Travel Safely

If you plan on traveling abroad, and you expect to take the road less traveled, then you should consider some of the following tips on traveling safely.

A group of Lonely Planet bloggers are sharing their insights on traveling safely from different points around the globe and this is my inclusion.

Instead of writing about the dangers of malaria or a run-in the local Gendarme in Gabon, the following are just some basic tips from me as a New Yorker…

A Year In Africa

This last year has been an unbelievable, life changing experience for me.  I had the chance to live in a country I’ve never heard of before, meet new people, learn new perspectives and enjoy a foreign culture in a foreign language.  It was probably one of the greatest opportunities of my life and I’m glad that I was able to take advantage.

I made some great new friends.  I traveled a bit through the country-side and saw sights that I had only imagined – wild beaches, thick tropical jungle, open savannahs - elephants, buffalo, cheetah - rhino, giraffe and zebra.  I saw immeasurable wealth and witnessed extreme poverty.

Those Beach Pictures I Promised

If you frequent my blog, you know that I absolutely love the beach.  The beaches here, can be very beautiful…depending on tides and storms.  High tide and heavy rain usually result in a flow of “stuff”, both natural and unnatural, washed up on the beach.  This time we were fortunate to have neither.

This beach is close, just outside the city, north of Libreville.  If I could count on a consistent low tide, it’s probably closer to walk along the shore rather than drive.

World Travel with Lonely Planet

A few months ago my blog was selected by Lonely Planet’s Blogsherpa program.  It’s a hand picked list of travel bloggers whose posts are linked to world travel content on Lonely Planet’s site.  If you go to LP’s info on Gabon, post’s from my blog are syndicated into their content.  Pretty cool, maybe I’ll get a book dealJ

I have been working with many of my new World Traveler friends and linking our sites with each other.  We have also aggregated our links to a single to a page on Squidoo.  If you are interested in traveling the world, or just wondering what life is like traveling in different parts of the world, please check out this World Travel link.

There are roughly 50 bloggers in the program from all around the world with some really interesting articles (including mine).

A Brief Pictorial, What a Difference 15 Minutes Makes

I wanted to show you how the country changes during a 15 minute drive from the middle of Libreville up north along L101.  The change is dramatic recognizing that while Gabon is the #2 or #3 richest country on the continent, very little gets spent beyond the capital.  Some visiting military officers from Senegal and Cameroon pointed this out to me a few weeks ago.  They were enlisted in a military exchange program here and were remarking that while their countries are poor, at least they have roads.

No Matter Where You Are in the World, Boys Will Be Boys

I started a donation program for a local orphanage here in Libreville.  The orphanage, Arc en Ceil, takes care of young boys and girls, many of whom are victims of human trafficking, which is a major concern here in Western and Central Africa.

The donation program was successful because of its simplicity:  a few pictures, facebook, simple instructions, generous friends and a US address (fortunately, we can receive some US mail here).

It's Dark At Night...

I’ll start with a few facts:  Gabon is small and Libreville is a small city.  At night, it gets very dark.  Sure, it gets dark everywhere at night, but here, it’s pitch black.  There are a few streetlights, but many don't have or use electricity, it’s friggin’ dark.  Comparatively speaking, NYC doesn’t really get “dark” at night; there are so many streetlights, traffic lights, apartment lights, lit businesses and car traffic that you can always see where you are going.
(a pic over the wall from a friends house, pitch black)

Meet the Boys...and Stop With the Trash Already

These are the boys, my buddies Toby and Blackie; and this is the back entrance to the compound where we live.  As you can see, the compound backs onto a beach and the boys love it.  The area has been cleared of all brush and the back wall does not go all the way to the shoreline like on other properties.  This sandy area is outfitted with two concrete benches and since logs regularly wash up onshore, additional “seating” is arranged by visitors; makeshift “beach furniture”.

This clearing was probably a nice concept when the compound was built, however, the clearing is way too inviting to locals for my taste…

A Local Military Picnic

The English Lab, run by the Gabonese military and supported by the US military had their annual picnic on Sunday.  It was a lot of fun.  A few of us were on site to help manage English word games, i.e. hangman, tongue twisters, sentence building, etc.

It feels good to do what you can to help out and be supportive.  Those who I have met before refer to me as “New York”.  The event was mixed, with varying degrees of ability and understanding, so some students are very English literate while others have great difficulty.

A Few Pictures from Libreville

It was a beautiful day on Friday, even though we didn’t have internet; sunny, low”er” humidity, a high sky and a light breeze.  It’s amazing what a different mindset you get when it’s not stifling…you can easily forget about the negatives (like corruption, the pathetic lack of infrastructure for an oil rich country, limited work ethic, traffic, pollution, military stops, unreasonable cost of living, etc.) and focus on just how lucky I am to be here and experience all the positives…the ocean, the smiles, the sun and the sky.