I snapped this picture of a Coca Cola bottle last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:
I thought it was cool to see the famous brand name printed in something other than English. In the Amharic language the four characters spell “Coca Cola” phonetically: Co-ca Co-la. The bottom part apparently says “Trademark.”
I was in South Africa last week visiting Cassandra’s family. Because there’s only so much to do in Kimberley (yes, I’ve seen the Big Hole), we decided to take a road trip to see some new scenery. I had been looking at the map of South Africa and noticed that Lesotho, the small nation enclave surrounded entirely by South Africa, was fairly close. Cassandra’s dad suggested that we drive to Clarens to get a good view of the Maluti Mountains.
Clarens was a pleasant surprise. It kinda reminded me of little towns I’d been to in Northern California (especially Calistoga) — quaint, quiet, clean, and safe. The town is situated around one or two main streets and a small square, with cute restaurants, pubs, antique shops, and bed and breakfasts dotted along the way.
There’s a really big hole on the outskirts of Kimberley, South Africa. Aptly named the “Big Hole,” it is the largest hand-excavated hole in the world. While originally quite important to the development of the region (and the global diamond market in general), these days it is little more than a big pond for tourists to stare at!
