EGYPT– The place that has inspired writers and travelers for centuries– ON A SLEEPER TRAIN. I had sand on my skin, caked with sweat. The brim of an adventure hat had shielded me from the inescapable sun that had now set. I pulled the hat from my head, revealing a sticky nest of hair underneath. […]
Trekking Gorillas in Uganda
I didn’t know it at the moment, but I was on my most difficult wildlife photography project of my life. The herculean dark creature hid his face in leaves. He picked up green leaf-pads branchful by branchful. Silver caught the frosted light of his fur on the cone atop his head as he tipped his […]
Tarangire: Bathing With Elephants + Hunting With Lions, Tanzania
Tarangire National Park was one of my favorite places in Tanzania because of the number of wild elephants. Stepping off the plane at Kilimanjaro, we met our safari team. They had everything perfectly preplanned and ready to go. There was the company owner, who had recruited me online who I’d spoken to for a few […]
Birding Uganda’s Lake Victoria
We barreled down a red dirt road in the western countryside of Entebbe. In Uganda, the roadside was an active area where women balanced baskets on the crowns of their head wearing vibrantly patterned wraps. I closed my eyes, jostled, with each large bump, trying not to miss any of the rural farming sights, where […]
Traveling Afar to Djibouti
The camels and donkeys convoyed out without their humans together every morning into the desert only to come back home every evening before the hyenas came out for hunting. In a sense the domesticated animals represented me, leaving home for an adventure, only coming home when the proverbial jaws of danger were hot on my […]
Somaliland
I’d gone into Somaliland with an open heart and an open mind. I’d read so much good news online from the tight knit community of international country collectors. Somaliland wasn’t Somalia; it was supposed to be safe, interesting, and welcoming. Before entering Somaliland, at the gate in Djibouti, I hadn’t covered in my hijab. All […]
Ethiopia –Responsible Tourism: Getting Exactly What I Wanted –Then Guiltily Hating It
When I headed to Ethiopia, I really wanted to see wildlife. But sometimes when you get what you want, you find that it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Nevertheless, a good experience that made me all-the-more hardier for future travels. The title of this article seems harsh. I actually had a wonderful time […]