We are officially off on our Overland Adventure through Africa. We will be living off a truck/bus for the next 8.5 weeks. We have no idea how often we will get to use the internet but we will try to keep in touch and update the photos.
The kili pictures are coming!!
Oh, we met the group last night. There are around 16 of us, 4 other Canadians, lots of British and Aussies, an American or two and a solo German lady. They seem quite friendly. Let's hope we all get along in quite well in our close quarters.
Well, off to meet the team,
P & C
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Kilimanjaro - Poli Poli!!!
We did it!!! Yesterday morning at 7:30am, we reached Uhuru Peak, the highest point in all of Africa. It is actually the highest free-standing mountain in the world. It was the hardest hike of our lives. We both thought the only major challenge would be the altitude sickness, but the summit hike was excruciating. We started the hike at midnight and Colin's theory is they make you start at night so you can't see how far you have to go to reach the summit, or else you will quit. Several times through the summit hike, Patti thought she couldn't take another step, but we made it!!!!
We signed up for the Machame Route with Zara Tours. The guides, John and Wallace, were great and we teamed up with two other hikers from the UK named Adam and Stefan. Everyone on our team, including the two Brits, were characters and made the past 6 days a lot of fun.
Back to Kenya now for some well deserved R&R,
P & C
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Off to Kilimanjaro
We've arrived safely in Kenya and then Tanzania and enjoyed a relaxing day in Moshi by the pool. We are off today to climb Kilimanjaro today so it will be 7 days with no contact.....hope we make it.
Colin and Patti
Colin and Patti
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Long Live the Cookie Duster
Whıle with Masum and Dave in Poland havıng a great tıme I decıded to follow Daves lead on the beard and let it grow. Unfortunately I didnt get a pıcture of it but I did however prepare a nice treat for Patti when we finally met up again.
It has sınce been shaved but dont worry this wonderful masterpiece will be brought back for the Trans-siberan.
It has sınce been shaved but dont worry this wonderful masterpiece will be brought back for the Trans-siberan.
TURKİSH BATHS
We thought the Turkish baths deserved a blog entry all to themselves!
We tried to go last night, around 8pm but it was absolutely packed, so we decided to go as soon as we go up the next day. We fly out this afternoon, so we had to go early so we could come home and finish packing.
When we arrived at 8am this morning, the place was dead and we were sure that we were about to get a more intimite experience. And we did.
Colin and İ had to seperate immediately and İ wished he was nearby for the rest of the time. I had no idea what was going on most of the time. As soon as İ left the reception, İ entered a ladies change room/waiting room. İ had no idea what to do at this point or where to put my stuff. Finally a lady wearing nothing but leopard print undies pointed out the lockers to me. She was not very attractive and it was hard for me to even tell she was wearing the undies at first since her belly/boobs seems to cover her underwear area.
I took my clothes off, and had to enquire with leopard lady about getting a towel. She tossed me a little sheet and indicated where the baths were.
Once in the bath area, İ copied the only other lady in there and laid down on my sheet on a large marble slab in the middle of the room. The room was as hot as a sauna! I noticed a new naked lady who worked at the baths came in at that point and started washing the other customer. I relaxed and enjoyed the heat, completely naked on my sheet. After the other customer was cleaned, I got nervous...my turn. But then the naked worker lady left and İ wasn'sure what was going on... Then seconds later the leopard undies lady came in and indicated for me to roll over. She scrubbed me down and then washed me all over. I was ok with everything but the most awkward part was when she washed my arms and made me sit up and then her huge boobs were about 2 ınches from my face as she scrubbed me. İ wanted out of there QUICK! She finished up by washing my hair and tossing lots of hot water all over me. İ was a sweaty mess by the end. A VERY CLEAN, but sweaty mess.
After İ was done in the bathing area, İ walked back into the dressing area and saw all the naked worker ladies sitting in their undies drinking tea.
It was a strange morning. After talking with Colin, I learned he had a similar experıence but with more men in the room.
İ wouldn't say İ loved the Turkish bath but it is something you have to do when you are here.
P & C
We tried to go last night, around 8pm but it was absolutely packed, so we decided to go as soon as we go up the next day. We fly out this afternoon, so we had to go early so we could come home and finish packing.
When we arrived at 8am this morning, the place was dead and we were sure that we were about to get a more intimite experience. And we did.
Colin and İ had to seperate immediately and İ wished he was nearby for the rest of the time. I had no idea what was going on most of the time. As soon as İ left the reception, İ entered a ladies change room/waiting room. İ had no idea what to do at this point or where to put my stuff. Finally a lady wearing nothing but leopard print undies pointed out the lockers to me. She was not very attractive and it was hard for me to even tell she was wearing the undies at first since her belly/boobs seems to cover her underwear area.
I took my clothes off, and had to enquire with leopard lady about getting a towel. She tossed me a little sheet and indicated where the baths were.
Once in the bath area, İ copied the only other lady in there and laid down on my sheet on a large marble slab in the middle of the room. The room was as hot as a sauna! I noticed a new naked lady who worked at the baths came in at that point and started washing the other customer. I relaxed and enjoyed the heat, completely naked on my sheet. After the other customer was cleaned, I got nervous...my turn. But then the naked worker lady left and İ wasn'sure what was going on... Then seconds later the leopard undies lady came in and indicated for me to roll over. She scrubbed me down and then washed me all over. I was ok with everything but the most awkward part was when she washed my arms and made me sit up and then her huge boobs were about 2 ınches from my face as she scrubbed me. İ wanted out of there QUICK! She finished up by washing my hair and tossing lots of hot water all over me. İ was a sweaty mess by the end. A VERY CLEAN, but sweaty mess.
After İ was done in the bathing area, İ walked back into the dressing area and saw all the naked worker ladies sitting in their undies drinking tea.
It was a strange morning. After talking with Colin, I learned he had a similar experıence but with more men in the room.
İ wouldn't say İ loved the Turkish bath but it is something you have to do when you are here.
P & C
Turkey Delights!!
Turkey has been fabulous!! We love the food, the energy, the people, the history and of course, the Nargile!
We arrived early on a Friday morning, after our 31 hour train ride, found our hostel and found that we had some energy. So, we washed up and hit the Grand Bazaar! Within minutes of arriving we had 10 new 'friends' who wanted to help us spend our money!! Without even wanting a waterpipe, we had somehow talked a guy down from 120 Lira to 25 Lira and still did not buy it. We did somehow end up with a lovely carpet and 2 pillow covers.
After leaving the bazaar, we had our first Nargıle (waterpipe) in a lovely little courtyard. Colin fell in love with the water pipe right there and then.
İn the following days, we visited the Hagia Sophia, toured the Bosphorus and haggled some more wıth the local vendors. We loved every minute.
Oh, and I can't forget about the food. İt tastes sooooo good. Everything from the Turkish Delight and Backlava to the Mezes to the Doner Kepabs. We had an amazing sit-down meal at a lovely Turkish joint recommended by Jamie, the Turkish friend of our second WWOOFing hosts. Thanks Jamie! We've also started to love the 2 Lira doner sandwichs!
After this first weekend in İstanbul, we rented a car and travelled to Selçuk to check out Ephesus. Luckily the roads went right through Gallipole and Troy on the way there. Then, we left Selçuk and travelled through Pummakale en route to Cappadocia. The roadtrip was amazing! You have to see the pictures to understand how beautıful and varied the Turkish countryside ıs. We met some great people on this trıp as well. A wonderful Kiwi who is cycling around the world and some Aussies who also just got married and took a year off to travel the world. The Aussie couple joined us in the car for a portion of the roadtrip. Great fun!
After the roadtrip, we had a few days left to enjoy İstanbul. We managed to take in the Blue Mosque, the Grand Baazar one more time and the Turkish baths. At the Baazar, we bought a lovely lamp and a Nargıle. We plan to set up a lıttle Turkish room when we get home!!
Now we are all set to move on to the next stage of our journey: AFRICA!!! Next stop: the top of Mt. Kili!!!!!
P & C
We arrived early on a Friday morning, after our 31 hour train ride, found our hostel and found that we had some energy. So, we washed up and hit the Grand Bazaar! Within minutes of arriving we had 10 new 'friends' who wanted to help us spend our money!! Without even wanting a waterpipe, we had somehow talked a guy down from 120 Lira to 25 Lira and still did not buy it. We did somehow end up with a lovely carpet and 2 pillow covers.
After leaving the bazaar, we had our first Nargıle (waterpipe) in a lovely little courtyard. Colin fell in love with the water pipe right there and then.
İn the following days, we visited the Hagia Sophia, toured the Bosphorus and haggled some more wıth the local vendors. We loved every minute.
Oh, and I can't forget about the food. İt tastes sooooo good. Everything from the Turkish Delight and Backlava to the Mezes to the Doner Kepabs. We had an amazing sit-down meal at a lovely Turkish joint recommended by Jamie, the Turkish friend of our second WWOOFing hosts. Thanks Jamie! We've also started to love the 2 Lira doner sandwichs!
After this first weekend in İstanbul, we rented a car and travelled to Selçuk to check out Ephesus. Luckily the roads went right through Gallipole and Troy on the way there. Then, we left Selçuk and travelled through Pummakale en route to Cappadocia. The roadtrip was amazing! You have to see the pictures to understand how beautıful and varied the Turkish countryside ıs. We met some great people on this trıp as well. A wonderful Kiwi who is cycling around the world and some Aussies who also just got married and took a year off to travel the world. The Aussie couple joined us in the car for a portion of the roadtrip. Great fun!
After the roadtrip, we had a few days left to enjoy İstanbul. We managed to take in the Blue Mosque, the Grand Baazar one more time and the Turkish baths. At the Baazar, we bought a lovely lamp and a Nargıle. We plan to set up a lıttle Turkish room when we get home!!
Now we are all set to move on to the next stage of our journey: AFRICA!!! Next stop: the top of Mt. Kili!!!!!
P & C
31 hours on a train...Or how to go CRAZY!
The original plan was to go from Krakow to Budapest by train, spend a day there, then go to Sofia, Bulgaria by train and spend a day there, then go to Istanbul by train. This plan would have seperated the train rides by just enough down time in the cities. HOWEVER, we had so much fun in Budapest, that we decided to stay an extra day. This meant no stop in Sofia and we,d have to push straight on to İstanbul in one go. This meant 31 hours by train!! Approx. 19 hours to Sofia and then 12 hours to Istanbul, with a train change in Sofia.
Everything actually went great, for most of the ride. We travelled through Serbia and Bulgaria, which had fantastic countrysides but some sad signs of poverty near the rail stations and around small towns. We almost missed the train in Sofia but thankfully found the train and gave a train operator 30 Euros to give us our own compartment. We still have no idea what it was supposed to cost, but it seemed fair.
The craziness of the trip really started at the Bulgarian-Turkish border at 2am. After a few border guard types came on the train, they then demanded everyone get off the train and announced PASSPORT CONTROL. We were not lead anywhere but left to fıgure out what to do on our own. Everyone in the train got off and waited in long lines at the station. Luckily someone asked us if we were Canadian and pointed out where to buy a VISA stamp or we'd get to the front of the line and get kicked out, only to wait in the long line again. We saw this happen to a lot of people. There were NO signs about what to do and the trains were just sitting there un-attended. Anyone could have gone on the trains at this point and taken everything. Luckily, we got out of there without incident, except getting ripped off by the VISA salesman on an exchange rate, since we had no Euros. The whole Passport Control ordeal took approx. 3 hours. Once we fell asleep again on the train, more men came on and demanded to see the stamps ın the passports now. After all the drama, it was hard to get back to sleep.
Next came Istanbul!
P & C
Everything actually went great, for most of the ride. We travelled through Serbia and Bulgaria, which had fantastic countrysides but some sad signs of poverty near the rail stations and around small towns. We almost missed the train in Sofia but thankfully found the train and gave a train operator 30 Euros to give us our own compartment. We still have no idea what it was supposed to cost, but it seemed fair.
The craziness of the trip really started at the Bulgarian-Turkish border at 2am. After a few border guard types came on the train, they then demanded everyone get off the train and announced PASSPORT CONTROL. We were not lead anywhere but left to fıgure out what to do on our own. Everyone in the train got off and waited in long lines at the station. Luckily someone asked us if we were Canadian and pointed out where to buy a VISA stamp or we'd get to the front of the line and get kicked out, only to wait in the long line again. We saw this happen to a lot of people. There were NO signs about what to do and the trains were just sitting there un-attended. Anyone could have gone on the trains at this point and taken everything. Luckily, we got out of there without incident, except getting ripped off by the VISA salesman on an exchange rate, since we had no Euros. The whole Passport Control ordeal took approx. 3 hours. Once we fell asleep again on the train, more men came on and demanded to see the stamps ın the passports now. After all the drama, it was hard to get back to sleep.
Next came Istanbul!
P & C
Budapest
Budapest was amazing! Thanks to Dave Beitel for all the tips before we arrived. They were very useful.
We stayed in a very tiny hostel with the most RELAXED host in the world. He came and went as he pleased and led a very stressfree livestyle. He would come ın, wash some sheets, head over to the bar across the road, pop in to put the sheets in the dryer, say hello to everyone and pop back over for another beer. He was a wealth of info on Budapest though and we really liked him.
The city was the first that we have visited that had a more Eastern feel. Not just an Eastern European feel but almost middle-eastern feel.
The food was good and the langos were interesting and tasty. Langos are a Hungarian version of Beaver Tails but with non-desserty toppings. Sour cream and cheese are the usual toppings. When we saw our first Langos stand, we just had finished our lunch...so we split a sour cream and cheese langos...then we went to a Hungarian bath. Going to a bath on a stomach full of Goulash soup and langos is NOT recommended.
Speaking of the bath, what an amazing place! İt was like being in a swimming pool inside of a palace! We chose the Gellert Baths to go to but there are about 10 baths around the city. The Hungarian baths usually have a whole bunch of indoor pools of different temperatures and a bunch of outdoor pools of different temperatures. They also have a bunch of spa treatments, but we are on a budget so we only got to lounge around the pools...poor us, eh!
After Hungary, we were off to Istanbul!!
P & C
We stayed in a very tiny hostel with the most RELAXED host in the world. He came and went as he pleased and led a very stressfree livestyle. He would come ın, wash some sheets, head over to the bar across the road, pop in to put the sheets in the dryer, say hello to everyone and pop back over for another beer. He was a wealth of info on Budapest though and we really liked him.
The city was the first that we have visited that had a more Eastern feel. Not just an Eastern European feel but almost middle-eastern feel.
The food was good and the langos were interesting and tasty. Langos are a Hungarian version of Beaver Tails but with non-desserty toppings. Sour cream and cheese are the usual toppings. When we saw our first Langos stand, we just had finished our lunch...so we split a sour cream and cheese langos...then we went to a Hungarian bath. Going to a bath on a stomach full of Goulash soup and langos is NOT recommended.
Speaking of the bath, what an amazing place! İt was like being in a swimming pool inside of a palace! We chose the Gellert Baths to go to but there are about 10 baths around the city. The Hungarian baths usually have a whole bunch of indoor pools of different temperatures and a bunch of outdoor pools of different temperatures. They also have a bunch of spa treatments, but we are on a budget so we only got to lounge around the pools...poor us, eh!
After Hungary, we were off to Istanbul!!
P & C
SORRY...Bad Bloggers!
Hi everyone...sorry, we have been really bad bloggers! Since the last post, we have travelled to Budapest by train from Krakow, stayed there for a few wonderful days and then travelled by train (31 hours of train) to İstanbul. After about 3 days in the city, we rented a car and drove around the countryside of Turkey. Now we are back in İstanul and getting ready to fly to Kenya...THİS AFTERNOON!!!
So, without further ado, the next posts will try to update you on our adventure!
P & C
So, without further ado, the next posts will try to update you on our adventure!
P & C
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