Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Travel by the numbers and other musings

I can hardly believe it, but three months ago today I arrived at my first destination- Vienna, Austria. I therefore feel it's time for an update on the trip overall that's less about what I'm getting up to day-to-day but how this whole thing is panning out!

Here we go. Let me know if any other numbers might be of interest, and I'll continue to share any further musings that arise...

Plane rides: 16
Train rides: 11
Boat/ferry rides: 11
Airlines flown: 10
Books read (not including travel guides!): 12
Mosquito bites (cumulative): 40 plus, easily!
Longest time without a shower: 3 days
Family members travelled with: 2
Times I have said I'm Canadian: Several
UNESCO sites visited: 14 (I thought I was doing great here...until I found out there are 897 more to see)
Dollars spent: About $4,500
Biggest local currency exchange rate to the dollar: $1 = 2080 Madagascar Ariary

-Carrying my entire life on my back has made me realize how little the average person needs to get by. However, even though I only ever have a maximum of three outfits to choose from, I still manage to agonize for far too long about what to wear. How did I make it to work every day with my entire wardrobe available to me each morning?

-There's something about traveling that makes travelers feel compelled to have seriously deep conversations with one another and spill their deepest and darkest within moments of meeting. I suppose it's a 'ships that pass in the night,' sort of thing, or strangers on a train. Then we remember about Facebook...

-I am not yet liberated enough to let go of my eyeliner, and I miss my high heels and my Marc Jacobs bag. There, I said it.

-If you don't know how to drive a stick shift car (which I don't), learn. It's often all that's available overseas and is much cheaper than hiring an automatic anyway.

-Toilet paper, baby wipes and plastic bags are sacred.

-Patience, patience, patience. I don't know why it takes four people half an hour to examine my passport, or why taxi drivers just pull over to have a chat with their mates when I'm paying them to get somewhere, but these things are the gateways to all the things I want to do and see, so I must just chill out, max out, relax all cool...and wait.

-I appreciate even more how lucky I am to be both British and American and the opportunities that affords me.

-Sometimes, out of nowhere (like, when I'm buying soap or something), I miss home (both my homes, East and West) and all the people that I love and I get all teary. Then I remember I wouldn't be here without them and feel so lucky. Then I get panicked about having to go home at all- what am I going to do with my life?! Then I remember that I MUST live in the moment. Then, after this rollercoaster of emotions, I pick out the soap and move on.

-Sometimes time flies and sometimes the minutes seem to go on forever, but it goes just the same and it's all I can do to just BE!

Monday, August 23, 2010

South Africa: Coffee Bay to Cape Town

An early start in Durban and a nine-hour Baz Bus trip or something got us to Coffee Bay on August 4. I'll say again that I love the Baz Bus, but it only stops at gas stations along the way, all of which feature a branch of the South African fast food restaurant Steers. For some reason, every time it stops, most people feel compelled to grab something from Steers and then visit the shop, you know, just in case. For me this meant FAR too many French fries and if, South Africa, you are in the hellish throes of a Kit-Kat shortage currently, I must own up and say that it was I who consumed every last one of those delectable treats.

In Coffee Bay we were booked in at the Coffee Shack, which is the place to be in the area. Coffee Bay is on South Africa's Wild Coast (or the Transkei), and is so named because in 18 hundred and something a ship carrying coffee beans ran aground there, spilling, um, all the beans! After some welcome drinks and before dinner, we watched a few of the local girls perform a traditional dance for us, which was a great introduction to the local culture that I actually came to know rather well by the end of our three days!

After dinner it was a fairly standard evening of getting to know folks and making new friends, enhanced by a lively game of "killah" pool. Everyone plays, and the only rule is to pot a ball, any ball, and save yourself a life. If you win the whole thing, you get a free day out or a free cocktail. Knowing how incredibly coordinated I am NOT, you can imagine that I didn't even come close to winning, but I did improve my pool skills overall in South Africa- they seriously love that game!

The next morning after breakfast we set off on a hike to the Mapuzi cliffs and caves. After a long walk we were promised a dip in the natural Jacuzzi. Brill, I thought, my back has been killing me! Well, be warned! This little rock pool cave thing might be Jacuzzi shaped, but it is NOT Jacuzzi temperature! False advertising! I couldn't even get to my waist. Still, we kept on hiking through caves and things, and on our walk back stopped at a local village coming-of-age ceremony for two local boys. They had just returned from two months away, after being circumcised and then sent out into the forest to live off the land. Their return thus confirmed that they are now men and able to get married and so on. The people in the area are the Xhosa people - Nelson Mandela is from there- and our guide Silas grew up there and knows everyone around. He said it was no problem for us to join the party, so we sat down with a few of the mamas (or, the ganja grannies, as all of them were totally high) and the children swarmed us! They were totally adorable, wanting photos of themselves and things. About four little girls were absolutely entranced by my hair and for twenty minutes they stroked it, pulled it, put it up in ponytails. The mamas also passed around the local home brew- an odd tasting beer made out of maize. I thought it was rancid and could barely take a sip but bro (surprise surprise) loved it as did a few other folks, and they promptly drank that dirty old bucket dry!

After leaving the ceremony, we set off back for lunch- toasted sandwiches made over a bonfire on the beach. Then it was time for cliff jumping- eek! The original plan was to do the jumps into the sea, but it was far too rough (phew), so we did them into the river instead. Talk about Jelly Knees!! It took me FOUR tries to actually do the jump (which was pretty high- some large number of metres), but I was one of the few girls to do it and it was a blast!

In the evening, as if we could hike anymore, we climbed a massive hill overlooking the bay to watch the sun go down. It was absolutely beautiful, and a few local mamas were up there selling beads which we bought as it's a great way to support the community. The night continued with another epic game of killer pool, which I expertly botched for the second time, and a few more games of pool with some hammered South African guys called Gus and Adrian. Total loons. I was hanging out with my new friend Klaus from Germany- lovely guy- when Gus comes over to introduce himself and ask where we're from and whatnot. "Ah, Germany," he says to Klaus upon learning his nationality, "Hitler!" Um, what? Klaus and I seriously just stared at him for about a minute. It makes me glad to be continuing to expand my world view, undoubtedly protecting me from walking up to someone in Cambodia and saying, "So, how about that Pol Pot?"

Anywho, the next morning we were up and at 'em for another hike (is there any stopping me??) to the Hole in the Wall, a free standing natural rock formation where the battering waves have created a huge archway. It's really beautiful, and after being dropped off there, we hiked about three hours back to Coffee Shack. Now, you're likely familiar with the African big five- elephant, rhino, lion and so on. Bro and I managed six weeks or so in Africa without seeing one of these, but the villages of the Transkei have their OWN big five, and we couldn't hike more than three minutes without seeing one of these wild and wonderful creatures: pigs, sheep, chickens, horses and goats! At one point during our hike we even walked past Silas' own sheep! However, he told us, if he is to find a wife (and he's 25 so he'd quite like one- he's done his circumcision forest ritual etc.), he needs to have ten cows, for this is what you pay the father of your bride. Until then, it's the bachelor life for him!

For dinner that evening we had a seriously amazing treat. We (those of us staying at Coffee Shack) were invited to dinner in the home of the chief of Silas' village. We walked up there to find the local mamas preparing us traditional food known as 'pap' which, like most things in the area, is made from maize. They were cooking it in huge cauldrons outside their mud huts, but before supper we all piled into the little circular hut (lit only by candles- there's no electricity in the village) for a performance of traditional dancing by the mamas. They had their beads on, faces painted and sticks in hand, and before we knew it we were all up and joining in, traditional headdresses and all! There was a lot of clapping and jumping up and down and just general merriment and celebration just about being alive, I suppose! In those moments I was truly, genuinely, fiercely happy, and the love I was already feeling for the continent of Africa and its people increased hugely. I have but scratched the surface of it and as I've said before, I WILL be back!

After the dancing, we settled down to eat our pap (delish, actually!) and drink more maize beer (still yucky), dance some more and then have a Q&A with the mamas about our lives. They only speak Xhosa (impossible to make sense of, lots of clicking sounds and things), so Silas had to translate, but they wanted to know where we were all from (the UK to the US, Ireland to Israel) and if the young ladies were married (none of us were), and we wanted to know about daily village life and what they hope for the future. It was an incredible exchange, and I felt so privileged to hear the information first hand and be given a glimpse into a life that I really had no concept of before.

After dinner it was back to the hostel for more killer pool (nope, no luck again!) and lots of chatting and travel tale-swapping around the bonfire before bedtime, as in the morning it was back on ye olde Baz Bus!

We set off the next day at the very civilized hour of 11am, headed for Port Elizabeth which is a mandatory stop on the route. We arrived at 10pm and left at 6 the next morning, so I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about PE, but I'm sure it's lovely.

Our next stop was Knysna (silent 'K') where we had two nights planned. It's a beautiful area where there's loads of outdoors-y things to do, but just our luck it absolutely POURED with rain the whole time we were there. Luckily we met another lovely brother/sister team from the UK and we went to the supermarket and the video shop with them and rented a whole bunch of movies! It was actually a nice relaxing time. It was also 'Woman's Day' in South Africa, on which everyone gets a day off work (I KNOW!), so there wasn't much open and happening anyway.

On our last morning in Knysna I managed to fit in a quick hike before the Baz Bus came with a new friend Claire and our guide, Orin. The rain had stopped, and Orin took us on a gorgeous walk through a rainforest and down to a fantastic beach where we scared off a family of baboons (considered a pest in the country- there are loads about, nicking everyone's lunch and whatnot). I was glad to at least see a little bit of the area, especially before another long road trip.

The rest of the day was spent Baz Bus-ing our way to Cape Town, which took about eight hours or so. We were dropped off at a hostel on Long Street, which is THE place to be (it's like Marshall Street or Polk Street or whatever, for those to whom those mean something). After a long day, it was basically dinner and bed, and we were up the next day for a walk around the city- the V&A waterfront, the planetarium, the South African museum. Cape Town is truly beautiful, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain. After a supermarket supper of beans on toast in the evening, it was time for a big night out with more new friends, which culminated in some serious dancefloor action at a bar called Zula. It's possible that the ten of us from the hostel were the only patrons, but with classic 90s tunes like 'California Love' and 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems' burning up the speakers, what else could we do but jam?!

The next morning we were up (too) early for the hike up Table Mountain. Though I was feeling a bit worse for wear, I powered through the two-and-a-half hour hike up and it was INCREDIBLE! We actually did stop loads to sit and chat (about six of us were walking up) and I probably would have been a bit quicker if my new friend Adam and I weren't lagging so far behind having an intense chat about our favorite books. Anyway, the views were absolutely amazing and after getting up there at about 2pm, we ended up staying the entire rest of the day climbing rocks, eating snacks and all enjoying a drink as we watched the sun start to set before we caught the last cable car down the mountain. That evening I was absolutely exhausted and after a couple of drinks I didn't join the rest of the crew going out for the night, which turned out to be a good decision because the next morning I had the beginnings of a nasty cough and sore throat, but luckily that didn't affect our trip to Robben Island the next morning.

As you probably know, Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner from 1963-1990. It's about a 30-minute ferry ride from Cape Town, and once off the boat we were greeted by another former prisoner who was to be our guide. Itumeleng Makwela was a prisoner from 1983-1990, captured because he was in charge of the miliary wing of the African National Congress (ANC) and knew the location of illegal weapons. 'Itu,' as he's known, first showed us the group cells where 'regular' political prisoners like himself were kept, then the kitchens and then took us to Section B where the leaders were imprisoned, including Mandela. We saw his cell and the place in the wall where he hid the original manuscript for A Long Walk To Freedom. Later on a bus tour of the island we saw the limestone quarry where the prisoners were forced to work each day, but which also became the place for them to discuss and exchange ideas for the future of the country- much of how South Africa is today originated in that quarry. People still live on the island- former prisoners, the staff that keep up the prison as a museum, etc.- so our tour also included a look at the little local school, shops and post office, as well as a stop to look at the great views back to Cape Town.

After our ferry ride back I was coming down with my sickness fast, so after lunch at the waterfront we headed back to the backpackers for a rest. I again wasn't up for a night out, but felt much better the next morning for the LAST DAY WITH THE BROSEPH!!!

We spent our last day together souvenir and gift shopping at the Pan African market, backing up photos on CDs and generally looking for ways to get rid of our Rand! In the evening we treated ourselves to a real slap-up meal- the last supper- and reminisced about all the fabulous things we've seen and done since our journey began in May. I am really missing him, and truly appreciate the time we spent together and am glad he was with me for so much of the fun! Siblings are fab- treasure yours if you have them.

The next morning we were up for a 4am taxi to the airport- I was headed to Jo'burg to meet up with my dear mama for an onward journey to Madagascar, and the bro was New York-bound via Abu Dhabi.*

So, so long mon frère, so long Africa- it won't be long until I see either of you again...

*Happy to report he made it back to Connecticut in one piece after 36 hours in transit!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

South Africa Part Dos: Howzit, Bru?!*

Oh my goodness how I love me that Afrikaaner twang! Similar to how other girls swoon over the English thing or the Australian thing, throw me a "Howzit?" (or, "What's up?"), and I'm yours! Sigh.

Ahem. Now, back to business- the Baz Bus. The Baz Bus is a fantastic system of buses (surprise!) designed for backpackers to travel across South Africa in any direction they please in as much or as little time as they like. It's also a fantastic way to meet people. As you might have guessed, we started in Johannesburg with a plan to end in Cape Town by the second week of August. Our first stop from Jo'burg was Amphitheatre in the Northern Drakensberg mountains. It was about a five and a half hour drive, although the bus does stop quite frequently for loo and food breaks and whatnot (more on that later- the Baz Bus is not conducive to eating well!). There's only one hostel in Amphitheatre, and it's really good- gorgeous scenery, a pool (though it's winter in SA, so far too cold for that!), a hot tub, an indoor climbing wall, a massive telly room, a bar that sells beer in wine bottle-size bottles and, perhaps most importantly, super comfy beds! Wow, a huge treat for the hostel-dweller! The only downside is that if you're not out on a day-long tour, there's really NOTHING to do- one can't just take a stroll to the local shops, for example. Luckily we met some great fellow travelers- Phil from London and Jim from somewhere in England by way of Malawi- and started drinking early, entertained until late in the evening by about 15 French teenagers jumping in and out of the hot tub and screaming. Zut alors.

The next morning was an early start for a 12K hike (no, your eyes do not deceive you, yours truly participated) up to the top of the mountains (the Amphitheatre) and the second highest waterfall in the world. It really was a hike too- at one point we had to climb up a gulley, employing any and all hands, knees, etc. we had available with loose rocks cascading down into our faces. What the WHAT, I thought to myself as I panted my way up, We're paying THEM for this?! But soon enough, we reached the top and the views were FANTASTIC. We were above the clouds- I'm pretty sure I've never experienced that before, outside of an aeroplane. From there we walked to the waterfall, merely a trickle during the winter months, but still affording us incredible views, and it was fun to hike through snow in July!

But, if you can believe it, the real fun STILL hadn't started! Now that we were up the mountain, we had to get down, and there's only one way...rusty old iron ladders shackled to the sheer rockface! Straight down! Broseph raced down and was the first to the bottom, of course, but some of the folks on the hike were actually quite nervous about it- it was seriously steep. I was actually quite scared myself and had a serious case of Jelly Knees, but I made it down, saying "One foot, two foot" over and over as each landed on the next rung down. Oh and I DIDN'T look down!

We then had a long hike back to the van, and during our walk back the weather turned from fairly warm and sunny to cold, misty and VERY foggy (and I know fog), so much so that I couldn't see more than two feet-ish in front of me. The group got separated into several chunks and those of us that made it back to the van first were a bit nervous for the welfare of our fellow hikers, but eventually everyone got back and piled in- a shivering bunch of exhausted people! The steak, chips and beer we had for supper that night might have been the yummiest I've ever had.

The next day we got up and packed for our next Baz Bus trip to Durban, about a four-hour drive. Once settled into our hostel, we went out for some dinner and then set about mingling with other guests. We met another brother/sister team- the second in two and a half months!- and a few other interesting folks from the UK and, which has been unusual, the US. One batch of folks went out for a big night, including mon petit frere, but I was exhausted so just stayed in chatting with a few of the locals who hang out at the hostel. I find this funny because I wouldn't consider rolling up to a hostel in San Francisco or New York just to hang out, but maybe I should because hostels are where it's at people!

The particular weekend we were in Durban, the Durban July was taking place, the biggest horse race in the country- even President Zuma was in attendance. We decided we certainly ought to check this out, so in the afternoon we decked ourselves out in our backpacker finery and along with a couple of other travelers walked down to the race track. I've never been to the races, and it was brilliant! Talk about people watching! The theme this year was flowers and most people were fully decked out in giant ball gowns, hats, gloves, the whole bit, all with floral undertones (and in a lot of cases, massive overtones!). We bought a few drinks and whatnot and found a place in the stands with a decent view of the track when the horses thundered past. I didn't place a bet, but I might not have done too badly- the horses I picked just for fun with my new friend Louise actually did all right! In the end we didn't stay for too long as it was a bit of a pain to have nowhere to sit, so we went back to the hostel where my grand plans for a big night out dissolved into an evening of watching E! with Louise. C'est la vie, I guess I needed a rest!

The next day we took a trip to Victoria Market- full of all sorts of knick-knacks and African bits and pieces- which was primarily successful because Bro and I scored a travel adapter for South Africa, which has about nine different types of plugs or something. After that we took a cab with Louise to the beach, which was excellent. People have built some huge sandcastles shaped like animals and people and things- Louise and I took a photo in a sand car! It's also a surfer's paradise, or so I understand- massive waves for miles. We took a leisurely stroll along the waterfront which eventually took us past Durban's World Cup stadium and back to the hostel, where everyone was gearing up for a 'braai' (pronounced 'bry,' essentially a barbeque though a South African will tell you it's very different!). The Baz Bus had also turned up again, and as is its way, we were reunited with people we'd met on earlier legs, such as Sebastiano (this would keep happening for the whole three weeks, with Seb and others). After hot dogs and salad, I finally got my act together to join the gang out for a drink. It was Sunday so things were quiet, but as is the way of the persistent Afrikaaner, a local guy called Matt got a bar to basically reopen for us where we all had a number of beers as a way of thanking the staff for going to the trouble!

The next morning we relocated to another hostel in Durban as I had wanted to be closer to the beach, but this turned out to be pointless as it was really close to where we were originally! We also had a really sketchy guy in our room called Vonda (or something) who I'm sure was on drugs and who definitely nicked my sunny Gs- I had to buy my third pair of the trip! Still, we also met some lovely new people like Sigrid from Venezuela and the two Emmas from England- more folks who would make our time in South Africa even more excellent- so I do think things happen for a reason!

On our last day in Durban we bought a day pass to Ushaka Marine World and a group of us from the hostel had an excellent day out at the aquarium, watching penguins get fed and seals and dolphins perform. I revert to the mindset of someone aged approximately five in these situations, and I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed myself. I almost put my hand up when they asked for volunteers, but would have felt bad robbing an actual five-year-old of that experience!

The next morning it was back on the Baz Bus to Coffee Bay, a highlight of our WHOLE trip so far, so stay tuned...

*In South Africa, it's not 'bro' or 'brah' or 'mate' or 'dude,' it's 'bru' (pronounced 'brew'). As you've likely deduced, "What up bro?" in South Africa is "Howzit bru?"

Waka Waka: I Love South Africa

Don't worry, South Africa, eventually you'll get over the World Cup, like one gets over a short-lived but intense holiday love affair. We walked off the plane in Johannesburg into a giant airport full of FIFA signage, billboards screaming "WELCOME FANS!", the national flags of every participating team...and no people, the World Cup having ended about two weeks before. There was something a bit sad about it, like someone waiting for party guests or a date that doesn't turn up. I almost expected a tumbleweed to blow across the immigration hall.

Once it was confirmed that we hadn't picked up yellow fever in Tanzania (ah, so all those vaccinations WERE worth my life savings!), we found Bob from Bob's Bunkhouse waiting to drive us to the hostel we had booked. Bob's is a great place to stay in Jo'burg- cheap, safe and cozy, as it's basically of extension of Bob and his wife Joan's house. We got settled, met Sebastiano from Milan (who would become a staple of our three weeks in South Africa) and passed out for a nap following our early start in Dar. We spent the afternoon doing supermarket-y, Internet-y sort of errands and in the evening I hit up the pub with Dan and Joe from Israel, in town for business. Lovely guys and we had a great chat, but one topic of conversation stands out in particular: Dan rode a horse across Mongolia. By himself. For two months. Did you catch that? A HORSE. Mongolia. Now, on this journey I have heard some amazing travel stories that are worthy of the 'Ooohs' and 'Aaaahs' and 'Wows!' they elicit from listeners, but this one left me speechless. The trains and planes and buses I've been on suddenly seemed so ordinary, so 21st century! Oh yikes, I thought, should I be on a horse?!

Probably not, I thought the next morning as I got ready for a day trip to the Apartheid museum and the township of Soweto. For starters, my equestrian experience doesn't extend much further than Michael Jackson in Egypt, so probably best we put that idea to bed. So back to Jo'burg... Bob had booked us a day tour with a great guide by the name of Jabu- an extremely jovial local guy who was keen to give us lots of history on the city and surrounding area. He drove us to the Apartheid museum first which was, in a word, intense. It's SUCH recent history, it's difficult to grasp. I would later meet a South African girl, aged 23 or so, who clearly remembers the day her school was integrated to allow black students. Unreal.

After the museum, Jabu took us to the township of Soweto (short for 'Southwestern Township') where we saw the Mandela family house, Winnie Mandela's house and the Hector Pieterson museum, built in remembrance of the events of June 16, 1976. Without writing a whole history lesson, the basics are that on that day, a peaceful student protest against the use of Afrikaans as the official teaching language went horribly wrong, resulting in the death of innocent 13-year-old Hector. It was again very intense and extremely interesting- I felt very educated by the end of the day!

Before heading back to the hostel, Jabu took us to the slum/shanty town area of Soweto where a local guide took us into the home of a resident- literally a corrugated metal structure with no electricity or water, housing 20 family members or something. It was a good eye-opener, especially given how recently apartheid existed in the country, as I mentioned.

The evening was uneventful as we ate supermarket supper, watched telly and packed up for our first trip on the Baz Bus, which is where the fun REALLY begins...

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Tanzania: Jambo!

Swahili is definitely the most fun language in the world! Is there a better way to greet someone than to say "Jambo!", or to relax with a "Hakuna matata"? Definitely not.

We arrived in Dar Es Salaam from Addis Ababa after a three-hour delay in Nairobi (during which Kenya Airlines served us a delicious restaurant lunch, so fair play). We were headed to a beach lodge - Mikadi Beach (www.mikadibeach.com - GO THERE!) - just across the water, so after a quick cab ride we literally paid 4 cents to ride the ferry over to Kigamboni. It was getting dark, but we started walking to Mikadi anyway. Lucky for us, a friendly local stopped us and told us we were crazy - we were BOUND to get mugged on the road (more on that later), and so he waved down a tuk-tuk (awesome little three-wheeled cars) which took us safely to Mikadi.

Ah, heaven! We had booked a "banda" (a little thatch wooden hut) right on the beach, and it was absolutely idyllic. We could hear the waves lapping, and were just a few steps from hammocks, beach chairs, the bar. We were REALLY looking forward to just relaxing for a bit as we'd been rushing around cities and things for quite some time, plus bro was still getting over his Ethiopian sickness.

There's not much to say about our first few days at Mikadi, because we LITERALLY didn't move from the beach. It was fantastic, we really needed the rest. We had a great time lounging with more new friends - Nic from the UK, Toby from down the beach, Daani from South Africa, Foster, Haden and Lucas from Zambia/London. We were lucky to have another excellent group of people, especially as it wasn't really safe to leave the beach lodge, which is heavily guarded by Maasai warriors. Back to the mugging thing, an English couple we met who ignored this advice and went for a walk down the beach were mugged at knife point in the middle of the day, losing a camera and some cash. The mugger was nice enough to stop as he ran off and hand back a passport and a credit card, so it wasn't all bad, I suppose!

Things picked up a bit about three days into our six-night stay. We had made friends with Graham, a Zimbabwean who's now one of the part owners of Mikadi Beach. He's an amazing guy and very helpful and hospitable - he'll take excellent care of you while you're at Mikadi. Anyway, one evening he invited a group of us out and drove us down the road to Lulu's, a local haunt. Oh. My. Goodness. WHAT a trip! Lulu's is a bar, run by the most cheerful and friendly Mama Lulu, where locals perform (dancing, tricks, etc.) for tips. There were about 150 people in the audience, seven of them being white (our group), and we were treated to a bizarre show of dancing to traditional African tunes, a Michael Jackson impersonation and some serious shaking and grinding by the female dancers to attract, um, customers! Graham told us that when there are white folks in the audience, the performers put on an extra good show, just in case one of us was a talent scout for some major phenomenon like American Idol or The X Factor. Not this time, I'm afraid, but Lulu's will produce a star yet! We were encouraged to go up to the stage to give the performers a tip, but while doing so the tipper is supposed to do a little performance of his or her own...which I did! I pulled out a classic dance move that many of my contemporaries will be familiar with - the-hand-behind-head-grab-opposite-ankle-with-other-hand-and-bring-knee-and-elbow-together. (Enlighten me, dear readers, if there's a name for this. I think one Mr. D. White might know...) Anyway, I got a MASSIVE round of applause. Trust me folks, I'm HUGE in Tanzania!

A couple of days later we set off from Mikadi Beach for the island of Zanzibar, where we were to meet my dear San Francisco friends Christine and Victor. It was an easy four-hour or so ferry ride across (it can be done in two, but we bought the cheap tickets) and Christine and Victor arrived in Stone Town from their safari trip later in the afternoon. It was AMAZING to see them - I feel so lucky to have friends who would make the effort to come all the way to see me!

Anyway, once we were all settled we went out for dinner at Mercury's. Freddy Mercury was born on Zanzibar, and about ten places claim to be the house where he was born, though no one seems to know for certain! Afterwards we had an early night as we got up early the next day for a spice tour of the island - something Zanzibar is famous for. The tour featured a bus trip with about 20 other people into a forest that we walked through seeing vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, etc. and tasting fresh fruit right off the trees - lychees, starfruit and oranges - delicious. We then had a lunch of rice and vegetable coconut curry - again extremely yummy. (The food has been another amazing element to our journey overall - let's just say I'm in not in QUITE as good physical shape as I was when I left...). After lunch we were taken to see a giant cave where slaves were held after slavery became illegal, but some naughty folks were still up to no good. The caves were right by a beautiful beach, and we were given some time to relax and take in the gorgeous scenery. Zanzibar is absolutely stunning - bright white sand and electric blue water. Another place to travel to NOT with your immediate family - it's far too romantic for that!

After the tour we were dropped off in Stone Town where we went for a stroll and had a drink at the Africa House hotel bar, famous for its incredible sunset views. One drink became several and soon enough we were very peckish so we walked to the nearby seafood market (right up my alley, I know - there was some meat and veg fare, however!) and bargained for some delicious local food on sticks and things. Lovely for the tastebuds, again not so good for, ah, fitting into my clothes!

The next morning we were up early again to take a bus to Kendwa in the northwest of the island, where we had three more days of beach lounging planned. We stayed at a gorgeous place called Kendwa Breezes, where bro and I were lucky to share a giant canopy bed sprinkled with flowers. Like I said, DON'T go to Zanzibar with your brother! Sigh. Regardless, we were right on the beach and Christine and Victor had carted loads of celebrity trash mags over from the States (my guilty pleasure, I admit), so I was in Kardashian/Hilton/Speidi heaven. We spent all of the next three days on the beach, interspersed with some lovely dinners and drinks out, and one particularly memorable evening when Joseph and I stayed out late tearing up the dancefloor with the local Maasai warriors. Very amusing to see these guys in their robes and beads, massive spiked spear thing in one hand, a beer in the other.

After five days with Christine and Victor, I was absolutely distraught to see them leave and sobbed my little eyes out when we saw them off at the airport. It was such a treat to get a little taste of home! After saying goodbye, bro and I spent the rest of the day in Stone Town, shopping for souvenirs and things, before getting back on a ferry to Dar Es Salaam. This time we were on the fast ferry - good thing, as we had heard it could be choppy and I got HORRIBLY sea sick. What a nightmare - I haven't felt that rubbish in a while. Luckily we had booked a decent place to stay (Safari Inn, very good value) in Dar for our last night before heading to South Africa, so I was able to sleep it off.

So, all in all, though I didn't see THAT much of Tanzania overall, what I did get to experience was absolutely fantastic and I'll be back for Kili time* sooner rather than later, no doubt.

As Rafiki most famously said in The Lion King, "Asante sana, squash banana!"


*Kilimanjaro is one of the most popular local Tanzanian beers. It's slogan is "It's Kili time! Make the most of it!" It was "Kili time" regularly during our stay in the country, and we DEFINITELY made the most of it!