The final countdown...

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Mambo! We are writing from a nice, air-conditioned Internet Cafe in Stonetown, Zanzibar, literally a 30 second walk away from the beach. It's hard to believe that tomorrow we leave already...this adventure has positively FLOWN by!

We left Tanga on Sunday to stay with a friend in Dar es Salaam for a night (we actually ended up watching Transformers 2 on the LARGEST SCREEN IN EAST AFRICA!!! Can't get much cooler than that in Tanzania, even though the screen itself was slightly smaller than our beloved and almost antique "Findlay 6" Cinema!). Ferry to Zanzibar Monday morning, and somehow we ended up in first class! Our friend was doing the price-haggling for us in Swahili, so we weren't really even a part of the ticket-buying process... Zanzibar is an island about 22 km off the coast of Tanzania, their version of Hawaii! Technically under the same government as Tanzania's mainland, but they have their own President. Interesting. Really cool culture, BEAUTIFUL tropical landscape, and beaches that definitely are the best we've ever seen. We stayed in the village of Bwejuu on the east coast (a SPECTACULAR sunrise this morning at a crisp 6:36 AM), and had some priceless interactions with the locals. On a little evening stroll we happened upon a football (soccer) match in the village center, and joined HUNDREDS of people crowded around the field. Afterwards, all the men herded straight to the mosque next door, and so Tom and I had a good 20 minutes of fun with the local children, testing our meager Swahili and playing games in the sand.

And today! We took a daladala (small bus-like phenomenon that truly exists only in Africa...I counted 22 people crammed into the back of our truck, and there were more sitting up front!) to Stonetown, where the harbor and airport are. We've waltzed about the markets here (Stonetown is known for its incredible Arabian influence, and so the spices here are just out of this world), and traipsed about the beach as well, and are now blogging quickly before dinner and watching the sunset on the beach! Up early tomorrow morning to being our journey home...20 minutes in air en route to Dar, then 5 hours to Dubai, then the dreaded 14 hour flight to NYC, then a 2 hour flight to Detroit, PLUS a good 12 hours of layovers dispersed over the 2-day trek, and finally a drive back to Findlay, home sweet home!

Thanks to everyone who has the stamina to read these blog posts...we can't wait to post a few pictures on here, and especially to be able to chat with all of you in person about our adventures 😊

Peace,
Tom and Leah

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