Jambo! Mambo!

As mom used to say, "What, am I speaking Swahili?"

After the last 4 days in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania known for the spice and slave trades, I may just be. All the locals (aka Frank, my new teen friend who I oddly often ran into on the street) certainly want to teach you. (I would like to thank Asante Samuel for helping me remember the word for thank you!) Their first question- where are you from? Instant reply- Obama! So far I have seen an Obama hologram belt buckle, a kids backpack and a cat named Obama. Pretty funny (and so nice to travel and not be embarrassed of our President!)

It is not the only odd thing about Zanzibar-- although I had pre booked a flight from Dar Es Salaam, guys on the street outside the domestic terminal were very aggressive about selling me a cheap seat on a flight leaving in 20 minutes. I am not a big fan of bargaining for anything on the street, much less air transport! I prefer my brand name airlines, thanks!

I am posting now from the most beautiful beach, Jambiani, with powder white sand, aqua water and no people (it is low season, for what reason I am unclear). It is so peaceful sitting by the Indian Ocean (which is VERY salty, btw), in this small, weathered, fishing village.

Since arriving at the beach I have snorkeled in the 'fish tank', an odd spot in the ocean housing a ton of brightly colored fish, and swam with dolphins.

The dolphin swim was a bit bazaaro-- it was more of a dolphin hunt with boats wandering around in search and then chasing the dolphins so tourists can hop in the water and quickly swim with them. The water was really rough, so I was more focused on the horizon line (so as not to vomit) than the dolphins. After hours they were spotted, and while it was kinda cool having them swim by you, it made me feel really guilty since they were obviously stressed and trying to get away.

The other highlight of that boat ride, besides me successfully fighting off sea sickness (it was very touch and go), was the catching of barracuda as we sailed; however, it was quickly followed by a look of shock as they clubbed the fish once on board. All in all, maybe it would have been better to stay in bed at 530am.

Before arriving in Jambiani, I was in Stonetown for two days. Being Muslim, the island takes on a different feel than the other places I have been in Africa, from the calls to prayer to the weathered, Islamic architecture and general vibe of the city (felt much safer). It was really interesting to wander the narrow alleyways to see the ornate doors for which Zanzibar is known. The city has a frenetic energy, with very friendly locals echoing a constant stream of "jambo" as I walked down the street (still an odd feeling not being able to blend in).

Since Zanzibar is know as the spice island, it seems a requirement to go on a spice tour, which was surprisingly interesting. I learned that Iodine comes from a tree, pineapples don't grow on trees (who knew?) and peppercorn (5 kinds from 1 tree) is a ton of work. We also saw cloves, nutmeg, palmetto, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.

While on the tour I made another local friend who made me all sorts of accessories out of palm, including: ring, bracelet, necklace, glasses and a basket to store it all. He even demonstrated the one fruit that is used to make cosmetics (notice his red cheeks). It was really very sweet, unlike the Jackfruit which was way sour.

Well, that is about all from Zanzibar since I may now need to take a nap on the beach -- I know, it's a tough life! ;-)

Reminder: only 5 weeks left of fundraising for my Nepal trek. See link to the right. All support is greatly appreciated! Sorry, wish I could offer a dollar-for-dollar match like NPR :-) Thanks again to those that already donated!

The Wild Coast

Sorry, it's been almost a week since I last updated you, but I've spend the last week in what is referred to as "The Wild Coast." (As you may guess, the Wild Coast and Internet do not go hand in hand.) I can't tell you how many times in the first two weeks I said "wow, this doesn't feel like Africa!"

Well, welcome to Africa!!! The Wild Coast or Transkei, as it was known in Apartheid times, is comprised of a lot of undeveloped land, with more beautiful vistas, dotted with Xhosa settlements and an occasional town.

After a one night stopover in Port Elizabeth (where I didn't seem to miss anything), I spend a night in Cintsa, where I had a lovely beach nearly to myself and met a lot of really fun people (one of whom was trying to convince me my next career move was Safari Ranger).

Although I saw no need to leave paradise, everyone highly recommended Coffee Bay--- a part of the Wild Coast that is much LESS developed. Yes, I was thinking LESS developed than this????

They were not lying! After leaving at noon, we finally arrived around 6pm- a distance not so far, but including an occasional animal in the way and 100km of potholes to dodge (see picture) that would really have you thinking fondly of US potholes.

I arrived at Coffee Shack, something close to camp, where I stayed in a traditional round African hut (like the one in the above picture). They had a ton of organized activities including: surfing again, beach volleyball for the first time (afraid I may have let down my team, but I did dive for a few balls towards the end), a trip to a bat cave (yes, hundred of bats flying around our heads--- it was horrible and if I had known that is what was happening I never would have followed that leader!!!) and cliff jumping.

The cliff jumping was great!!! After climbing some rocks, and getting a little cut up, we leaped off 10m cliffs into both the ocean and rivers and it was a blast!

Plus, good training for the upcoming bungee jump in Victoria Falls.