Afroglobetrotter's Diary

  A ntarctica is often considered by most people to be a mysterious place too cold and too far away to contemplate visiting but when I realised that it was possible to visit the frozen continent as a tourist, I immediately started making plans. In this series of blog posts, I will share the details of my recent trip to South America and Antarctica, my biggest adventure yet! Antarctica is the windiest, driest and coldest place on earth. So unforgiving is the continent that only a few well adapted animals can survive on it. There is no permanent resident human population in Antarctica apart from a handful of scientists in the various stations dotted around the continent (I will write about these later). Antarctica is also the only continent that grows to several times its size at certain times of the year. In Winter, several hundreds of kilometres of sea ice surround continental Antarctica effectively doubling its size. Antarctica is only accessible to tourists during the summer seas...

  "Welcome to the Gambia, the smiling coast of Africa...!" yelled the tour guide on the bus on our way to the hotel from the airport as he gave everyone a quick introduction to his country. At this point, I was already exhausted having queued for almost 2 hours just to get into the country. The immigration procedure at the airport was unnecessarily tedious. On arrival, all passengers were directed to a small hall where the queuing started. The first queue was to pay 20 USD (or £20 or €20) "security fee" in cash. This was mandatory for all arriving passengers regardless of nationality. After payment, one then had to join the next queue to have one's passport stamped. The process was slow and annoying but the Immigration Officers were nice and friendly.    The trip to the hotel was uneventful and there wasn't much to see as it was already past sunset. I listened as the tour guide spoke about the history and culture of the country. The  Gambia is the sm...

Before you travel, make sure to check the rules for your country and weigh the risks!     London Heathrow Terminal 5: Where have the planes gone? It's been a while but it's great to be back on the blogosphere. Phew! It is a completely different world we live in now. Social distancing, face masks and travel restrictions have now become the norm and will most likely remain so for the near future. If you are wondering what international travel looks like these days, here's my experience of a recent trip abroad and a rough guide to some of the things to expect when travelling in this COVID era. Before the flight Before considering a trip abroad, check the latest travel advice for your destination and be mindful that this could change without any prior notice. My travel plans changed three times and the decision to travel to Barbados was made less than 24 hours before my flight. The airline thankfully changed my ticket as my previous travel destination had closed its borders l...

Cap-Haitien, Haiti Quick facts: Capital: Port-au-Prince Currency: Haitian Gourde (1 USD=95 Gourde in August 2019), the US dollar is widely accepted.  Official Languages: French, Haitian Creole Known for: historical landmarks, The Haitian Revolution, Labadee beach, Haitian vodou. My trip to Haiti had been in the works for a while so when it was time to get on the plane bound for Cap-Haitien, Haiti’s second city, I was excited but apprehensive as well. Travel advisories of the UK, US and Canada discourage all but essential travel to the country due to perceived “political instability and insecurity” but I was soon to find out, these concerns were probably (at least in Cap-Haitien) unfounded. A street in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. A bit of Haitian history... On the 1st of January 1804, following a 14-year brutal revolution ( The Haitian Revolution ) which saw the defeat and expulsion of French troops, this small island nation made history by declaring Ind...