Nairobi - Zanzibar

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Before leaving Ongata Rongai this morning we stopped at the post office on the campus of Kenya Telecom. There we discovered they had a dozen warthogs grazing on their lawns. We don’t know if they just come in or if the keep them on purpose. At any rate, they look so funny when they kneel down to graze.

Later we discovered that our postcards mailed from this post-office just outside Nairobi reached our son in Oslo the day after. This must be some postal miracle.

The high point of our flight to Zanzibar was the magnificent view of Mount Kilimanjaro. The view was probably much better from the air than from the ground. This time of the year you very typically have a layer of clouds hiding the peak from view.

We rode a small aircraft of Kenyan Airways. Unfortunately it was not large enough to take both the 40 passengers and their luggage. Consequently we were informed that the luggage would be sent via Daar Es Salaam and would arrive 30 minutes after us. In reality we waited for almost two hours before we had our suitcases and could proceed to Tamarind Beach Hotel. At Jomo Kenyatta Airport we had been given a standard letter telling us of this “unexpected” situation. Well, it was expected. Anyway, we got there after a 1 hour and 25 minutes flight.

At Tamarind they have a number of bungalows with two rooms in each. All are very close to the beach. We were given room nr 13 with only a few steps to the beach.

“Jambo! Money? Dollar? Pen School?” A large group of school girls flocked around us and greeted us as we walked along the beach towards the village of Uroa. Now we know it is their traditional greeting of any muzungo or white. It seems like all children are chanting the same words as soon as they sight a foreigner. It is very annoying. If you say no to money they will ask for your pen, your shoes, shirt, cap, watch or trousers. Anything. Some of them just wanted to touch Elsie, but at times we feared they would actually help themselves out of our pockets. But it has not gotten that far.

In the airport in Zanzibar there was a big sign telling us that it is illegal to solicit for money on the island. The children don’t care, but they are being told off by parents, uncles and aunts. We have found it necessary to learn the Swahili word for no: Hapana. That has some effect.

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