The Land of Nat Geo Specials

Everytime I get used to the idea that I'm here in Africa ( I never dreamed that I would even set foot on the continent, leave alone live here for a year!) something happens to remind me that I'm in The Land of National Geographic Specials.

Girlfriend took this picture a few days before she left (sob! I still miss her lots):


If you look closely, you'll see that that leaf has legs and a head. It's not a leaf at all but an insect! Girlfriend and I weren't even in some exotic spot in the middle of an African jungle when she captured this. You might notice that the background is a marble wall....this was taken in the ground floor of Girlfriend's apartment building here in Dar!

I've never seen anything like it in my life... well not out in the open anyway, only on TV (maybe I should spend more time outdoors but that's another issue!). In Africa, you just have to step outside and a busy, crowded, remarkable world of nature awaits to greet you.

Sometimes, you don't even have to go outside. This is the view from our balcony...


I'm beginning to understand the world's fascination with Mother Africa. She has all the allure of a particularly exceptional woman....she's lush, she's mysterious and she's always surprising.