Photos from France

Fires in Athens

Thank you all for your emails and concerns about my whereabouts and the Athens' fires. I have just returned home from France and fortunately at this time I am not near them. I can't see them, although I know they are about a 40 minute drive away. There is a smell of smoke in the air though. I will keep you posted if anything changes.

Road Trips in Provence

Suzanne and I had a great time in Provence, France for 6 days. We took full advantage of our fantastic location and did 4 full days of road trips. Day 1 - Aix - we really liked this city with the lanes and lanes of shopping - court yards of restaurants and fountains at key intersections and wine vineyard.

Day 2 - Salon - went to a soap making museum and a chocolatier and Arles and a wine vineyard.

Day 3 - best day- went to St. Remy, Les Baux de Provence and Tarascon. Les Baux was my favorite place and we spent about 4 hours there. It is an area of no cars just shops, restaurants and the ruins of a castle village - one of those tours with English commentary on audio guide. It reminded me of Monavesia (sp?) in Greece but better! Then we drove up to Tarascon to see the medival festival!

Day 4 - Avignon to walk through the Palace of Papes then a quick tour through Bonnieux - quick because I was running out of gas and was very stressed that on a Sunday at 6pm I would run out of gas! Then a wine vineyard!

Pretty Provence

Suzanne and I successfully arrived in Marseilles - got a cute little convertible car (no extra money) and headed to Lambesc. A quaint town - a little dead last evening but bustling this morning. We got a coffee then headed to the supermarket with a basket/bag in hand. Stopped at the bakery for fresh bread (84 cents a baguette) and now home having some breakfast.

Today we are going to venture to Aix for the day - nothing like starting with a good shop! There is a good chocolateer (sp?) there where we plan to swing by as well. Tomorrow the only thing we have planned is going to the local farmer's market in town in the morning.

Suzanne (Visitor #4) has arrived

My good friend and colleague from Stone Ridge arrived on Sunday, August 16. She and I both left Stone Ridge the same year -me to move to Greece, she to move to up state NY.

For the next 3 days we did the typical tourist events. Went to the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, National Gardens, saw the change of guards, stopped in James Joyce for a pint of beer, went to the sandal maker's store, etc.

Have Arrived in Africa

I safely arrived in Kilimanjaro Africa last night (July 31, 2009). My flight to Amsterdam from Athens I sat beside a woman from Texas who has been to AFrica multiple times and gave me so points about Arusha. The flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro was a full plane and after about 12 hours of complete flying I arrived! We went through the paper work, bought my Visa for $50 picked up my bag and when i walked out of baggage there was Alfred holding a sign "Welcome Jill Rivers". He and his friend led me to a small blue car and we started our one hour journey to Arusha in the pitch blackness.
The starry night was amazing - there were so many people walking along this dark road or riding their bikes I am surprised no was hit. Saw no animals - possible a bobcat looking thing but couldn't tell you for sure.
The Arusha Centre Tourist Inn was nothing i would have voluntarily chosen myself but since I was meeting the tour here today - agreeed to stay. I was so tired but had difficulty sleeping b/c I think my hotel is right beside a muslim building and I heard singing through a PA system until about 3 am.
This morning had breakfast, showered and now typing away at Cybernet Cafe. Although there really isn't any time zone change i am tired.
I think I will find the tourist market and a coffee cafe and read.
I am really not sure when I will be able to get online again - or where there will be electricity for that matter. Oh my goodness! But keep checking this rather than email. this is like my mass emails.

The Group - Aug 2

After a day in Arusha on my own, I finally met the 5 other “tourists”, plus our guide, cook and driver. Gwen and Ian were from Perth, Australia; Jill from Cornwall, England; Keith from Liverpool, England; and Marianne from Switzerland. We all got along fantastically throughout the trip. We all enjoyed our beers at the end of the day (although most of the time the beers were room temperature) and we laughed a lot!
Having such a close knit group really made the experience that much more enjoyable.
Naizeri was our cook – he was African but not Maasai. It was unbelievable what he made “out of nothing” every day. We had 3 huge meals a day. Every morning we began with porridge, fruit, toast and eggs. Lunch was either a box lunch – chicken, fruit, sandwich, cookies and a drink or if not travelling we would have soup and sandwiches or soup and rice with some meat sauce. Similar meals at dinner, always beginning with soup. We definitely consumed our share of the daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Usually around 4 we would have tea/coffee/hot chocolate with popcorn. We never went hungry.
Kingu was our driver. It was incredible how he got us through sand, water and uneven roads. The van/bus was a 4WD vehicle with 9 seats. We were definitely packed into the van with all our luggage and tents and such. But the pop-up roof was great – a great way to see and take photos of the animals. While he was driving he was also able to spot out lions, birds and other difficult animals. Kingku was also knowledgeable about most animals and birds and shared this information with all of us.
Laizer was our tour guide. His real name is Olotumi Laizer but everyone just called him Laizer. He is a Maasai warrior. Although quite quiet, Laizer was the “rock” of our group. He was a good listener and tried his best to make all our situations the best. He was also knowledgeable about the animals but if he didn’t know he would look it up. Laizer’s English was pretty good but some others had a difficult time understanding him. I think since I am a teacher I had a better time understanding and hearing him. I thought he was 32 but I think he is 22! He works for Imaginative Traveller (http://www.imaginative-traveller.com/) and Oreteti Cultural Discovery (http://www.oreteti.com/) .