Pretty well matches online images of southern yellow-billed hornbill.

https://avise-birds.bio.uci.edu/coraciiformes/bucerotidae/tockus_leucomelas/index.html

:-)

Ha ha, not easy to forget although you want to!

Thanks again. I really do appreciate the support. :)

I thought that was what a friend had told me, but I was too lazy to go back and find the FB post. Thanks for the update. Can always count on you to identify it. :)

Yes, ridden a few of these in my time!

Might be a pied kingfisher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_kingfisher

White-fronted bee eater.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-fronted_bee-eater

I'm following on FB but wanted to +1 to Rich's comment. It's daunting to get outside of your comfort zone.

We were just talking about this last night. Just because I was lucky enough to be born in the US, I have so many privileges and opportunities that I take for granted. And yes, when I was passing through an area in Namibia, one of the owners mentioned that although the people are barely surviving, they all manage to have cell phones. Should mention they are very old models/basic cell phones for the most part!

Hi Josee,

I hope you enjoy Africa as much as I have been enjoying it. I have been pleasantly surprised. Thanks for acknowledging my resiliency. It's one thing I have always had throughout my life. Just to be clear, lol, I feel like I could have begged my cycle partner to stay and worked through it, but I was so done with her at that point, it was fine by me to part ways with her.

As far as money goes, Namibia accepts the South African Rand as the same value, but you can't use the Namibian dollar in SA. I just try to budget my money to be almost out of cash when I'm switching countries and then just hit an ATM as soon as possible. They are pretty widely available. So far, that method has worked.

I have the Garmin inReach Mini2. It can track my route, send text messages, whether individual or pre-set messages. I bought a year subscription as you need an active subscription for it to work. Different plans are available. There is also an "SOS' button for an emergency that goes to a 24/7 call center. I'd eventually get help, but hopefully, I never have to test it.

If you have more questions, I'll respond by email next time. :)

Great for the deportment!

It certainly is eye-opening and sobering about how folks live compared to us in the US. Makes you think, doesn’t it? I was on the continent 30 years ago and it looks like some things haven’t changed (e.g., the canoes, the kids’ ingenuity in making toys) but I think cell phones have changed things a lot for them - access to info. Have you seen that?

Key Kim,
I read all of your journal entries from Africa. I am following you carefully as I will be embarking on a similar journey next September.
I am so impressed with your resiliency, for example, how you regrouped and kept going after your partner left you. It takes a lot of strength.
We exchanged messages in the Cairo to Cape Town What's app group, but I am out of it at the moment (technical difficulty).
I do have a few questions, for when you have some time:

1) What do you do for money when you enter a new country? For example going from South Africa to Namibia, do you get some cash before you get in, if so from where, a bank, the black market?
2) You mentioned you had some kind of device for areas where there is no signal. What was it?
You can email me at cliclermont@gmail.com if you wish.
Cheers,
Josée Clermont

Don’t I know it!!! About to go even more out of my comfort zone. Yikes!! Thanks for following along :)

Interesting, thx