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Published: February 23rd 2009
Well I arrived safe and sound! The plane rides were not as bad as I thought. I had one to the states first that was 2 and a half hours, the second one was to Amsterdam which was about 8 hours and the last one down to Dar es salaam was about another 8 hours.
I was able to obtain my visa no problem when I got here. I ran into a couple from the States in line for the Visa who happened to by on my tour. So we grouped together to figure things out. It is great to be Canadian because their visas cost $100 each while mine was only $50.
The next day we met our tour leader, Helen, who is British. Another girl from Dragoman (the tour company) Emily, also from the UK is on training so really we have two leaders. We will also be having a cook and a trainee to be a cook. There is almost more Drago people then us! Our group so far consists of Meggan, who is from Edmonton, Charles and Sue who are from New York State, and myself. Right now Helen's boyfriend Tim is with us just till Wednesday then he will be leaving and tomorrow we are meeting two more people who will be joining us. So all together there will be 6 of us on the trip with 4 Drago people. That is a pretty sweet deal. The truck holds enough for 24 I believe so we have lots of room.
I have to say the people that I have ran into so far, as in locals have been great! They are all really friendly and helpful if you have any questions. The kids are very cute as well. Always yelling "Jambo! Jambo!" Which is "hello". The woman here absolutely love my hair. I had a girl come up to me and say, I really like your hair, is natural? Charles told me that when I was walking down the street one day a girl ran up behind me and tried to touch it. I have had a few guys comment on it as well. Look at me so sty'ln!
I have thrown every caution out the window with eating things. So far so good, haven't been the least bit sick or had the Big D that everyone talks about getting (knock on wood)! The fruit here is amazing, the pineapple is the best I have ever had and the mango!!! They eat alot of fish in their diet, which I am not a big fan off, but I am always willing to try it out. They eat lots of curry and rice as well, and these awesome pancake things.
I haven't seen that many mosquitos either. I may have a bite on my one foot but that could have been some other critter. However they say it is worth taking the Malaria medication as once we get more inland we will see them all the time. They actually only bite between dusk and dawn, so we don't put any deet on during the day. Sunscreen is a must though. The sun is usually directly on us from 7 in the morning to 7 at night. however, I seemed to have forgotten this yesterday when I was snorkeling, my legs are very crispy!
As my location says, I am in Zanzibar at the moment, the north part of the island to be more specific. We got here on Saturday afternoon, after spending the night in Stone Town. Stone Town is a pretty neat place, large stone building everywhere which makes the streets like mazes. We had dinner at the Fish Market, that night. The Market is a bunch of vendors that set up in a row by the ocean and they have BBQs and grills. You can get all sorts of things on a stick, chicken, various fish, octopus, squid. I opted for the non-seafood and had an awesome pizza. It was almost like a pizza pocket with beef, egg, mayo, cheese and chillis in it. It was so tasty! It cost me 1,300 Tanzanian Shillings, which is roughly $1 US. Drinks in Zanzibar are a bit more pricey, well compared to the rest of the country I am told. I pay approx 5,000 TSH for a cocktail (roughly $4 US).
On the Saturday morning, we hit up the local fresh food and meat market and then took a spice tour. We learned all about the spices that grow in this part of the world and what they can be used for. Cinnamon, lemon grass, ginger, all kinds of stuff. This was followed by a tasting session of fresh local fruits and various teas. I am in love with their vanilla tea! We then watched a man climb up a coconut tree to get us some fresh coconuts. We sat around drinking coconut milk while wearing these beautiful hats, handbags, and necklaces that were made for us woven out of the cocunut leaves. You will have to see the pictures!
Zanzibar is a beautiful beach resort. The water is so clear and all shades of greens and blues. It is very warm as well. I think it has probably been around 35 degrees with high humidity. Today I did two dives and the water temperature was 28 degress. I saw some very cool things, like a turtle, stone fish, lion fish and mountains of really crazy coral! Yesterday we went on a Dhow and snorkeling trip, complete with a BBQ lunch on the beach. I tell you, it is a tough life being a traveler.
Tomorrow morning we are heading back to Dar for the night and the next day we will really start our adventure! We will be jumping in our huge truck called Oscar and heading into the great unkown!
Also I might not post any pictures unless I can snag someones camera cord, I never brought mine with me!
All these great things you learn and see while traveling I ask myself the question, why do I live in Canada?? Oh the mountains, and of course all my great friends and family! 😉
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Lindsey
non-member comment
Of course they love you!!
Hey babe, so excited to read your first post. I wish I could've come with you instead of leaving you alone at the airport. I'm glad you found some buddies. I TOLD you your hair was awesome. Always listen to me! Remember when strange things are upon you out on safari, think: "Now what would Lindsey do?" and probably do the opposite. =) Miss you already. Keep posting!! XO