peach pink wavies, blooms

For all my whining about not being able to go to Africa this summer, a good karma boomerang came flying my way to deliver a ticket and itinerary for a seven-week, six-country, three-continent adventure. It is a long story, but let’s just say I am the incredibly fortunate beneficiary of a great act of kindness.

My summer of travel starts late-May in Nicaragua, where I’ll work on a water project for several weeks. Then I have a 12-hour stop back home to swap luggage and laundry and grab another set of plane tickets. I’ll be off to London, Johannesburg, Blantyre, possibly Harare and eventually Beira. (US-Nicaragua-US-UK-South Africa-Malawi-Zimbabwe-Mozambique-South Africa-UK-US.)

Black star of fertility

Yep, I’m shaking I am so happy with the news. That sweet friend of mine who is working in Zambia will be meeting me in Mozambique for the last week too. I’ve got lots of work to do in both Nicaragua and Mozambique, but there is a fair amount of vacation mixed in too. I’ll be staying at a tea plantation in Malawi and hopefully seeing Victoria Falls. I’ll be working at the orphanage, walking the villages in Beira, working with an epidemiologist on the effectiveness of our malaria net projects, trying not to lose my cool at the sight of the hospital decay, etc.

drinking up the sunlight

I’ll get to check in and spend a good chunk of time with my friends Ken and Debby, who live in Mozambique on a cattle ranch. I crave time with this pair and needless to say, they live where the streets have no name. They don’t have electricity and laugh at the attempts I’ve made to get them to set up an email account in the city. There is no mail service in Mozambique. If it is truly an emergency, Ken can climb a hill, stand on a water tower and lean a certain direction to get cell reception. Frankly, booking a flight is about the most efficient way of catching up with the pair.

reminds me of a Georgia O'Keeffe

Debby can drink almost anyone under the table and Ken’s stories have this crazy former South-African military tint that make you wonder how he’s survived this long. I will be a wild time. And I know I’m a bit nuts to be so thrilled at the thought of another summer spent on the road, but the alternative is commuting 50 miles a day in the Phoenix heat.

orange, print

My love affair with Africa continues…
~K

p.s. I know these Portland flower photos have nothing to do with Africa, but you can only post the cliche “kelli and the African kid” photo so many times before you make yourself sick.