*Hey all! Sorry about the last false e-mail posting alert. I don't know what happened! Please also forgive me for the following blog. I haven't proofed it at all; I'm running late for a flight and just want to get this posted before I leave. I've been wanting to share some day to day details with you but haven't the time now; I'll do it soon--promise! Anyway, here is a brief recap of my last trip.
Three weeks ago my friend and I spent a long weekend in Zanzibar, a Tanzanian island off the Northeastern coast of Dar. We hopped on a ferry Saturday morning and arrived in Zanzibar 2 hours later. Even though it was our first visit to the island, Robin & I decided not to go to the tourist areas of the island, but instead to head to a small fishing village we'd heard about. There is no concrete or even dirt or grass in the entire village. Everything is built on pure white beach sand. We stayed at 'Mustapha's Place', a laid back rastafarian place where Bob Marley cds were on repeat all weekend long. As with the rest of the city, all floors, including our bungalows was sand. It had some lush foilage but overall was kind of like camping: everyone shared a toilet and shower and you had to exert energy to stay there. This was not a come and be taken care of kind of place! Because it was nearing the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, the owners were out of town visiting family and they had a friend running the place. Robin, myself, and 4 Europeans who arrived on the truck with us that morning were its only guests. The young guy running it had all of his friends hanging out the whole time and made it party central.
During Ramadan all schedules are thrown out the window and nothing can ever be assumed. Thus was the case of our stay at Mustapha's Place. The best word I have for our weekend is RANDOM. Thank God we thought to a bag of snacks, otherwis I think we would have starved. The only restaurant in the small village was the one where we were staying. And as our luck would have it, the chef was out of town. Everything that Omar, the man in charge, knew how to cook he could count on one hand, so we ate plenty of rice and fish. *Those of you who know me well know I don't eat anything that comes from the water, so I ate plenty of rice! =)
One morning a man drove us to a nearby forest to see the red colobus monkeys, a member of the critically endangered species list that is found primarily in this forest in Zanzibar. With the help of a park guide, we came upon an entire troop of them. Thankfully, it was morning and they were actively eating and playing. We were able to get within feet of them. I sat and watched them jump amongst the trees, wrestling on the ground and eating, for nearly an hour! After leaving the forest, we stopped by a conservation area that creates a protective environment for tortoises that would otherwise be hunted.
After we arrived back at our 'barracks' as I jovially refered to them, I asked Omar if he knew of anyone who could take us out snorkeling. Because it was Eid, a national holiday celebrating the breaking of the fast and official end of Ramadan, tour companies were all closed. Omar said, however, that he had a fisherman friend who would be willing to take us out in his dhow boat (traditional wooden sail boat). When we walked down to the beach the tide was out. Now, you must understand, Zanzibar low tide is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The water goes WAY out! In order to get to the fisherman who was in his boat, we had to walk out about 500 meters in water calf deep. Once we got to two dhow boats we realized that the men had just gotten done fishing; the bottom of the boat was filled with octopus! In order to make room for us to crawl in, the fisherman had to move the octopus from our dhow to the other one. Instead of walking them through the water he began lobbing them through the air, he began lobbing them through the air to the fisherman in the other dhow. I was laughing so hard that I unfortunately could not pull my camera out in time. While the snorkeling itself was fun, I will always first remember the flying ocotpus.
Later that evening we had a great dinner with Omar and his friends. We had a wonderful feast of grilled fish, rice, and tomato/cucumber salad. All of this was served family style and eaten Zanzibar style, with our hands! It was a nice time of conversation, learning about the culture of these island Tanzanians. During one conversation, Omar was discussing how while most people in Zanzibar are Muslim, not all are devout and follow it rigidly. I loved the way he explained where he is on this spectrum. He said, "Me, I am like half (making a verticle line down the middle of his body). I am half Muslim and I am half Catholic." "Catholic?" I asked, wondering how this could work. Were his parents 2 different religions? "Yes" he replied. "I am Muslim because I believe in Allah and the Koran and its teachings. I am Catholic because I do not do the daily call to prayer and do not go to the mosque every day. I also drink, smoke, and do things like that." At this, I couldn' help but laugh a bit, if only inside. I love his reasoning for being half Catholic. I guess that the polar opposite of being a devout Muslim is being a partying Catholic-lol!
The next morning we hopped into a dala dala (the back of a pickup truck that serves as the public transporation) for our one hour journey back to Stone Town, the historical neighborhood in the capital of the island. After just five minutes into our journey we stopped at another small village and 2 older foreigners got on. The lady sat directly across from me with our knees bumping against each other in the overly crowded truck. As soon as she sat down and I looked at her I recognized her. The funny thing was, I didn't know how I knew her. She looked to be in her 70s and spoke a European language to her traveling companion and a bit of Swahilli to another woman there. All of this told me that this was not a woman I know, yet her eyes captured me. I'd seen her before. Maybe she reminded me strongly of someone else I knew? But who? It drove me crazy trying to figure it out the entire ride back. I thought of talking to her but knew that I really didn't know her. How then did she seem so familiar? This question continued to bug me for the rest of the day and into the next day. All of the sudden, the next evening I figured it out! I did a quick google image search to confirm and I was right: it was Jane Goodall, the chimp lady! I knew I recognized her! She has aged significantly since I studied her as a child and read all about her in various National Geographics and such, but her eyes hadn't changed a bit. Neither had her smile. Then it made sense why she was looking at me the way she had been in the dala dala. I was very obviously staring at her the entire ride and kept smiling back at me with this mysterious smile. She knew I was trying to place her and must have been amused, wondering if I'd figure it out! All of the work she has done with the chimps is at a park here in the western part of Tanzania. I later learned that she actually has a house in Dar and also years ago used to visit my school a few times a year to talk to the kids. It was exciting, but I'm still kicking myself for not opening up my mouth in the dala dala!
Anyways, we spent the last day exploring Stone Town, whose history is quite exciting. For hundreds of years, before the colonization of the Eastern African mainland, it was the main port from which they sent resources to Asia and the Middle East. This was the home of the slave trade, where slaves were brought from the mainland and sold at market. A church in Stone Town now stands on the exact spot of the market. The old cells are still able to be visited. This city was also the homebase for African explorers, including David Livingston. The Germany ended up colonizing Stone Town, as is evident in a very Germanic architectural influence. After WWII the Germany had to give Zanzibar to the British, who then occupied it until the 1960s when it wa merged with Tanzania and gained its status as an independent country.
Because we were visiting Stone Town on Eid, which is the national holiday signaling the end of the month of Ramadan (Zanzibar is 99% Muslim), the town was packed full of islanders who came to the city to celebrate. For this reason, we didn't do as much exploring as we had wanted. Oh well, there's always next time! That afternoon we headed to the airport and jumped in small plane to the the 15 minute ride back home to Dar. It was definitely a random yet memorable trip.
Oh well, I've got to run. I'm off to Egypt for a week to vacation and my cab will be here in 15 minutes. I've got to get ready! I'll talk to you again and will have many more stories!
Here is a link to check out some pictures I took while in Zanzibar. Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2487129&id=5132789&l=e3e66aa6f4
