Africa
Indian Ocean Commotion
by Judith Campbell
(Grand Prize Winner in the 2012 WanderWomen Write Travel Writing Contest)
“YOU WANT TO GO WHERE?” The manager of the Galawa Hotel shouted his shock at me.
“I want to visit one of the other islands,” I repeated.
“But WHY? NOBODY goes to the other islands!” Read more >>
Ahead of Her Time
by Astrid Vinje
“Rachel, can I ask you something?” I said.
We were walking out of her family compound one warm and calm night in May. It was my second year of being a Peace Corps volunteer in the tiny West African country of Togo, and I was in the regional capital, Sokod, to do some work with the local organizations in the city. Read more >>
Lilac Breasted Roller
by Lori Robinson
(Adventure Category Winner in the 2011 WanderWomen Write Travel Writing Contest)
Since I was a young girl, conversations with dad are more often than not interrupted by him raising his hand like a stop sign and announcing with great importance, “Listen, there’s a black-throated blue warbler,” Read more >>
Swahili Lessons
by Diane Gregerson Bowe
Comedian Steve Martin once said, “It’s like those French, they have a different word for everything!” I can painfully confirm, the same is true in Tanzania. A month into my year-long stay, it’s clear I’m not making much progress. My Swahili stinks… Read more >>
The Best Kind of Courage
by Beth Malone
When we finally arrive, there is a spider the size of my ear clinging to the ceiling. I glance at my two friends beside me; one look tells me neither has the courage to climb on the bed with a rolled-up magazine. As for me, I’m not just afraid of spiders… Read more >>
Tales from the Edge of the Sahara
by Mandy Huggins
When Marnie and I embark upon our journey across the Tunisian Sahara I am already hallucinating. I am constructing my own beautiful mirage in the distant desert. I imagine leading camels through the dunes… Read more >>
Morroccan Meanderingsby Victoria Allman
The narrow streets of Marrakech’s medina tangle like spaghetti leading to the heart of the city. The souq, an Arabic market was where we were headed. Saffron yellow, burnt-red and tan spices mounded in barrels along the way. Read more >>
Building a Family in Kenyaby JoAnna Haugen
(Grand Prize winner in the 2nd Annual WanderWomen Write Travel Writing Contest)
I opened the front door to another sunny Kenyan morning. I jammed my dirt-encrusted feet into my flip-flops and shuffled to our outdoor drop. Kenyan mamas were lined up outside the dispensary and their wide-eyed babies watched me just like they did every morning as I walked past the sugarcane… Read more >>
My Lucky Safariby Jill Paris
“Everyone out,” says Brent our safari guide who resembles Jude Law’s character in The Talented Mr. Ripley – bronzed, confident, model good looks. He’s the sort of guy who probably not only battles life-threatening situations on a daily basis, but welcomes them. We’ve just spotted a herd of elephant near the Lukula and Luwegu river crossing and are about to try and catch a closer glimpse on foot. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Read more >>
Robben Islandby Carol-Ann Warr
No one ever escaped from Robben Island. The lepers and other cast-offs who were banished to this place so long ago could not. Nor could Nelson Mandela, who spent over 20 years of his life imprisoned here. And, in a way, I can’t escape it either. Read more >>
South African Sunriseby Lisa Chavis
The braai was a smashing success. Empty beer bottles littered the riverbed and soft snores punctuated the pre-dawn quiet. Sleeping on the soft sand wasn’t uncomfortable, but trying to ignore the screams of indignant baboons defending their territory all night from a group of volunteers camping outside was difficult. Read more >>
For Our Injuriesby Caitlin Cohen
Hawa is spitting on my ankle with an intensity and rhythm generally reserved for jazz musicians and train wheels. Read more >>
Discovering a Feast of 1,000 Spicesby Dana McMahan
Toto, we’re not in Whole Foods anymore. I stand blissfully unaware as my friend Tracy orders a chicken in her newly acquired Arabic. The merchant chooses one from the squawking, feathery crowd behind him and oooh snaps its neck before I can blink, much less look away. Read more >>
Summer Steps Among the Snows of Kilimanjaroby Betty Ann Boeving
Why climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?
In my hiking boots, stepping towards 19,340 feet, my goal is to reach an elevation of where small planes fly, and I quickly recognize that with each increasingly labored breath, I am not in a pressurized cabin with drinks and peanuts to be served once I reach my desired altitude. Read more >>
Marrakech Cuisineby Nadia Arandjelovic
I have my first traditional Moroccan meal in one of the sitting rooms at the Riad Dar Baraka Karam, a charming bed and breakfast in the Old Medina. I sit on a low, amber stool in a room aglow by candlelight, a crisp white napkin folded in my lap. Read more >>
A Night with the Maasaiby Lisa Chavis
It’s not that a night spent in the bush of the Serengeti is any longer than a typical night somewhere else, but when your tent is sandwiched between the Maasai village cows and a pride of hungry lions, it certainly seems that way. Read more >>
Ethiopia – Not What You’d Expectby Julie Paterson
I was full, yet I stuffed another forkful of rice in my face. “Eat up. There are starving children in Africa,” my mother had said, and those words had stuck with me. Somehow it felt odd that the Ethiopian man sitting opposite me had not finished his plate. What could I say? Read more >>
Congo Culture: Fetisheursby Leslie Nevison
On the outskirts of Brazzaville, we slowed to a stop behind unmoving traffic and a commotion ahead. On the opposite side of the road a minibus passed, an agitated chanting crowd chased it. It was then we noticed all the men were clutching their genitals. Read more >>
Maasai Moments by Rita Golden Gelman
Morocco – A Journey of the Senses! by Julie Paterson
We were all feeling exhausted but exhilarated; to be expected after a couple weeks of travel in an exciting place like Morocco. “Sensory overload” is the best way to describe it; it’s a journey of exotic sights, unusual sounds, intriguing smells and emotional highs. Read more >>
Too Much of a Good Thing in Tanzaniaby Leslie Nevison
I spent the day lost, and on two occasions stuck, in East Africa’s infamous black cotton soil, treacherous when it’s wet. Among the acacia and baobab trees, the waving grasses and nibbling giraffes, I came across farms, large commercial operations, carved out of the wilderness. Farm employees were lost too. Read more >>
