I read with great interest the reader’s letter about Mali (July ’06, pg. 66). Our tour of Mali in February ’06 was considerably different, covering much the same venue but in a different fashion, with less driving and camping time.
With our two grandsons, Louis and Victor, ages 14 and 12, my wife, Monica, and I took a trip to Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands, and Peru, particularly the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, in March ’05.
There are two things I learned from a July-August ’05 trip to Africa.
1) You MUST have the new U.S. dollars in Africa, especially to pay for your visa at the Kenyan border.
Moreen and I love to browse in Mediterranean bazaars and Middle Eastern suqs for small, locally made items. In Tunisia, we especially enjoy looking at the multicolored ceramic jars, plates and tiles for tableware use and, yes, tourist souvenirs.
I have loved to shop for jewelry most everywhere I’ve traveled!
• I bought a wide, choker-type necklace made of camel bones in the medina in Tunis, Tunisia.
