I found traces of inadvertant humour in the African city guide in BSpirit, the inflight magazine of Brussels Airlines. Here are some exerpts:
Abidjan: Hotel Ivoire is a local landmark and a real treat if you like late-1960s architecture… The ice-skating rink was closed many years ago, but the bowling alley is still open every day until 10pm.
Banjul: Traditional wrestling is the Gambia’s national sport, and a fascinating way to spend a Sunday.
Bujumbura: If you’re interested in Burundian cuisine (predominantly beef or fish brochette, chips or fried plantain), try Le Layor …
Conakry: The many markets of Conakry offer the chance to take home African hardwood sculpture (some incredible pieces of ebony)…
Douala: Las Vegas Refuge will leave a lasting impression...
Last week I used aerial photos to show the looting of IDP camps near Goma.
Today I located one of the camps on Google Earth. Here’s last week’s photo, overlaid on the satellite image:
Aerial view of Mugunga IDP camp (c) UNHCR/Masako Yonekawa 2007
The satellite pictures would have been taken a few months ago - here is what the site looked like then:
Spot the difference
To see how much further you can take this sort of thing, take a look at the extraordinary Crisis in Darfur project....
Aerial view of sandbanks on the Congo
Nothing wrong with a bit of Earth from the Air, from time to time. (Makes a change from the reverse, no?) I have a nice video clip of a take-off over the ocean, but it’s too big to upload in current circumstances, so will have to wait.
Bleedin’ amateur that I am, I’ve just discovered that my camera’s exposure setting has woven a spell of darkness on all photos from the last few days....