Photo Friday: The Boston Beggar

During our recent visit to Boston, we were impressed by the enterprising spirit of this man, who we saw begging outside the Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston.

Tanzania: On the search for the 'BIG FIVE'

A safari in Africa usually includes an attempt to spot the "Big Five". This includes seeing an African lion, an African elephant, a rhinoceros, a leopard and ... a Cape buffalo. 

'Wait!' I hear you cry. 'A buffalo? Not a cheetah or a hippo? Or even a giraffe?'

Nope. The fifth animal that you must see on safari in Africa is definitely the Cape buffalo. I did not make this up. 

Under the sea!

During our honeymoon in Tanzania, we took the opportunity to explore below sea as well as above. 

We went diving a number of times with One Ocean Dive Centres, who had one of their many satellite bases at our hotel, Ocean Paradise, on Zanzibar. 

Jambo! Swahili for beginners

Any tourist visiting Swahili-speaking Kenya or Tanzania, will quickly learn to greet people they meet with a friendly 'jambo'. And like many other Swahili words it's easy for English speakers to pronounce and really quite nice to say!

However, 'jambo' by itself is usually only really used with foreigners. If you want to make that little bit more effort, the correct greeting is 'hujambo' if you are the first person to speak. The response is 'sijambo'.

Princess Salme of Zanzibar - A 19th Century Feminist?

Right next door to the hotel where we stayed in Stone Town - Emerson on Hurumzi - is a small museum dedicated to the Princess Salme.

Arabian nights in Stone Town

Stone Town on the whole was a little bit of a disappointment. Lonely Planet describes it as 'a magical jumble of cobbled alleyways ... (which) make it easy to spend days wandering round and getting lost'.

In reality, it felt more than a little tired, with the once fine buildings in desperate need of some TLC and the 'jumble of cobbled alleyways' filled with small shops selling the same tourist fare for over-inflated prices.

Doors of Zanzibar

'Do you know what my problem is?' I asked James as we walked through the streets of Stone Town, Zanzibar.

'You have an unhealthy obsession with doors', he retorted.

The Hippo Pool - Ngorongoro Crater

A visit to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania wouldn't be complete without visiting the hippo pool. 

This is one of the only areas in the Crater, where you can get out of your vehicle. If there for a picnic breakfast, you can eat outside, basking in the early morning sun.

Trip report: Tanzanian Safari

Our safari in Tanzania was with Kudu Safaris. We had four days with them (although the fourth day was really only driving back from the Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha) and visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Lions!

I guess they weren't at home then?

At best this sign symbolises false hope. At worst its an outright lie. 

Is that Bigfoot? No it's a black rhino (It really is, I promise!)

Bigfoot or a black African Rhino

While this photo looks like some forged, far off, out of focus picture that people bring out to show the existence of Bigfoot, I can absolutely assure you that this a genuine photo of a Black African Rhino. I promise. Even if James did accuse it of being a hippo when he first looked at it through the binoculars, our guide was quick to correct him: 'no no that is a rhino, my friend'. Judging by the other tourists in the vicinity, he was not the only guide who was convinced!

A taste of Argentina in Wimbledon

Chango, Wimbledon

Wandering through Wimbledon Village over the Easter weekend, it was with great delight that we discovered 'Chango' an Argentinian cafe, serving up 'empanadas' and 'alfajores'.