Adventure with a new twist

Adventure with a new twist

Similar to an emperor’s new grove

Zanzibar I love the place. I left you with me sleeping through my nice evening I had planned with myself but fell asleep… My days are a little confused, In fact I had no idea what today was until I asked someone. My phone has been off, I do not have a wrist watch, no Franklin Covey, and no internet no wonders I have been confused! Okay I know it is Wednesday now and I am back in Kampala. I will go backwards! Haha.. The past two and a half days I have spent in Transit from hell. Monday night I took the 22:00 ferry back to Dar es Salaam. I decided to take a different ferry then I had used before just because there were a few sketchy things about the last ship so stupid me, I took a new one. I paid for VIP because this is an all night ride. I got on at 22:00 and didn’t get off until 6am. Too bad the VIP air con had gone out and I had to sit in first class, which was full. This would not be so bad if you did not have to be on a bus for the next two days. I was in a terrible mood because I did not want to leave Zanzibar and I wanted to be back in Kampala at the same time. I actually really missed Kampala the whole time I was there… I knew the only solution was a sleeping tablet, so I took it and woke up at 5am! As soon as I got into Dar es Salaam I had to book-it to the bus station because I did not get off the boat until 6 and my bus left at 6:30 I had no ticket and it was about a 20 minute drive. I got to the station and they said all the Kampala coaches were gone, you know I was interceding! I got on a bus but at the very back. Anyone that has ever ridden on a bus for a long distance on African roads knows that it is the worst thing you could ever put yourself through. It was bad no joke I was coming a foot off of my seat every couple of minutes. Then to make matters worst, we stopped for breakfast at some bus stop, I was starving so I just ate what they gave me. Oh My! I was soooooooo sick. Imagine being on a 12 hour bus ride with food poising and no toilet. It was some kind of adventure. I arrived in Nairobi and was supposed to continue on to Kampala over night but I could not because I was too sick. Nairobi is a scary place. Never go alone!

Ok now I think I have remembered Zanzibar in daily order!

Thursday is where I left you (I think). I cannot remember what I did Thursday night, I think just ate and then went back to the hotel. Friday I went around Stone Town and adventured. Got lost on little streets, drank coffee, bought souvenirs, walked on the beach… you know all of that hard stuff. Friday night I just watched a movie in my hotel. Saturday I woke up and went on a Spice Tour, Tour of the Sultan baths, tour of the slave caves where the Sultans hid slaves after they abolished slavery, and went to the beach. The tours were amazing! The spice tour was on a local farm and they showed us how they grow the spices, what they use them for, how to cook them, and they let us taste them. It was so much fun!! We also got to eat in this village, it was so fun because they served us on the ground and we got to mingle with the other people on the tour. It was crazy how many whites were on the island but none were American. I met one American guy and he was REALLY weird and from the Peace Corps in Tanzania. The rest were Dutch, German, South African, and Italian. The tour guides knew more Dutch than English! I met this really nice Dutch girl on the tour named, Maarta. We became close friends for the rest of my stay. She is studying African culture in Uni so she is doing an internship at a hotel to learn Swahili. Saturday night we went out to eat. Sunday I got up and went to the beach, I wanted to go to church but there were honestly no churches. So I just read one of my church books! Sunday night we went to this night market they have on the beach. It is around fifty vendors that set up bbq pits and cook fresh seafood caught that day. Huge lobsters, barracuda, SHARK, huge snow crabs.. everything you can imagine! It was a dream, sitting on the beach eating fresh fish with coconut bread drinking sugar cane/ginger/lime freshly squeezed juice and then for desert chocolate banana cake things with ginger/cinnamon/clove/cardamom chai.. it was really a dream. I think I gained 10lbs.Maarta and I got henna tattoos! One of the things that amazed me about Zanzibar was the ladies and their henna. I think it was Eid or some special holiday because every woman had artwork covering her arms, legs, and chest. Of course I never can be left out so I had to do it myself. When I was in India Ishta and I had it done on our arms and legs and it was so beautiful, but this time I only did a small design on my foot! We met some people and later went to this Rasta party on the beach. It was fun for a few with the nice music and watching the people dance but we left really early because guys were bothering us. We slept. Monday I woke up went to the beach and then met Maarta and went back to the beach for sunset then went to the night market for dinner.

Observations for this week:

• In Zanzibar they have an alarm that goes off 4 times a day for a call to pray, you can hear it everywhere.
• I cannot deal with different currencies
• I want to open a coffee shop called Karibu
• God will not put anything on me that I cannot bear
• I must have a conquering spirit.
• I love to travel
• I want to go back to the US for awhile and then move to Zanzibar with a Vespa and my sister! (Yes Carlo this would totally fit “What white people like” haha)
• I had some other really amazing dime lines to blog about but now the only thing I can think of is this nightmare I had about Sharks, maybe it is because the discovery Channel is on at this coffee shop and it is on sharks.

Ok.. all for now. Maybe I will remember more and write it today!