obey by the rules.
It did not take long for the Hamer to realize that they can generate some money by "inviting" tourists to come and take pictures in exchange of nice pesos. And it took even less time for a couple local tour operators to start bringing Land Cruiser full of Spanish and Italians to the ceremony.
We saw about 10 of them at the market. Marc and I did not want to join them and see a diluted version of the event.
So with the help of the local policeman and our guide, we ended up in a remote area where we were the only 2 foreigners.
After parking the truck after the trail had vanished, we had to walk down the river for about 40 minutes to eventually see our first sign of life. It became quickly clear that we were entering a whole new world - almost a different planet.
"
We stayed put for a while, exchanging signs with some people sitting near by on the rocks. From there we could watch everyone getting excited, getting dressed, a group of about 20 women practicing their songs and the men sitting and discussing.
Eventually we were invited to paint our faces for the event and about 30 minutes later we started walking toward the site of the ceremony.
We were allowed to bring camcorder and camera.
I gave the camcorder to the local guide - a proven strategy.
My experience has shown that local people are much less disturbed when the person shooting is not a foreigner.
The whole experience was surreal. Line of women were passing us singing and shooting, their back still bleeding from the fresh lashes they had just submitted themselves to.
The site of the ceremony was itself worth the hike. It was an open space on the top of the hill from where you had a 360 view of the surrounding plains and hills, with not one human being or construction in sight.
This is not for the faint of heart. You may or may not agree with this tradition (some human rights association are trying to stop it) but as a privileged guest, you must obey by the rules.
It did not take long for the Hamer to realize that they can generate some money by "inviting" tourists to come and take pictures in exchange of nice pesos. And it took even less time for a couple local tour operators to start bringing Land Cruiser full of Spanish and Italians to the ceremony.
We saw about 10 of them at the market. Marc and I did not want to join them and see a diluted version of the event.
So with the help of the local policeman and our guide, we ended up in a remote area where we were the only 2 foreigners.
After parking the truck after the trail had vanished, we had to walk down the river for about 40 minutes to eventually see our first sign of life. It became quickly clear that we were entering a whole new world - almost a different planet.
We stayed put for a while, exchanging signs with some people sitting near by on the rocks. From there we could watch everyone getting excited, getting dressed, a group of about 20 women practicing their songs and the men sitting and discussing.
Eventually we were invited to paint our faces for the event and about 30 minutes later we started walking toward the site of the ceremony.
We were allowed to bring camcorder and camera.
I gave the camcorder to the local guide - a proven strategy.
My experience has shown that local people are much less disturbed when the person shooting is not a foreigner.
The whole experience was surreal. Line of women were passing us singing and shooting, their back still bleeding from the fresh lashes they had just submitted themselves to.
The site of the ceremony was itself worth the hike. It was an open space on the top of the hill from where you had a 360 view of the surrounding plains and hills, with not one human being or construction in sight.
For the next hour or so, things seem completely unreal.
On one side, a group of women singing, sitting, discussing.
Some of them would stand up and start haggling some local guru, asking to be whipped.
"
Then one other side, a group of elderly chatting together.
In the center, the men are gathering the cows and getting everything ready for the actual jump.
One of the steps involves making sure the candidate is not too nervous...missing and falling bring a lifetime of shame and humiliation on the participant and his family, so much that the last time it happened the poor guy almost got killed by his father and was kicked away from his village. Talk about social pressure.
Eventually the activity started and things happened very quickly.
Luckily for him (and for us, seeing the number of guns around here), the guy succeeded in his mission.
On one side, a group of women singing, sitting, discussing.
Some of them would stand up and start haggling some local guru, asking to be whipped.
Then one other side, a group of elderly chatting together.
In the center, the men are gathering the cows and getting everything ready for the actual jump.
One of the steps involves making sure the candidate is not too nervous...missing and falling bring a lifetime of shame and humiliation on the participant and his family, so much that the last time it happened the poor guy almost got killed by his father and was kicked away from his village. Talk about social pressure.
Eventually the activity started and things happened very quickly.
Luckily for him (and for us, seeing the number of guns around here), the guy succeeded in his mission.
From there on, they left for the village to celebrate for the rest of the night.
For us, it was time to get back on the road and drive away - our next adventure was awaiting...
For us, it was time to get back on the road and drive away - our next adventure was awaiting...
trailsurfer
Explorer
Thanks for the great pictures and story's. I look forward to all of your posts.
My truck has been liberated from the Customs yesterday after 3 days of Egyptian bureaucratic nightmare!
We are heading to Luxor today and Cairo this weekend - my friend Marc is leaving on the 31st. From there, next stop is London...
We are heading to Luxor today and Cairo this weekend - my friend Marc is leaving on the 31st. From there, next stop is London...
DiploStrat
Expedition Leader
Only Three Days?
I would say you were doing very well! Love the Hamer photos!
Bonne route!
I would say you were doing very well! Love the Hamer photos!
Bonne route!
