After a Summer at Home I'll be Heading Back to Peru in November.....

I will be taking part in my second medical mission to Peru from November 1-12 with the same group as last year--Olive Branch--but this time we'll be going about an hour north of Lima and setting up a medical clinic in an orphanage. Basically we'll take over the school for five days and provide medical, dental and optical services for the surrounding villages.

Last year I worked in the optical group dispensing eye glasses and literally cases of reading glasses. This year I'm tentatively scheduled to work with the dentists and that could include anything from holding a flashlight to chemically sterilizing the equipment or anything else that's required.

We'll be traveling by bus each day from Lima where we'll be staying in a hotel. Last year I only briefly saw Lima so this will be a good opportunity to experience the city. There are a few familiar faces with the group this year but most of the 22 people in this group will be new to me.

I've also signed up for the side trip to Machu Picchu again. I really enjoyed it last year, know a little more about it now, and am really looking forward to experiencing again one of the most incredible sights I've ever encountered in my travels. I won't be taking my computer this time but will be posting an account after we return and promise a bunch of breathtaking photos again.

Coptic Churches, the Mohammed Ali Mosque and an Ancient Synagogue.....

…..and I’ve really come to like this country. Monday morning I got up early and took the final tour I’ve wanted to do: Coptic Christian Cairo and the Citadel overlooking the city.

The day was cool and overcast so it was a good day to be inside. We started with a visit to the Citadel—home to Egypt’s rulers for over 700 years. The huge Mosque of Mohammed Ali towers over the city—I can see it in the background from my hotel room across the city.

The Mohammed Ali Mosque is relatively new—built in the 1850s and is unusual in that it is Turkish in design but it has still become the symbol of the City of Cairo. Like most mosques here, the outer court is open-air and contains an ornamental fountain for the ritual cleansing before prayers. There is also a large clock here—the gift of the French in return for one of the giant obelisks from the Temple of Luxor. Problem is, the clock has never worked and still doesn’t today and the French are still keeping the obelisk.

Inside, it is much larger than the two old, historic mosques I visited Saturday and the overall theme is the color red. It truly is massive and far better lit which, with the red carpeting, gives it a hotel lobby ambiance. The Granite work is amazing—especially on the niche that points to Mecca and on the elevated pulpit for the Imam to make his calls to prayers. As amazing as this mosque was, I still prefer the two historic Mosques of Sultan Hassan and ar-Rifai because of their age and histories.

From the mosque we visited some of the Coptic Christian Churches of Cairo—and there are several. For a period, Egypt was a Christian nation and came under occupation and persecution by the Romans. Partially in response to the Romans, the Copts requested Muslims come to Egypt and the result was that Islam became the predominant religion—80% Islam, 15% Coptic Christian and various other beliefs. Although it hasn’t been a perfect relationship, the two religions do seem to exist peacefully and are literally side-by-side in this old part of Cairo.

According to tradition, St. Mark, one of the 12 Apostles, introduced Christianity into Egypt—starting in Alexandria in the first century. As the religion spread, it did so separate from Rome and therefore is an Orthodox Christian creed. From Moses to Jesus’ family’s exile in Egypt after his birth, Egypt has been important to Jews and Christians. One of the churches here, the Church of St. Sergius, is built over a cave that is believed to have been one of the places the Holy Family took shelter during their flight into Egypt. Cameras were not allowed inside, which is a shame because it is a very unusual ancient church with beautiful icons but we did get to see the crypt.

We also visited the Church of St. Barbara, long one of my favorite saints, who was martyred after her father killed her for trying to convert him to Christianity. This church did allow photos and I’m including one here. The most prominent features were the artwork, dating back to the 1700s.

Along the route we stopped at the historic Ben Ezra Synagogue. After the Roman expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem in the first century AD, Egypt became the center of Judaism—a presence that lasted here until 1948. By that time the numbers had dwindled and when Israel was created in 1948—with the resulting war with Egypt—the remaining Jews were forced out here. Today there is a miniscule presence and one active synagogue in the city center. This synagogue is inactive but has been meticulously preserved and is open to the public. Again, photos weren’t allowed inside.

The final church on the tour was the famous “Hanging Church,” a misnomer in that nobody was ever hung here. It is the most beautiful of the Coptic Churches and is so called because it was built over the old Water Gate of the Roman fortress of Babylon—probably around fourth century A.D. Constructed over the Water Gate, the church was thus “suspended” and therefore the name “Hanging Church.” The artwork is spectacular and the church features ornate marble on the columns and pulpit. I am posting a photo of the interior here.

Tomorrow morning I head back to Paris and then to Houston. This has been a good trip—even Cameroon was a better assignment this time—and Egypt is one of the most impressive countries I’ve visited so far…..

Made an Unexpected Side Trip to Alexandria…..

…..when one of my students from this city invited me to visit for a day. His company sent a driver and picked me up at the hotel for a 3 ½ hour drive through the Sahara Desert north to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and this beautiful city founded by Alexander the Great around 332 B.C. The city is steeped with history: Roman occupation, naval battles, wars, and Cleopatra committed suicide here after watching here Egyptian fleet defeated and destroyed by the Romans.

The long drive was well worth it—Alexandria does have tourism but not on the scale of Cairo or Luxor so the sights were not as crowded. We visited the famous Fort Qaitbey, built in the 1400s on the sight of the old Pharos Lighthouse—one of the original, ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The fort contains the oldest mosque in Alexandria as well as a naval museum. Over the years it has been attacked by the Romans and Greeks as well as Napoleon’s navy. The British bombarded it in 1882—so the fort has seen its share of action.

Obviously with Cleopatra here, there is considerable Roman history including a red granite pillar erected around 300 AD in tribute to the Roman Emperor. Known as Pompey’s Pillar, it is part of a complex of catacombs and a beautifully excavated Roman structure known as the Amphitheatre of Kom al-Dikka.

Probably the highlight of the trip was a visit to the fantastic Montazah Palace built by King Farouk. The palace was closed to the public but has beautifully landscaped grounds that can be explored and one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen—and of course the Mediterranean Sea was a beautiful deep blue.

The 3 ½ hour drive back at night was a long haul but the day was an unexpected trip that turned out to be a great experience.

If You’ve Ever Been Curious About the Inside of a Mosque…..

…..I visited two very large, historical mosques today. I didn’t get back to the hotel until 2:30 am so I slept in and walked over to a former royal residence called Abdeen Palace. It required a 30 minute walk through downtown Cairo and I’m very comfortable here—wandered through the street vendors and alleyways and didn’t get too lost. The palace was closed for many years after the overthrow of the royal family but the current leader, President Mubarak, reopened the beautiful building and grounds as a museum. I went to see the world-class collection of military artillery but also wandered through the section of gifts to the president during his presidency and you wouldn’t believe some of the gold and silver gifts these oil-rich states give each other—dinnerware, crystal, weaponry, jewelry and so much more.

I ate lunch at a street café and then caught the Islamic Cairo tour. I was the only person signed up this afternoon so basically I got a personal tour and my guide was an Egyptian woman who was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. She also gives the Coptic Cairo tours so she had a good knowledge of both religions.

The first mosque, Mosque of Sultan Hussan, as built between 757-1356 AD. Almost all the mosques here are open to the public during the day except at prayer times and on Fridays. It is a massive stone building (it seems all buildings in Egypt are massive stone structures) and after entering through huge and very tall wooden doors, you walk through what feels like a stone tunnel into the main chamber of the mosque. The inside is very large but the overwhelming sensation is that of height—the dome soars far above the tiled floors. For light at the ground level, long chains from the ceiling hold lamps. There are no pictures of course, but geometric designs are everywhere, in the tile, on the walls, and crafted into the ceiling. Passages from the Koran are carved into the marble walls forming a “border.”

In the center of this huge chamber is a circular pavilion where the worshipers wash before praying. It is fundamental requirement that Muslims be clean and this pavilion is a fountain where they wash their faces, eyes, hands and feet before praying. The prayer room is carpet-covered and the niche in the back represents the direction to Mecca. Again, the geometric designs in the tile and marble inlays is intricate and gold trim covers much of the wall. The door to the right opens to a short staircase that leads to a podium much like a church pulpit where the Imam delivers his sermon.

From here we went to the Mosque of Al Rifai—somewhat newer but grander in construction with the same towering dome. Here the dome was supported by large alabaster and marble columns and the niche points the way to Mecca. The green hue is misleading—the interior was not tinted. Again, the doorway on the right leads to the “pulpit” and in this mosque the woodwork was emphasized. On this door the wood was inlaid with ivory and ebony to create the geometric designs. Both mosques had a wooden stand to hold a large copy of the Koran for prayer services. Like everything else, this stand was elaborately decorated.

Some of the side rooms hold the burial crypts of important leaders—one of them, I was surprised to find, was the final resting place of the former Shah of Iran. The mosque trip was interesting and I learned a lot. Monday morning I hope to visit the Citadel and will get to visit the Mohamed Ali Mosque—the largest in Cairo.

From the mosques, I visited the famous Khan al-Khalili—the largest bazaar that dates back to 1382. Historically this has been where the tribes from all the Middle East would collect to trade and barter their goods. Today they meet to take the tourist’s dollars (or Euros). I didn’t spend much time there but just visited to say I’d seen it.

Tomorrow (Sunday) one of my students last week is coming from Alexandria to pick me up and give me a tour of that Mediterranean Sea city founded by Alexander the Great. I look forward to it and this will be a truly personal guided tour. Monday I hope to do the Coptic Cairo tour with the Citadel.

Tuesday I head home….

Finished the Job and Started My Free Time With A Day Trip to Luxor…..

…..and in many ways it is one of the most amazing sites I’ve ever visited. Reportedly it would take a week to visit everything here but I selected the things I was most interested in and designed a custom one-day trip. I flew from Cairo at 5:00 am and arrived in Luxor an hour later after the sun was up. I flew on an old Airbus 321 that looked like it should have been scrap-piled ten years ago but I didn’t worry about it until after the sun had come up and I glanced outside the window and couldn’t believe my eyes. In fact, I had to take a photo: That’s right folks, that’s duct tape on the aircraft wing!!!

Anyway the city tour was fantastic. We started in the Valley of the Kings and I visited four underground burial tombs of Egyptian kings including the burial crypt of Tutankhamen, or King Tut, which involved descending a ramp deep underground into the chamber which displays the burial coffin with his mummy inside. I also visited the tombs of three of the Ramses kings but Tut was the highlight. Cameras weren’t allowed inside, so here’s one of me at the top. Since the interesting stuff was underground and no photos were allowed, I didn’t get a lot of pictures but here’s another one I found interesting involving caves in the cliffs above the tombs. These were caves where the Christians lived to escape persecution during the Roman occupation. The Coptic Christians occupied this area around 500 BC and, frankly, desecrated many of the hieroglyphics and beautiful wall pictures. The ancient Egyptians recorded many of their pictures in the nude and the Coptic’s came in and chiseled out naked parts of the anatomies. Kind of an ancient Moral Majority I guess but they desecrated a lot of antiquities forever.

From the Valley of the Kings I went to the Hatshepsut Temple—an ancient mummification, or mortuary, temple that was discovered around 1850 completely buried under the sand. It’s still being reclaimed from the dessert but is yielding a treasure of information and antiquities.

The highlights of the day, however, were the two temples on the east bank of the Nile: Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. Considered a showpiece of Pharaonic temple architecture, Luxor was built by a series of Pharaohs and modified by Alexander the Great. With a massive stone entrance with a giant obelisk and two solid stone colossi of Ramses II, the entrance is awe-inspiring but the temple inside, dominated by columns, is even more so. It’s a massive complex, still under renovation and excavation.

Nearby Karnak, or Temple of Amun, is even more breathtaking. Covering over 40 acres, you enter through another massive entrance lined with rows of stones sphinx and pass imposing statues of Ramses II into the most amazing series of stone columns I’ve seen anywhere: A massive forest of 134 columns that the pictures here don’t do justice to. Inside the temple, you wander through a series of passageways, alleys, dead-ends, hidden staircases and water pools—all covered with ancient hieroglyphics and artwork. I spent three hours in it and then went back after dark and attended a light and sound show where they lead you through the whole complex at night. We had a full moon and sky full of stars which made it even more magical.

I caught a midnight flight back to Cairo and even through I was dead tired I couldn’t sleep—I kept having visions of duct tape……

Some Random Observations on Egypt…..

I’ve been here almost two weeks now and this has been a very rewarding job so far. In December I was stuck in a “hardship” assignment in West Africa and today I’m staying in a 5-star hotel and during our training today we were often within sight of the pyramids. This job is definitely “rags to riches” with regards to work assignments.

Egypt has surprised me in several ways. For one thing, it’s cold here. In the evenings my light jacket is almost not heavy enough and today it was windy and very cold. I’ve always visualized Egypt as being hot like Saudi Arabia but they have very distinct seasons here—like Texas there’s no snow but it does definitely get cold.

For an oil-rich area of the world, Egypt does not have the wealth of other oil-producing Middle Eastern countries like Kuwait, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia. There is wealth here but there are also three distinct economic classes much like the U.S. There is considerable poverty but certainly not on the scope of Cameroon or Chad. There is the inevitable “hustling” for the tourist dollar but everybody has been very friendly and I have really felt comfortable wandering around by myself—even after dark. You do get a surreal sense when you see a donkey and cart on the street in front of an ultra-modern skyscraper.

Literacy is very high here and people have a tremendous sense of their history and it really is a remarkable history. I have not noticed any real feeling of anti-Americanism. I’m sure Egyptians don’t appreciate much of our foreign policy but they also have a lot of relatives living in the U.S and I think many of them feel a relationship to us through extended family.

For a Muslim country, Egypt is deceptively liberal in appearance but under the surface it is a very conservative religious society. The religious dress code varies widely—women here often wear headscarves and occasionally you see a burka on the streets—sometimes extreme to the point that the eye slits are covered with lace so the woman can see out through the lace but nobody can see here face at all. But yesterday in the hotel lobby I noticed two women sharing tea at a table—one wearing a burka and the other in tight jeans and leather boots with no head covering, so you do get a deceptive sense of liberalism. Beer is openly advertised and sold but you really don’t see any skid row areas where alcoholism is an open issue. Television here has conservative programming but I have also watched a HBO Deadwood rerun.

Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed it here and have three more work days then four personal days off. I’m toying with the idea of flying to Luxor for an overnight trip but may just stay in Cairo on my days off and really see the city. There is a lot of interesting stuff here…..

The Sphinx and Pyramids Are Even More Impressive in Daytime…..

I have Friday and Saturday off and walked around the area of the hotel around the Nile River this morning then took a day trip to the Pyramids. They are impressive at night but far more so during the day. There are three major pyramids and lesser structures in the Giza Plateau but the most imposing and famous is the Great Pyramid pictured to the right. Built nearly 5,000 years ago the picture shows only one side of the nearly two million stones that weight an average of 2.5 tons each. The four sides of this pyramid are so perfectly constructed that at the base there is only a variance of less than 2 inches on any given side. There are openings on two sides and numerous “air shafts” or small openings from the interior. Experts aren’t sure exactly what the air shafts symbolize but many of them do line up with the constellations at certain dates so one theory is that they were designed to send the king’s spirit to the stars. I did get to go underground and then into a shaft to the interior—it was far more claustrophobic than I had anticipated, the air was stagnant, and the temperature was extremely hot despite the fact Egypt is in winter now. The interior was actually a disappointment—the only shaft we could explore was basically a tight tunnel down then back up towards the interior into a hollow chamber with a lidless sarcophagus. I’m sure the good stuff is off-limits to tourists but it was a brief “Indiana Jones” moment and I’m glad I did it.

The Giza Plalteau gives a beautiful view of the Pyramid Complex with the three huge structures and some smaller pyramids for various queens. In this photo, the pyramid on the left is the Great Pyramid, built for King Khufu. The center pyramid was built for his son and is about 3’ shorter out of deference. The smaller pyramid on the right was built for his grandson—three generations of royal family and these three pyramids were built in less than 100 years. One of the smaller Queen’s Pyramids can be seen on the very right side of the photo.

The Sphinx is actually smaller than I had envisioned but is still awe-inspiring. It is the “Guardian of the Giza Plateau” and has seen a lot of history pass by. Like the Great Pyramid it is thought to date back to around 2,500 BC and is not built of stone but was carved out of solid stone. At the base is the Sphinx Temple—the oldest known temple in Egypt—and rumors that Napoleon’s army used the Sphinx for target practice are just that—myths. The dark spots on the face are roosting pidgens.

Like they told us today, the pyramids and Sphinx have witnessed it all—Anthony and Cleopatra, Alexander the Great and Napoleon have all stood below them. Now I have too.

Ancient Memphis and the Saqqara Archaeological Sites are Also Amazing…...

Memphis, founded around 5,000 years ago was the first unified capital of Upper and Lower Egypt. Unfortunately there isn’t much left here today but excavations are still yielding treasures. Memphis is today basically an open-air museum located in a grove of date palms—very green and very lush. The main attraction here is the giant limestone statue of Ramses II. It is so large they had to build an elevated walkway so it could be photographed. The garden area also has an 80-ton calcite sphinx (half man/half lion) statue and other ancient stones and hieroglyphics.
It was nearby Saqqara, however, that was the highlight of the trip. It is one of the richest archaeological sites in Egypt and they still don’t have any ideal how many more tombs, pyramids and statues are remaining under the sand. The towering structure here is the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Built on six step-levels, it is nowhere as impressive as the Giza pyramids but it is thought to be the oldest pyramid in Egypt and therefore the blueprint for those who followed. A temple there, being reconstructed for the past 25 years, is also thought to be one of the earliest and therefore a template for others. There are a number of lesser pyramids here and tombs. The tombs are open to the public and were much more detailed and interesting than the one at the Great Pyramid. My tour group went into the tomb inside the Pyramid of Teti—again very claustrophobic but well worth the bent-over trip through the stone tunnel. Inside were hieroglyphics, a stone sarcophagus and several sacrificial stone altars.

The Egyptian government seems to be taking restoration and conservation of antiquities seriously but there are still major problems. The policeman pictured here on a camel is one of many who actually patrol the area 24/7 to prevent artifact robbers. The problem is that the corruption system sets in all too often—cameras were prevented in the Teti Pyramid tombs but the guides offered to let us use cell phone cameras for a “fee.”

This is the Sahara Desert, stretching west through Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. Very little of Egypt is fertile soil but it is strikingly obvious where the ancient flood plain meets the desert—lush green vegetables and date palms become a giant sandbox at a very distinct line.

All in all, this was very different from the Giza pyramids but just as interesting today…..

Last Night We Visited the Pyramids….

…..for a light and sound show that was really interesting. We arrived about a half-hour before the sun went down so I was able to get some photos before dark but I still plan to go back for a day tour and really try to explore them a lot more. The Sphinx was smaller than I had visualized but still very impressive—the pyramids themselves are just unbelievable. Last night we were basically limited to a seated viewing area for the light show but the three main pyramids absolutely tower over the horizon. When they lit them up with red, green and yellow lights after dark it was almost surreal.

I’m really enjoying Cairo but the job conditions here are really taxing. Trying to drive in this traffic is nearly impossible—even more so for a training program. Tomorrow is the last day of the first group then I have two days off and that’s when I’m hoping to go back for a day-trip to the pyramids…..

I'm staying at the Four Seasons Hotel here--the same hotel as Jack Nicholson in his latest movie--and we had a little excitement yesterday around lunchtime. Sirens started sounding everywhere and police cars came flying into the area in front of the hotel followed by about twenty long black Mercedes limos. They virtually cleared the lobby area and the prime minister of Kuwait came in with his huge entourage. Needless to say we haven't seen him since but he sure knows how to make an appearance.....

I Walked Around the Downtown Area Today……

Today is Sunday and I start work tomorrow so I spent the day just familiarizing with the area around the hotel. I walked along the Nile River again and even in the daytime the river seems quiet and serene. There were a few tourist boats and a couple of sailboats but mostly I just saw occasional fishing boats out in the water using nets—something they’ve been doing here for over 3,000 years. I walked over to the Egyptian National Museum just to look around outside. As I imagined it was packed with tourists on Sunday but I did spend some time walking around the garden in front taking pictures of the antiquities. I plan to go back early one morning and set aside entire day to visit later this trip.

The Egyptian National Museum is considered a first-class collection of Egyptian historical artifacts which may seem obvious but for centuries Egypt was plundered by outsiders and many of the valuable antiquities ended up in museums around the world. Even today the famous Rosetta Stone is on display in London but many major museums are beginning to return the treasures that were stolen or bought in the past. Inside the museum are King Tut’s galleries, statues, royal mummies, jewelry and hieroglyphics. But many of the stone artifacts are severely damaged but still of great historical importance and they are placed in the garden in front of the building and I walked around today looking at them.

Later I walked back over to the Nile River and visited a small café for lunch and found some shops and also stopped at several major hotels getting brochures on day trips around the city and to the pyramids later.

Egypt is very conservative Muslim and evidence of that is everywhere but there is also a very relaxed and tolerant atmosphere. Small mosques are literally everywhere but the old section of the city has several large and very old mosques that are open to the public. In addition, though, there are many Christian churches—here they tend to be Coptic Christian or Orthodox Christian very similar to the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches I visited last year in Addis Ababa. Coptic means “Egyptian” and like the Orthodox, both religions developed as Christian separate from Rome and the Vatican and therefore do not recognize the Pope. Both Coptic and Orthodox here are very much Old Testament religions and in practices are very similar to Judaism. There are also several Jewish synagogues here including the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Legends link it to Moses during his Egyptian years but the synagogue itself has been traced back to the 12th Century. Over the millenniums, Egyptian law has stated that any paper with the name of God on it cannot be destroyed and as a result excavations at the synagogue during the 1950s revealed a wealth of Jewish manuscripts, many of which are still being translated today.

Today was a relaxing and interesting day but tomorrow it’s back to work……..

Cairo is Off to a Good Start……

The flight from Cameroon went through Brussels and Zurich and then to Cairo and was long but pretty much eventful. We arrived in Cairo in mid-afternoon so I got a good luck at the city from the air as we approached. It is a very large city and as you might expect very old. The one-hour drive from the airport to the hotel was interesting—the architecture of the buildings ranges from European colonial to Arab traditional. There are small neighborhood mosques everywhere with their minarets and towers and the architecture is elaborate and detailed. Later I plan to do a historical mosque tour in the central city but these tend to be newer but retain the old architectural (often Turkish) features.

The hotel is five-star and expensive to the point I will have to watch my daily meal allowance if I don’t find some small shops nearby. The hotel is right on the Nile River and I can see part of it from my room on the 22nd floor. Last night after dark I spent about an hour walking along the promenade beside the river and it is absolutely beautiful—colored lights every, slow moving boats on the river (many of them serving meals to tourists), and just a general ambiance of serene beauty. In many ways it reminds me of the Chao Praya River in Bangkok. I ate supper at one of the hotel restaurants and splurged a little—sushi and a fish dinner and then pretty much collapsed in bed after the long trip from Cameroon. Tomorrow I plan to walk around the downtown Cairo area (that’s where my hotel is) and look around taking pictures but not really visit anything yet. I have two days off next weekend—probably a “pyramid trip” and have taken an extra four days at the end of the job so tomorrow I’m really just going to “scout the area” for later. I really feel this is going to be a rewarding adventure.

Last Night I Saw an Amazing Sports Spectacle…..

I am a serious soccer fan and the Africa Cup is taking place right now and Cameroon is an underdog this year but soccer here holds a place in this country like no sport in the US. You see the green, red and yellow national soccer jerseys everywhere and, also, the tri-color national flag---Cameroonians have very strong feelings of patriotism and that is most evident in their pride in the national soccer team. This year in the Africa Cup they are not favorites but earlier in the week they upset Tunisia and last night they played the perennial soccer superpower Ghana.

Outside my hotel—I’m on the third floor with a patio—there is a public arena that holds about 10,000 people and is used for political rallies and concerts. Last night they had a huge screen and the place was packed for the soccer match. In a major upset, Cameroon won the match and the crowd below my balcony went absolutely wild. The cheering was absolutely deafening—far louder than when the Houston Dynamo qualified for the championship game last year. After the win, the crowd surged into the street singing and celebrating and for at least an hour they danced and waved flags. There is a large traffic circle near the arena and the fans totally shut down traffic and paraded around the circle chanting and cheering. I knew soccer here was important but the intensity of the victory celebration still surprised me.

It was an amazing spectacle….to be in the capital city of a major soccer country on the night they upset the tournament favorite and to be able to watch the celebration from above is probably a sports experience I’ll never forget……

Things Have Calmed Down Now.......

The evacuations are pretty much finished now and the attention is turning to aid for the thousands of Chadians flooding into Cameroon although that doesn't affect us directly here. Today we drove out into the countryside and Cameroon is really beautiful--in my previous trips I never got to see anything but the urban areas. As you might imagine, since Cameroon is a poor country the villages are expecially impoverished. We went through an area that is a major lumber processing area and most of the labor is done by hand--even the sawing of boards. The villages are often without electricity but all have buildings dedicated as schools so literacy is considered important here and I think a high percentage of the citizens read and write French fluently. I found it really interesting that all the villages had communal water pumps--each little village has a public pump that is shared by all the families. Almost every pump was located under a large cross so I guess the people here are expecially grateful for safe drinking water and I've read that Africa is one of the fastest growing areas of Christianity in the world right now. The US Peace Corps has worked here since the early 1960s and the pumps were one of their contributions in this area. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed so I got no photos. I'm half-way through this job and head to Egypt this weekend--I'm really excited and looking forward to it.

Somehow I Seem to Have Stirred Things Up......

I made it to Cameroon ok but the trip was miserable--anything and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. On top of all that nobody met me at the airport so I had to work my way to the hotel after dark, without a cell phone and no local money. There was a Hilton driver there holding a sign for a "Mr. Navarette" and he said he couldn't pick me up if I wasn't on his hotel list--which I wasn't. However I've learned a few things on my trips over here and for a $20 "tip" he not only added me to the list but left Mr. Navarette at the airport looking for a ride. One of the best $20 investments I've ever made. I'm just hoping I don't come across Mr. Navarette while I'm here this week. And yes, I do intent to expense the $20 when I get back.

Right after I arrived things started getting crazy over here. Rawanda and the Congo had 5.0 earthquakes then Kenya flared up again with all the ethnic problems they're having. Right after I arrived at the airport Saturday night the American and French embassies in neighboring Chad evacuated to Yaounde. I was in Chad in 2004 and it is an extremely volitile place and the rebel armies now are about to overthrow the presidential palace so there are mass evacuations here since this is the closest safe haven. The embassy was a madhouse today and two of my students missed the first day. The airport here is basically shut down to all but charter flights and nearly every treetop African airline has cancelled scheduled flights to make more money evacuating Americans and French. The few good hotels here are overflowing --when I returned to the Hilton this afternoon the lobby was full of American military with duffel bags. We may or may not have a vehicle for training--most of the embassy vehicles are shuttling to the airport 24/7 right now. But hey, I never said I wanted a boring retirement!!!!!

Other than logistics, things aren't bad here. Compared to Douoala last December I have it much better. The Hilton is very old but it's a Hilton so it's five-star by Cameroon standards. I am looking forward to heading to Egypt next week--at this point it's not anticipated the evacuation will still have the airport here shut down by next weekend. At least I hope not. Anyway if you hear of anything else going crazy over here in Africa this week, I DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!!

Had a Nice, Quiet Christmas at Home But It's Back on the Road Again at the End of January.....

Frankly I was ready after three weeks to get out of Cameroon but I'm scheduled to go back in early February but this time it will be to the capital city, Yaounde, and I'll be working with the U.S. State Department. This will be my third trip to Cameroon but the first to this location and only for one week so it should be a little more relaxed than last month.

From Cameroon I fly to Cairo, Egypt for a two-week job with ExxonMobil and I'm excited about this one! It will be my first trip to Egypt, or to the Middle East, and I'm tentatively scheduled to be working at a location south of Cairo very near the pyramids of Giza. The pyramids have been near the top of my "must see" list for a long time.

I was originally scheduled to do another State Department job in Namibia, in the southern tip of Africa, but that job got cancelled at the last minute so I'm going to spend four extra days in Cairo after the job is finished and do the tourist thing around the city--museums, tours, churches, etc. Should be a great opportunity to get some fantastic photos.

Hope you all had happy holidays this past year and the coming year is a good one for all of us......

Four More Work Days Till I Head Home......

I'm in the middle of a three-day layover and stuck inside the hotel--choice of my room or the lobby where there's wireless Internet. Surprisingly time has gone by pretty fast this job. There have been logistics and scheduling problems througout but the people have been great to work with--something that has always been the case in Africa. We finished up a refresher course with some students I worked with here and in Chad three years ago and I got a photograph out at the training site. Again, I'm the one in the middle.....

In the afternoons we drive out in the traffic practicing the techniques and I always get a good view of the city that most tourists will never see. Douala is a fairly large city and not prosperous, but not impoverished in the way Chad was. We spend quite a bit of time driving down along the coast of the Bay of Guinea and Douala is a very large shipping port--I believe it is the largest in Africa outside the North African countries like Egypt and Libya. To the northeast is Mount Cameroon but unfortunately I've not been able to see it this trip. I am posting a photo I took of the bay from my hotel window when I was here three years ago. It is beautiful and has amazing sunsets as you can see.

This part of Cameroon is tropical with palm trees, heat and humidity. Tropical, though, means lush green plants and trees and when we get into the outskirts of Douala the countryside is also very beautiful. Anyway, enough rambling, tommorow it's back to work for four days then the 20-hour trip back to Houston......

I’m About Half-Way Through the Cameroon Job……

I made the Houston/Paris/Douala flight ok and have been in Cameroon, West Africa since November 28. This is my second trip to Cameroon and not the nicest of assignments and I’ll be here 3 ½ weeks returning home on December 19—a week before Christmas. It is very hot here, humidity remains just short of rain, and the mosquitoes are everywhere. In other words, it’s just like home in Texas!

The hotel here is ok—one of only four hotels in the city that are approved for Westerners (in my case, “American”) to stay in. Security is very tight here and the company I’m working with, a contractor to ExxonMobil, requires that all employees stay fifth floor or higher in the event of car bomb. There have been no major incidents here in Cameroon but everybody is very cautious and the company headquarters is literally a fortress with controlled access—very much like some of the embassies I’ve worked with over here. Street violence against foreigners is very prevalent here and I’ve been advised not to even go across the street from the hotel to the grocery store alone. I was assigned a code name and travel only in company chauffeured cars and after exchanging code names with the driver before getting inside the vehicle. Photography is officially banned in public here so I won’t have a lot of photos this trip.

My hotel room is clean and safe but there are no grounds or an exercise room so I’m restricted to the room although there is free wireless Internet in the lobby but whether or not I can connect varies from day to day. The medical and malaria requirements here are also pretty intensive. I had to sign a statement that I’m taking anti-malarial medications and agreeing to random urine testing not to check for alcohol or drugs, but to verify I am taking the medication. I was issued a very strong mosquito spray and another spray for my clothing which I spray on the collar and cuffs very morning. I am required to wear long-sleeved shirts here because of the mosquitoes. I was also issued a “malaria survival kit” to give my doctor or any hospital after I return home should I show any of the symptoms of malaria up to six months after return. I am one of the few Americans here at the hotel—most seem to be French (and some British) oilfield workers and not the best bunch. There are no “no-smoking” zones in Cameroon and there is a white cloud of cigarette smoke literally hanging everywhere in the hotel but my room, thankfully, seems to be clean of smell and smoke. Most of the westerners here are rough looking, heavily tattooed, always drinking at the bar and loud—in other words, European rednecks

My first five-day class went very well and I then did a two-day refresher course with four students I trained three years ago. Two were from Cameroon and two were from Chad and it was good to see familiar faces again but I have trouble realizing I’ve been doing overseas training for three years now. While this is not the best of assignments—in fact, I would call it a “primitive” assignment—I keep reminding myself that I’ve been doing neat jobs in places like England and Thailand and staying in five-star hotels so I was probably overdue for a reality assignment and this has not really been all that bad.


Eating food in Africa is always cause for concern and I have a kit of medications for intestinal problems but so far everything has been ok. The hotel food is pretty safe but I’m still cautious of certain foods but generally I’ve decided to “dive in” and eat most everything. Three years ago I was so afraid of the food in Chad that I lost sixteen pounds and starved myself until I was miserable then ended up getting sick as a dog anyway. For lunches we eat at a local restaurant called the London Belle but which features typical Cameroon food. Cameroonians eat a lot of chicken and fish which basically matches my personal diet. They do a lot of grilling here not unlike Texan BBQ. I don’t eat fruits here but the pineapples are supposedly very good and the vegetables are really good so long as they are peeled and rinsed in a chlorine/water solution first. A very popular Cameroon dish over here is called “Endoula” and is served with almost every meal. As best as I can tell, it is a combination of greens such as spinach, collards and mustard greens, cooked with onion and spices and has meats like chicken, beef, and fish mixed into it. Pork is eaten and served here but I stay away from it and since a considerable percentage of the population is Muslim you don’t see too much of it on the menus. I noticed the hotel did put a Christmas tree in the lobby yesterday. Ironically it is one of those white, snow-flocked trees. I doubt if there has ever been a recorded snowflake ever fall in Cameroon.

I’m off for one day today then work five days and will be off two days next week. The company has offered to have me chauffeured out into the countryside and possibly down to the beach and I’m probably going to take them up on it. Maybe once I’m out of the city it will be ok to take some pictures. The job has gone better than I expected so far but basically my routine is work, return to the hotel, shower, check emails, eat, read, go to bed and do it all over again the next morning.

WARNING!!! If You Find Pictures of Smiling Children, Vivid Colors, Furry Animals and Breathteaking Vistas Offensive.....Read No Further.....

Friday evening after we closed the clinic we had a dinner with the interpreters and said goodbye then flew out early morning to Lima. Eleven of us stayed over and continued on by flight to Cusco--a historic and very picturesque city high in the Andes Mountains.

I really liked Cusco. Although in recent years the tourist swarm to Machu Picchu has resulted in an enormous tourist trade here the city has handled it well and retained its local color and traditions. It is a very old city and has what is often called one of South America's most beautiful plazas and cathedrals. From what I've seen I'd tend to agree.....

We spent Saturday afternoon prowling around the old narrow streets, exploring the numerous churches, and shopping in the little stores around the plazas. We stayed at the Royal Inca Hotel which was really nice but most noticeably for the artwork throughout the hotel. We all drank the famous coca tea which is allegedly a good cure for altitude sickness and we had just flown from sea level to 11,000 feet.

On Sunday we took a bus about an hour up into the Andes to a village known for its weekend crafts market. Pisac is a popular tourist destination and frankly the crafts weren't all that great so I ended up spending the last hour wandering around taking pictures of the children. They dress in native clothing and pose for photos with baby animals or llamas in return for coins.

Pisac is located above the Sacred Valley and as we drove up we
stopped at a commune that displays traditional weaving and sewing and has an alpaca farm.

For some reason I had known that llamas and alpacas were related to camels but until I saw them closeup I didn't realize just how similar they were. There are seven varieties of alpaca with the most sought after species having hair so thin it takes eight strands woven together to equal the size of one human hair--which is why alpaca sweaters are so soft.....and expensive. We spent a couple of hours with a guide as he took us through the commune and fed and petted the animals. Despite their reputation for spitting they were very docile and loved to be hand-fed. The commune also featured a trail where women were stationed at different locations demonstrating the ancient weaving techniques. Peru is famous for its beautiful and colorful rugs, fabrics and mats.

Saturday night we ate at a restaurant on the main plaza overlooking the cathedral with the hills of Cusco in the background lit up with lights. It was an amazing sight and we had the traditional Peruvian music and dancers (remember Zamphir and the Andes pipe music?) On the buffet I tried alpaca meat but frankly, it wasn't very good.

Sunday we were up early and took a bus to the Cusco train station and then a 3 1/2 hour train ride up to Machu Picchu. The train was very modern and very comfortable. The grade was very steep and the speed was usually very slow so the group just relaxed, joked around and had a good time until we reached the summit.

I don't remember when I saw my first photo of Machu Picchu but I remember telling myself it was a place I wanted to visit one day. Usually those goals turn out to be less than expected but not so here.....Machu Picchu exceeded all my expectations.

We had an excellent guide who walked us through the ruins and explained the known facts of the ancient culture here. Like Stonehenge in England, so much is unexplained here but modern science has confirmed the Incas here had an uncanny knowledge of the solar system and the movements of the sun and moon.

Machu Picchu is one of those world heritage sites that is being "loved to death" by tourists but unlike at Angkor Wat in Cambodia the Peruvian government is trying to regulate visitation. Other than the train, the only access is through the Inca Hiking Trail so regulating the number of trains each day has eased the crowding. It is very well planned--each guide follows a different route through the ruins so you meet up with a lot of other tourists as you are walking but the important places usually only have one group at a time.

We spent three hours on the tour which can be pretty challenging for a flatlander like myself then we had an hour to prowl on our own. Our group decided to stay together and we climbed up to the very top of the ruins to the stone building thought to be a guard house. It is here that all the "calendar" and "screensaver" photos are taken and I got some great pictures. It took us about an hour to do that so when we got back to the train station we grabbed a quick lunch and then rode the train back down the mountain to Cusco.

We caught an early morning flight back to Lima on Monday and spent several hours resting up. We stayed at a really nice youth hostel in the Lima suburb of Miraflores about three blocks from the Pacific ocean. Someone found an American-style mall on the ocean that had a Tony Roma's and we all had rib dinners overlooking the ocean. We then caught a midnight flight back to Houston and split up our different directions.

But as we were leaving the hostel for the airport a bus load of people in medical scrubs were unloading their luggage to check into the hostel. Turned out they were a group of 57 people on a medical mission going up into the mountains to provide services to some poor village.....

When I got back to Houston I read where a 7.7 earthquake had hit northern Chile. I guess the need for assistance will not end soon......