A few months ago, every major world newspaper was covering the story about pirates off of Somali's lawless coastline. And then it seems as if they just disappeared. Where did they go? Well, nowhere is the answer, they're still quite active despite the heavy monsoon winds this time of year.

Just last week pirates captured a Turkish crew, 23 men in all, and are holding them for ransom. The world's press has moved on, but the vigilantes remain and the reason why these fishermen turned into pirates in the first place is still very much an issue. One of these being the illegal dumping of toxic waste, by many first world countries, off the Somali coast for the past two decades.

I'm curious if the head of Somalia's navy will be able to help. His first step should probably be to procure a boat, the Somali navy doesn't have one. And some of the officers apparently joined the pirates. The money is very good.

The pirates are also widening their area of operations to include the entire Somali Coast. Some cruise ship companies are changing their routes entirely to avoid pirate attacks. In April (2009) cruise passengers had to fight off pirates by throwing deckchairs at them, not a very relaxing way to spend a vacation.

More About the Somali Pirates ...

_{Somali Pirates in Action -- © Getty Images/US Navy}

The Obama family has arrived in Ghana, they'll spend the next 24 hours visiting Accra and the Cape Coast. Obama print dresses, t-shirts, key rings and all kinds of paraphernalia have been doing a roaring trade. Many Ghanaians won't actually get to see the President and his family since security is fairly tight, but the nation is excited to be the first sub-Saharan African country to be hosting a visit.

The fact that this President has roots in Africa makes it all the more exciting. Naturally the Kenyans would have liked to be the first to host a visit by Obama as President, but the violence that came after their elections last year made Ghana the more politically attractive option. Oh, and Ghana has oil as well.

Many American visitors to Ghana come to pay their respect to the millions of slaves who were shipped from Ghana's coastal forts. The Obama's are no exception and they will visit Cape Coast Castle. The Cape Coast Castle is a World Heritage site, it played a prominent role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Daily guided tours, which the Obama's will no doubt be taking, include the slave dungeons, Palaver hall, as well as the grave of an English Governor. The castle was the headquarters for the British colonial administration for nearly 200 years.

More About Obama and Ghana ...

• Ghana Excitement Builds for Obama -- BBC
  
• West Africa Slave Tours
• Accra
• Ghana Travel Tips

_{Image of Cape Coast Castle -- Photo taken by David Ley/GNU Free Doc}

Reports about Africa that caught my interest this week:

• Ghana is cleaning itself up, Accra's beggars and homeless will be relocated for a few days because the Obama's will be arriving in town at the end of this week, read more ....

• The African Union Summit took place last week in a far flung Libyan location. Representatives and leaders of 50 African countries attended the colorful affair, the theme of the summit was agriculture and food security. Gaddafi presided over the summit, enjoying his power as head of the AU for 6 months, I'm sure he traveled there with his usual entourage of 50 female (virgin) bodyguards, dressed in army fatigues and trained to kill (see photo). The rest of the gathering struggled to find hotel rooms and Iran's president didn't show up at the last minute to deliver the opening address. More about the AU Summit ...

• I love Bollywood movies and was excited to read that Northern Tanzania may soon crop up in some blockbusters as background to romantic song and dance numbers. A high-flying contingent of Bollywood actors and directors have recently enjoyed their safari experiences (and who wouldn't) and are said to be enthusiastic about filming future movies there. Personally I'd love to see the Swiss countryside replaced with the savanna, read more about this story ...

• Guinea-Bissau held its Presidential elections on Sunday to replace their assassinated President Joao Bernardo Vieira. Looks like it will head into a second round of voting. Fingers crossed for this little nation that's incredibly poor and struggling as "Africa's Cocaine Warehouse".

• Zambia is ramping up its production of high-end bamboo bikes and plans to sell them to outdoor enthusiasts in the US. It would be nice if they could make cheaper versions for local use, but they do look very cool. More about bamboo bikes...

_{Image © Getty Images/Norbert Schiller -- Gadaffi Body Guard}

August Festivals and Events in Africa include a wine festival in South Africa; a harvest festival in Ghana; a marriage festival in Morocco; a fashion show in Cape Town and a Camel Derby in Kenya. You may not be aware that Kenya has camels, but this particular derby seeks to raise awareness about the Kenyan camel and people like the Samburu (pictured here) who rely on this lovely, useful beast for their survival.

Find out more about each of these festivities from my article about August Festivals and Events in Africa.

_{Image © Getty Images/Don Farrall}

The South Africans are pushing the envelope on the "Big 5", they're now marketing the Big 7. That would be the original Big 5 -- Cape buffalo, rhino, elephant, lion and leopard, plus whales and sharks. Anyone researching a safari will come across the term the "Big 5" these are the animals that we are supposed to get most excited about seeing. I agree with the elephant, rhino and lion, but leopard sightings are rare and often just a dash at night, not hugely impressive. And buffaloes are impressive but aggressive and yes, not hugely different to cows. Give me a giraffe any day, a herd of zebras, or a warthog family for that matter. How about the cheetah cub pictured here...

The "Big 5" morphed into a marketing term aimed at the modern day safari-goer based on hunters and what they liked to bag. The "Big 5" happen to be the most aggressive beasts to shoot, and since most of us like to shoot with a camera, it isn't all that relevant. Now the marketers are going to make us believe that seeing a whale from a distant shore is more exciting somehow than mixing it up with penguins further up the coast. Or that a Great White shark encounter is something normal mortals would even attempt to try. They haven't even bothered to distinguish between the different species of sharks or whales that are swimming off the shores of South Africa for that matter.

On an African safari my personal Big 5 would include: Lion, Giraffe, Mountain Gorilla, Elephant and Cheetah. What would yours be?

_{Image of a Cheetah Cub, Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya, sorry, NOT one of the Big 5 -- © Getty Images/Anup Shah}

The summit of this beautiful volcano is called "socialist peak". It takes about 3 days to get to the top which makes it a perfect practice run for those looking to hike up its close neighbor, Mount Kilimanjaro. The main trail passes through plains filled with wildlife, ancient rain forests of fig trees, and finally some rocky moors sometimes dusted with snow. Along the the trail, buffaloes, baboons and giraffes are commonly sighted as well as hundreds of species of birds.

Click here for the right answer along with additional information about this destination.

_{© Getty Images}

Jeff Cammack of Safari Guide Africa recently wrote a piece "When on Safari, Don't Forget the People" and it struck a chord with me. Jeff makes the point that it's important to think about your drivers, guides, trackers and other staff that serve you, wash your clothes, and cook your meals. Think about the impact of your safari on their community; as Jeff says "in the villages and towns nearby the camp are ordinary farmers, who have had to come to terms with living near a park where most people (including their own governments) care more about the animals than them. This is because tourism is big business in Africa, and you are both part of the problem and the solution." Read more of Jeff's post here.

As a tourist you can help by making the right choice about the company you choose to go on safari with. Also learn a little about the Maasai, Samburu, Himba or San culture before you go. The Maasai's traditional way of life conflicts with the concept of private reserves, fenced in to protect the wildlife. Fences may keep wildlife in, but it also keeps Maasai livestock out of traditional grazing land. Farming villages along the edges of national parks can get extra income from selling crafts to tourists, but they also have to deal with wildlife destroying their crops. Civilians fleeing war close to Virunga National Park in the DRC need firewood to cook food so they can feed their children. But they're destroying the precarious habitat of the few remaining mountain gorillas left in the world. Zimbabwe is in economic ruin and rhino poaching is totally out of control, but you can't blame the desperate villager who is paid a few dollars to go and commit these awful acts.

These issues are complicated, but when you're on safari, talk to your guides and trackers, ask them about their families, find out where they're from. On a recent safari in South Africa I spent a long time chatting with my guide David. David is a father of five, his family lives in town and he sees them for a week every month. Like many South African men, he worked in the mines for 10 years. South Africa's gold mines are the deepest mines in the world. David lived in single-sex barracks along with other members of his tribe (this was during Apartheid) and he worked 8 hour shifts every day in tunnels that were more than 2 miles deep. No breaks for food, protein powder to keep up energy levels, and a shot every 6 months to stay healthy (David wasn't sure what exactly was in the shot). He said "It's like a war down there". "If a man is killed we didn't stop, just carry on working until the end of the shift and then take the body out". Chasing after rhinos and facing down buffalo must seem like a piece of cake compared to cutting rocks all day in a crammed, hot, dark space for ten years. (More than 160 workers died in mining accidents in South Africa in 2008).

A basic definition of responsible travel is that it allows local communities to earn a fair income from tourism; it supports conservation; it supports local community initiatives; and it tries to limit the environmental impact of the vacation itself. There are some excellent safari companies that try hard to do a balancing act between keep their clients happy, provide them with a quality holiday, and make sure the environment and people they visit are not negatively affected. So when your enjoying the animals on safari, don't forget about the people.

_{Image of David, Guide/Tracker in Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa}

Traveling by train is my favorite way to travel. I've traveled on trains in Peru, India, China, Morocco and Tunisia among others, and loved every second of it. It's a wonderful way to meet local people, share food and get a glimpse of rural life along the tracks. About.com's Honeymoons Guide has put together a wonderful list of all the train journeys our Travel Guides have taken and that are out there for all of you to enjoy. Check out -- "Tracks:" A Train Travel Blog Carnival.

_{First Class on a Tunisian Train -- Image © Anouk Zijlma}

Reports about Africa that caught my interest this week:

• The first all-African fashion week is happening in Johannesburg (South Africa) and designers from all across the continent have been strutting their stuff, these images on the BBC News Web Site are gorgeous. Not surprisingly, many of the models are working for agencies in Paris and New York.

  

• Confederations Cup, an international soccer tournament, is taking place in South Africa right now, and is seen as a practice run for the South Africans hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010. European journalists are getting into a tizzy about the Vuvuzela, a trumpet much beloved by South African soccer fans. The Guardian reports: "It sounds like a platoon of ninja bumblebees with a bad mobile signal have left you a 45-minute answerphone message". The BBC is receiving comments by the bucket load about it. But luckily FIFA is standing its ground and will not ban it from the 2010 World Cup.

• Gabon buried its leader of 40 years last week, President Omar Bongo was Africa's longest standing head of state. He died in a hospital in Spain on June 8th. There's an interesting piece written by Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene, about the tricky issue of announcing the death of a leader of Bongo's caliber, it's called "Big Men Do Not Die". This will strike a chord with anyone who has ever lived in a little African country governed by a big man. There are still some out there.

• More than 250 private villas and cottages were burned to the ground in the popular tourist town of Malindi on Kenya's coast. The fire was thought to have started due to an electrical fault and quickly spread from villa to villa fanned by the strong coastal wind. The fire department's Landrover and single truck were rendered useless. More on this story...

• Ethiopia is making progress updating its railway line. Traveling by rail is a slow but a very scenic way to explore many countries in Africa. The route that's getting an overhaul in Ethiopia will take passengers on a narrow causeway across a volcanic lake and through more spectacular scenery, from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa. More on this story

  _{Fans blowing the Vuvuzela at the Confederations Cup, Bloemfontein, South Africa, June, 2009 -- © Getty Images/Laurence Griffiths}

Sidi Bou Said is a gorgeous little clifftop village overlooking the Gulf of Tunis, just north of Tunisia's capital city Tunis. Steep cobbled streets are lined with white-washed buildings, adorned with flowering bougainvillea, jasmine and many other types of flora that I couldn't discern, but looked very pretty. Brightly painted blue doors and window trellises complete this quaint picture. And so do bus loads of tourists who are on a whirlwind tour of the capital Tunis and its environs. Ready to spend a precious day away from the beach resorts, sunburned English folks jostle with confident French tourists, as they spend an hour or so traipsing through the narrow streets, haggling for tourist trinkets.

But if you choose to spend a few nights in Sidi Bou Said like I did, the rewards come thick and fast. With several excellent restaurants, boutique hotels with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean -- Sidi Bou Said is a perfect base to explore Tunis and Carthage. Check out my photos of Sidi Bou Said and see why this town has inspired the likes of Paul Klee and André Gide.

_{Typical Door, Sidi Bou Said -- © Anouk Zijlma}