Sopadeletras or soup of letters - Images of Africa

Stuck in the mud

2011-03-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ivorian refugees in Liberia 3

2011-03-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ivorian refugee in Liberia 2

2011-03-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ivorian refugees in liberia

2011-03-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sunset 4

2009-11-02T04:26:00.000-08:00

Today I am posting a sequence of sunset photos taken from the balcony of

the house in Freetown

Sunset 3

2009-11-02T04:25:00.000-08:00

Sunset 2

2009-11-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

Sunset 1

2009-11-02T04:16:00.000-08:00

Birds 2

2009-09-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Birds

2009-09-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

Fantastic sequence of photos of beautiful birds in our garden.

The view

2009-08-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

I can't stop being amazed by the view from the balcony. This morning it was

beautiful.

Coconuts

2009-08-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

This morning we had fresh coconuts. I love to drink the water straight from them.

Time for washing

2009-08-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

After so many wet days it is time for washing and drying in the sun.

Finally the beach !

2009-08-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of relenteless rain we finally had an opening and made it to the beach in Laka near Freetown.

Flower 3

2009-08-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

and the last one...and no, it is not up side

down, it is just the way it is.

Flower 2

2009-08-09T14:17:00.001-07:00

....and another one...

Flower 1

2009-08-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Our garden in Freetown has some beautiful flowers, here is one of them.

Visitor 4

2009-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

Even the ants are really big over here. Got this one in the balcony today.

Visitor 3

2009-08-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

This morning it was raining "cats and dogs" in Freetown. All my life, I think, I have never seen anything like this. The birds came to our balcony to shelter from the rain. It was very dark and I took this photo that I believe is quite amazing.

Visitor 2

2009-07-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

This one in our garden when the Sun came out.

Dangerous

2009-07-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

It is tough to travel in Sierra Leone and many times unreasonable risks are taken.

Visitor

2009-07-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

This one decided to visit us in the balcony of our house in Freetown

Rainy season colours

2009-07-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Another sunset in Freetown, now right in the middle of the rainy season the colours are fantastic.

Fishing in Freetown

2009-05-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sunset in Paradise

2009-05-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

Sunset in Freetown

2009-05-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

Fantastic sunset in Freetown last week.

Smoke

2008-04-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

It is quite clear that this airplane is not very healthy. Again approaching the airport in Goma.

Air crash in Goma

2008-04-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

I took this picture last year as an Antonov took of from Goma airport. Yesterday a plane crashed, it was not an Antonov but a DC9. I have always found incredible the trail of dark smoke coming out of these planes.

"Big Bad River"

2007-06-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

I took this photo as we took off from Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo river is imposing.

Fishing after dusk in Lake Kivu

2007-06-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in Goma. The fisherman use a light to attract the fish.

Cute (2)

2007-06-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

Childen in day centre

Cute

2007-06-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

Children in a day centre near Kigali, Rwanda.

Funny

2007-06-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

A statue in the genocide memorial in Kigali, Rwanda. I like the mobile phone detail!

ENERGY

2007-06-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

Preparing the foundations for the "Maison de la Paix"-House of Peace, in Nyundo, Rwanda.

Sad News

2007-06-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sad news this week with the crash of the helicopter that linked Freetown and the Airport in Lungi (all passengers killed).

I took this photo when on that helicopter in September last year.

Paradise again

2007-04-15T01:59:00.000-07:00

Yes it is still beach river number two in Sierra Leone.

Bumbuna when finished

2007-04-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

This is how the Bumbuna dam will look like once the works are finished

Bumbuna Hydroelectric project

2007-04-15T01:44:00.000-07:00

This is the Bumbuna hydroelectric project in Northern Sierra Leone.

The Hiusi Hotel in Goma

2007-04-15T01:25:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in 2004. The Hiusi hotel, located in Goma by lake Kivu, just escaped the volcanic eruption a couple of years before this photo was taken.

Street scene in Luanda

2007-04-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

I took this one in 2005 from the car as we were driving through Luanda in Angola. This is a typical street scene.

Dancing in Nairobi

2007-04-06T02:17:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in Nairobi in 2005. Drummers and dancers were entertaining the people around.

Challenging stereotypes

2007-04-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

In Liberia the president is a woman. The first elected African woman president. The example is helping to challenge stereotypes. This girl is learning how to become a builder. The trainer was also a woman. In Liberia some of the deepest gender stereotypes are now being challenged.

The village of Masisi

2007-04-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in 2005 in Masisi Eastern Congo. This is a really beautiful scenery with lots of magnificent mountains.

They produce some amazing cheese over here.

Fixing the bicycle

2007-04-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

I took this one in 2000 in Sierra Leone near Port Loko.

Just after the end of a horrible civil war, Sierra Leoneans moved on with their lives and bounced back. Amazing people.

Queuing for water in Mozambique

2007-04-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Access to clean water is still a major struggle in Africa. Women and children are the ones that usually have to queue and carry the jerry cans with water.

This becomes a social event as well. Those waiting their turn chat among them.

Hello!

2007-04-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know exactly the name of this bird but they seem to be quite popular in Rwanda. This one stole a whole chicken from the barbecue that was being set up in the garden.

Sunflower in Rwanda

2007-04-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

This one could be anywhere but it was in fact a photo taken in the East of Rwanda in 2004.

Rwanda has some of the most beautiful mountains in Central Africa.

The lake before the storm

2007-04-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

Lake Kivu gets agitated just before a big thunder storm. I took this photo in 2004 in the town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The old train station in Maputo

2007-04-03T02:33:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful train station.

From colonial times it is still in a very good condition and above all there are still trains running.

Sunset in Lungi

2007-04-03T02:11:00.000-07:00

Another sunset in Sierra Leone. This one in Lungi from hotel just above the Mahera beach.

Lungi is where the international airport is.

Literacy for street children

2007-03-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

This another Don Bosco boy in Savio village near Monrovia. Functional literacy and numeracy is very important to help these children to get back to school.

There has been a big effort made to help communities to take care of those more vulnerable. In general works really well because in Africa children are still seen as an asset rather than a burden.

Waiting for the bus in Maputo

2007-03-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

I took this photo while I was walking on the beach, late afternoon in Maputo, Mozambique.

It was time for people to go back home after a day's work.

A smile for the camera

2007-03-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

I took this picture in Guinea some eight years ago. This was at the height of the civil war in Sierra Leone and these children are refugees in a camp in the South of Conakry.

Water falls in Sierra Leone

2007-03-30T02:28:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken in the north of Sierra Leone, not far from Makeni. These are lovely rapids with crystal clear river water.

The noise of the water running down the mountains is unbelievable.

Another lovely place not known by many.

Still fuming

2007-03-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

This is the Nyriagongo Volcano in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. The volcano last erupted in January 2002. The town of Goma was badly damaged but has now recovered from the disaster.

Mangos on the road

2007-03-30T01:41:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken on the road from Abuja to Jos in Nigeria.

It was mango season (yes, in Africa we still eat fruit according to season) and there were very juicy mangos for sale on the road.

River number two

2007-03-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Is the name of this lovely beach in Sierra Leone. The sand is almost white and the sea is a beautiful green.

The local people did cook me some nice fish and rice.

Before that I enjoyed some coconut water.

Does this look like Hell?

In Tamale, Ghana

2007-03-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

The shade of a tree is key for this young woman to get on with her work in Tamale in Northern Ghana.

Ghana was one of the first African countries to gain independence in 1957. Most African countries are incredibly young. Generally the public and the media forget this.

A canoe in lake Kivu

2007-03-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in Bukavu, Eastern Congo.

This lake Kivu and the fisherman very early in the morning is getting ready to go fishing.

There is nothing like waking up by the border of the lake and listen to the fisherman singing from far in the lake as they get ready for a hard work's day.

Don Bosco boys in Liberia

2007-03-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

I took this photo some 5 years ago not far from Monrovia the capital of Liberia.

This is in a place called Savio village that is run by Don Bosco homes Liberia.

These boys are today part of the future of a Liberia that is changing positively quite quickly in the last couple of years.

Preparing the flour in Mozambique

2007-03-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

I took this one in Mozambique, not far from Maputo, the capital of the country.

Mozambique is very young African country that became independent just over thirty years ago.

It is one of the countries in Africa that has been doing better in the last ten years or so.

Maputo is one of the nicest capital cities in Africa that I know. It is a lovely place to go and stay for a while.

Bougainvilleas in Jos - Nigeria

2007-03-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

I took this photo just a few weeks ago. It was still pretty dry in Nigeria and in Jos the weather is always a bit cooler anyway. It is higher up. The bougainvilleas in the back garden of this restaurant were beautiful.

Have you ever thought of Nigeria as a country where bougainvilleas are so beautiful?

Going to the beach in Angola

2007-03-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Yes Angola after all is not only war and misery. There was a long very difficult war and as a result there is a lot of misery. But this is not what my posting are about.

This photo was taken not far from Luanda. The small island is named Mussulo. The set up is like paradise.

The Sun sets in Freetown

2007-03-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

From the balcony of my friend's house I could with no effort take this picture. In Freetown people don't quite realise how beautiful the sun set in the Atlantic is.

This is in a country that was many times labeled as the white man's graveyard. One of the paces where rains more in the whole world, where it is always hot and very often very humid. A paradise for mosquitoes and therefore for malaria. A place where I have met some of the most amazing people in my life.

Sierra Leone in West Africa is a woderful place.

I love Africa

2007-03-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

If there is still a place where life makes sense then it has to be Africa.

The photo I bring here today is in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This volcanic region is absolutely beautiful, breathtaking.

This is "Lac Vert" or Green Lake near the town of Goma and close to the border between Congo and Rwanda.

What I am going to try to do in this blog is to bring to those of you who love Africa some positive images of Africa. I belive that you like me are probably by now tired of the negative and helpless images of Africa that most media propagates worldwide.

This is to try and show an alternative image of Africa.