Mallory

I just arrived in Madagascar, the first stop in my free trip to Africa. I will start by saying how I won the trip. I was just walking down the street when a man came up to me and asked me if I would like to enter a contest. All I had to do was put my name and phone number in a box and then wait. He said that the winner would be called in about a month. One day someone called my house and told me that I had won a pad trip to Africa. I just got to the Sainte Marie Island. On the boat ride to the Island a man told us about its history. He said that the Island used to be a basis for pirates. I did not hear a lot of his story because I turned to look at the amazing water that was all around us. When I went back to listen to the man, he said that a lot of events are linked to the invoking of ancestors sprits. I am now at the hotel I will be staying at. I found that like the main land it is a farley poor place. I went to the class instructing us on the scuba diving the group will be doing tomorrow.
 * MADAGASCAR**
 * DAY ONE**



Today I went scuba diving and saw a lot of different soft corals and fish. Some of the fish I saw were the lions fish, crocodiles fish, shellfish, and many more. I also saw some lobsters. The thing I enjoyed the most is when I saw the sea turtles. There was at lest twenty of them in the group I saw. The other thing I really liked is when I saw the dolphins. Tomorrow I will be going whale watching.
 * DAY TWO**



Today I went on a half-day humpback whale safari. I went out on a boat to a spot where the whales go to mate, give birth, and teach their young. The sight was amazing. I started to wish I had remembered to bring my camera. After the safari I went to one of the celebrations the people of the Island have for the whales. This was a great first stop on my trip to Africa. Soon I will be on my way to Kenya.
 * DAY THREE**



I am leaving Madagascar to go to Kenya. Soon my plane will be landing and I will be on my way to Keekorok Lodge where I will start my Safari. When I landed, I found that it was not hard to find other people that spoke English. Later I relived that English is a common language spoken in Kenya. On my way to the resort I saw a lot of places that were growing coffee beans, when I asked the driver he told me that coffee is a major export. I arrived at the Keekorok Lodge just in time to go on the scenic drive. The drive went down into the Great Rift Valley the view was very beautiful.
 * KENYA**
 * DAY ONE**



Today, I went on a full day game drive to Masai Mara. On the drive I found out that Masai means a member of a chiefly pastoral people in Kenya. All day long I was seeing amazing animals in their homes. It was wonderful. I saw giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos, and more. My favorite part of the day was when I saw a lion eating off of a animal bone. Another thing I enjoyed was the sunset I saw on the way back to Keekorok Lodge where I am staying.
 * DAY TWO**



Today was a short day, I went on a half-day game drive and looked at some river forests along the Mara River. The plants I saw were all beautiful and unique. I missed part of the drive because I fell asleep. Guess I had too much fun yesterday. Now I am packing and will soon be on my way to Egypt.
 * DAY THREE**



I am now leaving Kenya to go to Egypt, where I will visit many ancient locations. Among these places will be the Sphinx, Khafres Pyramid, and many tombs. All of these places are at the ancient city of Giza. Giza like many ancient city's is near the Nile River which empties into the Mediterranean sea, which was and is an important source. Most people today live within 20 miles of the nile.Today there is the Aswan High Dam which allows people to control the flow of the Nile. Egypt had many great and powerful pharaohs. They belived in many different gods.Today I took a quick look at some of the temples to the gods near Giza where I will be visiting tomorrow.
 * EGYPT**
 * DAY ONE**



Once these people became the ruler of Egypt there was one main and important thing they would need to build their tomb. Ancient Egyptians believed strongly in the after life and needing to prepare for the after life.The tombs I saw were often raided and the mummies moved or destroyed. The artifacts that were not moved and found by archeologists show us many things about the past. Khafres pyramid is the tomb of the Pharaoh Khafre.
 * DAY TWO**

  **DAY THREE** The Sphinx the first sculptures oh its kind of its time. The Sphinx is half man half lion and is made out of one solid piece of limestone. All other things that were made at this time were made of things brought to the site of the building. The Sphinx has been fixed so many times that it is hard to believe that at one time it was one solid piece of lime stone. Also no one knows who the Sphinx was made to represent. I have loved my time in Egypt and am know on my way to Chad.

DAY ONE** I arrived in Chad a few hours ago. So far I have learned that the area I will be going later in my trip was ruled by many different cultures. Today I went to a camel race. It was very exciting and interesting.The people who come to these often warned me that the camels spit a lot. The word a lot does not begin to tell you how much they spit. All I can say is that they spit more then a lot. The best part of the day was when in the middle of the race one of the camels sat down and would not move. Today was great and I can not to see the mountains tomorrow.
 * CHAD



Today I took a helicopter tour of the Tibesti Mountains. All I can saw is that they were amazing. I was glad I had remebered my camera. The pictures I took decribe them better then I can with words. I gess it is true when a picture is worth a thousand words.t Tomorrow. is my last day in Chad.
 * DAY TWO**



Today before I started packing I went to one last camel race. I think one of the camels I saw today was the camel that sat down in the middle of the race. I think that the camel that sat down was just tried the last time I came here. Today through that camel won the race. I am glad I was there to see him win. Good-Bye Chad next I am of to the DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO.
 * DAY THREE**



I just arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today I saw some of the Kigezi Region or “the Switzerland of Africa”, this area was very hilly. On my way to the Kigezi Region I saw many coffee plantations and later found out that coffee is a major export. The Kigezi Region is within the tropical rain forests and is at the bottoms of Muhavura and other volcanoes.
 * DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO**
 * DAY ONE**



Today I went on a Gorilla Safari. On my way to the location where we would start a safari I learned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo became an independent country in 1960. I also learned that women are infer to men here. We started trekking through the tropical rain forests looking for a gorilla family. We stayed close to the gorillas for over an hour. I got some wonderful pictures.
 * DAY TWO**


 * [[image:http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00173/ed_imgSNN1437A_540_173596a.jpg width="188" height="119"]]

DAY THREE** Today I am packing to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Africa this was an amazing trip, and I will remember it forever. This morning I took a quick walking tour of the tropical rain forests. It was very beautiful. Now I am on the plane on the way back to my home in America.