Mozambique...and into South Africa

We swore to ourselves that we would never put ourselves through the agony of an absurdly long bus ride - we just don't need to be in that kind of hurry to get anywhere. So how is it that we were on a bus for the better part of 28 hours to get to our primary Mozambique destination of Tofo? We aren't really sure, it just kind of happened.

Our crossing from Malawi to Mozambique went smoothly. It was minibuses the whole way, but they all left surprisingly promptly upon our arrival. Our only moment of discomfort was at the border when we had to decide whether or not to change our Malawi kwacha on the black market or not. More than once, we've ended up with large stacks of currency from the previous country that no one would exchange legitimately. Our guide book lists the dire consequences of getting caught trading money on the black market in Mozambique so I asked the immigration official if Tete (the city we were headed to) had facilities to change kwacha. Nope, they say. Any legal exchanges here at the border? 'Nope. You must use the black market.' OK. So we've got an official person telling us to do something our book says is highly illegal....that's got to be worth something at interrogation, right? Not wanting to be stuck with the money, we decided to risk it and went as a group (there were three of us at this point) and did a very conspicuous exchange (literally surrounded by about 20 guys with handfuls of Mozambique meticais). We managed fine, and called them on several calculator errors, managing to not get ripped off too badly.

So, enter Mozambique. They speak Portuguese here. Supposedly Portuguese speakers can understand Spanish, but not vice versa. So, right away I tried my very limited knowledge of Spanish in attempts to clarify our requests or conversations. The results have been mixed - sometimes I get instant comprehension, and sometimes I get blank stares. Everyone gets a kick out of my trying anyway. Luckily the numbers have been very similar, so that has made bargaining and shopping easier.

We stayed one night in Tete. Nothing much there except the mighty Zambezi River (flows from Victoria Falls). We quickly learned the new standards in accommodation here. You pay a lot more and get a LOT less for your money. Buses in Mozambique leave refreshingly on time (as long as you're not boarding a minibus), but they leave obnoxiously early. So at 4:00 AM the next day we were boarding our home for the next 28 hours. One hour into our ride, we were stopped, broken down at the edge of a very small village. 'Welcome to Mozambique', our travel companion, Carin tells us. It took the guy running the bus 10 minutes to fix the oil leak and two hours to flag down/track down enough replacement oil to safely start the engine again. In the meantime a tire went flat.

Waiting patiently...you can see our bus driver in the background pleading with the driver of that truck for some oil:


The rest of the ride is a bit of a blur. The seats were very uncomfortable, but as people got on and off we were able to rearrange to the best possible options. We ate entirely from food sold through the bus windows, save for one longer stop where we sat down to some local grub. The three guys running the bus (1 driving, 2 taking money and soliciting business) turned out to be real quality people. At our stop in one of the larger cities, we had all gotten off the bus to stretch and search for snacks. Apparently as Carin was re-boarding she was pick-pocketed. The bus guys saw this happen and proceeded to knock the culprit down, hold him down and hit him until he relinquished the money. Where the aggression was a bit disturbing, it was nice to see these guys looking out for us. We've heard plenty of mugging stories where people just stand by and watch...maybe shaking their heads in dismay, but not doing much else.

We got to our originally planned stop at about 10:00 PM. It was still a chapa ride to the town of Vilancula itself, and by this point, Carin had convinced us to push onto Tofo, where she had worked for six months as a dive instructor and where she was headed. She said we weren't missing much in Vilancula and we were keen on the idea of more time in one place. However, at this point, the driver was ready to sleep for a while. Our seats were quickly taken over by the locals stretching out and making beds, so we were fortunate that Carin had a tent and let us crash inside with her for a couple hours of attempted shut-eye. Up again at 3:30 AM and off. The roads in Mozambique are considerably worse, so it wasn't necessarily a smooth, flat or clean ride. However, I still think the ride in Cambodia takes the cake in terms of discomfort!

We disembarked our bus in Maxixe, then boarded a small local ferry and crossed over the bay to Inhambane. From there it was one more minibus ride up the peninsula to Tofo and our final destination of the Bamboozi lodge/backpackers. Whew!

Tofo is a very small town that sits right on the Indian Ocean. The main industry there now is tourism, but not obnoxiously so. Most of the accommodation is pretty basic and modest. We chose to stay at Bamboozi, which is about 2 km up the beach from the Tofo city center. A nice, mellow place with a very quiet stretch of beach. Accommodation is either camping or very simple huts (grass huts with pavement floors and two mattresses and a mosquito net). The first day there was just settling in and napping.

The next day, the weather was beautiful, so we went right out and did a couple of dives. One of the reasons we wanted to stay here longer was to take advantage of the superb diving that is on offer. Both were beautiful dives. Huge fish, nice coral and the biggest moray eel I've ever seen. Carin, being a dive instructor signed me off on a deep dive so that I could go out and do the most popular dive called Manta Reef. The second day there was another beautiful, sunny day and we decided to take a 'day off' from diving and just chilled out, taking long walks on the beach with plans to dive Manta Reef the next day.

Carin and I after the first dive:


Keith and crew unloading. Very nice boats and equipment...


Then the weather changed. Some freak weather pattern came in and we got hit with winds, rain, clouds, and cold for the next 4 days. It felt like we were on the Oregon Coast! The weather was too harsh for the boats to launch, and the conditions too rough for diving anyway. So we waited. And waited. Our time was spent watching lots of World Cup football in the evenings:


We would get out onto the beach or into town when the weather broke up a little bit. Otherwise it was lots of reading, cards and eating. We also took advantage of the bigger, crashing waves and rented some boogie boards.
Am I running from the wave or getting ready to ride it?


The air and wind was quite cold, but it made the water feel all the warmer. We both got quite a kick out of catching some good rides.


On a walk into the town of Tofo. This is on the road between Bamboozi and Tofo.


Just when we were starting to really go stir crazy and really wondering if the wait for Manta Reef was worth it, the weather sort of broke, and the dive was on. It was a gnarly launch....even on a calm day, getting that boat out over the breakers is a challenge. But we got out and had a very nice dive. It's about a half hour ride to the site. The visibility wasn't great, but we did see one beautiful, huge manta ray right at the end of the dive. Not to mention more moray eels and some of the biggest grouper fish I have ever seen. While we were down there, we all heard some indistinct sound that sounded like muffled voices. When we got to the top we were told that some whales came and swam right over our heads! How cool. And on the way back we saw several whales breeching not too far from our boat. Very nice. Not long after getting back to shore the weather turned to crap again. We were quite lucky to have had the opportunity to get out at all.

So that afternoon, we set out for Inhambane, stayed the night there and caught the 5:30 AM express bus to Maputo the next morning. 1 km out of town, the bus broke down. It died and would not restart. So for the same price, they put us on the next bus that came by which we were quite sure was not an express, despite their insistence that it was. Nevertheless, it was a fine ride and we got to Maputo by late afternoon.

We spent just one day in Maputo. It is the capital of the country and a pretty big city, sitting right on a bay. Very close proximity to South Africa, so a bit more modern. Not the prettiest of cities, and by this point we are pretty anxious to get to South Africa and pick up the Land Rover and be completely independent. We booked tickets on a luxury coach and yesterday rode in style from Maputo to Pretoria, South Africa (just north of Johannesburg). Riding on the roads of South Africa is quite different than Mozambique. It feels just like being at home (big freeways with passing lanes, shopping malls, rest stops) the only difference being that we are on the other side of the road. We settled into a very cozy backpackers last night with a gaggle of girls and their parents in town for the majorette drum competition. Now it is just some logistics then if all goes well, we're off on our own to discover South Africa!

Hiking at Last!

Em and I spent the majority of our last week on the Mulanje Mastiff in southern Malawi. The area is a magnificent granite mastiff with pine and cedar forests, rocky peaks, and clear rivers. Kinda sounds like home, some might say. The area has a system of huts, with fireplaces, water and even hut caretakers that provide security, light the fire and pack your water. We still had one little problem of what to sleep in, and what to cook with. After our time in New Zealand, we had mailed all of our camping gear home. We looked around Blantyre for sleeping bags to rent or blankets to buy. No luck. We had met an expat who had told us about the Mulanje Mountain Club, so we called them. For a small fee we could become members of the hiking club and gain access to their fully stocked equipment rooms at each hut. Problem solved.

A look at a portion of the mastiff from the bottom. This photo was taken at the end of the hike after a knee-breaking descent.

We headed to Mulanje town in the afternoon and after settling into our rooms we watched all three World Cup games in the lounge. Em and I have become quite big fans of World Cup football. Football is huge with the locals in Africa and just as popular with the European travelers we spend time with. A group of four locals joined us for the second and third games, Saudi Arabia vs Tunisia and Germany vs Poland . We had a good time talking about football (soccer) and politics over a few beers.

After heading to the club office the next morning and getting the key for the storage rooms, we headed to the Forestry office by truck. This is where Em would tell you just how packed the truck was. She would tell you we waited for about an hour for the truck to fill and how she swore the bald tire she spotted would burst as soon as we did finally leave. She would then elaborate on how uncomfortable even the locals were and us included. But I won’t go into those details.

We hired the services of a guide for our four-night trip. Not something Em and I really needed, but at $10 per day it made the trip a little easier as we had heard the trails are not very well marked; especially some of the summit trails. Lewis, Em and I headed off about noon for our 1000m-elevation gain hike. Louis wanted to take the steep, faster route since we started a bit late and Em and I agreed. Holy S”^\! We are out of shape.

It is bad enough that we were gasping the whole way up the mountain with our puny little backpacks. To put us to shame, on the way up, we passed at least 10 of these guys who carry insane loads of lumber balanced on their head down the mountain in bare feet!

We arrived at the hut at about 3:00pm and the caretaker quickly started a fire. The hut was basic, but nice, with a great view of Chambe Peak, which I believe is the largest granite wall in Southern Africa at over 5500’ of cliff face. (Yes, Paul, there are climbing routes up the face, and a even a local book on routes throughout the area.) We unlocked the club storage room and found cook pots, wool blankets, and nice mattresses. Later in the evening we were joined by a French couple and a Brit living in Tigard, Oregon.

A cozy evening in the hut by the fire:

The next morning we went for a quick hike about 500m up Chambe Peak to a nice viewpoint, went back to the hut for lunch, then headed off to the next hut at the base of Sapitwa Moutain. This hut was as well stocked, but the rats chased us outside when we went to bed. We moved our bedding to the veranda and slept with a view of the African night sky while the rats ate all our hand soap inside.

The next day was the day of the big climb up Sapitwa, the highest at 3000m. We left at 7:00 am and reached the summit at about 11:00 a.m. The climb was a great scramble over, under and around large granite boulders and the 360-degree view at the top was gorgeous.

Em and Lewis at the top of Malawi (Sapitwa is the highest point in Malawi):


After a well-deserved lunch at the hut, we headed off again for our next stop, Thuchila Hut. We had the hut to ourselves for the second night (the guide sleeps in the caretaker's hut) and tried for the veranda again. This time little black ants chased us back inside the hut.

A look at the Thuchila hut as the sun was setting. The peak we climbed that last day is behind the one seen here.

The next morning Em and I decided to change our route and instead of heading to the fourth hut, we stayed another night at Thuchila and made a nice day-hike summit of another peak. Later in the day four more hikers came in. We spent some time reading and playing Bao.

Em learning the finer points of Bao, and winning against Lewis. It took us three times of beating Lewis before realizing that he was letting us win, so that we would "go home with good feelings about the game". Cute, I guess, but we are too competitive to be handed a game like that!

The next morning we descended to a small village where we waited to catch a bus or truck back to Mulanje and then on to Blantyre. About 50 kids, who just wanted to stare at us, quickly surrounded Em and me. One of them had a homemade football (soccerball) made of plastic shopping bags with string around it. I made two goals on a small patch of dirt and Em and I started passing the ball between us. Eventually we got 4 more kids to join us and we played 3-on-3 football for about half and hour. Football truly is a unifying sport.

For more on the mountain see: http://www.rjc1.demon.co.uk/credits/mulanje.htm

Some more images from the hike.

A look down at the valley we trudged up from:

The two of us atop Sapitwa:


For the geologist father....a nice granite boulder field along the Sapitwa ascent:


A typical valley crossing up on the mastiff:


We are now back in Blantyre at Doogles where we have coincidentally reunited with several travelers we have met along the way...one as far back as in Zanzibar. We enjoyed several beers in the bar tonight over an unexciting football game between Ecuador and Germany. We'll head out to Mozambique tomorrow via minibus.

A special thanks to our faithful moms and their diligence with the comments...we do read and enjoy them!

A quick note on food here....basically, we should have had our cholesteral checked at the end of the SE Asia leg of the journey and again at the end of our time hear in Africa. We went from stir fried veggies everyday and every meal, to nothing to choose from here except chicken, beef or eggs mixed with a whopping helping of grease-laden chips (fries). It's cheap enough, but not too healthy. Veggies and fruit are quite hard to come by...we can't wait to get to the Rover in South Africa and the bigger grocery stores so we can finally cook for ourselves! We never knew we'd miss our kitchen so much!

Lazy Days on Lake Malawi

Been a while, eh? Considering internet is not nearly as abundant here in Malawi and so incredibly expensive (up to $30 an hour!!!), we have been away from the keyboard.

Malawi so far has been great. Really, truly some of the friendliest people we have met. Such a difference from Tanzania. Our crossing over into Malawi was smooth as ever, and we were pleasantly surprised at the friendliness of the immigration officers. Usually, I think it is in the job description of these folks to be as surly as possible and not crack a smile, but these guys were all smiles and hello, how are you's.

Malawi is a very small country surrounded by Tanzania to the north, Mozambique to the East and Zimbabwe and Zambia to the west. A large part of the country consists of Lake Malawi - a huge freshwater lake famous for its many species of fish. Lake Malawi sits on the east side of the country, while the west side is lined with several different mountain ranges and plateaus.

Our first stop was along the lake about 100 km south of the Tanzania border near a town called Chitimba. We stayed about 5km north of town at a rustic little beachside place called Mdokera's Campsite. It is a small, family run place with open air huts that sit right on the beach.

Here is the hut at Mdokera's:


We landed there on the right day, because Mr Mdokera was having some sort of celebration. Family and friends were all gathering there for a day of fun. Mr. Mdokera welcomed us with open arms and encouraged us to join in the celebrations. It was a fun night. Lots of traditional food, traditional song and dance (of which we were of course forced to participate in), and so many friendly gazes, laughs and conversations no one could understand. One of the nice things about Malawi, is that they haven't yet discovered that they can charge muzungus to take their picture. Quite the contrary here. They can't get enough of the camera, and once it is taken out, you are surrounded by children (and adults) that want their photo taken. Walking through villages, you aren't asked for money, instead you hear, "picture, picture!" with no expectation of money. After spending 7 months in SE Asia wanting more people-pictures, but never wanting to be intrusive with the camera, here we found ourselves hiding the camera because we had grown weary of taking photos and being the center of attention while the celebration was going on.

Upon arrival at Mdokera's we were instantly welcomed in and given some of the local grub - fresh fish from the lake and ugali (tastes like Farina cereal):


Dancing and singing. Can you find us in the crowd?


More dancing. These women can move! And sing...their voices were amazing.


Just west of Chitimba sits a small, colonial town called Livingstonia, named after one of the original white settlers/explorers/missionaries to this area, David Livingstone. Livingstonia sits way on top of a plateau overlooking Lake Malawi. The road to the town is little traveled, and apparently quite treacherous. So unless you have a 4WD or are having a medical emergency (the main hospital is up in Livingstonia, while the bulk of the population is down at lakeside...yeah, that makes sense) the best way to get there is to walk. With one of Mr. Mdokera's nephews as our guide we set out the next day at 7:00 AM to walk up there. It was a great hike, although a bit harder than we expected. It was an all day affair - about 4 hours up, two hours in town, and 3 back to camp. The walk took us through many villages, up steep hills with nice views of the lake, behind a roaring waterfall, and finally into the town. Livingstonia itself, was not much to see - lots of old, brick and stone buildings very spread out in a pine forest - but the walk was worth it. Our new shoes did us fine - they are not great (actually quite crap compared to what we had), but they serve the purpose and neither of us has blisters. I can hardly complain as our guide walked the whole thing in flip flops with holes in them (at a much faster pace I must add).

Here is a view of Lake Malawi (yes it is a lake and not an ocean) on our way up to Livingstonia:


The church in Livingstonia - built in the late 1800's. We were lucky enough to hear a small bit of singing in it.


The next day was another scenic bus ride into Mzuzu, the largest city in Northern Malawi. We have been doing our best to avoid the infamous minibuses of Africa (old worn down minibuses with bald tires, a crazy driver, and which are notoriously overcrowded) as they are the biggest danger to our safety as we travel. So far, we have only taken one from the border of Tanzania to a small town called Karonga. After that we've been able to catch "half-buses" or "cruisers" which are 30 seaters with more sane drivers or even full size (although so, so old) buses. And while the seating has been cramped at times, we have been overall pleasantly surprised with the quality of roads and the efficiency of the buses. The climate so far has been nice. Lake Malawi sits at about 475 meters and it is winter here, so the days are warm and dry like a Pacific NW summer and the evenings are refreshingly cool.

Mzuzu sits even higher up, so it was down right cold at night which we had absolutely no problem with. Nothing much to say about Mzuzu, we were just using it as a stop over town on our way back to the lakeside. At the place we stayed, however (which was a backpacker mecca), we met a guy who runs a resort out on an island way on the east side of the lake. He was heading to Nhkata Bay to catch the once a week ferry back to his island and had offered to give us a ride. Between him and his friend that was living on the island for a while, they convinced us to come out with them. We had read a little bit about these islands, but the transport on the ferry (Ilala) was too restrictive for our taste and we were unsure about being 'stuck' in one place for almost a week. After listening to them talk about the peace and beauty of the place and reading about how there is absolutely no crime on the island (we have been hearing a few too many mugging stories and warnings), we decided last minute to jump on the ferry and go, and just bypass the rest of the beach stops we had originally planned from the mainland side. Turned out to be the right decision as it was a fabulous 6 days, and Nhkata Bay (where we had originally planned to do most of our beaching) proved to be quite a dismal place in comparison.

So off we sailed at 9:00 PM to Chizimulu Island. Its neighbor, Likoma Island, is the more popular tourist spot, so we were only one of 4 tourists on the island. It is a small island, with maybe 1,000 inhabitants spread out over its coastline. It was a very lazy 6 days. Lots of reading and cards, and a new game called Bao which is very similar to Mancala (moving rocks around). We also did a fair share of swimming...not just splashing about, but actually swimming from one side of the bay to the other. The owner, Nick and his friend Aggie had gotten in the habit of swimming the bay 5 times a day, and while we never got to the full five laps (the equivalent of 2,000 meters!), we did manage to join them for some morning and evening exercise each day. We also did a dive among a bunch of boulders where we saw tons of small, colorful fish and went through lots of swim-thrus. We also managed a bit of walking - around the island one day and a couple tramps up the hill to watch the sunset. Other than that it was lots of lazing around reading, eating, and gazing out over the water. The people on the island were so nice, and the biggest nuisance we encountered were the never-ending calls of, "Hallo! Hallo!" and "What is my name?!". Pretty cute.

Another sunrise picture. This one from behind the very common baobab tree:


A look at the bay. Amongst those trees somewhere is our sand-floored hut that we called home (unfortunately this is the closest picture we have of it...):


Some of the water sports besides swimming and diving included playing around in this dugout canoe and on some very tippy surf boards.


Saturday night we caught the ferry again at 10:00 PM and by 3:00 AM we were back in Nhkarta Bay. A lousy time to show up in a not so great city. We found various safe places to hang around waiting for a bus and by 9:00 AM were on our way to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. While walking around Nhkarta Bay looking for somewhere to have a cup of tea and sit down (as we were tired of sitting on steet corners getting stared at and approached by every tout in town), we walk into a restaurant. After unloading our packs and getting settled, and having a table set in front of us, the following conversation took place:

Em: Do you have tea?
Gentleman: No
Em: What do you have?
Gentleman: No
Em: Do you have food?
Gentleman: No
Em: What do you have?
Gentleman: Nothing

Well, why in the heck did you seat us at a restaurant then???

The day to Lilongwe was long. 10 hours on a bus. Our stop in Lilongwe was short - just a reload on cash, and a good night's sleep (well deserved after the two hours of sleeping on a wooden floor on the ferry). Although it is the capital, there is not too much going on, and a very lengthy list of where not to walk around town. We were happy to push on. So the next day we continued south to Blantyre which is the commercial capital of the country. Much more happening and apparently safer. We spent today turning our passports over to the Mozambique Consulate, and stocking up for a multi-day hike we are planning. Tomorrow we push south a tiny bit more for some hiking in the spectacular Mulanje Plateau.

Before signing out...on a completely different note: Remember our inner tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos and the crazy rope swing? We finally got the pictures, so here they are:

Me trying to get the courage up to launch myself off that insane platform:


Keith in mid-flight. The pictures really don't do it justice:


Oh yeah, one more thing....

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! (The Bauer Mom)

Wrapping It Up in Tanzania

Our train ride from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya was smooth. Despite the warnings about how unreliable the trains can be and the horror stories about this particular train taking as many as 5 days (vs the scheduled 24 hours), we left on time and arrived into Mbeya about 22 hours later. The train line is called Tazara, and it is really a nice train. With a first class ticket you get a cabin that sleeps four with very comfortable beds and all the other perks that come with train travel: the ability to get up and walk when you want, lounge cars and dining cars. The only downside was that Keith and I got booked into different cabins. In general they separate the men and women into separate cabins. If you want to be in a cabin with your spouse, you must book the entire cabin (i.e. buy four tickets for two people). Needless to say we are too cheap for that, so a night apart it was. It turned out fine. Neither of us slept great. After hanging out in the lounge car for a while we went back to our cabins to find our stuff nicely moved from the coveted bottom bunk up to the top bunk. The trains are not air conditioned, so you get the most airflow from the open windows by being on the bottom, and there is less rocking down there. No problem, right because they have fans. So, after climbing into bed and realizing how stuffy it is up there on top, I turned the fan on. Ahhhh, relief. Not so fast. The somewhat crabby lady below me immediately started complaining about how much the fan stunk, and she was "suffering" terribly and insisted I turn it off. Rather than pick a fight, I obliged, grumbling under my breath. I don't think she was too excited about sharing with a mzungu (white person). Halfway through the ride at about 2:00 AM we got to a major stop, and two of the ladies (Mrs. Grumpy included) got off, and there was just two of us in there for the remainder.

The Tazara train somewhere in southern Tanzania (sorry, couldn't get Flickr to rotate...):


We arrived into Mbeya at about 1:00 PM the next day and have been pleasantly surprised and pleased with this town so far. Mbeya sits at about 1800 m, so the air is cool, crisp and fresh. And the temperature is perfect (probably around 75 degrees). It is a smaller town, which is always nice. So the hustle bustle is more tolerable and the people in general are much, much friendlier. We spent yesterday just walking around, not sure if we'd linger here another day or just move on to Malawi. There is some hiking around here and some decent sights to see, so we wandered into the tourism office of Sisi kwa Sisi and were so impressed with the gentleman we talked to, and keen on the idea of moving our legs around a bit that we booked a hike with him for today.

So today, Felix led us to the top of Lusaka peak. An elevation gain of 1,000 meters with views of the sprawling city of Mbeya as well as the higher peak of Mt Mbeya. It was a very pleasant walk (although a bit of a shock to my poor, unconditioned lungs). Great weather, nice views, and really nice conversation with Felix on the way up. This man is 27 years old, and self-taught in local politics, world politics, economics and language (he can speak 6!). We knew Tanzania and Africa in general have their fare share of problems, but listening to Felix we got a real feel for how bad things are all over Africa. He is a very upbeat person, but expressed several times how pessimisstic he is about the future of his country. The problems of course center around corruption...at all levels. A few interesting, albeit depressing things we learned: There are more Malawi nurses working in the UK than in Malawi, and to see a doctor you have to bribe him/her because the government does not pay the doctor enough money.

Here is Keith and Felix at the summit with Mbeya town behind them:


An eye-opening conversation for us, and another moment where we stop and realize how lucky we really are with all the opportunities we have and the solid, stable background that we come from.

So tomorrow we board a bus and cross the border into Malawi, where the people are one of the poorest on earth, but supposedly also some of the most genuinely friendly. Internet may be sparse, so hopefully it won't be too long until our next installment.

Spice Island

The Spice Island of Zanzibar was our most recent destination and we found the place like no other. Like Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar is mostly muslim, in fact I think we heard that Stone Town, the main town on the Island, has 43 Mosques and 3 Churches. Historically it is known for its spices and slaves, and more currently the beaches and the maze-like narrow streets of Stone Town.

Departing from the 3 hour ferry ride, we arrived to a large crowd of obnoxious touts and taxi drivers. We wanted to get away form their obnoxious behavior, so we picked out a taxi and paid 2000 shillings for a taxi ride of about 10 blocks. The guesthouse was nothing special, but sufficed for our 2 nights. We spent the better part of the next two days navigating the narrow passage ways and taking in the tourist sites. These included the old slave market, restored bathhouse, the old fort, and the palace. The streets are simply fascinating, it really is quite like being in a maze. Quaint shops and idle men line the streets and you can hear the children in school echoing down the paths. We don't have any pictures that really capture the streets......


And the doors were amazing. (We were told that the brass, knobby looking things were originally put on these types of doors to ward off the elephants as they are very sharp. Not sure if we believe it, but a good story....the problem is, there aren't any elephants on Zanzibar!)

Next we headed for the beaches on the northern most part of the island. We found a nice guesthouse, right on the beach, and settled in for 3 nights. It rained everday, so we ploughed through a book or two and played cards. The sun was out enough for several swims and long walks as well as one dive. The dive was not spectacular, but it was nice to get under again after 6 months of no diving. I was proud of both of us as we made the dive with no complications and were able to enjoy ourselves. Often the first dive after a break is focused more on remembering basic skills that seeing anything.

This is how we spent much of the time on the beach.


Watching the sunset!

And thar she goes...


This northern part of the island is also where a large portion of the area's wooden dhows are built. We saw several new boats in different phases of contruction and watched the fisherman going out and coming daily.


On one bummer note, we had 3 set of shoes stolen from outside our room on our last night there. After 6 months in SE Asia, with no problems, I guess we were a little too trusting. For some reason we took this first encounter with theft quite hard. Not sure if it was the principle, the fact that it happened in broad daylight, the fact that we were stupid enough to leave them out in plain view for three days straight, or the fact that they were damn good shoes, and hard to replace. We couldn't take it out on the owner as he was a kind man, and visibly distressed himself. He did what he could, and we did all we could by swallowing our pride and offering to buy back our shoes if the culprit came forward or if anyone happened to 'find' them. They didn't turn up and as we padded sullen and barefoot in a thundering rainstorm through (worm-infested?) puddles into our minivan we couldn't help but look at every person's feet in hopes of spotting our beloved Chacos (have I painted a pathetic enough picture yet?). We bought some really crap flip flops in Stone Town and had blisters by the time we got to our hotel here in Dar still bemoaning our loss (but a little less so).

The ride back to Dar was on a 'speed boat'. So instead of three hours it took two and instead of costing $20, it cost $35. The slow boat went at 10:00 PM and we weren't excited about wandering through the streets of Dar at 2:00 AM. It was a fast boat, and the sea was a bit choppy....an expensive amusement park ride is about what it felt like.....puking customers and all (no, not us, but another journey with the infamous passing out of the plastic bags).

Back in Dar we finally are not staying a place with 'Jambo' in the title (Jambo means hello here, and we've stayed at Jambo Inn, Jambo Guesthouse, and Jambo Brothers). Tonight it is Safari Inn. Can't say too much great about Dar. A big city that is good for shoe shopping, ATM's and lots of stares...some friendly, some not so friendly. Found some better shoes. Keith was able to get a pair at a legitimate store, where Emily could only find a pair that fit from a street vendor....which likely means she is wearing a fellow traveler's stolen footwear! They look new, so we're hoping not.

Tomorrow we are heading south and inland via an overnight train to Mbeya. After a night there we will cross into Malawi.

African Safari in the Serengeti

Well, we've been in Africa now for over a week. Our trip over from Bangkok was seamless. About 9 hours in the air to Nairobi, 4 hours at the Nairobi airport, then one more hour to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. It was morning on the flight from Nairobi and a clear day, so we were rewarded with fantastic views of Mt Kilimanjaro right out our plane window.

Kili from the plane. We won't be climbing it. Too expensive, and, hey, we probably had the best view right here!


After walking past the taxi drivers who wanted to charge us USD $50 to take us to Arusha (50km away) we found the free shuttle that got us to town in a snap. First impressions of the area, and stepping off the plane was a relief at how fresh the air felt. It was overcast, cool and not humid. Such a change from everywhere in SE Asia. Arriving into the town of Arusha we were greeted with a slightly different style of touting. Of course every westerner that comes to Arusha is looking for a safari. So as we step out of the bus, we are greeted with several business cards. Despite our pleas that we are extremely tired and in no rush to book a safari, one of the gentlemen manages to stay by our side the entire way to our hotel of choice. A very nice man, giving us loads of good advice along the way, but the heart of the matter of course is that he wants us to book safari with his company. We tell him we need a nap, and yes, we promise to come visit your office. We wake up from our nap, and he's waiting outside our hotel room! We tell, him please, give us a day to recoop, and yes, we promise to come to your office. We manage to spend the rest of the day walking around, eating, and collecting more safari operator business cards.

Our hotel was less than great, so we moved....and made a point to move early so that we could do so before Alex showed up again (our tout friend). Sure enough, we run into Alex later, and he says, "I came to your hotel this morning with a car, but you weren't there!" Talk about persistence! So we spent the rest of that second day inquiring at several different tour operators. It was hilarious. It is low season now, and we are just about the only tourists in town and thus are a very sought after couple of white faces. We would walk out of one office, and literally be ushered into the car of the next waiting company and driven to their office. Our shopping around paid off, as we ended up getting a very good deal. When you go on safari, you have the option to camp or stay in fancy lodges. Naturally, we figured we'd be camping, but with low season, the price to stay in the lodges is the same as camping. So...twist our arm, we'll stay in fancy lodges with all you can eat buffets! The most bizarre thing with all this safari shopping, is that right after we booked with our company we didn't get one more tout approach us trying to sell us safari. It's like a bulletin went out: "The couple from the US has booked safari. Stop all efforts to sell."

We highly recommend anyone thinking about going to Serengeti to do it in the low season. Low season is technically the rainy season. This means cooler temps, and beautiful, green scenery. Also with the low season you get far fewer other people driving the roads of the park looking for the same elusive leopard in the tree. Plus, it is WAY cheaper. Still an expensive outing, but we were very pleased with the price we got.

So anyway....on to safari. We chose a 5 day, 4 night trip that took in three different parks. Leaving Arusha, 5 of us plus our driver, David, piled into a well worn Land Rover and we drove about 2 hours to Lake Manyara. The Land Rovers have quite comfortable seats, everyone gets a window seat, and a completely removable roof, so you end up standing on your seat most of the time for the best view and fresh air.

On safari. Luckily, we ended up with a very cool group of people to travel with!


On the way out you pass many Masai people. These are a nomadic people whose lives revolve around their herds of cattle. Of course, now they are not as nomadic and are becoming more reliant on tourism. Yes, we had to pay to take this picture:


Of course Lake Manyara was fantastic, because it gave us our first sightings of everything. The guides must find the first day hilarious. Stop! It's an elephant! A giraffe! An impala (really pretty antelope)! Stop! A warthog! Another antelope! Stop! Stop! We have to take a picture! Even though he assured us we'd see more and see them a lot closer, it didn't matter. The first of anything you see in the wild is pretty cool. And sure enough, by day 5 we were giving the giraffe, impala and elephant nothing more than a passing glance. The Lake Manyara park is 2/3 lake and 1/3 land and sits on the valley portion of the great Rift Valley. Lots of wildlife. The more elusive, being the tree climbing lion. Lions don't usually climb trees, but in this park they have learned how out of necessity in order to escape the flies that torment them in the grasses. On our way out, a jeep in front of us reported that they saw a lion napping off in the distance, so we backed up and were able to spot her. Our first lion! So we sit and watch her through binoculars oohhing and ahhing. Then we get a special treat when she gets up, walks towards us, crosses the road right in front of us and climbs a tree! How cool.

Here is our friend climbing the tree:


Elephant at Lake Manyara.


That night we stayed in a beautiful lodge overlooking the lake. Way too luxurious for us, but we weren't complaining and made the most of the all-you-can-eat buffets. I don't think we've been hungry for about 7 days now!

The next day was a long drive into the Serengeti Park, where we stayed in another fantastic lodge for 2 nights. In between those nights you go out in the Land Rover on game drives lasting 3-4 hours. Most of the time you are looking for animals, but it is funny how much time you also spend tracking other Land Rovers. Look! There are three jeeps stopped over there....what are they looking at? Let's go find out! So you can imagine what high season is like....makes me feel bad for the animals sometimes. The Serengeti consists mostly of vast plains, with a smattering of rock outcroppings called kopjes. Looking from a distance you wouldn't expect that so many animals live there. So what did we see? Everything....gazelles, impalas, hippos, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, hyena, lions galore, a cheetah from VERY far away, a leopard sleeping in a tree, migrating wildebeest, zebra, topi, warthog, jackal, vultures, some of the biggest birds we've ever seen and some of the smallest and most colorful.

Some photos...most are self-explanatory:


One of the thousands of wildebeest:


Zebras. Apparently their heads and necks are heavy, so when they want to rest they find a friend and rest their heads on each others backs. So cute!


Some of our favorite moments were watching the lions move around and snuggle with each other, gazing at the thousands of migrating wildebeest and zebra (we were lucky enough at this time of year to witness a small part of one of the last great migrations on earth...where 2.5 million wildebeest are constantly on the move for greener pastures between Tanzania and Kenya), watching sunset across the plains, and waking in the middle of the night to a strange rhythmic crunching sound only to find a hippo right outside our window chowing down on the grass.

Evening light on the Serengeti after a short rainstorm. Yes, we were actually there in the middle of this scenery. Unbelievable.


Close up with the lions:


After the Serengeti, we spent our last day exploring the Ngorongoro crater. This is a massive crater (11 km across) holds the largest concentration of wildlife on the planet. So with not much driving, you get to see a lot of wildlife. More of the same, but we got to add rhino, eland (largest of the antelope) and flamingo to our list. Other treats in the crater included a huge pride of lions (maybe 10 of them) that took advantage of the shade from the vehicles surrounding them, and watching a different pride of lions walking through the tall grass in single file hunting for lunch. We never did see a kill, but to watch them prowling like that was pretty cool. The lodge at the crater sat on the very rim and had spectacular panoramic views of the whole thing.

Lions hunting in the Ngorongoro crater:


A long drive out and we were back in Arusha by 5:00. And back to reality. No more being catered to and no more huge meals (a good thing I'm sure). Yesterday, we were able to dodge the bus touts and got on the Dar Express, which turned out to be a reasonabe ride (the 'Express' part was accurate) and within 9 hours we arrived in Dar Es Salaam on the central, eastern side of Tanzania. Dar is a huge city, and we haven't seen much of it yet besides our margninal and expensive hotel room and this internet place. Not much really to do here anyway, but we'll get a ferry tomorrow to Zanzibar which is the tourist destination of this area...known to some as part of the Spice Islands. It's hot back down here at sea level, and we're looking forward to hitting the ocean.

Leaving SE Asia

We've spent seven days here in Bangkok...two more than originally planned, and are finally taking off for Africa tonight. We were able to accomplish everything we needed to here in the big city and then some. We've walked the same streets, taken the same taxis, and walked through the same bloody shopping malls enough times to make ourselves even more ready to move on. We'll spend today hanging out, playing cards and watching a movie in our guesthouse. Then we hop on Kenyan Airlines tonight at about 11:30, and get into Kilimanjaro airport at about 10:00 tomorrow morning. We'll be staying in Arusha, Tanzania where we'll organize our first big excursion in Africa...a safari in the Serengeti.

I have a feeling downloading pictures will not be as easy and internet will not be as abundant as they have been here on the SE Asia tract, but we'll do our best to keep you updated.

We hope everyone is well and happy and having a nice spring!