Greetings from the Lake Victoria Region of Tanzania. Through a pre-arranged agreement, I find my self living in a small village volunteering my time, back, and mind. The village I live is called Kinesi; it sits snugly in a small bay on the east side of Lake Victoria. Thatched and tin roofed houses dot the green agrarian landscape. The nearest big town is called Musoma, where my plane first landed on a dirt runway after hovering low over a boulder-strewn landscape.

Jambo from Tanzania, Africa. I felt fear heading alone into the African continent but I pushed on and soon was in a taxi heading to my hotel. The dirt streets of the city gave way to crowds of  people who stared at me. The next morning, I boarded the 40 foot  ferry passing hordes of  people wanting to help me and or make a little money too. The boat headed off as the city woke up and the smell of smoke and fish lingered in the humid air. During the journey I spotted flying fish jumping out of the water and flying for about 5 feet.

A final Hola from South America. Its been a while since I have posted and I have been lazy. Since last I posted, I have traveled down the coast of Chile, over and down to the bottom of Argentina, and up the Atlantic coast to Buenos Aires where I sit now. Along the way I have experienced some magnificent natural resources, new cultures, and fun experiences.

Hola,     Greetings from Chiloe, Chile,an archipelago island off the coast of southern mainland Chile. The island primarily subsist on agriculture such as sheep, cow, vegetables as well as fishing. However, tourism is also well established but the culture and simplicity of the place is still in place as far as I can tell. Like the other parts of Chile that I have seen, there is a well-established transportation system including buses and ferries that move people efficiently and inexpensively around the island.

Hola from Santiago de Chile. I have left Peru and found Chile to be quite a different place. Compared to Peru, Chile seems much more modern. People talk on cell phones, the men wear shorts, and Chilean people have lighter skin and seem to be mixed more with European descendents.  Peruvians have derived from their ancient native ancestors.

Greetings from Arequipa, Peru. I finally made it out of Cusco, Peru, a town I spent two weeks in but only planned on one. I soon must admit to myself that I am a slow traveller and prefer to get to know a place at my own pace. Cusco served some good purpose though. It was the first time Ive been totally healthy so far on the trip. It seems one sickness had morphed into something new.  The ailment that I overcame in Cusco was a throat infection, which after a week of gargling salt water and sucking Hall´s, I decided to go to the Cusco public hospital.
 

Greetings, Its been a while since I have checked in, but I have been doing a bit of moving. I left my temporary home in Ayacucho and headed by bus towards Cusco, Peru.  The bus ride took about a day, partially because people along the way set up a roadblock. The roadblock was set up by local Peruvians in order to make a point about their dislike for the government. The twenty protesters set up boulders in the middle of the road and then marched together holding a flag.

Greetings from Ayacucho. I will son be finishing my stay here. It has been a good place to start off a journey in South America. Its working class and gritty, like living in Pittsburgh.  The place is also historical. It was the sight of where Peruvian patriots defeated the Spaniards to gain their independence as a nation. In the native Indian language, the name Ayacucho means ´dead corner´ because so many have died here during that battle for independence.

Greetings from Ayacucho,

I am planning to be here in the high desert mountains for about a month. I have heard someone say that the best way to get to know a place is to work there. I have just began work at an orphanage that serves children from Ayacucho. The experience has been pretty enlightening so far. I am amazed at the kids attention to detail when doing their homework. They also love futbol and are a lot better than me at it.

Welcome to Ayacucho.This is as close to Peruvian culture as I have seen. The people in this city are not trying to dress up or impress any tourists. The city sits nestled in the high desert mountains of the central highlands. The streets are mostly dirt, and mototaxis are the peoples  main source of transport. This developing part of the world is about culture and survival.