May 1, 2024 (So sorry, I was told the video from my last post showing the children of Takoradi, Ghana was sent in full screen mode. If you go back and adjust the size icon, you will see the children better.) Upon arrival, the first thing you notice is that the port of Banjul is… Read more

April 27, 2024 My good friend, Phil Glennon, an attorney, must have studied the Socratic Method in law school. Regarding my post about the Ayan Cemani chicken, he commented: “So if you grill a black chicken, how do you know when it’s done?” Think about it. Ghana is a poor country. Very poor. The Ghana… Read more

April 26, 2024 Null Island and what you may learn on a sea day. Null Island is not an actual island but where you cross the Prime Meridian at the Equator. It is the spot of zero latitude and zero longitude and zero dry land. In the bridge there are two monitors one which showed… Read more

April 21 and April 22, 2024 (Thanks to my brother Brian commenting on my Cape Town post my secret is exposed. Earth Day, April 22, is celebrated on my birthday. Hopefully I’m getting a little wiser and not just older. Thank you all for your well wishes-they meant the world to me.) The Republic of… Read more

April 20, 2024 (Sorry for the delay with this post. I have been enjoying Cape Town since April 16th) Cape Town, South Africa is a great city! One of my five favorite places to visit. (Venice, Italy, Sydney, Australia, Seefeld, Austria and Medellin, Colombia being the other four) If I had to pick just one,… Read more

April 16, 2024 Holland America made a wise decision rerouting our ship, so we did not go to the Middle East. Today we were scheduled to be in Israel. I received an email from my good friend, Marty Shenkman, who is currently in Israel. He wrote “For a few hours we knew at least 100… Read more

April 13, 2024 After a thoughtful visit in Zanzibar, Tanzania I was looking forward to a relaxing day in Maputo, Mozambique. Like most African nations, Mozambique is not without a troubled past. The Mozambique Civil War was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1972 until 1992. This war was between the Frelimo government, which… Read more

April 9, 2024 You may be wondering how did slavery end in Zanzibar. The answer may be different than what you assumed. Like many events throughout history, it was not the government that intervened but the work of the faith community that brought about change. Despite Britian’s criticism of slavery, the government hesitated to proclaim… Read more

April 9, 2024 When I was in my geography class in elementary school, I had to do a book report (remember them) on Zanzibar. I think it had to be 10 pages long, which seemed like a lot of pages at that time. I’m sure I supplemented the report with some colored drawings to reach… Read more

April 6, 2024 I often say that it is not the places you visit but the people you meet that makes travel meaningful. Hendrich is one such person. Chongae and I choose not to go to the breakfast buffet. The crispy bacon and “sticky buns” (cinnamon buns) seem to call me by name. Instead after… Read more