Nan Gibbons writes: My first observation upon arriving at the Cairo airport, after a grueling overnight journey, thousands of miles of travel and enduring the in-flight movie, “Mama Mia,” was, “These curbs look weird.”
Yeah — curbs.
But, I pulled myself together on the shuttle and managed to wrangle up better thoughts. Thoughts like the sky looks dusty, doesn’t anybody heed rules of the road? and Egyptian guys are cute. Read more
Guest blog by Lorraine Boissoneault, Go Girl Magazine
Traveling around the world inevitably means coming down with some form of illness or another. Whether it’s a simple cold picked up from fellow fliers, or the more uncomfortable experience of the local variation of Montezuma’s curse, having a well-supplied med kit is a must for all foreign adventurers.
My own experiences getting sick in distant lands somehow end up being more dramatic than most people’s, with the result that almost everyone I know thinks I am a walking cesspool. I swear I don’t actually get sick that often! Not with the common cold, anyway. When I get sick, I get sick in style, and require more medical attention than just a visit to the closest pharmacy. I could lament my bad luck, but instead, I try to look at the sicknesses as a chance to assess the health care system in each of the countries. As of now, my list consists of three countries: France, Morocco, and China. Travelers heading to these locales – read on and educate yourself. You never know when you might come down with a bad case of dengue fever (no, I have not had dengue fever – yet). Read more
Suzen Collins Continues her South African Journey:
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, next to Johannesburg and the largest in land area. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. South Africa has 3 capital cities, Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. Read more
Suzen Collins continues her South African Journey
Read Suzen’s posts here
The Western Cape is also the southernmost region of the African continent with Cape Agulhas as its southernmost point, only 3800 km from the Antarctic coastline. The Cape of Good Hope is the westernmost southern point of the continent of Africa….very awesome! Read more
Suzen Collins writes of her South African Journey – Part Four
Read Suzen’s posts here
Being in the southern hemisphere, March in South Africa is the beginning of fall and the weather was wonderful the entire two weeks I was there. The climate of the Cape is a Mediterranean climate, warm dry summers, and mild, cool winters with the most rainfall during the winter months. Temperatures during my stay were in the upper 70′s with a couple of days in the lower 80s. Read more
Suzen Collins continues her South African Journey
Read Suzen’s posts here
Kalk Bay
One of the picturesque little coastal towns is Kalk Bay. Originally a fishing village, now Kalk Bay has a reputation for antique, arts and restaurants, and still fishing! Colorful fishing boats create an atmosphere of the old seaside with restaurants like the Brass Bell situated right on the water. Big open windows give a water vista that is romantic in the broadest literary sense. Read more
Suzen Collins continues her South African journey here:
After breakfast we drove over to Boulder Beach where there are Penguins! These South African penguins are sometimes called jackass penguins, apparently due to the sound they make. I got to see a baby being preen, all downy fur and grey next to the black and white adult. The penguins seem used to people as I got pretty close to them, although they stayed in among some scub bushes which seemed to protect them somewhat as long as we were close by. Read more
A few months ago, end of January 2011, I was starting to say a favorite mantra…”what do I want, what do I want, what do I want?” a bit disillusioned and searching – feeling slightly bored perhaps.
Then I am innocently talking to my friend Suzanne, as she prepared to go to South Africa, as she does once or twice each year, when she says, “if my green card doesn’t come in the mail before Allan leaves perhaps you will get on a plane and bring it to me and have a couple weeks holiday.”
A suspension of time and the thought dropped in as solidly as a stone…yes, I will do that I laughed…but it felt as though it were done.
I find that the times I am empty and seemed to not know what I want are the times something really big shows up. Sometimes I wonder if it is the emptiness that allows room for the new thing. Seems kind of obvious now that I write it!
Susan Collins, usually resident in St Petersburg, Florida, USA writes of her recent South African Journey – read her blog On the Road to ZEN here Read more
Grace Carmel Matagaro
Masimba Hills Safaris better known as Masimba Safaris is owned by me Grace Carmel Matagaro. I started this business in December, 2009. I loved traveling and while traveling I made arrangements with my women friends, but we had last minute technicalities and cancellations so I proceeded anyway with my safari.
I traveled alone in my 4 x 4 to any part of Kenya that I wished to visit, the longest trip I ever did on my own being 790km. It is then I realized that I could travel alone and still have fun. My only challenge was that I did activities such as snorkeling, sightseeing, game drives and bird watching on my own without the guides.
It is at this point that I conceived the idea of bringing single travelers together with a focus on the women traveler so that people may not mistake it for a dating agency or anything similar. Targeting women only travelers also makes it easy when it comes to sharing a room and eventually the trip becomes affordable and you get to have travel partners.
I have organized women only Kenya safaris, supporting women with no travel partners. I ensure quality travel, quality accommodation in good lodges, and flexible itineraries allowing them to do what they like in any way they like it. Sometimes I even opt to be their tour guide and travel the whole trip with the ladies and we become travel friends. It gives the ladies security knowing they have one of their own and I have never disappointed anyone. If the ladies want a night out and I am tired, I have Professional Tour Guides who accompany them to ensure it’s a truly Memorable Kenyan Safari with Masimba Safaris.
I have invested in 3 vehicles all 4 x 4 (see pics), all well maintained and fitted with vehicles tracking devices, I have gone through defensive driving lessons & off the road driving techniques course, which has qualified me as a good driver. This way there is no chance to disappoint my female clients, because I believe Safety First!
For more Tours in Africa especially for women
try the Women Travel the World website
Huda El-Jack acts as a role model for female entrepreneurs looking to assume a greater role in the West Bank economy. She has opened Zman Coffee shop in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“There’s definitely a glass ceiling like in the rest of the world,” El-Jack says over a cup of rich coffee “First of all, women here are expected to be traditional wives, overall. She still has to cook. You don’t have the support system of daycare centers like you have in the US.”
Read and here her at this link to the Jerusalem Post
Thanks to Wendy Yaniv for this link and story
- join her on one of her tours to Israel for women
