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Part 1 of THE BEST: Europe and Middle East

I selected these photos because they tell the story of the kickabout trip. We started in Peterborough England then traveled through France-Belgium-Germany-France-Italy-Greece-Turkey-Syria then Jordan before entering Africa.

Sep 3, 2010

Photos: 57

Part II of THE BEST: Africa (excluding the World Cup)

These photos were selected because they tell the story of the kickabout journey that began in Egypt and ended in South Africa. The World Cup games are not included. You can see them in Part 3 of "The Best."

Sep 2, 2010

Photos: 173

Part III of the Best: The World Cup

This is the third part of a series of selected photos that help tell the story of the kickabout journey to Africa to see the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. These photos were selected from the World Cup games themselves.

Sep 1, 2010

Photos: 42

Botswana Moremi

Getting to the Moremi wasthe most difficult of all our journeys. We had to cross the Kwai River (no bridge) which had four separate sections and each was deeper than the previous. The last two covered the hood of the car. It felt like we were in a submerging submarine. The best photos of the Moremi were of mating lions. We got video as well which you can see at youtube.

Jun 7, 2010

Photos: 75

Botswana Savuti

The Savuti is a remote game park that sits between the Chobe and Moremi National Parks in Botswana. The road to Savuti was the sandiest of all roads we traveled in Africa. Interestingly it's located on high ground adjacent to marshy areas created by the Chobe River and the Okavango. The prize photos from this park was a family of lions. Check the shots of the cub and the male lion. Also, there was an interesting encounter entering the park when a young bull charged us every time we tried to pass on the road. Finally we had to jet around the guy off road and he still complained, chased us a bit, then gave up.

Jun 5, 2010

Photos: 95

Botswana Chobe Part 2 (from a boat)

All of these photos were taken from a boat which traveled along the edge of the Chobe River. See if you can spot the eyes of the monitor lizard who appears to be staring directly into the eyes of the camera as a crocodile jerks it from the shoreline into the river, where the croc disappeared into the water (lizard in mouth).

Jun 4, 2010

Photos: 187

Botswana Chobe Part I (from the car)

All these shots were taken from Kiharambee! Maria and I traveled along the Chobe river for a full day. Many of these shots were taken in situations where we were at the mercy of the animals. We just laid low, engine off, and made as little noise or motion as possible.

Jun 2, 2010

Photos: 195

Victoria Falls

We spent two days walking around Victoria Falls on the Zambia then the Zimbabwe side. The Zambezi was full of water so the amount of mist created by the churn of the water at the base of the waterfall was very high. It obscured most of the photo opportunities and filled the air with water. Sometimes the water in the air was so much that we felt like we were in a heavy rain storm. I took many shots of the "knife's bridge," I think it's called. Everyone who crosses that bridge gets soaked. The low or absent visibility, the narrowness of the bridge and the slippery surface of the bridge brings a sense of danger that is really not deserved because the bridge is built so that if you fall you couldn't possibly fall into the washing machine like mass of water below.

Jun 1, 2010

Photos: 149

Peter, Willy and their Amazing Mom

Meet Peter and Willy of Zambia. Both boys were adopted by Megan Burnett, an amazing mom, with an endless supply of energy and patience for two challenging boys. The best photo opportunities were Willy playing soccer at the American International School grounds. Otherwise we were doing mundane stuff that just wasn't so visually unusual. Lusaka, where Megan and her sons live, is a well organized, modern looking African city (when compared to cities in Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya). There are many malls and the most overwhelming feeling is the "unreality" of it all for us who had been traveling in rural, poor and undeveloped Africa.

May 31, 2010

Photos: 9

South Luangwa, Zambia

We spent a day at Luangwa. It's a beautiful setting in the central highlands of Zambia. Enjoy the photos.

May 23, 2010

Photos: 75

Malawi Livingstonia

This was one of those special experiences. On a hunch we traveled the 700 M up the escarpment of the bluff. It took one hour to cover the 12 KM road to make the short climb. We discovered a camp called "Lukwe," which is run by a Belgian guy who was raised in the Republic of Congo. He's got Africa in his blood which led him to this gorgeous location. He says that all the trees are known to him. They are the same as he grew up with in the Congo. He created an environmentally friendly, western oriented "camp" on the top of the bluff overlooking Lake Malawi. We met some great people there too from the Netherlands and decided to just hang around for another day even though we knew we needed to move along.

May 22, 2010

Photos: 35

Traveling Swahili Coastline plus

These photos were taken during our travels to Tanga, Bagamoyo and Kisiwa Masoko which are all Swahili trading towns. All of them were part of the slave trade. The themes include the roads we traveled, the people we met, some places we stayed and the actual towns where the Arabs lived and the slave trade took place.

May 21, 2010

Photos: 114

Kenya Swahili Coastline

This selection of photos is a companion to the photos taken while we visited the Swahili Coastline in Tanzania. We visited Fort Jesus, a Portuguese Forst created by Vasco Da Gama, to protect Portuguese interests on Mombasa island. We also visited the ruins of Gedi, which was a Swahili town founded around 900 AD by the Shiraz people of Persia. It thrived for hundreds of years until the Portuguese came and the town was abandoned. Gedi and Kisiwa Masoko have the best preserved ruins from the ancient period of Islamic rule (both Persian and Arabic). There are miscellaneous photos from Malindi (also an ancient port city dating back 1000 years) and crossing the Likoni ferry from Mombasa to the southcoast of Kenya.

May 15, 2010

Photos: 88

Zanzibar

Here are some photos from our trip to the island of Zanaibar.

May 6, 2010

Photos: 151

Ngorongoro -

Here is a selection of photos from our visit to Ngorongoro crater, which I was informed by a park ranger isn't a crater at all but a natural depression. We had to drive down a steep escarpment to enter and climb a steep escarpment to exit. It feels and looks like a crater. We saw just about every animal one could wand to see including cheetah, lion, rhinoceros, and more. Take a look.

Apr 22, 2010

Photos: 118

Elephant of Ngorongoro

Apr 21, 2010

Photos: 13

Zebra of Ngorongoro

Apr 21, 2010

Photos: 13

Babu & Maria in Tanzania

Photos for all my wajukuu (grandchildren): Barasa, Andrea, Chemnui and Anastasia

Apr 19, 2010

Photos: 36

Kenya Visiting Elgon

This selection of photos were taken during a two day visit of Kapsokwony of Mt. Elgon where we have hundreds of relatives. I went there for the first time in 15 years to see family members and announce a plan to establish a scholarship fund.

Apr 6, 2010

Photos: 133

Kitengela 2010

Eight years ago I visited Kitengela for the first time. It was created by Nani Croze, a glass artist. She has created a Willy Wonka like glass factory replete with glass walkways connecting glass houses built in the tree tops. Eric Krystal, a friend of over 40 years, and husband of Nani invited Maria and I to stay there. We spent four days with Nani and Eric which allowed us to recover a bit from our northern Kenya travels prior to heading for Elgon to meet the relatives.

Apr 5, 2010

Photos: 42

Henrik Dommann

Apr 4, 2010

Photos: 48

Lions of Ngorongoro

Apr 1, 2010

Photos: 26

Kenya North Horr to Marsabit

This is a selection of photos from our trip to Marsabit from North Horr. We got stuck that night in mud only 40 km from Marsabit. We had to sleep the night on the muddy road then woke the next AM at 6:30 and started work to dig us out. Five hours later we were on our way to Marsabit.

Apr 1, 2010

Photos: 97

Kicking it in Kenya: crossing from the Omo Valley

A selection of photos that tell much of the story of traveling to Kenya from the Omo Valley in Ethiopia

Mar 31, 2010

Photos: 179

Ethiopia Crossing Rivers

This is a collection of photos focusing on crossing rivers in Ethiopia. The first photos are of the river near Turmi is southwest Ethiopia. You can see the river before (when we walked across) and the next morning after a night of raining. All the rivers we later crossed while crossing the border into Kenya are derivatives of the Turmi. They flow into Lake Turkana in the northeast corner of the lake, not from from the entrance of the Omo river into the northern most end of the Lake.

Mar 26, 2010

Photos: 62

Ethiopia's Hammer People

We attended the Bull Jumping ceremony of the Hammer people in Turmi. The girls who are relatives of the jumpers are willingly beaten to show love for their relative who will jump the day of the ceremony. The ceremony is said to be performed so that the boy demonstrates a readiness for marriage.

Mar 25, 2010

Photos: 94

Ethiopia's Mursi People of the Omo Valley

We had to travel two hours into the Omo Valley from Jinka to visit the Mursi People. They live inside Mago National Park. The visit was very marred by misunderstandings and the demand for money by the Mursi people. At one point five men with automatic rifles stood around us arguing for their cash. Every photo of the Mursi as well as the visit had to be paid for. In the end, we compromised.

Mar 24, 2010

Photos: 26

Ethiopia Lake Abaya

Near Arba Miche (Forty Springs) in Ethiopia there are two lakes, Lake Abaya and Lake Chomo. We stayed in a lode between the two and the next day visited Lake Chomo where there were more crocodiles than any place I've ever seen in Africa. The hippos and bird life were equally robust.

Mar 23, 2010

Photos: 42

Ethiopia Gondar and Axum

Mar 22, 2010

Photos: 40

Ethiopia "On the Road" Photos

These photos start in Metema on the Sudanese border with Ethiopia, travel through Gondar, by the Simian Mountains to Axum, a long 1000 km trek to Addis, then down through the southwest into the Omo Valley.

Mar 21, 2010

Photos: 159

Sudan

Mar 1, 2010

Photos: 112

Egypt

Feb 22, 2010

Photos: 90

Kicking About Syria

Feb 22, 2010

Photos: 145

Kicking It About Jordan

It was a hectic few days but Maria and I managed two great visits. The first was to the Red Sea. The second was to Petra. The photos tell the story. When I get a chance I'll put comments on the photos. Tomorrow we're headed for Egypt. We'll cross via ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba.

Feb 19, 2010

Photos: 103

Kicking It From Istanbul to Antioch in Turkey

Our stay in Turkey was longer than expected. If the Turks weren't so hospitable we may not have felt the urge to prolong the visit. Their hospitality, a friend, some special interests in archelogical sites, a makeover of Kiharambee!, and some winding roads on the South coast all contributed to the extra long stay. We enjoyed almost every minute..but more about that later. For comments see the facebook site, kik abaot. Blogs will follow.

Feb 14, 2010

Photos: 69

Kicking It With Sery in Napoli

I have acquired, as the result of the marriage between my daughter, Shona, and Michele Messina, a daughter(in-law) called "Sery" or Serena. In truth, we (the Simpsons) have acquired a whole new family, the Messina, of Napoli. How lucky we are and how gracious, generous, hospital was my gorgeous daughter, Sery. We needed a little time to recover from a trip snafy and Sery made that wonderfully possible in her magic apartment that looks out at Mt. Vesuvius.

Jan 31, 2010

Photos: 150

Kicking it with Licia and Paola in Firenze

We spent two days with these magical sisters who took care of us like visiting royalty. Che belle sorelle!! We also got a few moments with family members in Florence. I saw Stefano Ferragamo for the first time since he was only 9 or 10 years old and his 18 year old son, Niccolo, a stunningly handsome guy who has just received a prestigious scholarship to the university in Pisa. Finally, I got to meet an old "friend" from whom I bought some painting 10 years ago. He's still plying his trade in the Piazza Michelangelo.

Jan 29, 2010

Photos: 32

Kicking it with the John Stahnke Family in Paris

For a brief 24 hours I reunited with an old friend I hadn't seen in 40 years. Maria and I had a memorable evening enjoying find food, great conversation, and we did our best to piece together the bits and pieces of the intervening 40 years.

Jan 20, 2010

Photos: 6

Kicking it with the Enochs Family, Rawley, his new wife, Mercedes, and Lewis Sweeney in Osnabruck

Maria and I took a quick trip up to Osnabruck Germany to say hi to Joe Enochs and his family. They graciously hosted us as usual. I checked in on Rawley and Sweeney to see how their soccer careers are coming along. Rawley has signed with the Osnabruck reserve side. Sweeney's getting the hang of the reality of life for a soccer player in the outside world. It ain't easy as he will testify.

Jan 19, 2010

Photos: 6

Kicking About in Peterborough or "Kiharambee!!"

Jan 15, 2010

Photos: 97

Kickabout Africa
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