April 25. At sea heading for Tenerife, Canary Island The end of the voyage is in sight, and I find myself sad at the prospect of leaving the ship, and the community that we have formed over the last month together.     Wow, I just looked out of the window, and I can see the snow capped peak of a volcano!!  I am in one of my favorite spots on the ship, the observation lounge on the top deck.  The library is here, with comfortable swivel chairs and windows all around and above.  It will be another 3 hours or so before we arrive in Tenerife.  The volcano that I am seeing is the highest mountain in Spain. So, I was musing on  community.  By nature a trip such as this is a temporary community.  This particular group is particularly rich, high powered, well educated, well traveled, and mostly  WASPS.  The vast majority of us are Americans, with a few Brits, a couple of Australians, a couple of Swedes, and a few Phillipinos.  There are at least 10 people who have lived and worked in West Africa, a number of them in the peace corps. Of course you can't get to know everyone, and there have been a few stinkers that you wouldn't want to know.  Luckily, they have been pretty easy to avoid.  All in all, a fascinating group of people. The professional staff have all been outstanding.  The naturalists each have their area of expertise, but they also are pretty good at being generalists.  Not surprisingly, the anthropologists have given wonderful lectures, complemented by the historical lectures.  I have gained a whole new understanding of the role that the slave trade played in history and world economics. I love the photography team.  They have periodically done lectures using their own pictures to illustrate what to do and not to do when taking photographs. Jay Dickman did a lecture on the anatomy of a National Geographic piece from conception to final edit for publication.  All of Them have given me many pointers on photography while out in the field.  I have taken more than 2500 photographs during the last 5 weeks.  It will be a major job to edit them down to a reasonable show.

Tuesday April 24  Dakhla, Western Sahara Dakhla is a small tidy city, that has become a popular destination for kite surfers, as it tends to be windy  all the time, and has large stretches of beach. This morning there were 48  4 wheel drive vehicles lined up on the pier to take us out into the  desert.  The buildings all are sand colored and have flat roofs, probably to catch rain, although I gather that that is a rare event.   We drive out of town on a fairly good road for about 45 minutes, and then turn off the road onto a track into the desert.  Unlike Namibia, there are no large dunes here.  Vegetation is very sparse, there are lots of rocks, and many small hills.  Shortly we arrive at our destination, a small collection of tents by the shore.  A couple of the tents are set up for lunch, there is a bar, and a tent for shopping!    We take a short hike before lunch with Tom, who is a terrific naturalist.  He takes us to an area where there are fossil castings of shrimp burrows.  A little further along is evidence of early hominids living there.  There are many stones that have been knapped or flaked.  David picks up what looks like it might have been a hand ax.  Because of the wind and the sand almost everything has been scoured.   Returning to the lunch tent, the white tablecloths have a fine layer of dust and sand.  The only clear spots are under our plates and wine glasses.  In front of the lunch tents is a mat where several Bedouin women are playing instruments, singing and dancing.  The most ingenious Instrument is a large metal bowl turned upside down, and struck with 2 shot glasses, like a drum!   Lunch is North African fare, a large communal salad, with eggplant, peas, beans and lettuce, followed by cous cous, and a lamb dish.  Dessert is fresh fruit.  After lunch we load uP and head back for the ship, taking off for Teneriffe, Canary Island. Tonight I have been invited to a chart room dinner by one of the naturalist staff.  Each guest gets invited twice to chart room dinners.  The first one that I attended was near the beginning of the voyage.

At sea towards Western Sahara

Sunday April 22. At sea towards Western Sahara I love the days at sea.  It is totally  different pace, much more relaxed.  Iwake up early, but know that I don't have to leap out of bed.  Breakfast is a leisurely affair.  The first lecture of the day isn't until 9:30 AM.  David Barnes our Welsh historian lectures about Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle.  It seems that Darwin was most interested in going to the Canary Islands, which is where we will be on Wednesday.  As it turns out, the Beagle was quarantined  because of a cholera outbreak in London, so he only saw the Canaries from the deck of the ship.  David has a dry sense of humor, which makes him a pleasure to listen to.  The next lecture by Jim, the geologist is on plate tectonics.  He brings in material from some of the latest published research this year, about theories of what will happen in the future--of course in 100 million years from now the human race probably won't be in existence any more.  It is interesting to hear about the history,and how the first geologists were accused of heresy, because the prevailing thought int the early 19th C. Was that the earth had only been around for 6 thousand years. I had lunch up in the observation lounge, and saw a few dolphins during lunch.  It is sunny, breezy and on the cool side today,but I managed to find a sheltered spot up on the top deck over the bridge where I could lie outside and read for a while.  We are at about 18 degrees north, and will pass the Tropic of Cancer sometime tonight or tomorrow.  Our course heading has been nearly due North today. Dakar is a remarkably modern city with lots of skyscrapers and modern architecture, nonetheless, as soon as you get out of the main business district  You see the typical little African businesses on the sidewalk or in the street--fruit vendors, and old tires, chickens, and turkeys, auto parts.  One of the places that've visited is a grotesque monument to the renaissance of Africa.   The monument is over200 ft. High, and is made of bronze, depicting an African man emerging from a dead volcano, with a child perched on his shoulder, and a woman under his right arm. Like the Statue of Liberty, one can go up to the top, there are viewing windows from the man's Muslim cap.  The monument is on the highest hill in Dakar, next to it is a twin peak that has a lighthouse. The food at the "best night clubbing Dakar" was really lousy, but the music was great.  One man played a wooden xylophone that had gourds underneath each key that resonated.  Another played a kora, a type of harp Monday  4/23 at sea towards Al Dakla, Wester Sahara Blogus Interruptus by cetaceans.  Yesterday as I was writing came the call, "Whales". I jumped up, ran to my cabin, grabbed my camera and ran for the bow.  There was a large pod of Sei whales, maybe 30 animals, some were owing to the surface within 30 ft. Of the ship.  A beautiful sight.  I never got back to the blogging. So, the kora harp has --- at the bottom that acts as a resonator, and a 3 ft. long stick stuck into it, to which many strings are attached.  If you enjoy  Caribbean music, African music will be very familiar. Yesterday at recap I gave a 10 minute talk on Chimpanzees, focusing on conservation, with a little bit about male dominance displays.  There is only so much one can do in 10 minutes.  Now it is just after breakfast,and I am looking at Northern gannets flying along with the ship, they are right outside the observation lounge at eye level. We have bright sunshine, lots of wind, and it is only about 50 degrees out.  I am hoping that it will warm up enough to get out on deck.  We have a packed schedule if lectures today, and although I enjoy them immensely, I can't stand to be in dark room all day when we are at sea a d these is shining.

The Gambia and Dakar, Senegal

Sat. April 21  Dakar, Senegal Yesterday we were in The Gambia.  Banjul, the capital is on a small island and only has a population of about 60,000 people.  The Gambia is 90% Muslim, 7% Christian and 3% animist.  Jul is the local beer (joy with Jul).  The Muslims here apparently do like their beer!  People do not want to be photographed.   On our way out to a nature sanctuary we stop at a cattle and goat market.  There, I encounter the tallest black African I have ever seen.  In his long robe and head wrap he is a most imposing figure.  He is the boss of the market.  The people at the market are nomadic, and have brought their animals from far away.  The mangers for the goats are quite ingenious.  Stack 2 or 3 tires up and fill the center with browse. The Abuko Nature  Preserve is very small, only about 200 acres, but is a beautiful riverine forest.  The trails are well maintained, and it is lovely to walk in the woods for about an hour and a half.  At a small pond there is an abundance of bird life-- purple heron, malachite kingfisher, violet turaco, egrets,  night heron, African jacana, and a palm vulture.   Later in the walk we spy vervet monkeys, and later still red colobus monkeys.  There are dense thickets and vines on the trees making it difficult to get a clear view of the monkeys.  As we emerge from the park there is a small market, and the people follow us to the bus holding up carved wooden figures  and jewelry.  I manage to escape with. Using only one small item through the window as the bus is pulling out.  The price drops fast when you are leaving! Our next stop is Lamin Lodge, a rickety wooden structure.  On our way we pass thatched pavilions where women are shucking oysters.  Over a shaky bridge to a dock where we board a boat to tour the mangroves.  There's an upper sundeck  lined with cushions, yes this is the life for me, reclining on the deck,and someone to bring me a beer.  Because it is the middle of the day there are few birds to be seen, just a cormorant and an osprey, but it is lovely to be out on the water.  When we return to the dock there are some monkeys in the mangroves, and many mudskippers in the mud, as the tide has fallen. Another day another country.  We docked in Dakar around 6:30 AM.  We had our own private ferry out to Gore Island.  There was a slave house here, and another "door of no return."  Senegal did not have an enormous slave trade,  but they have capitalized on the tourism.  Gore Island was charming.  When it was French, it was mostly Catholic, now it has about 1200 residents, 800 of whom are Muslim.   As we were on the first ferry of the day, the island was delightfully uncrowded.  This morning was foggy and uncharacteristically  cool , being in the low 60's.  There are no cars on the island, and it is charming.  Gradually the fog lifted, and we could see the high rises of Dakar in the distance.  By the time we left at noon, the island was crowded with school children, and Muslim pilgrims of a special sect who were all dressed in white, and there for a special ceremony.   On the ferry back to the mainland they had beer and snacks for us, and then the usual buffet lunch aboard the ship.  I am usually eating salad for lunch, as there is so much food at every meal. This afternoon I will be taking a city tour and visiting a city market.  We have been advised that the Senegalese are "not shy," translate that to the vendors will be really pushy.  Tonight we are having dinner ashore at the best nightclub in Dakar.  I will let you know how that goes.  

The real post on Liberia

Tuesday April 17, 2012  Liberia and cruising to  Sierra Leone After our two days in Ghana we really needed the relaxation of a day and a half at sea.  We had some excellent lectures.  One by Shawn about The impact of the civil war in Liberia on two specific people, and another by Jack Swenson about his family's involvement with the slave trade.  Tom gave a lecture on "White Gold" (sugar ), and how  it influenced both the slave trade and the course of history.   Last night we had a slew of dignitaries on board , as well as lots of press coverage.  It turns out that the NG Explorer is the first passenger ship to come to Liberia since their civil war which ended nine years ago in 2003, and that we have set a record for the most people coming through the port in one day.  We had the Charge des affaires from the US Embassy, and the Liberian Vice President and several cabinet members.  Everyone dressed up in their glad rags.  I happened to be standing next to the bar when the VP and his entourage arrived.  They were seated near me, so I had a good view. It was an early wake up call today, with breakfast at 5:45 AM.  I went canoeing through the mangroves in dug out canoes.  The village where we began and ended had been the site of a large massacre.  There was a simple cross, and a temporary sign on laminated paper marking the mass grave.   It was very peaceful in the river amongst the mangroves.  We saw a couple of beautiful malachite kingfishers, a small bird with a brilliant orange beak, and iridescent blue feathers, a black kite, and some white faced whistling ducks. Tomorrow I will be going to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, so it will be a wonderful day.

Liberia

Monday April  16, 2012. At Sea to Monrovia, Liberia  When I last reported in,  I was in Togo, the land of Voodun.  One of thievery disturbing places that I visited there was a fetish market,sort of a pharmacy for the Voodun.  There you could go behind the stalls, and the behind a curtain  and buy amulets for protection.  Some were small bags filled with herbs, and covered in cowrie shells, others were a small effigy with a hole where you whisperedwhat travel protection you needed,a nd then secured the hole with a small stick. Outside  in the  market place it was shocking.  There were large flat tables filled with skulls,and bones,whole animal heads,and some with fresher ingredients, a recently dead frog covered with flies.  The smell of death and decay filled the air.  Monkey heads,baboon heads, goat heads, elephant skin, and elephant pelvis.  Buffalo heads, hippo atoms skulls, antelope heads,all  used to protect from spirits, or placate ancestors.  There were leopard skins stretched out.  Our guides had told us that the small fetish dolls studded with nails were not imbued with spiritual powers, but just for the tourists.  The real  fetish dolls were in the back behind the curtains in each shop.  Many people bought things,but I didn't want to support the market.  Laurence, a fellow traveler from South Africa said that these markets exist all over Africa.  This particular market is reputed to be the largest in Africa.  It made me feel nauseous.  One naive tourist said, "Maybe they found them in the forest."  On to Ghana Clearly we are in a much wealthier country.  There are many,ore cars, fewer.  Motorbikes, and the road side shops are frequently constructed with metal or cinder block instead of shacks made of thatch and branches,  western style gas stations, no longer old wine bottles filled with "gaz"  Bypassing the Accra city tour, I went to the Shai Hills National Park.  When we pulled into the park there were several large baboon lurking nearby.  The scenery was lovely, a dry tree savannah ,with large hills and rock formations.  We walked along a track for about a half mile, and saw no game.  There were birds in the thickets, but we were unable to spot them. Theresa's a large blooming bush covered with hundreds of butterflies,of several species. We drove to a different area of the parkland saw some lovely kob antelope. It is extremely odd to be  on safari in 2 large. Motor coaches with 50 people to share the experience!  No going off road.  One of our interesting sightings was a whited fronted bee eater bludgeoning a butterfly to death one branch, and then knocking the wings off,sot habit could eat the body.   Overnight the ship moved to Cape Coast, in western Ghana.   We had a long ride to Kakum National Park, through many small villages,cocoa and banana plantations.  Kakum is famous for its Ariel walkways above the canopy.  Although the park is rich with animal life (forest elephant,forest buffalo, Mona monkeys,etc.) we were cautioned that it would've unusual to see anything.  It is the most visited park inGhana, an sure enough our group was  followed by numerous schoolchildren shrieking and giggling. on the path going down the children  were very polite, saying , "Good morning'" and wanting to shake our hands.   The walkways were fun.  They were extremely narrow, and we were 100 feet or more above the forest floor.   It is quite amazing to lockdown on the canopy from just above. Blogging was just interrupted Dolphins.  A school (pod?) of bottle nose dolphins were riding the pressure wave under the bow.  They reveled in it, rolling over as if to get a belly rub from the wave.  At one point there were 6 of them riding at one time.  Because this ship is an icebreaker, it has a large bulb under the  bow, that seems to push the pressure wave forward with greater force than a typical  keel would.   Back to Ghana.  I had thought that the fetish market was horrifying, but then I had not yet been to Cape Coast Castle.  The name is lovely isn't it?  It is situated on a white sandy  beach facing south looking out over the Atlantic where deep blue water turns into azure and then turquoise before becoming a foamy mass of white surf, as it breaks over the rocks in from of the castle. Down down into the dark of the men's dungeons, where channels in the rock floor were for the runoff of urine and excrement.  On the wall , two feet above the floor was  the mark that showed just how high the shit piled up.  The miasma of horror and pain and sorrow was almost more than I could bear.  Many men died here, freed from the gruesome trip to Brazil, and a life of slavery.  After as long as 3 months in the stench and the darkness they would be led out through the  gate of no return, into the bright sunlight for a brief few moments and then into the bowels of the ships for a free trip across the Atlantic.    Ironically, we drove a short distance to a luxury beach resort, where we had a wonderful barbecue lunch.

Ghana

Monday April  16, 2012. At Sea to Monrovia, Liberia  When I last reported in,  I was in Togo, the land of Voodun.  One of thievery disturbing places that I visited there was a fetish market,sort of a pharmacy for the Voodun.  There you could go behind the stalls, and the behind a curtain  and buy amulets for protection.  Some were small bags filled with herbs, and covered in cowrie shells, others were a small effigy with a hole where you whisperedwhat travel protection you needed,a nd then secured the hole with a small stick. Outside  in the  market place it was shocking.  There were large flat tables filled with skulls,and bones,whole animal heads,and some with fresher ingredients, a recently dead frog covered with flies.  The smell of death and decay filled the air.  Monkey heads,baboon heads, goat heads, elephant skin, and elephant pelvis.  Buffalo heads, hippo atoms skulls, antelope heads,all  used to protect from spirits, or placate ancestors.  There were leopard skins stretched out.  Our guides had told us that the small fetish dolls studded with nails were not imbued with spiritual powers, but just for the tourists.  The real  fetish dolls were in the back behind the curtains in each shop.  Many people bought things,but I didn't want to support the market.  Laurence, a fellow traveler from South Africa said that these markets exist all over Africa.  This particular market is reputed to be the largest in Africa.  It made me feel nauseous.  One naive tourist said, "Maybe they found them in the forest."  On to Ghana Clearly we are in a much wealthier country.  There are many,ore cars, fewer.  Motorbikes, and the road side shops are frequently constructed with metal or cinder block instead of shacks made of thatch and branches,  western style gas stations, no longer old wine bottles filled with "gaz"  Bypassing the Accra city tour, I went to the Shai Hills National Park.  When we pulled into the park there were several large baboon lurking nearby.  The scenery was lovely, a dry tree savannah ,with large hills and rock formations.  We walked along a track for about a half mile, and saw no game.  There were birds in the thickets, but we were unable to spot them. Theresa's a large blooming bush covered with hundreds of butterflies,of several species. We drove to a different area of the parkland saw some lovely kob antelope. It is extremely odd to be  on safari in 2 large. Motor coaches with 50 people to share the experience!  No going off road.  One of our interesting sightings was a whited fronted bee eater bludgeoning a butterfly to death one branch, and then knocking the wings off,sot habit could eat the body.   Overnight the ship moved to Cape Coast, in western Ghana.   We had a long ride to Kakum National Park, through many small villages,cocoa and banana plantations.  Kakum is famous for its Ariel walkways above the canopy.  Although the park is rich with animal life (forest elephant,forest buffalo, Mona monkeys,etc.) we were cautioned that it would've unusual to see anything.  It is the most visited park inGhana, an sure enough our group was  followed by numerous schoolchildren shrieking and giggling. on the path going down the children  were very polite, saying , "Good morning'" and wanting to shake our hands.   The walkways were fun.  They were extremely narrow, and we were 100 feet or more above the forest floor.   It is quite amazing to lockdown on the canopy from just above. Blogging was just interrupted Dolphins.  A school (pod?) of bottle nose dolphins were riding the pressure wave under the bow.  They reveled in it, rolling over as if to get a belly rub from the wave.  At one point there were 6 of them riding at one time.  Because this ship is an icebreaker, it has a large bulb under the  bow, that seems to push the pressure wave forward with greater force than a typical  keel would.   Back to Ghana.  I had thought that the fetish market was horrifying, but then I had not yet been to Cape Coast Castle.  The name is lovely isn't it?  It is situated on a white sandy  beach facing south looking out over the Atlantic where deep blue water turns into azure and then turquoise before becoming a foamy mass of white surf, as it breaks over the rocks in from of the castle. Down down into the dark of the men's dungeons, where channels in the rock floor were for the runoff of urine and excrement.  On the wall , two feet above the floor was  the mark that showed just how high the shit piled up.  The miasma of horror and pain and sorrow was almost more than I could bear.  Many men died here, freed from the gruesome trip to Brazil, and a life of slavery.  After as long as 3 months in the stench and the darkness they would be led out through the  gate of no return, into the bright sunlight for a brief few moments and then into the bowels of the ships for a free trip across the Atlantic.    Ironically, we drove a short distance to a luxury beach resort, where we had a wonderful barbecue lunch.

Thursday April 12 Togo This Morning we visited a school, and a village.  The children were very cute, and each classroom sang a different song for us.  The children were crowded into each dark classroom, the only light came from the windows. They were all very excited that we were there, especially the little ones.  As we left they we're having lunch, ramen noodles and rice in a simple bowl, that they ate with their fingers, while standing up outside. The village that we visited today is ruled by a king--in Africa the head man is often called a king.  There were 2800 people in the village.  Before we could enter the voodoo priest poured a libation on the ground.  The dancers had bright costumes.  When the king entered he had a large entourage.  His right hand man held his staff with a golden figure on top.  If he's ends a message, the messenger. Brings the staff, so that the recipient knows that it is really from the king.  No one speaks directly to the king.  He has an intermediary to communicate through.  The dancers  stopped while the king was welcoming us.  I talked to the dancers.  Instead of ritual scarification, they now put marks on their face with eyeliner.   One of the dancers had purple curlers in her hair, another bright yellow curlers.  The "Royal Dance"was sort of a shuffle, and then similar to a conga line.  One woman was blowing a Piercing whistle , and the drums were pounding.  It was hard to sit still, and not and not join in.  We were invited to look around the village.  Many people kept goats and chickens.  These people are farmers.  Their homes were simple mud and thatch huts, with cooking fires outdoors.

Thursday April 12 approaching Togo The days are so busy, they just fly by, and sometimes it is difficult to find time to write.  Yesterday we had a full day in Cotonau, Benin, the land of Voodun.  Voodoo is completely misrepresented in the US.  It is a religion that reveres ancestors.  Trance and spirit possession are a part of the religion.  "Christians go to church to speak to God, the  Voodun got to temple to become God." Dancers and drummers were on the pier to greet us.  We went to the largest village in Africa in a lake.  When we arrived on the shore of the lake, there was a large fish market.  Long wooden pirogues were constantly arriving and departing, and women were carrying baskets and buckets on their heads.  The pirogues that we rode in we're considerably larger than the ones we rode upriver in Cameroon.  The lake is shallow, and the houses are built on stilts.  Children often do not set foot on the mainland until they go to school.   The fisherman use hand thrown nets.  The we're floating markets for fruits and vegetables,as well as clothing.  As we pass houses on the main waterway in the village children would wave from windows and doorways.  33,000 people live here.  Most families have 3 boats.  One for the man to fish, one for the woman to go sell fish, and one for the children to get to school.   The people paddle the boats, but when there is a breeze they set small square sails made of plastic in a variety of colors.  On a small island we were entertained by a professional brass band.  Brass bands are a legacy of the colonial era, and they are terrific. Later in the day we went on the slave trail in Ouida.  Slaves were gathered here, kept in a fort for as long as 2 weeks, before being loaded and shipped off to Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti.  The old Portuguese Fort is now a museum.  Slaves were take to "the tree of forgetfulness," so that they would lose their memory of Africa.  On the beach was the "Gate of no return.". Our guide, Kiki, emphasized that it was Africans who were complicit in slavery.  The slave trade was the largest diaspora in history, with an estimated 11 million Africans transported to the Americas.  Many more went to Brazil than to the US. From Ouida we went to the sacred forest.  One day a king went into the forest and didn't return.  Legend has it that he. Turned himself into a tree.  We were greeted by dancers drummers, and told to wait until the voodoo priest and his entourage arrived to pour a libation on the ground  before we could enter into the most sacred part of the forest.  There were many statues  representing voodoo gods.  In a tree at the far edge of the forest were thousands of flying foxes,their chittering filling the air. On the return trip to the port the street scene in each village was a riot of color, with markets, and street side shops, zillions of motorcycles  and always many people walking. New day, new country.  Togo awaits.

Limbe, Cameroon

Monday April 9 Limbe, Cameroon Today I got my primate  fix, at the Limbe Wildlife Center.  Formerly a zoo, the wild life center is now home to orphaned gorillas, chimps, drills and mandrills.  They are working on preparing chimps for rerelease into the wild, and expect to the first ones to be released in 2014.  They will start working on releasing Drills after that.  The drill troop has 83 members, the youngest being only 2 days old. Drills are illegally hunted with dogs.  They are critically endangered, and they are hoping to repopulate the wild.   Glen, the young man who showed us around is primarily an educator, as well as working with the animals.  He was thrilled when I gave him some Internet resources, that were provided to me by Katie Manion of the education department at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Mandrills are a large monkey, that are more colorful than the drills.  The mature males have bright red noses, and pink butts, definitely hard to miss.  They look a bit like colorful baboons. The Limbe Botanical Gardens are huge, with many beautiful birds.  we had an excellent guide, Benjamin, who pointed out numerous species of plants: hibiscus, cacao, coffee, tea, mango, papaya , teak, strangler figs, pepper, and perhaps the most unusual , a bitter cola that had a bright yellow and orange latex sap. Yet another wonderful day in this little visited corner of the world. 

If it is Easter it must be pygmies

Sunday April 8  Easter Kribi,  Cameroon If it is Easter it must be pygmies!  I have to say that they were the biggest pygmies that I have ever seen.  It is very un-PC to call them pygmies;  these were the bagami people.  We were paddled up the Limbe River by local folk who emigrated here from Congo.  The immigrants live in the town, and the bagami live in the forest.   The pirogues that we were in, were dug out canoes of differing sizes, carrying from 6-12 people.  Once loaded, there was almost no freeboard, and they were quite  leaky. On the river it was bright and sunny, with the sound of birds all around.  Something dropped from a tree, there was a flash o f white and black, and the colobus monkey was gone.  It didn't help that the man seated next to me yelled, "There's a monkey!". No doubt frightening the poor thing half to death.  A quick flash of orange, and a small unknown bird had grabbed a tiny fish.  Overhead were kites  (a type of raptor), chasing pied crows.   After about 45 minutes we struggled out of the pirogues, up a bank, and followed a well worn path into the forest arriving at a clearing  where there were several small huts. Made out of palm fronds and sticks.  Only later did e find out that they don't actually live here, but come here to dance for tourists and have their picture taken.  They spoke no French or English, and the guide did a very minimal amount of interpreting.   We were introduced to the village headman, and his designated successor.  They danced, allowed us to take photos, but we're not the least bit interested in interacting with us.  It turns out that these people have gotten a raw deal.  The government wants to kick them off of their land, and make it a National Park.  They want them to live in permanent villages and have their children go to school.  These are folk who are subsistence hunters, and have no desire to change their way of life.  The money that they got from us will be used for a few small items that they don't make for themselves.  They were dressed in 2nd hand shabby western clothing.  A people caught between 2 worlds.

Saturday April 7, 21012 Principe Approaching Principe by sea in the morning is very dramatic.  The peaks are sharp and jagged with one soaring like a church spire.  The clouds are obscuring parts of the mountaintops, and when I got out on deck it was raining on one side of the ship, but not the other. Our destination today is a resort called Bom Bom--literally "good good"  in Portuguese.  The resort was named for the small island Bom Bom , that is connected to Principe by a foot bridge. The resort typifies the quintessential tropical paradise-- on one side is a beach reminiscent of Cane Garden Bay in the British Virgins, a short walk leads to a sheltered. Bay where the snorkeling is fantastic.  For the first time, I saw an octopus in the wild, a purple 6 armed starfish, and numerous reef  fish, analogous to the fish found in the Caribbean.   There is a lovely swimming pool, which I ignore, preferring to swim in the ocean with gentle rolling surf.  Lunch is a barbecue with wonderful rice. (again reminiscent of the Caribbean),  grilled pineapple, chicken, pork, octopus, and fish.   At breakfast this morning, I sat  with a man who had been a physician  in the CIA from 1969-1971,  in East Pakistan, and what is now Kazakstan.  The other man was an engineer who designed computer hard drives before retiring, and did road racing for fun.    Just a small example of the interesting diversity of people on board.  I have met several other nurses.  People are from all over the US, as well as from Switzerland, Austria,  South Africa, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and England.   This is the most well traveled group of people that I have ever met, as well as wealthy.   Because of the dangers of piracy, Linblad  has engaged a security firm.  We have 4 guards who all have military experience.  They carry single shot Ak47s, and are prepared to repel anyone who might try to board us.  They will be with us until Sierra Leone.  They are pleasant to chat with, but they are ready to do whatever is necessary for the safety of the passé gets and the ship. We will sail tonight for Cameroon.

Sao Tome  Good Friday What a beautiful place.  The island nation of Sao Tome  and Principe sits on the equator several hundred miles off the coast of  Cameroon, and in fact is part of the same volcanic mountains found there. It was discovered in 1473 by the Portuguese, who imported slaves from all over Africa, and brought banana trees, coffee and cocoa from Brazil.  If you didn't know better you might think that you were on a   Caribbean island. The  major  religion here is Roman Catholic, with a smattering of other religions  represented.  One of our activities today was to visit a church, where the choir sang for us.  The hour were all young men, and sang  a Capella  in Portuguese.  I found it very moving.   We visited a picturesque coffee plantation, that had many old buildings.  The Portuguese influence is in the architecture, with red tile roofs.  Even before we got off the bus, the children ran from all directions.  They are the children of the workers on the plantation.  School is not compulsory on Sao Tome, and many people refuse to send their children to school, because they need them to work.  Many people have 6, 7 or more children.  If a man wants to get married he visits the woman's parents, and pays a bride price.  If after 3 months she isn't pregnant he can return her. Today, Jay Dickman,  Pulitzer prize winning National  Geographic photographer taught me how to photograph a waterfall!  How cool is that?  There was a long steep rickety wooden staircase, with a shaky handrail that I had to descend to get where Jay was, but it was worth it.  Everywhere there was lush greenery, ferns, wild banana trees, breadfruit trees, cacao trees, and god knows what else. As we drove to the restaurant for lunch on top of the mountain it began to rain--not so unusual in a rainforest during the rainy season.  It poured while we ate lunch in an old plantation house.  A perfect time for the rain.  By the time we finished, the rain was over, leaving a mist over the mountain. Our last stop before returning to the ship was a chocolate factory,run by a man who was half Italian, and half Portuguese.  Of course there was a tasting. The chocolates were all very high cocoa content.  My favorites were the chocolate with salt and pepper , and the chocolate with ginger.  The chocolate was very expensive, so I contented myself with the tastes during the tour. Happy Easter to all, as you may not get this epistle until then.

Gabon. Thursday April 5, 201 At the national park today I saw many thousands of ants, 2 butterfly's, and a couple of birds.  I was on a walk with an ethnobotanist, and a naturalist, so learned lots about the rainforest.  The rain forest went right down to the ocean.   The day started with an hours bus ride at rush hour through Libreville , a great opportunity to observe life on the street.  We boarded  2 boats for a 45 minute ride  at breakneck speed  across a large bay around a peninsula, and to the park.   There were large breakers, so getting us to shore was going to be a problem.  Wade, his daughter Tara and I dove overboard a d swam to shore.  Everyone else was  ferried to shore In a small zodiac that had a rope tied at either end. A swimmer brought it out to the boat, 3 passengers were loaded on, and 6 men on shore hauled them in.the beach   was strewn with cut and numbered logs.  How did they get there?  Was there a shipwreck?  The logs were humongous, as long as 20 ft. And with a large diameter.  The beach is a  nesting site for sea turtles;  the turtles recently laid their eggs, and will hatch out at the full moon in 2 months.  There are nets placed around the nests to prevent iguanas and other animals from getting the turtle eggs. We had been told that we would have a box lunch, but there was a lovely open air thatch roofed restaurant, with a bar.  The local beer was great, along with French wine.  The buffet consisted of many salads, and 3 types of kabobs-- chicken, fish or the biggest shrimp I have ever seen. After lunch I had a long swim.  The ocean, now that we're  in the North Atlantic is warm,  just a little below bath temperature,and salty as can be. After dinner we saw the film that Mike Fay made of the megatransect across northern Congo and Gabon through the jungle and to the Atlantic Ocean.  He had pug miles as bearers , but they literally slashed their way through the jungle walking about a thousand miles in uncharted territory over a year.  Incredible.  Pointe Noir, Republic of Congo Cruising up to Pointe Noir we came through the offshore  oil fields. The atmosphere was redolent of Northern NJ on the turnpike.  Fires were burning at the top of each one,to burn off the natural gas.  It was amazing to see how many rigs there are out here in the ocean, and ow long it took to get past them cruising at 16 knots. Congo was a bit of a disappointment.  Tchimpounga  ( the Jane Goodall chimp sanctuary) was closed because of the fire there earlier this year.  It took longer than expected to clear the ship, so our excursion was cut short. We only had a few minutes to wander a craft market that was the first one to have interesting fabrics and masks.  The Diosso Gorge was very pretty.  They compare it to the Grand Canyon,  but that is rather a large stretch.   The overlook where we stood was a sandy bank.  Of course there were no barriers, and we were cautioned no to get too close to the edge.  Swifts we're darting around, and we saw a small raptor.  Far below we're red flowers,perhaps a vine of some sort. We went to a small museum that was the home of the king of Loango.  Behind it were 4 small shacks to house his 6 wives.  There were many everyday objects, such as farm tools,and cooking pots that would lead you to believe that you were in a 19th C. house.  He was actually king from 1953 to 1975.   What has been most interesting is driving through the countryside and seeing how people live.  It reminds me of Haiti  when I was there in 1981.  The houses are small shacks,sometimes leaning crazily, as if a puff of wind would blow them over.  Many of the women are dressed in bright colorful fabrics with matching kerchiefs on their heads, and often carrying loads on their heads.  It is an interesting  way to carry a case of coke home from the market! I have had the opportunity to practice my rusty French.  The people here speak really fast, and I have had a great deal of difficulty understanding them, but it is fun to connect with folks.  

Pointe Noir, Republic of Congo

Pointe Noir, Republic of Congo Cruising up to Pointe Noir we came through the offshore  oil fields. The atmosphere was redolent of Northern NJ on the turnpike.  Fires were burning at the top of each one,to burn off the natural gas.  It was amazing to see how many rigs there are out here in the ocean, and ow long it took to get past them cruising at 16 knots. Congo was a bit of a disappointment.  Tchimpounga  ( the Jane Goodall chimp sanctuary) was closed because of the fire there earlier this year.  It took longer than expected to clear the ship, so our excursion was cut short. We only had a few minutes to wander a craft market that was the first one to have interesting fabrics and masks.  The Diosso Gorge was very pretty.  They compare it to the Grand Canyon,  but that is rather a large stretch.   The overlook where we stood was a sandy bank.  Of course there were no barriers, and we were cautioned no to get too close to the edge.  Swifts we're darting around, and we saw a small raptor.  Far below we're red flowers,perhaps a vine of some sort. We went to a small museum that was the home of the king of Loango.  Behind it were 4 small shacks to house his 6 wives.  There were many everyday objects, such as farm tools,and cooking pots that would lead you to believe that you were in a 19th C. house.  He was actually king from 1953 to 1975.   What has been most interesting is driving through the countryside and seeing how people live.  It reminds me of Haiti  when I was there in 1981.  The houses are small shacks,sometimes leaning crazily, as if a puff of wind would blow them over.  Many of the women are dressed in bright colorful fabrics with matching kerchiefs on their heads, and often carrying loads on their heads.  It is an interesting  way to carry a case of coke home from the market! I have had the opportunity to practice my rusty French.  The people here speak really fast, and I have had a great deal of difficulty understanding them, but it is fun to connect with folks.  

We are doing so much that everything is starting to run together.  Luanda, the capital of Angola was totally different from the small cities of Lobito and Benguela.  They are building like mad, and the traffic jams were horrendous.  No one knows exactly what the population is, some where between 3 & 5 million.  During the civil war people fled to the capital for safety, and many never left.  The downtown is filled with new skyscrapers, as you drive south along the coast with the Atlantic on your right (hard for me to wrap my mind around) there are shacks on the hillside to the left with years of trash strewn down the hill.  A little further along are luxury apartments that rent for $25,000 a month.   I had elected to go to Kassame National Park, which although only a short distance away, took a long time to get to because of the rush hour traffic in Luanda.  The park was decimated during the civil war, all of the animals killed or fled.  They have restocked some of the animals, but with a park 3 times the size of Rhode Island I didn't expect much.   It was lovely to be out in the bush, with lots of  baobab & euphorbia trees.  Our most exciting sighting was a herd of 13 giraffe, mostly mothers and young.  We also saw kudu, bushbuck , a duiker, and at the lunch stop lots of vervet monkeys. I was surprised to see that the male vervets had large bright blue scrotums!  God works in mysterious ways. Paula, my cabinmate, and I had been invited to dinner in the chart room by Rikki & Jack  Swensen, 2 of the photography instructors.  There were 16 of us, including 2 other staff member who are anthropologists.  It was a fun evening with lots of lively conversation .

Lobito & Benguela, Angola

All the warnings were for nought.  The Angolans were warm and friendly, and no one got mugged.  Surely everyone in Lobito and Benguela knew that we were there.  How could you miss us?  First came the motorcycle with lights flashing, then transportation police car with flashing lights, and finally 3 large buses, with customs officers and Police protection on board. Before we boarded the buses, as we got off the ship we were greeted by boys scouts who gave us palms, today being Palm Sunday.  We were whisked around the town of Lobito, much too fast to attempt much photography from the bus.  Fort San Pedro, an old ruin was the first opportunity to get out and look around.  The fort overlooks town, and a d we suspension bridge that the Angolans are very proud of.  Driving to Benguela  we passed a new international airport under construction, there was a tent city for the Chinese construction workers!  The townships are shanties made of adobe, some with corrugated tin roofs  held down by rocks.  Between The 2 cities is an enormous stadium in the middle of nowhere. After a driving tour of Benguela we stopped in a large square, and there was drumming and African dancers.  Very colorful.  We took the train back to Lobito, an incredible experience.  While most people elected the air conditioned modern cars, I chose the last car, which was built in 1929.  The windows were all wide open and we were on leather seats behind the old dining car.  There was an old cast iron stove at one end of the car. There were several private compartments, but the space we were in had an old built in desk.  A table was in the center, and the seats were no fixed.  You half expected Hercule Poirot to pop in and accuse one of us of murder.  Whenever we passed a township all the children came out and waved. There was a street fair in Lobito with music and costumed African dancers.  They were also giving away free cold beer.   What a great place!  The best local beer is Cuca, and it is great.  All of this before lunch! I have stopped reading ahead in my itinerary, as I can barely keep up with what is happening at the moment.