The election results

So, at some point in the last two weeks that we've been gone, the votes were finally counted in Sierra Leone. The opposition candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma, won pretty handily. Despite a complete shift in power in both the executive and legislative branches of this nascent democracy fresh out of civil war, though, there was very little violence. Not only that, but this country is being held up as a model of democracy in Africa. Is it wrong to be proud of that?

And yes...we're out of the steppes. We've got a whole, long, voluble post written, but we're having a bear of a time getting our pictures uploaded. So, I'll hold off on posting it for another couple of days in possibly vain hopes.

But we're back to civilization in one piece and thoroughly, madly in love with a new country. Iceland, you may have met your match...

More later. Thanks for all your e-mails while we were away!