It’s dead, Jim! (Food and drink in Africa, pt. 2)
Some readers might think it's crazy to go and eat street food in Africa. They have seen the images of meat buzzing with flies in the hot African sun. Well, if it makes you feel any better: cooked meat is hard to come by on the streets; and if you find it it's been cooked until every last trace of life is gone. And by the way: the meat is usually really fresh - you can watch the butcher do his work right by the side of the road.
‘Tis the season to feast (Food and drink in Africa, pt. 1)
What are you thinking of when somebody says 'Christmas'? Christmas to me is first and foremost about food. I can easily do without presents. I'm not religious. And please leave me alone with cold and snow! But for some reason, I always start feeling Christmassy when I spend hours preparing food. So what better way of commemorating the festive season than by talking for the next few days about food (and drink) in Africa? I'll set the scene by telling you a bit about how I'll spend Christmas this year and what I did the year before.
My photos in African Diver
Today I have to brag a little: The online magazine African Diver is featuring some of my photos of Chinhoyi Caves, Zimbabwe, in their latest issue. To check it out, click here.
Four friends
It's been one year since I last saw these four friends. An unusually long year. 366 days. But that's not true. They're always here. When I look over my shoulder I see Steve. With his warm smile and his South African accent he says: "Hey Pixie." And when the moment is beautiful he is in awe right next to me: "Like angels playing on your heartstrings."
Making life at home a journey
I have been home for more than three months now. And it is hard to keep up the travelling spirit. The other day I read a quote by French author Marcel Proust:
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Call me
Doing it the smart way I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love my smart phone. However, before the trip I had decided that Africa wasn't the right continent for a device with a touch screen and a battery that could barely survive for one day. I had also decided that getting a travel SIM would connect me to friends and family regardless of where I was. How wrong I was!
You can’t come in here
Be careful what you wish for 
The lady had tattoos in her face which made me like her right away. But I loved her when she said: 'When do you want to go? I can only give you one month.'
Seeing is believing
In today's world where even the cheapest mobile phone includes a camera and everyone in the Western world has a mobile phone I met a man - Australian, well versed, well traveled - who didn't own a camera. He was travelling for close to a year. He was climbing mountains, crossing rivers, diving into cities unknown. And had no photos to prove it.
What should I wear?
The amazing Ghana dress
We were fast approaching Christmas when we arrived in Kokrobite, Ghana. Packing I had been certain there couldn't possibly be a reason why I would need a dress in Africa. After all this was a dusty, muddy, sweaty expedition. T-shirts and zip-off pants would do perfectly fine. But Christmas was around the corner and my girly genes were yelling for prettiness.
Where even the queen is on her own
Got to go [caption id="attachment_1651" align="alignright" width="150"]
A very nice toilet in Mole National Park, Ghana[/caption] The worst part of using public transport is finding the right time to go for a pee. It usually starts with the bus station. Often times there are no toilets. And if there are some, you will be sitting in a bus with the driver saying: 'We're leaving now.' For three hours straight.