I awoke on my (daveb’s) birthday to a nice handful of birthday cards, which I opened in bed, under the mosquito net. Thanks to everyone who sent me cards and birthday messages in e-mail and Facebook — I’ve not had a chance to personally respond to any of them yet as Internet from where I’m […]

Our budget hotel, Sunrise Beach Resort, is lovely. For the first two nights here we had a sea view wooden bungalow on the beach, from where we could hear the waves crashing onto the sand. This bit of luxury was due to the manager booking out all the standard rooms and then trying to charge […]

On the day, our apprehension had mostly turned to excitement. After six weeks of preparation (and we still don’t know our route!), we left the UK aboard an Emirates flight destined for Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, albeit with a connecting flight in Dubai. I couldn’t believe my luck at the departure gate in Heathrow […]