End of Leg One: Please Insert Leg 2 Side A to Continue

Craig says the only thing that could have improved Casablanca is "more Star Wipes!"

This concludes the first leg of our trip. At this point it's starting to sink in that this is more than just a long vacation. We've been away longer than Erin ever has, and longer than either of us would be able to from our normal jobs. With September beginning, Erin knows her friends are back at school, and it is frequently in her thoughts. Our supplies of 'western comfort' items are nearly extinct, and we are starting what will arguably be the most difficult leg of our trip. We feel well-researched, prepared, and extremely excited about the section ahead: Madagascar, Reunion, and Mauritus, then Nepal, India, and Borneo to close out 2013.

Africa set us into a good routine. We know how long we can go back-to-back-to-back in new places before feeling drained, we know exactly how much (or how very little!) we need to unpack depending on how many nights we're staying in a place, and we're in tune with each others' desires to stay longer or shorter in towns without really needing to say anything. We've begun to measure time passing not through a calendar, but by how many malaria pills we have left in our small stash or how many pairs of clean underwear are in our bags. We always know the phase of the moon, but the date or day of the week takes some work to remember.

We've appreciated everyone's positive feedback on the blog. It's going to be a great keepsake for us, so we're happy others are enjoying it as well. We'll do our best to keep it up, but entries might come more sporatically now. And it seems fitting that we spend less time on electronics as we delve into the remote untouched areas of beautiful Madagascar.

Tanzania Take Home

Although we didn't see much of Tanzania, we still noticed some differences in our experiences compared to other places.

* People were very friendly and we didn't seem to stand out as much. Most people continued with whatever they were doing when they saw us and those in the tourist industry, although persistent, were pleasant.
* The tourist infrastructure is great, better than the other countries we visited.
* The food hasn't been quite as exciting and there is a lack of vegetables.
* Zanzibar wasn't quite what we expected based from what we'd heard. It doesn't have the same island feel as somewhere in the Caribbean. Many parts of the East Shore aren't touristy and as over-developed as the travel guide will lead you to believe. Plus, watching the hard-working women harvest seaweed(?) in the water is just magical.
* Service has been very formal. A waiter in Moshi apologized to Craig for not being able to serve him from the right because he was too close to the wall!
* The drivers seem to respect pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycles more. This sounds like a good thing, except the roads aren't any wider so this means veering into oncoming traffic.

Days 46-51: Zanzibar Highlights

The next few days were spent walking the beach, wandering through tidal pools, sharing meals on the sea. Here were a few of the highlights:

* Opening the doors and curtains to our room in the morning and watching the sunrise from bed
* Our ingenious solution to fighting the flies by hanging our own mosquito net on our front porch for breakfast
* Our lizard friend who visited each morning after breakfast and liked to mock fight his reflection in the camera viewfinder
* Our 3 km hike straight out into the ocean from our lunch spot, then through the crystal-clear water zig-zagging back to our place around patches of seaweed
* Swimming in the Indian Ocean for the first time for Erin
* Seeing a starfish the size of your head, and the marks of equally big sand dollars hiding beneath the sand
* Finding a bed hammock and swinging in it
* Paying $12.50 for an hour-long massage (and then learning we over-paid)
* Taking rides on local Dhow sailing boats to go out to beautiful reefs or just to lie in the perfect water
* Craig crashing said Dhow into a sand bar when he took the helm
* Erin finding delicious piña coladas everywhere we went.
* Being able to walk between, somewhat, distant towns without ever stepping off the beach
* Becoming known by the hawkers of souvenirs; the pole-pole (slowly slowly in Swahili, we found the phrase to be very useful for the rest of our stay) man was our favourite.
* Leaving our bungalow for the day and not even taking shoes or sandals.

Trouble in Paradise

Before, with roof.

We spent most of our first couple of days at the hotel next door, Kilima Kidogo, where their restaurant looked out over the sea and they had cushy lounge chairs on the beach. It was where we posted our previous entry in the shelter of the inner restaurant due to the extreme wind that day.  A few minutes after posting, our eyes were drawn up to the cavernous ceiling as flames had engulfed the side wall and were crawling across the thatched roof quickly. Without thinking we had snatched up our computers and camera (and Craig grabbed the unpaid bill for some reason which we returned to pay) and ran outside. The flames climbed high from the roof, moving quickly across fanned by the high winds. Inside the guests of the hotel were running out while the staff ran back and forth grabbing peoples bags and the furniture. Meanwhile we could see parts of the flaming roof falling around them, we yelled at everyone to just leave everything and get out. The fire by this point had consumed the entire roof, the flames climbing high and licking the nearby trees, the surrounding area being mostly dry shrub and coniferous trees, our accommodation being next door, and if the winds changed direction, our bungalow could be burnt down in minutes. We ran back along the beach to pack our bag and took them down to the beach. In the end everyone was safe, the hotel was destroyed, but the surrounding area was fine (the hotel on the other side had some light singeing we are told) and our place was untouched. We watched over the bags of some women who lost almost everything in the fire while they returned to see if the contents of their safe had survived.

They returned a while later holding what appeared to be lumps of coal but were in fact the remains of their passports and cameras. Completely ruined. The surrounding hotel owners were quick to volunteer rooms for the displaced guests. In discussions with the staff we had come to know a little over the previous few days we learned that all the staff was helping to clean up the day following the fire, the owner ("Big Mama") had insurance, but that they would all be out of work until next July at the earliest. The guests that had lost everything cared most about the tragedy of the staff losing their jobs, but the staff seemed to worry only of the guests having lost everything (we understand they were able to quickly get new documents). Possibly because of this great display of empathy this scary, sad, and disastrous event has not spoiled our time in Zanzibar.

Day 45: Another Country?

We were over a half kilometre from land when this picture was taken. (Erin is kneeling/sitting)

We woke up early and headed out to find a bank and supermarket, along with a better breakfast than the one we knew we'd be offered at Luther. The receptionist assured us that someone would get ferry tickets for us, so we'd have more time before leaving. We needed to be at the dock at 9, so when we arrived back at the hotel at 8:30, we felt we were in good time. This dissolved when Craig realized our tickets had been bought for the wrong day. In the haste to grab our bags and get to the dock, we didn't realize that we still had the room key. We're still hoping now that we won't be charged for a week in God's hotel!

Although frazzled, we managed to get tickets and switch over our stuff in line to non-plastic bags when we were told we couldn't take them. We found sunny seats on deck, and left right on time. The two-hour ride flew by and with each white sand island we passed, our anticipation grew for our upcoming week.

We've now learned they are semi-autonomous, with their own president and both main political parties claiming that Zanzibar is a fully independent state, along with their own national soccer team (however FIFA rejected them, probably on the basis of not paying enough kickbacks). Zanzibar was independent for 1963, before merging with Tanganyika to form Tanzania. So we're not entirely sure where we are right now, especially after learning that we are not on Zanzibar, because Zanzibar is not an island, we are on the main island Unguja, which is a part of the Zanzibar Archipelago.

Upon arrival, we went through immigration (were we entering or exiting Tanzania?), and got our passports stamped with Zanzibar's name. We bargained with our taxi driver and received the $40 price the hotel had prepared us to agree to (down from his $60), and were on our way. He was lovely in his attempts to show us around Stone Town, his pride making up for his lack of English skills. On our way to the East Coast, we caught a glimpse of the endangered Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey.

Pulling up to our place, we were met by the image of total relaxation. Beautiful bungalows sat up the small hillside overlooking a stretch of sea that had more shades of blue than we had words for. The tide was out, so our pristine white sand beach was in fact a ways from the water, in the area between were large numbers of tidal pools with local women moving between them collecting starfish, and shellfish. There were no other Mzungus in sight.

Every day when they clean the room they leave beautiful
flowers on the bed, however after an experience we had
in Cuba where the flowers were crawling with insects
we just throw the flowers out right away.

Our bedroom was exquisite - roomy and airy with a billowy mosquito net (the fanciest we'd seen with entranceways on both sides) above a king size bed, and an attached open-air bath. Erin had been so pleased to find goodies for Craig's half-birthday at the supermarket when he wasn't looking, and she right away thought of how she'd hide them around the room. That was until the owner mentioned how we shouldn't leave food in the room because we'd attract, best case scenario, just ants, and possibly RATS. Plus, she didn't really have a place we could store food, she just advised us to eat it all.

We have been carrying some food for six weeks now, just in case we can't find options for Erin, or for when we're in remote locations camping. We have six dehydrated meals that we now think will be handy in Madagascar, along with a few granola bars that are being coveted til hard times. Plus a lactose-free chocolate bar that has come all the way from Calgary, still unopened. So we managed to get her to confide that there is often space left in the fridge for guests to leave a thing or two, so if no one else was using it, we might be able to store some things there. We promptly emptied out all of our backpacks, being sure to leave no sock unturned in search of food items and hauled it all down to their mini-fridge. (In the end, Craig left a bag of biscuits in his bag that was found two days later, but we seemed to still be rat-free). We also packed up lotions and medicine into the plastic bags we'd smuggled into the country, and hung them from the hook on the door. NOW, we were ready to relax!

Day 44: Tanzania Through a Window

We hit the road early, optimistic for our 8 hour bus ride to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania's 'capital', happy that we paid extra for the 'luxury' bus with air-conditioning and a bathroom. It was only 7:30 and it was already smokin' hot out.

When we reached the bus station we were told that there was a problem with our bus and it had broken down on the road from Arusha, so another one was being sent. It was scheduled to arrive just after our 8am departure time. No problem.

By 8:30, there was no bus, and we were being loaded into a taxi to take us to the big bus terminal. We were escorted onto a waiting bus - no air-conditioning, no toilet - and refunded $2 each for our down-grade. That $2 sure didn't seem like it would make up for the discomforts ahead. Now leaving an hour and a half behind schedule, and in seats that didn't have control over a window, our spirits were slightly lower than initially. But we got to watch the countryside unfold before us, towering tree-lined hillsides and 'Circle of Life' peaks looked down on weird pineapple-tree-like fields, when all the while Terminator 2 played on the TV up front. We were, for the moment, happy.

At 1 we had a short stop where we could buy a take-away buffet plate and use actual washrooms. Not quite the same as the open trough Erin experienced in Kenya, but close, with outdoor stalls for squat toilets missing all of their doors. What's the etiquette in this case?

By 5 we were sweltering hot and enraged with the man in front of us for keeping the window closed. We kept close eyes on our GPS and we seemed to be moving at an alarmingly slow pace.

By 7, night had fallen and we were still kilometers away from downtown Dar. The bus ended up letting us off at its outskirts, so we had to taxi in. Weary and sweaty, we were thankful the restaurant would dish us up its dried-out leftovers ten minutes before closing at 8. Luther Guesthouse was right by the ferry docks, had hot water and a fan and was a surprisingly quiet place to sleep. We were on 'power through' mode, knowing by that time the next day, we'd be lying on the beach!

Just before entering the church run hotel, Erin informed Craig that they were now married, as it was a precondition of sharing a room.

Day 42 & 43: Seeing New Heights

Our flight from Kigali took us over Lake Victoria to the to the Kilimanjaro Airport, offering us a few fleeting views of 'Kili' on our approach as well as some great views of Mount Meru. Stepping off the plane we noticed quickly that Tanzania brought even hotter temperatures and more humidity..

After flying through immigration, we searched for a bus to take us to Moshi. The taxi drivers watched us with amused glances, reiterating that our only way out was with them. It certainly appeared that way, with only a few flights going through Kili Airport each day and the rest of the passengers appeared to already have transport arranged.

So we tried to make the most of the expensive ride by relishing the extra space and seatbelts. We had stolen a few pics of Mount Kilimanjaro from the air, just in case, but we received great views of it and Meru as we drove along. Open fields, cute towns, and cheerful people greeted us.

Our hotel had a tiny door off the main street that led down a dark hallway. It seemed bleak, but opened up to a thatched reception and a garden restaurant. The room, though cramped, boasted a great view of the mountain from the outside hallway/balcony. We were on the top floor with only the rooftop bar above us. Disappointingly, they don't serve up there, but we were able to order dinner in the main floor restaurant and have it delivered up top.

We'd read and heard that most days you can't see the mountain at all, and the evenings is the best chance for it to clear. So we knew we were in luck with our great view. We overheard the next table saying it was the best they'd seen it and they'd been in Moshi for two weeks.

We celebrated with a delicious pork dinner and a bottle of Tanzanian white wine. It proved worthy of celebration when we awoke to thick cloud coverage that lasted nearly the whole day. Our plans to move on to Marangu, and to hike the foothills seemed pointless. We'd gotten the view we wanted and were relieved that we hadn't fallen to peer pressure and planned to hike it. We either would've made it to the top and not been able to see anyting, or wouldn't have been allowed to summit because of the weather. All for $1500 each.

Instead, we organized our transport for the next day and sipped drinks at the Union Cafe (very reminiscent of a Canmore establishment), all the while peeking up to see if the clouds had cleared. In the end, the summit peeked through the clouds for 20 minutes or so.