Ninety nine years ago, Explorers Club member William Douglas Burden mounted an expedition to the island of Komodo in the South Sunda Islands to research and obtain the first film footage of the island’s monstrous lizards. Douglas Burden was responsible for giving these huge monitor lizards the name Komodo dragon.

Just recently another Explorers Club member, George Burden (the author) followed up on his cousin’s journey with one of his own. The island had now become part of the Komodo National Park and rangers are able to take visitors on treks to see the creatures in their native environment. The number of visitors is closely monitored to protect the dragons and the park is closed periodically for this reason.

Komodo dragons will readily attack humans so it is important to stay close to rangers and listen to their instructions. In 1974 Swiss Baron Rudolf Reding von Biberegg didn’t listen… and disappeared on the island with nothing but his glasses, camera case and a bloody shoe ever found.

Like Douglas Burden, my wife also accompanied me to Komodo, but unlike the first Mrs. Burden, no Komodo dragons attacked her. We did not remain unscathed however as I suffered a small laceration on my right leg during the visit. More on this later.

The dragons range from little ones (if you consider a metre long to be small!) to  gargantuan 3 meter (ten foot long) male dragons like the one which attacked the first Mrs. Burden.  It was stopped in its tracks just short of its target by an alert guard.

The dragons are not the only attraction around Komodo. Visitors can skin dive in crystalline waters at Manta Point with massive manta rays, the gentle giants of the ray world. Reefs here are also amazing for the colourful array of tropical fish and coral, as well as sea turtles and the occasional shark. Despite my leg injury I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity nor on a subsequent dive in a sea cave.

Okay, it is not smart to swim in salt water with skin wounds of any kind. One would think salt water would be helpful for wound healing, but a bacterium called Vibrio loves salt water and Vibrio vulnificus can go from causing a small amount of redness to killing you in as little as 48 hours. The condition is called necrotizing fasciitis or “flesh eating disease”.

My own wound began exhibiting these same features. There is not much medical care available on Komodo but I always carry a good supply of antibiotics when travelling. Starting amoxi-clav did not seem to make much difference to the rapidly expanding redness in my leg and this was disturbing as that antibiotic almost always works on these types of infection. Fearing something worse than a garden variety infection, I started a second antibiotic which targets Vibrio. Slowly the infection began to respond and so far my leg is still attached.

The moral of this story is don’t go into salt water with any kind of open skin wound. As a postscript make sure any open wound stays well covered in the tropics. The screwworm fly can lay eggs quickly in an open wound and the maggots will devour your living flesh quite happily until surgically removed!

A gallery of images from our trip. Click for larger images and to start a slide show.

Photo Credits

Manta photo by  Nathalie

All other photos by Stella van der Lugt

In our case it was the latter.

Stella and I go to the Netherlands regularly, to visit her family (which is only natural as she is a Dutch national). During our recent stay we ventured a bit afield from the land of windmills and wooden shoes…and decided to stop by Monaco, one of the small European countries that we had not yet visited. Of course I wore my racing shirt (as my step-daughter was a prize-winning BMW racer in Holland, this was pre-requisite) and pulled into Monaco on May 24th. As we approached via southern France, I idly wondered when the Grand Prix was going to be held this year. As we entered town a large sign informed us that it was this weekend! Too late to turn back. As we entered town Stella noticed an underground parking garage. The third spot on the right was empty. Sensing a trap we made sure there were no reserved signs or not parking notifications. We had immediately scored a parking spot in the centre of the city (more dumb luck) and exited our car to start our tour of Monte Carlo on Grand Prix weekend.

So much for the planning phase of this stopover. We headed down through a lovely tropical garden, “Jardin de la Petite Afrique”, towards the Casino Square and had a chance to admire the customized Formula 1 race cars displayed within the elegant Casino of Monte Carlo. The course was all laid out for Sunday’s competition but it being a Friday evening we were able to pace out the track while admiring the sights of this tiny country. The nearby Fairmont Hotel has a hairpin curve named for it and guests in the right rooms could watch the race from their balconies. We stood in front of the hotel and saw more red Ferrari’s than I thought existed on the planet, trying out the track.

Continuing our walk we ambled farther down to the Mediterranean where we were able admire the huge super-yachts moored in the harbour for the event. Across the water lay the posh hilltop palace of the Albert II, the current Prince of Monaco. We all know the fairy tale story of how Prince Rainier III of Monaco married American actress, Grace Kelly. Albert was their only son.

Strewn around the town centre, like the scattered toy cars of a spoiled little boy, were Ferrari’s, Rolls Royce’s, Lamborghini’s, Bentley’s and myriads of other cars for the wealthy. I idly wondered what I could purchase with my life’s savings, a thought quickly quashed by my sensible wife

A bit further on we came across the Tag Heuer store, a shop dedicated to the high end Swiss watch brand most favoured by car racers. The manager showed us a watch specially made for this race and available only from that specific store in a limited edition of 50 timepieces. At almost 20 k USD each it was becoming abundantly clear why Monaco was a haven mostly for the ultra-wealthy.

Of course there wasn’t a hotel room to be had in town but before we headed back on the road late that evening we decided to splurge big and dine at the historic “Cafe de Paris”. We didn’t have reservations but the solicitous maitre d’ escorted us to a choice table. I had noticed a few people taking my picture earlier and wondered why. The only thing we can figure is the shirt made me look like I was part of a race team which probably explains how we got the restaurant table.

Since one picture is worth a thousand words, I will leave the excellent photos taken by my wife, Stella, to fill out our adventure. However I will add one more detail. That evening we had to drive half way across Italy to find a hotel room as everything was booked for the Grand Prix for 200 miles around. Well after dark we pulled into a seaside town and after a bit of begging, scored the last room in the hotel. I think the night clerk took pity on us.

I will just end with the old saying: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Click images for large sizes and to start a slide show.

Don’t be like us and rely on dumb luck to visit Monte Carlo on Grand Prix weekend. Plan well in advance (see link below)… or not.

Visit Monaco

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

CERN is a French acronym for the European Organization for Nuclear research, and it is most well known for its 23 kilometre (about 14 miles) long particle accelerator, the largest in the world, which is buried 100 meters underground. Unless you are one of the lucky few you won’t actually see the device, but CERN has kindly provided an amazing opportunity to explore the world of quantum physics in unique and fun way. The visible structures are impressive enough with the first thing most visitors see being the Globe of Science and Innovation. Designed for the Swiss National Exhibition, Expo ’02 it is now located at front of CERN. The Globe, which is composed of five different types of timber and acts as a natural carbon sink, has absolutely nothing specifically to do with physics but looks really cool parked in front of the facility.

The Globe of Science and Innovation

As a fitting metaphor for the quantum concept of “existing in two states,” the CERN is located partly in France as well as Switzerland. CERN’s many interactive displays are geared to both students and adults who can challenge themselves to various simulations of tasks required to run the LHC. They are housed in tubular buildings which mimic the structure of the LHC.

One particularly fun activity requires participants to coordinate magnetic fields to accelerate a metal ball the same way the LHC accelerates particles. My favourite, however, was the half hour immersive electron experience. To start with, an image was scanned of me in two different positions. I then found myself progressing through a colourful maze interacting with a virtual world that shows what it’s like to exist at the subatomic level. Electrons exist in two states, particle and energy, so the experience was to say the least both strange and exhilarating. A photo or two will illustrate this far better than I can describe.

For those of you who think Marvel invented the multiverse, I am afraid I have some bad news.  Quantum physics predicted the presence of multiple parallel universes decades ago.  In fact it is one of the only reasons that explains why quantum physics actually works. If all this weirdness scrambles your brain a bit and you are in need of refreshment at the end of your visit, go to CERN’s “Big Bang Cafe” for a drink or a snack.

For more information on a visit to CERN, click here: https://home.cern/

Or ask Sheldon Cooper…

A Gallery of the CERN visit
Click images to expand and start a slide show

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

This sign points the way to Castle Frankenstein (“burg” being German for castle)

Most people think the castle is fictional. It is not. It was constructed before 1250 by Lord Conrad of Breuberg who subsequently adopted the family name “von Frankenstein.” While nobody named Dr. Victor Frankenstein ever lived there, an alchemist by the name of Johann Dippel was born in the castle on August 10, 1673. Many records of Dippel survive from that time and at least one school he attended registered his name as Johann Dippel “Frankesteinensis” which is Latin for, you guessed it, von Frankenstein.

View of the tower of Castle Frankenstein

Glowering over the little town of Nieder-Beerbach, Germany, Castle Frankenstein looks well suited as the dwelling place of the fictional Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who featured in Mary Shelley’s 1818 horror novel, Frankenstein. The novel spawned a multitude of literature and movies and its monster has an almost archetypal presence in the consciousness of people. Shelley no doubt had heard of Castle Frankenstein and its legends during her travels in the area. The square tower which dominates the courtyard was constructed in the 1800’s but the chapel, well and fountain are much older and have legends of their own.

Getting back to Dippel, we find that he started his career as a respected theologian with a Masters Degree from the University of Giessen in 1693. He published under the pen name, Christianus Democritus. Later his interest changed to the practice of alchemy and his writings (eg. Maladies and Remedies of the Life of the Flesh) encompassed such topics as soul transference, exorcism and potions designed to imbue their user with immortality. He often experimented on dead animals, and some rumours said even on cadavers. He was best known for inventing Dippel’s Oil, which was brewed from rendered (animal?) bones and flesh.

Dippel’s Oil was proposed by its inventor to be the Elixir of Life. The tarry, unpleasant substance actually proved to have some uses, the last such being the fouling of wells so the enemy couldn’t use them during World War II. It technically wasn’t poisonous so it was not against the Geneva Convention.

By itself Dippel’s was no elixir…but a scientist named Johann Diesbach, perhaps in collaboration with Dippel, discovered that combined with certain red dyes the oil created a bright blue substance later dubbed Prussian Blue. Besides being a great dying agent it proved useful for microbiologists to stain tissue samples.

But most importantly, the new dye proved to be a true Elixir of Life for some people. Research showed Prussian Blue to be an invaluable tool in treating heavy metal poisoning, for example with substances such as lead and radioactive cesium.

Villager’s home below the castle, marked with an iron cross to ward off evil

Dippel, after a long and contentious career, was recorded as having died on April 25, 1734. Some say it was by poisoning though the official diagnosis was a stroke.

However, only a year previously he reported having discovered a tonic that would extend life by 135 years…which may explain the shadowy figure we noticed in the forest around the castle during our visit.

A Gallery Of Photos From Our Trip
Click images to enlarge and start a slideshow

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

Path of the eclipse.

I’ve viewed a number of partial ones, a much more accessible occurrence, but being in the path of totality can be difficult…unless, as the lyrics say in the old Carly Simon hit, “You’re So Vain”, you “…fly your Learjet to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun,” though this one wasn’t total in that province, just in PEI, its neighbour.

Like many things in life, you need to experience a total eclipse to comprehend one. This is why Stella and I found ourselves crossing the Confederation Bridge to Canada’s Prince Edward Island, the western half of which was in the path of totality. As we crossed the kilometers long bridge I noticed that the sun had a distinct ring circling it, which is known as a solar Halo. This apparently is due to ice crystals high in the atmosphere and is not supposed to be related to an eclipse.

Halo around sun that seemed to foretell the eclipse several hours in advance.

The afternoon of April 8, 2024 found us at the Cape Egbert lighthouse along with 15 or 20 others who discovered this would be an ideal viewing for the eclipse, scheduled to reach totality at 4:37 pm (Atlantic Standard Time). We viewed the sun through specialized glasses that protected the eye’s retina from the painless but serious damage looking at the sun can cause. About 3:30 pm I noticed a tiny crescent shaped bite at about five o’clock on the sun’s disk. This gradually widened over the next hour as the moon slowly crept over the sun. What’s surprising is that the perceived decrease in sunlight is virtually nil until an eclipse has progressed to about 99% occlusion. Momentarily the sun looked like a diamond ring, with one glowing spot on a ring of fire. Then suddenly it was like someone turned out the lights. Briefly we could see Baily’s Beads, glowing spots that are caused by the irregularity of the edge of the moon from lunar mountains and craters. After totality the sun’s corona sported a number of red prominences, which are massive blasts of plasma that burst out from the surface of the sun from time to time.

Cape Egmont lighthouse and total eclipse. Note the lighthouse’s lantern came on.

Things fell silent…birds stopped singing, the sky darkened and we could see stars and the planet Jupiter. A sunset like glow appearing over 360 degrees of the horizon and a dark disk hung like a surreal Dali painting. I felt like we had suddenly been transported to an alien planet for about 90 seconds. Oddly a centipede chose to crawl over my blanket just as the sun reached totality.

The solar disk is partially obscured in this photo.

The sun reappeared gradually over the following hour, though again it was hard to see an appreciable change in light levels after totality ended. Most people packed up and left, though a dedicated duo of amateur eclipse watchers from New Jersey told us they were staying right to the end.

If you missed this one, don’t worry, as North America will experience another total eclipse in August 2026. Unfortunately the part of North America that you will see it is eastern Greenland, so some travelling, perhaps including dogsled, may be involved.

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

Cuba is amazingly diverse, though many only know it from the all inclusive hotels that dot the island’s amazing beaches. From the mist filled valleys of Pinar del Rio to the rushing waterfalls of the Sierra Maestra Mountains in the east Cuba has something to satisfy even the most spoiled traveller.

Sunset at the Sol Caribe Varadero

A good start for Canadians (who unlike US citizens, have been allowed to travel here since the 1980’s) is Varadero. Besides having an amazing beach it is in a key location to take a day trip to Old Havana with its 16th century church and fortifications and its Capitol building which looks like its American counterpart in Washington, DC. Or you can stay overnight and take in an evening performance at the world famous Tropicana nightclub. This was the one Barry Manilow was comparing the Copacabana to in his song, when he wrote of “…the hottest club north of Havana…” It was once the hangout of gangsters and wealthy financiers, but mostly you will find European and Canadian tourists these days, though the fabulous dancers haven’t changed!

Another must-do is to tour to the southern part of the island at the Bay of Pigs for warm water, snorkelling to see amazingly colourful tropical fish and taking a swamp buggy through the Cienaga de Zapata to see the ferocious looking and endangered Cuban crocodiles and tour a reconstructed Taino native village on a cluster of islands in the centre of the swamp. Unlike my shaky Russian helicopter ride many years ago transportation will be a comfortable air conditioned bus.

Our base of operations for this trip was the luxurious Sol Caribe Beach hotel. With an ocean view suite we were comfortably set up to enjoy an amazing week. The staff were inevitably friendly, and always willing to honour a request. We have always felt immensely safer in Cuba versus other Caribbean destinations. The last time I was in Cuba I misplaced my bag with money and passports. Items I’ve left behind in other destinations have disappeared without a trace but here it quickly turned up at the front desk!

Nightime by the pool

We really enjoyed the beach with ample beach chairs and lots of shade for our pale northern complexions (or sunshine and tanning for the more daring…but wear sun screen!) The pools were spotless, both the larger central pool where aerobics, pool exercises and lots of music enhanced the experience, or relax at the smaller, quiet pool. Evening entertainment was lively and varied with a taste of local culture.

The Sol Caribe Beach offered a dedicated coffee bar with Starbucks calibre coffees available in the all inclusive price. We befriended baristas Dios and Brenda (see photo) and had many a cappuccino and latte. Later in the day these went down even better with a shot of aged Cuban rum on the side (and yes, I know, you’re not supposed to drink cappuccinos in the afternoon, but what the heck!)

Our lovely baristas, Dios and Brenda

For Canadians, Cuba offers very reasonable pricing for a great experience of beach, nature and lively Cuban culture. Currently the world situation has resulted in shortages of certain essentials but we didn’t notice this much at our hotel. Cuisine is still good, varied and ample.

One thing that visitors may want to do is bring items like notebooks, pens and crayons for children, or soap, toothbrushes and similar items which are greatly appreciated, probably more than cash by the many mom’s who staff the hotel. Nail polish and hair bands also put a smile on many faces. We filled a suitcase with these types of items and emptied it before we left. This is a great way to make sure you have enough room to bring back holiday purchases!

Waist line endangering pastry array

One of the nicest features for us was that we could get direct charter flights with Air Transat from our home town of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The day we left, a Nor’easter blizzard hit Nova Scotia. The airport pretty much closed down but lucky for us our flight had landed the day before. The day we left we found that the departure board was a red sea of cancelled flights with a tiny island of blue…which was our flight. With the valiant efforts of Stanfield International Airport’s plow operators and ground crew and our Air Transat flight crew, we took off smoothly and were quickly in clear skies and southbound for a week to thaw out from a harsh Canadian winter.

To speak directly with Sol Caribe hotel sales staff director, e-mail Yolanda.

IF YOU GO:

AIR TRANSAT VACATIONS

SOL CARIBE BEACH, VARADERO

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

Dark Clouds Looming?

The TD report states:

“Canada is also one of the few advanced countries that has not recovered its pre-pandemic level of per capita GDP. Longer-term, the OECD projects that Canada will rank dead last among OECD members in real GDP per capita growth out until 2060. This underscores that without fundamental changes to our approach to productivity and growth, Canada’s standard-of-living challenges will persist well into the future…”

You can see a striking depiction of this in this video of the top 15 wealthiest countries by year from 1500 to 2019 (it is fun to watch from the beginning but you may want to roll forward to about 1900 for the purpose of this article.)   Pretend it’s a race and watch Canada and Argentina carefully.  

Both Argentina and  Canada consistently rank in the top 15 from the mid 1800’s onward and briefly during WWII Canada is the second wealthiest country in the world! Watch the Canadian flag drop off the top 15 list in the 1980’s, never to return.  For some time Argentina has been wealthier than Canada.  But it drops off the list about 1950.  Since then it has been an economic basket case with a currency so weak and inflated that you have to buy a house in US dollars as people won’t accept their own currency.

Argentina once had a vigorous middle class which was wiped out by government fiscal mismanagement within a few decades.   The reasons included ignoring the very products  that brought the country wealth, wasteful and increasing deficit spending and debt.  Instead the government invested in heavily subsidized industrial projects which became political footballs and a sinkhole for, rather than source of wealth.  The result was hyperinflation and an economy that has had to be bailed out by repeated International Monetary Fund loans.  The country remains an economic basket case.

The wealth of Argentina and Canada were both founded on natural resources and agriculture.  

What went wrong with Argentina?  Its government lost track of what was putting bread and butter on the table and roofs over their heads.  In Argentina wheat, beef and mining took care of this.  In Canada petroleum, agriculture and mining are major sources of our wealth.  Currently over 30% of our exports are made up of one product: petroleum and its derivatives.

Canada would appear to be headed towards the same fate as Argentina.  I am sure the people of Argentina believed that their comfortable existence would continue indefinitely.  There are quite a few Argentinians living who still remember the prosperous lifestyle that they once had. Now most of the population is poor with a small, moneyed class controlling most of the country.  

Sure, climate change has been a major concern in recent years and this has been a challenge for Canadians.  Unfortunately, unlike Norway, instead of sensibly managing our hefty petroleum resources we seem to be actively trying to torpedo them.  The world will require oil, gas, plastics and fertilizers for many years.  All we accomplish by targeting these industries is to raise the incomes of countries with horrendous human rights records.  Natural gas produces about half the CO2 of other petroleum products and unlike coal does not produce noxious acid-rain-producing byproducts like sulphur dioxide (which turns to sulphuric acid in the sky).  Someone recently and seriously suggested that we pump it into the air over the Arctic to slow down global warming.  Duh!

We should be encouraging natural gas production and export in Canada to provide an ethical and less noxious alternative to the coal fired plants that are sprouting up all over Europe and elsewhere in the world since the Ukraine conflict started.

It is us who  should be filling this gap.  Additionally, threats of curtailing fertilizer use and production forces Canadian farmers to face 30% drops in crop yield and probable insolvency.  

Our mineral wealth includes gold, diamonds, rare earths, cobalt, nickel and lithium, the latter four are key products in the electrification of automotive transportation and in the computer industry.  I have read many business publications and they rarely consider Canada a serious contender to supply these products because of bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory complexity.

If we don’t take some positive steps to address these issues many Canadians could be poor, hungry and cold within the next couple of decades.  I know as I was flying out of Buenos Aires the day the riots started.  But don’t take my word. Just ask someone from Argentina.

Photo Credit

Image by Joe from Pixabay

Most residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are dissatisfied with the lack of consultation extended to them by the federal government in measures to tax and reduce petroleum production and use of fertilizers with concomitant drop in crop production by about 30%. They argue that this will be very damaging to not only their own economies but to Canada as a whole. Since Canada, and especially the Prairie provinces have freezing temperatures in the winter and often have to travel long distances to get food, supplies etc it is important to have affordable energy for heating purposes and travel. Poor planning in this area could have serious consequences for the average Canadian.

Saskatoon Sunset

So what would the Prairie Federation (PF) look like? For starters, the population total of the three prairie provinces is about seven million versus a Canadian population approaching forty million. Within this region exist the world’s third largest oil reserves, third largest uranium reserves and about ten percent of the world’s wheat output. Twenty five percent of Canada’s exports are petroleum related! Most come from these three western provinces. Furthermore, our hypothetical federation shares a long border with the resource hungry US market.

In addition to the huge mining, petroleum and agricultural resources Manitoba has a viable saltwater port on Hudson’s Bay, the port of Churchill. This is accessible by rail and is probably Canada’s best port on the Arctic Ocean. It has been woefully neglected and was even sold to private American interests at one point. The port needs a substantial cash infusion and upgrading of the rail system but could be harnessed for much of the year to export petroleum and wheat. As the Arctic warms, open water conditions will become more frequent and Arctic Ocean ports will be of great consequence. Russia knows this and has dominated the Arctic region with well developed ports and a fleet of ice breakers. Canada has ignored this vital and resource rich territory.

CN Rail

The Prairie Federation would have to take on a proportionate amount of the federal debt (about one-fifth) but would take away a disproportionate amount of wealth. In fact each resident would likely see a healthy bonus as resource sales are divided among a much smaller population. Residents of Alaska receive a yearly Permanent Fund Dividend ranging up to two thousand US dollars per person and I suspect the PF would offer an even more substantial amount to residents.

I sincerely hope we never see this scenario materialize as the Atlantic Provinces would largely be on the losing end (except perhaps for Newfoundland, which has huge hydroelectric and substantial offshore oil and might want to join the PF!)

Canada take heed.

Photo Credit

Saskatoon Sunset Image by james_nagarbaul from Pixabay

Train Image by Jennie Roberts from Pixabay

Our home in the desert

We arrive at sunset, just in time to trade our SUVs for the more traditional conveyance of the Sahara, the camel. Exceeding six feet in height at the shoulder, I wondered how the heck I was going to get on board this so-called “ship of the desert” that bore the exotic name of… Charlie. There wasn’t a ladder in sight. Fortunately, the camel driver got Charlie to kneel for an easy mount and then up I went, following my wife and several others of our group. It was off into the dunes. Our goal was to reach the highest summit and watch the sun set over the desert. A metal T-bar set in the saddle (likely just for tourists) proved useful when the camels negotiated an incline, but otherwise the ride was surprisingly comfortable, more so than horses I’ve ridden. Nobody fell off and we dismounted at the apex of a nearby dune to enjoy the sun’s last rays silhouetting the fortress-like kasbahs off in the distance. I felt like an extra in an old Hollywood movie!

Camel riders enjoying a rest

After sunset, we remounted, and Charlie ably brought me back to the encampment. Stella and I entered our tent, a large, sumptuously furnished space floored with exotic rugs and featuring a full bathroom and shower. I’ve seen shabbier rooms in five-star hotels.

Our tent in Morocco

We dined in an equally sumptuous dining tent on a buffet of couscous, Moroccan tajine, salads and fruit. Just FYI, the Bedouins not only ride their camels but also feature them on their menu. Though wine is not served due to religious considerations of the country, nobody minded if you brought a bottle or two of your own stash to the table.

After dinner, we gathered round a campfire and enjoyed gnawa, traditional Berber music, and admired the glittering starry canopy of the Saharan sky. Then it was off to the night “roughing it” in our tent. Maybe some people intended to “Rock the Kasbah” that evening, but Stella and I just crashed, as we planned to get up and enjoy the desert sunrise.

A young camel driver

Waking early, we climbed the dunes (on foot this time) and watched the rosy hues of the sunrise, after which it was time for a hearty Bedouin breakfast featuring tasty medjool dates and exquisite kiln-baked Moroccan bread. Then it was back aboard our bus, which we dubbed “The Marrakesh Express” because our next stop was indeed Marrakesh.

Here are a few more photos from our trip.

For more information on how to have a fabulous and seamless adventure in Morocco, contact Exoticca Tours.

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt

Colourfully dressed Maasai are often found wandering the beach in their bright red, kilt like garments.

The Hotel Kiwenga was lovely, fully decorated for Christmas, albeit with an African flare. It was the perfect spot to “veg out” for a few days and was comparable to a 4-4.5-star Caribbean all-inclusive. The main difference was that the beach had many very friendly Maasai people along the shore. This was great if you wished to get an insight into local culture, though a quiet beach walk was not likely without an entourage joining you. The rooms also had mosquito netting around the beds, which may not be a bad thing for Caribbean resorts to embrace.

Arriving at Hotel Kiwenga

The Kiwenga also differed in its spa facilities, with a traditional Arabic hammam along with the massage therapy options. Hammams are found all over the Islamic world, and are often very elaborate buildings featuring marble slabs where a bath attendant can scrub you with soapy mitts and varying levels of enthusiasm ranging from mildly stimulating to removing several layers of skin. Be warned.

Not the usual beasts you will find in a Nativity scene.

Overall, I would not make a special trip all the way to Zanzibar just for the beach resorts, but as a short flight away at the end of a safari in Kenya, Zanzibar proved a good place to zone out for a few days before facing a long stint of air travel. The local capital of Stone Town is also worth a visit for its history and traditional architecture.

Dining on the beach

If you go:

• Exoticca Tours for excellent quality packages at reasonable prices.
• Ethiopian Airlines for amazing, friendly flight service to Africa.

Photo Credits

All photos by Stella van der Lugt