Nov. 8, 2012 - Lake Malawi

Nov. 8, 2012 - Lake Malawi

Malawi:
Visa - None
Entrance fee: 0USD
Conversion rate: 290 Kwacha = 1USD

We spent 3 nights at Kande Beach on lake Malawi.  The lake is huge and covers the entire eastern border of Malawi.  The lake is known for the amount of small colorful fish called cicleds.  There are species of fish in the lake that cant be found anywhere else in the entire world.

On the way to the campsite we stopped through a market that had some super crazy clothes.  I suppose they know that all the overland trucks have a dress up party when they hit Lake Malawi because they have purposely altered the clothes to look absolutely ridiculous.  If you have ever heard me talk about the "Annual Goodwill Party" we had in Lexington then you know the premise of the party.  Everyone puts their name in a hat, everyone draws a name, then for $5 dollars everyone dresses the person they drew in a funny outfit.  I ended up in a one piece jumper that had a tail sewn onto it. All the outfits were epic in hilarity.

The first night we just chilled a bit.  The 2nd day on Kande beach Alene and I went on a SCUBA dive to see these cicled fish.  The dive was just under an hour and only cost 45USD.  In the water we saw not only the colorful fish but a sunken car and a couple of boats as well.  That was followed by more hanging out on the beach.

That night we had planned for a big cook out with chicken and steaks and veggies.  Just before dinner we exchanged outfits...it was difficult to keep who we had drawn from the hat a secret for so long. Everyone threw on their new clothes and we had dinner in costume.  The 3 other overland trucks also played along and partied with us that night.  Somehow I managed to stay up until 4:30am talking and hanging out with the other travelers.

Needless to say I slept the entire morning away and finally emerged at 12:30. Just in time to join everyone on our truck for lunch at the cafe. Lunch was followed again by even more water and beach! AWESOME!  This night we opted to go out to the local villge and have a family cook a traditional dinner for us.  It was about a 10 minute walk from camp to the home of the family cooking for us.  The guy, named Mel Gibson, rolled our a mat for all 7 of us to sit on.  We had brought our own dishes, silverware and cups.  The starter was sweet potatoe soup. Delicious. The meal consisted of rice beans and stewed greens with Ugali.  Ugali is a local bread made from casava.  They love their salt!  The beans and greans were a bit salty but when mixed with the rice it was quite tasty.  The Ugali, unfortunately, was almost uneatable.  The Ugali of Kenya and Tanzania was much more tasty as it was made from maize meal rather than casava.  During the meal our group was visited by some super huge creepy spiders.  Liz told us they were camel spiders.  They sent us jumping to our feet and almost running on 2 different occasions.  Spiders....eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww.  After dinner the children of the village showed us the local dances and sang a few songs.  They then invited us to learn the dance.  Hahhaa.  Good times. After dinner I returned to the campsite and immediately went to the tent for bed.

I should note, just for my memories sake when I am reading this 20 years down the road, that I came down with a bit of stomach trouble.  But that seems to be the norm when on long travels.


What I have learned:
Camel spiders are ultra creepy.  The creepy is magnified when you are sitting on the ground in a local African village in complete darkness.

Travelers diarreha is just as bad as it sounds.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa, which ill venture to say makes it one of the poorest countries in all the world.

If you ask for a T-bone steak in Africa the filet part of it will have been cut out.

Nov. 3, 2012 - Road to Mbeya, Tanzania

Nov. 3, 2012 - Road to Mbeya, Tanzania

Today was all driving.  We left the campsite at 7:15 and stopped short of our intended campsite and stayed in a hostel around 6pm.  It was always going to be a long drive but all the road construction and the truck weight station added over 3 hours to our drive time.

Fortunately, some of the drive had some nice scenery. We passed through a Baobab tree forest.  Those are the trees with great big thick trunks and branches but arent super tall like you would expect for such a big trunk.

I also got to experience just how well things work in Africa.  There was a truck weight station through one town.  Since we are technically a truck we had to stop and wait in line even though its been transformed into a passenger vehicle.  Our driver did try to bypass the line but was told to turn around and get back to the end.  After about an hour of waiting our driver calls on me to do him a favor.  He gave me the truck papers/identification etc and asked me to walk to the front of the truck line, go into the office, and ask the official if we could go ahead and pass since we are just a passenger vehicle.  I grabbed Alene as my buddy and we walked allllllll the way to the front and walked into the office.  I politely asked the official if we could please pass through.  He asked where we were going.  I told him, then he said just go ahead and go through.  Hmmmmffff, that was easy.  So we walked alllllll the way back to our truck, I told Henry the news and we bypassed the huge line at the weight station.  I later found out Henry chose me for this job because of my tendency to smile a lot.  :-)  Guess these pearly whites are useful for other things than simply chewing.

We finally arrived.  The cooking team set up to cook but had to do so in the dark bc the power was out. That created a huge challenge for them as they were preparing food with only headlamps.  But they did manage to put together a nice meal despite the difficulties.

After dinner I immediately went to bed.  Long day.

What I have learned:
Africans are on African time.  Patience is essential.
There are people that have "squatted" on government land.  When roads come through the govenment goes through and puts X's on buildings that have been put up too close.  They eventually will be torn down with no compensation to the owner.  

My reading list so far:
The five people you meet in heaven
The count of monte cristo
Treasure Island
When we were orphans - I have 10 pages left, but its been the best one yet.
Traveling reminds me that I do thoroughly enjoy reading.  It has given me plenty of time to remember this.

Nov. 1, 2012 - Zanzibar, Tanzania

Nov. 1, 2012 - Zanzibar, Tanzania

We left for Zanzibar on Oct. 28 for a 4 night stay.  We left as a group of 10 and only 7 of us have returned to continue on with the trip.  

The trip started with a tuktuk ride (a small 3 wheeled vehicle that serves as a taxi) to a small ferry across the water way within Dar Es Salaam.  The tuktuk crossed with us and then took us to the large ferry that crossed to Zanzibar, a 2 1/2 hour ride.

As soon as we arrived, a local guide, Daniel, helped us through immigration (yes, even though it is still Tanzania, then took us on a short tour around Stone Town and then to a spice farm tour.  The farm grows all kinds of fruits and spices.  We saw cinnamon, lemongrass, vanilla, ginger, and many more.  We also got a to try a custard apple, a star fruit, a jack fruit, a really strange variety of grapefruit, a mandarin orange, and a few different kinds of tea.

After the tour it was an hour drive to Nungwi, the north and best beaches on the island.  There the 3 other ladies and I got a nice room at Safina Bungalows for $15/night with breakfast.  It was just a 2 minute walk to the beach.  We immediately through on our swimsuits and went for a short plunge in the ocean.  I have to say Zanzibar has been one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited.     It has white white sand beaches and small coral cliffs that meet up with the sand and then the ocean.  When the tide is high you cant even pass along the beach without having to swim but when the tide is low you can walk almost the length of a football field out into the sand before you meet the ocean.  The mornings around 9 where when the tide was the lowest and you could walk out and sit on a sand bar surrounded by water or go pick up star fish in knee deep water.

The second day was filled with nothing but sitting on the beach enjoying the sun and waves.  We did get a guy to open us 4 coconuts to drink for 10,000 shillings.  He had to go out and get the coconuts and then return to open them.  I layered myself with 50spf but still managed to turn into a bit of a lobster, I blame the doxycycline.  Over a month in Africa and I finally get a sunburn....later than I thought it would be before getting burned.  I also got a henna design on my foot.  I love it.   It think its convinced me to go ahead and get that tattoo Ive been saying I would get if I ever did go on this crazy around the world trip.

Every morning for breakfast we had a plate of fruit, two rolls, a scrambled egg, and all the coffee or tea you could drink.

On day 3 Alene and I went on 2 dives with Spanish Divers.  2 50minute dives put us out $110, not too shabby.  The diving was fantastic too.  The reefs where full of life.  We saw 6 sea turtles, a lion fish, a small sting ray, a ghost pipe fish (our dive master says this is VERY rare, he was very excited), and many, many other colorful fish.  I also found Nemo!  Our dive boat was a handmade sailboat called a dhow (or dao) with a motor.  It reminded us of a pirate boat and thus we gave each other pirate names and talked pirate while on the boat.  Alene was "Peg Leg" and I was "Captain Hand Hook".  There was a lot of yo-ho-ho, matey, shiver me timbers, and prepare the cannons being yelled on the boat ride.  :-) The rest of our group went on a snokel trip in a similar boat.
Day 4 was another full day on the beach.  It ended with a $10 sunset tour along the coast.  We started at 4:30 and sailed on a dhow up the coast, stopped for a while to snorkel on a reef and then sailed further north turned around and arrived back to our beach just after the sun fell below the horizon.
Day 5 we walked along to the beach in the morning and then met up with our transport back to Stone Town.  There we walked through the market and then tiny alleys of the town.  We had lunch on the shore and then went to catch the ferry back to the mainland.  Once we arrived back our tuktuks took us to a different campsite.  Our driver and truck where there.  Come to find out the beach next to our original campsite had had a "scuffle" and it was no longer safe to stay there.  Henry told us they saw a petrobomb (a bottle full of gas lit on fire)  go flying and all the overland trucks immediately packed up and headed out.  This is the same place, mind you, that used a gun shot to get people out of the water when it was time for everyone to go home.

I still cant get over how amazing the beaches in Zanzibar are.  Just beautiful.  If ever you get the chance to go, take it.

Other noteworthy items:
* I kicked a sea urchin and ended up with spines in my foot, slightly painful but no worse than a thorn
* I actually wore makeup one night out in Zanzibar
* As we were on our way to Dar Es Salaam the truck broke down in the middle of the road for about an hour while our driver quickly repaired it
* As we were pulling into the campsite our truck caught a power line and and pulled over a telephone pole/dead tree onto a car.
* Alene found a fully intact sand dollar
*  I bought 2 paintings
* We met a local guy named Hasan, who played volleyball with us and hung out for a while, was great to get to talk to a local whom I could ask lots of questions.
* We lost yet another of our ladies on the trip to return home and to work.  I wish you well Sarah! It was great having you.  Hope to see you in Germany.  We also lost the 2 english boys to home and work, they knew how to have a good time.

What I have learned:
* I will never get used to the smell of horrible BO.
* Black people dont get sunburned - im jealous.
* Zanzibar is mostly muslim and most of those who arent are not from the island.
* They dont celebrate halloween in Zanzibar.
* In Africa, it is perfectly acceptable to pull over and pee on the side of the road by a bush.
* Using the side of the road is actually preferable to some of the squatty potties we have come across.
* Along the same lines, ALWAYS carry your own toilet paper.
Sara Sjuts! The sarong and pillow have been clutch!!! The sarong has functioned as a bathroom door while on the side of the road, a blanket, a dress, a scarf, a sunshade, and a cover up when wearing shorts in public.  The pillow goes without saying, it makes sleeping much more enjoyable. Thanks again!