This past weekend, off the coast of Yemen, luxury cruise ship the Oceania Nautica outran pirates. Pirates!

The Nautica is a 30,200 ton, 11 deck ship which carries a crew of 400 and 684 passengers, all of whom must have been very relieved when they narrowly escaped two skiffs who tried to intercept them. The Nautica accelerated to its full 23 knot (27 mph) speed and maneuvered out of the gunfire.

The Nautica was amid a 32-day cruise from Rome to Singapore when it encountered the pirates and totally pwned them. Oceania says there are no plans to re-route the cruise.

Though the area off the coast of Yemen is being patrolled by an international anti-piracy task force, it is common for pirates to hijack yachts and cargo ships. Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau says that the area is large, and "Vessels do not automatically get guaranteed safe passage even if they use it." Still, it is unusual for a passenger ship of the Nautica's size to come into harm's way.

Also, pirate activity has been far more prevalent off the coast of Somalia. The pirates there, who recently claimed they are unstoppable, have been called "animals" for their cruel tactics and treatment of hostages. The problem of piracy continues to fester despite the work of the UN and various national patrols. Someone tell the UN to send in a fleet of armed cruise ships.

[via cnn.com]

We love music here at Gadling, and we're always on the lookout for great new sounds to accompany our travels. Earlier this summer, Aaron posted an interesting feature on Asian music, a frequently overlooked source for some hidden pop gems. But for anyone who's hungry for some fresh sounds, there's no greater treasure trove of amazing pop music than the continent of Africa.

When one thinks of Africa, it's unfortunate that the first associations that come to mind are often famine, civil strife and abject poverty. However, the many regions of Africa are home to rich musical traditions. In addition to their homegrown musical styles, 20th Century African musicians played a pivotal role in the development of Western pop, creating a rich cross-pollination with musical styles ranging from the Blues to Psychedelic Rock to Funk. From the Proto-Blues Gnawa music of Northern Africa, to Funk and Disco-laden rock of 1970's Nigeria, to the jazzy Mbalax of Senegal, African pop offers us an unmatched depth and breadth of choices for even the most casual listener.

Over the last few years, I've stumbled upon some hidden gems that have ignited an obsessive search into the annals of African pop. I've unearthed a few of my favorites here - it's by no means a comprehensive listing, but any music fan will surely want to give these albums a listen. Click below for Gadling's top African pop music picks and make sure to leave us some of your own favorites in the comments.

In 1950, there were only two cities in Africa with more than one million inhabitants. They were both in Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria). In the 2008 version of continent, there are more than 40 urban centers with populations over 1 million. A report by the UN Human Settlements Programme projects that the number of Africans living in cities will double by 2030 to more than 700 million.

The image of an urban Africa is not one that usually comes to mind. Much of the continent's tourism is still based on wildlife and the natural beauty of rural areas. It's too early to tell if the landscape will totally change in the coming years.

Large cities are not growing rapidly, but mid-sized cities of between 500,000 and 1 million people are the ones that the UN report focuses on. These upstarts are growing at a rate that will see them soon rival or even eclipse the populations of current African mega-cities like Johannesburg and Nairobi.

[More on the UN Human Settlements Programme report]

Where I'm sitting winter has arrived. Snow flurries and windchill. Brrrr. Now that winter looks like it's settling in, let's see if anyone has come up with places to that are warmer.

• Brenda's post on the drop in tourism in Hawaii. and what there is to do in this tropical paradise this time of year, ought to be reason enough for a person to rethink the budget and see if Hawaii is doable after all.
• Meg suggests sitting in the scariest swimming pool ever--Devil's Pool at the top of Victoria Falls
• Jeffery pointed out that Cuba knows how to treat its 2 millionth tourist--with an ice-cold mojito and a salsa band
• Along with the warning that snacks in India could cost more than you counted on, Josh sounded a warning to be careful of the party scene in Mumbai--you could find yourself drug tested.
• And, although New Mexico is not THAT warm, the great thing about traveling here to ski is that it feels warm during the day when the sun is out--kind of. The best part is that the sun almost always shines in New Mexico. Every day. All day.

Acrophobia is described as an uncontrollable, irrational, and often crippling fear of heights. I'm not sure if this concept has an opposite -- acrophilia, maybe? Love of heights? -- but that's how I'd describe anyone brave (crazy?) enough to go for a dip at the Devil's Pool.

The Devil's Pool is a natural swimming hole surrounded by just-below-the-surface rocks at the top of Africa's Victoria Falls, right at the edge of the 108-meter falls on the Zambezi River. When I say right at the edge, I don't mean near the edge, or sort of close to the falls, or in the grass next to the falls -- I mean it is on the edge of the falls.

Just looking at pictures of the tourists who've gone there makes me a bit light headed. I know myself well enough to know that I could never, ever get in that water -- but the photos from those braver than I are absolutely stunning. No, these aren't photoshopped. It's allegedly very safe, but I can't help but think that those who scoot out over the edge for a once-in-a-lifetime photograph are really pushing their luck.

Are you brave enough to dive in?

Well, that was quick. Less than 24 hours after Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th president of these here United States, New York-based safari provider 2Afrika is touting their 11-day "Presidential Heritage Safari." They'll show you the sites of Kenya, the home nation of Barack Obama's father, and generally capitalize on his popularity. Hey, it's the American way.

According to 2Afrika, the trip will take you to "Nairobi, Mt. Kenya Forest, Lake Nakuru National Park, and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve for a fully inclusive Game Safari before heading northwest to the city of Kisumu...a mere stone's throw away from the birthplace of Barack Hussein Obama, Sr." You have to admire their creativity. The whole package will cost you $2,999 per person, so you may want to wait for President Obama to fix the economy first.

In other news, the "John McCain Bingo Vacation and Early-Bird Special Package" is now on sale. Dress socks with sandals will be provided.

In a little less than 2 years, South Africa will become the only country on its continent to ever host the FIFA World Cup. That is, unless FIFA decides that the country is unprepared and moves the world's most watched soccer tournament to one of the alternate locations it has already selected. There are concerns about stadiums and infrastructure projects being completed on time. South Africa has announced that a stadium in Port Elizabeth will not be fully constructed by the time a major tune-up tournament is slated to be played there next summer. In addition, the country is plagued by power outages and high crime rates.

But South Africa seems unconcerned and claims that everything will be ready well before the first shot on goal. To promote themselves to travelers, the country's tourist organization is beginning a major PR push on the BBC World Services Network. The campaign will include television commercial, documentary-style vignettes about destinations in South Africa and an online, user-generated travel guide. It remains to be seen if these efforts will help the country's image. It could all be undone if FIFA pulls the plug on South Africa 2010.

Welcome to Catching the Travel Bug, Gadling's mini-series on getting sick on the road, prevailing and loving travel throughout. Five of our bloggers will be telling their stories from around the globe for the next five weeks. Submit your best story about catching the travel bug in the comments and we'll publish our favorite few at the end of the series.

The day before I found out how "sicker than a dog" really felt, I had a motorcycle ride unlike any other.

There I was bouncing along narrow dirt roads, skirting freshly plowed peanut fields, and clutching the waist of the family planning worker. He had offered to take me to the villages near N'Jowara, The Gambia where I was to live for the next two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in order to show me around.

As we bounced, I noticed the furrows of the not green at all peanut fields that waited for more rains to come.

At each village, I smiled, ran through my small repertoire of Wolof greetings, and felt totally lost. Still, I went to bed giddy that I had finally had a day of something to do besides settling my belongings into my humble, one-room abode.

I'd only been in my village for a week after being sworn in as a volunteer--just the right amount of time to figure out how little I knew.

For example, getting water out of a well using a rope tied around the handle of an empty cooking oil can bucket was no easy task. Forget about carrying the bucket to my house without sloshing out half of the water before I got there.

Still, I was optimistic. One of my closest Peace Corps friends was going to visit me the next day, and eventually-my job as a primary health care educator would start. Eventually. No one knew when. But, eventually.

Yep, I was optimistic-- until I woke up the next morning moaning.

The Penjari Biosphere is a wildlife preserve in a remote corner of the West African nation of Benin. Like many such wildlife areas, it struggles with poachers and environmental problems, but tourism, in the form of photo safaris like the one in the video, is an important source of income for the area.

Even the most jaded tourist, wary of tourist traps and non-authentic experiences, would find a safari like the one in the video exciting. The fact that getting up-close and personal with wild animals is an attractive proposition is nothing new to the African tourism industry, but fully capitalizing on the tourist potential while protecting the wildlife for future tourism is the challenge. But, there are now economic reasons for creating a sustainable tourist model. The more interest in wildlife tourism grows, the more demand there will be for sustainability.

This video was taken in early morning, when the Penjari's animals all head for the nearest watering hole. Check out the menacing elephant about a minute-and-a-half in.
Video courtesy of Boing Boing

How useful are those U.S. State Department travel warnings? If you read too many, you might become scared off of travel all together.

As Carol Pucci points out in a recent Seattle Times article, politics and economics might play into U.S. State Department travel warnings and recommendations. This doesn't mean that, if there is a travel warning for a particular country, you should poo poo it as nonsense, and not proceed with caution when making plans. Perhaps, though, the travel warning isn't totally warranted. Pucci suggests checking other government's travel warning venues, such as Canada's, Australia's and the United Kingdom's.

Sometimes, even when a warning might be a good idea, the country does not make the travel warning list. Pucci cited India as an example. Consider this: