We are alive and well and having a great time in Africa. We spent the first part of our trip exploring Mali. We trekked for 5 days through Dogon Country, walking from village to village, eating with the villagers (extremely fresh chicken), and sleeping on their rooves under the stars. The scenery was beutiful, and it was fascinating to experience their culture and way of life, which is very primitive without any of the conveniences of modern life (except they still manage to get Coke!). We also toured a city called Djenne in Mali where almost all the buildings are made of mud and must be repaired each year after the rainy season. Djenne is supposedly very similar to the famous Timbuctou although easier to get to (not that anything in Mali is really easy to get to). We had some fun bus rides in Mali as well including one where we were on the floor in the aisle (with a bunch of other people and a chicken) for most of the 10 hour ride (plus a 6 hour stop to fix the headlights and a 3 hour stop so the driver could sleep). The African motto appears to be that a motor vehicle should never be declared full or a road impassable. A corollary is that any compartment can be forced to close if enough people jump and kick it. And of course, a driver wouldn't think of slowing to below 10 MPH to let people on or off.
OK, this is the 3rd time the computer has crashed. If this doesn't work, I'm going to kill someone.
After Mali we spent a week in Kenya. Kenya is a bit more developed than Mali, and we enjoyed the improved cuisine. Kenyan menus are quite extensive but you might as well be reading a menu from your favorite restaurant back home, because all they really have is chicken or beef. We visited a child we sponsor through an organization called Childreach. It was great meeting her and her family, and we were impressed by the projects the organization has done. However, it was very hard to see the poverty they are forced to live in. After visiting Evangeline, we spent 4 days climbing Mt. Kenya, Africa's 2nd highest mountain at about 5000 m. It was great but extremely tiring reaching the summit. The day we hiked out, we walked almost 30 km, most of which felt uphill.
We're now in Tanzania and leave tomorrow for a 12 day safari which should be great. On the drive from Nairobi to Arusha, we saw ostiches, zebra, and a giraffe. After the safari, we're planning on spending a week on Zanzibar before we head to South Africa.
If anyone needs to contact us, send an e-mail to one of our e-mail addresses (wheinzel@yahoo.com or sheinzel@yahoo.com). E-mail is much easier and cheaper than calling.
We hope you are all well and enjoying the end of summer.
Love, Wendi and Steve