Update from Tanzania

We all know I am terrible at updating this blog, so, I'm going to recommend you read Dona's blog. She writes in her journal daily and transcribes that onto her blog. When we don't get to the internet for days or weeks she just goes in and changes the dates to reflect her journal entries. She is also a much better writer than I am. Trust me, wait until you read her stuff. Check it out at www.donastravels.blogspot.com

So, having not written in weeks, I am going to work backwards. We are currently in the very small town of Babati in Tanzania. Dona had met someone who runs a tourism company out of Dar es Salaam and is chief of police here. We are surrounded by national parks here and went on a safari yesterday to Tarangire National Park which, during this time, has the highest concentration of wild animals than any other park. It is also the one less frequented by tourists so is much less crowded than the others. It was amazing. As soon as we entered the park we drove into a group of zebras. There were hundreds in the park so they were a common site throughout the day. We saw elephants, giraffes, wart hogs, buffalo, impalas, ostriches, and a whole host of other animals that I can't remember at the moment. The most exciting part of the day were the lions. We happened upon a female lying in the shade of a tree just near a small herd of elephants. As we approached I kept asking why she wasn't going for the baby elephant and why the grown elephants weren't more concerned. Turns out, they were. As we sat and watched the mother elephant went over to the lion who quickly moved to the other side of the tree. The elephants all grouped together at that point with the little ones in the middle of the pack. The mother elephant stomped towards the lion who jumped away and started walking towards us. As the lion did so the elephant let out an almighty noise. It was incredible. The lion moved along side our truck and I could see her chin was bloody - maybe an earlier lunch? As she passed she made a small growling noise. All the while the group of elephants never broke. We didn't stay around long enough to see what else happened but it was incredible. Got it on video too! On the way out of the park we passed a few more lions that were lounging in the sun. They are truly incredible animals and to see them in the wild is wonderful. It was definitely in the top five highlights of trip.

Also ranking in the top five was our recent trip to Zanibar. It was where we spent the last week. Zanibar is a fantastic blend of cultures and history. It has a very strong Islamic base because of the Arabs that settled there and set it up as a major trade hub. It is famous particularly for the slave trading that took place. The Arabic culture is combined with the Swahili culture and offers unique traditions, food and atmosphere because of it. We arrived on the island a couple of days before the start of Ramadan and it was interesting to see how everyone had to respect those specific traditions. We couldn’t even drink water in public during the day. Other than the amazing architecture, food, and shopping, the true highlight for us was swimming with dolphins. And I don’t mean, going to Sea World, putting on a life vest and jumping into a tank. I mean, hopping into a small fishing boat grabbing some snorkel gear and heading out to the open ocean. It didn’t take long to find a pod of dolphins. You could see their fins and backs pop up out of the water. I was a little scared at first but with the men frantically yelling at us to get in the water I didn’t have too much time to think about that. Once in the water and able to see below the surface was like a little kid squealing with excitement. There was about 16-20 dolphins all swimming around and under us. They were smaller than the dolphins we have in sea world but just as beautiful and elegant. They would swim with us and then go off deeper into the ocean. The tides are crazy on the east coast of Zanibar and low tide goes out for what seems like miles. The tide was going at during our trip so the dolphins were heading to deeper water. When they did this we would have to climb back in the boat and the driver would frantically chase them, yelling at us to go when the time was right. On one of our last interactions with the dolphins there was a group on the bottom, about 30-40 ft down. It looked like one had caught a fish and was eating it. About eight other dolphins gathered round too and it looked almost like a feeding frenzy you see with sharks but without the intensity. Eventually, I realized that a few of them were bringing the fish up to the surface and when it got closer I could tell it was a blow fish and they were playing with it! They were using it as a balloon almost, each taking a turn to gently push it up towards it. They brought the blow fish within a few feet of us. It was amazing and I was laughing into my snorkel. I’m sure them men on the boat thought I was psychotic listening to the cackles coming from below the water. I’ve never felt such amazement in my life. Dolphins are so intelligent and playful. I could have spent hours in the water with them. Unfortunately, it was cold and they kept going out into deeper water. We felt like we were hunting them so decided to let them be and go into shore a snorkel among the coral. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done.

Our time before Zanibar was really all about traveling to get to Dar es Salaam from Mozambique. That actually took us a bit more time than we expected. We crossed at one of the most remote border crossings from Mozambique and getting there would have been near impossible had it not been for the kindness of some South Africans. We hitch hiked from Pemba and were lucky enough to be picked up by a group of SA guys. They took us up to there “compound” in Mocimboa do Praia and offered us a room to stay. They were with an oil company that had a place there but their main camp was in a place called Palma – where we were heading to cross the border. They said they would arrange for a truck to take us there in the morning. We paid for nothing – even the huge meal they had the cooks prepare for us. When we were dropped off in Palma, we sat waiting for a ride to the border but after an hour with no luck we began to realize it would be more difficult than we first thought. One SA guy stopped and told us although he wasn’t going to the border if we were still here when he got back he would arrange something for us. In the meantime, he suggested we go to the oil company main camp and ask them if anyone was going. So, Dona headed over and about 10 minutes later she came around the corner and gave me the thumbs up.

Turned out there were 3 very bored SA guys who agreed to take us – and more importantly, their boss agreed to let them use the truck. Lucky thing for us because the road to the border was a dirt track that required the truck to be in 4 wheel drive the whole time. It took us about an hour and half to get there. Once there, we had to take a canoe across a large river. It was a comical experience. The ferry had sunk the week prior so we had no option but to go with the canoe/paddle option. Now, the clever thing is that when you cross over, the immigration office is 5 km down a dirt road. There was no organized transport. Luckily, we had spotted some vehicles along the river as we were crossing so we walked along the river to the vehicles. We asked one man if he could take us and he said yes, popped out of the truck and walked over to a huge bus, hopped in a revved up the engine. Dona and I looked at each other with amusement because the guy had passed about 10 smaller vehicles. Oh well, it was a ride. Turns out that it was a contracted bus for the oil guys. Didn’t know they would be so helpful to us. So we got to the immigration office, hitched a ride to the next town, traveled to every bank in this town to get money out and had one of the best dinners I’ve had all trip – fried chicken and garlic mashed potatoes.

I’d like to note that from our experience here I find South Africans even more intriguing than I did before. We had nothing but generosity, kindness and almost old school gentlemanly treatment from the SA men we met. They seem very open and willing to help and you wouldn’t think a bad thing about them. But then you really get to talk with them and that old school treatment of women is connected to an old school mentality that we are fragile, need to be taken care of, and can’t do things independently. There is also an underlying racism too. Although they would deny it (strictly speaking of the SA we have met on our trip) they say racist jokes and comments constantly. They also wouldn’t think of stopping to pick up a couple of black hitch hikers. But theirs is an experience and history that I couldn’t imagine. I just find them confusing and interesting.

When we were in Pemba, there was a party at the campsite we were staying at. It was the birthdays of two ex-pat South Africans and the place was just mobbed with them. I felt like I was watching a strange world through a window and at times felt like I shouldn’t be watching. It was a crazy night and only adds to my fascination with the white South Africans.

We had a great time in Pemba. Went scuba diving and met some great people - particularly, a couple girls from New York who shared in a couple of good nights with us. Of all the places we’ve been, I would love to come back to Mozambique. I would love to rent an SUV with a tent on top and drive along the coast. It’s beautiful and I didn’t see half of what the country has to offer.

That’s kind of the last couple of weeks in a nutshell. Check out Dona’s blog –it also has links to her pictures.

I’m off to Moshi tomorrow to volunteer. They have a number of programs and I’m going to pop round to each and find out which would be best for my skills and education. There is one organization that focuses on female genital mutilation so am hoping I can do something there.