WORST. BOAT RIDE. EVER. We headed back to the mainland today and the ferry ride was horrible. It was bad on the way there but the way back was so much worse. We even sat outside and still got sick. After I filled up my puke bag I had to run on the rocking boat over to the side to finish getting sick. Even the locals were puking! The three worst hours of my life.
The day didn't start off so bad though. We woke up early and went to the Darajani market for awhile and I got some good pictures of the locals. It was interesting seeing hanging animal carcasses next to vegatable stands and tee shirt vendors. Very weird and something you definitely wouldn't see back home.
Once we got to Dar we hopped in a cab and went to the YMCA hostel. We wandered around town looking for something to eat - which was hard because everything is closed on Sundays but we managed to find one. But it was filled with a bunch of locals having some sort of party! They all looked at us funny (which is starting to become the norm) but the kids were so curious! They would look and peek around corners and then wave and run away; so cute.
The next morning we woke up at 6am to catch a bus to Arusha. We got to the bus station at 6:30 expecting to load at 7 and leave at 7:30. Nope nothing happened until 8 and we were on our way at 8:30. On the way we would stop like every half hour so that vendors could come up to the windows and sell us things like oranges, cashews, drinks and various other odd items. Meg and I got the cashews which were good but it was the most bizarre thing haggling for food out a window. And if you even looked at them they would swarm your window and chase the bus out of the stop trying to get you to buy something. Then the bus broke down. Not once, but twice. They had the engine taken apart on the side of the road and were blocking the whole north bound route of a major highway. Pretty crazy. In all the trip took 12 hours when it was supposed to take 8. Oh well I guess that's what happens in Africa.
When we got to the bus station finally we were overwhelmed by taxi drivers trying to get our business. Luckily, Dan (our manager) and Christina (team leader) were waiting to pick us up so that we didn't have to deal with them. They were so insistant that we couldn't even get off the bus! They were blocking the exit and finally the bus driver screamed at all of them to get out of the way. It was so crazy. Then when we headed off with Dan they yelled at him for taking their business.
We dropped our stuff off at the Centre house hostel and went to eat. I had chicken and rice which was yummy. Hopefully I'll finally find some Tanzanian food to eat! So far it's all be Indian or things I'd have at home.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Zanzibar Island
People are so genuinely nice here. Even if they are trying to sell you things they are doing it because they are seizing an opportunity to make money in an area where it is really hard to do so. Most people will make sure you get where you're trying to go with no strings attached. Yea there are the occasional people who want you to pay them for their services but that's usually not the case.
The first morning in Zanzibar we woke up not really knowing what we were going to do. We had already explored stone town and it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. So we had breakfast at our hostel and met these two ladies that had been working as missionaries in Dodoma. They told us they were headed to Paje beach on the east coast of the island and we should tag along. So we split a cab with them and headed out.
On the drive there we went through a monkey sanctuary and there were cute Colobus monkeys in the trees on the side of the road. Unfortunately I only got a really quick terrible photo of them because you aren't allowed to stop on the road for fear of poaching the almost extinct animals. We also were stopped a lot at "polisi" checkpoints. The driver would argue with them for a bit before speeding away, the whole time we were oblivious to what was going on. We asked him later and I guess they try to get bribes from the taxi drivers to pass. Good thing ours was so tough; he just continued on his way and they didn't follow.
Paje was beautiful. There wasn't much to do there besides lounge around on the beach so Meg and I layed out our towels and sunbathed. The sun is so strong here we cooked in less than an hour and a half. Didn't swim much either because there was too much seaweed everywhere and it freaked me out haha. When we were walking down the beach we saw a group of young girls digging shells out of the sand. They got a kick out of cameras and wanted us to take a million photos of them. They were so cute and really sweet. After, we had a lovely lunch on the beach and lounged around on the hammocks and then made our way back to town.
At night on Zanzibar it POURS. We had switched hostels because ours didn't have rooms for the last two nights we were there and that night it rained so hard it woke both Meg and me up. It sounded like the sky was falling it was nuts.
The time switch has been really hard on this trip; not really sure why but I wake up multiple times during the night and wake up SO early :( I usually don't have much of a problem getting used to it but for some reason it's been tough. Hopefully that by the time I get to the villages I'll be better.
The next day we decided to be adventurous and take a daladala to the North coast beaches which are basically pickup trucks with benches in the back where everyone squishes together. They are also VERY inexpensive. We walked to the daladala station and were unsure exactly which one to take but they pointed us in the right direction. We hopped in the back; completely full of locals and started on our way. There are a few stops on the journey where people hop on and off. At one point on the way back from the beach we had 24 people in the back!
Nungwi beach was even more beautiful than Paje had been! Perfect white sand with gorgeous turquoise waters. We didn't bring swimsuits but we had to swim. So we wandered in to town and found swimsuits so that we could. The water was the perfect temperature and it was perfectly clear. I actually SWAM which I don't do in the ocean. Usually I'm too scared of animals but it was so amazing. Just when I was getting comfortable though Megan screamed and we ran out of the water. She had been stung by a jellyfish. Luckily it was just a little one so the sting went away quickly. But we didn't get back into the water again. We went to a little restaurant on the water and had a late lunch then caught the daladala back to town.
Our last night we wanted to go to the Foradhani gardens again since it was so good and cheap. We got everything: Coconuts $.50; Meat skewers and "chips" (french fries) $.90; and chocolate pizza $1.50. The chocolate pizzas were the same ones I used to get in Thailand and thought I'd never get again! They were amazing. Definitely going to miss this place when we leave.
Chelsea
The first morning in Zanzibar we woke up not really knowing what we were going to do. We had already explored stone town and it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. So we had breakfast at our hostel and met these two ladies that had been working as missionaries in Dodoma. They told us they were headed to Paje beach on the east coast of the island and we should tag along. So we split a cab with them and headed out.
On the drive there we went through a monkey sanctuary and there were cute Colobus monkeys in the trees on the side of the road. Unfortunately I only got a really quick terrible photo of them because you aren't allowed to stop on the road for fear of poaching the almost extinct animals. We also were stopped a lot at "polisi" checkpoints. The driver would argue with them for a bit before speeding away, the whole time we were oblivious to what was going on. We asked him later and I guess they try to get bribes from the taxi drivers to pass. Good thing ours was so tough; he just continued on his way and they didn't follow.
Paje was beautiful. There wasn't much to do there besides lounge around on the beach so Meg and I layed out our towels and sunbathed. The sun is so strong here we cooked in less than an hour and a half. Didn't swim much either because there was too much seaweed everywhere and it freaked me out haha. When we were walking down the beach we saw a group of young girls digging shells out of the sand. They got a kick out of cameras and wanted us to take a million photos of them. They were so cute and really sweet. After, we had a lovely lunch on the beach and lounged around on the hammocks and then made our way back to town.
At night on Zanzibar it POURS. We had switched hostels because ours didn't have rooms for the last two nights we were there and that night it rained so hard it woke both Meg and me up. It sounded like the sky was falling it was nuts.
The time switch has been really hard on this trip; not really sure why but I wake up multiple times during the night and wake up SO early :( I usually don't have much of a problem getting used to it but for some reason it's been tough. Hopefully that by the time I get to the villages I'll be better.
The next day we decided to be adventurous and take a daladala to the North coast beaches which are basically pickup trucks with benches in the back where everyone squishes together. They are also VERY inexpensive. We walked to the daladala station and were unsure exactly which one to take but they pointed us in the right direction. We hopped in the back; completely full of locals and started on our way. There are a few stops on the journey where people hop on and off. At one point on the way back from the beach we had 24 people in the back!
Nungwi beach was even more beautiful than Paje had been! Perfect white sand with gorgeous turquoise waters. We didn't bring swimsuits but we had to swim. So we wandered in to town and found swimsuits so that we could. The water was the perfect temperature and it was perfectly clear. I actually SWAM which I don't do in the ocean. Usually I'm too scared of animals but it was so amazing. Just when I was getting comfortable though Megan screamed and we ran out of the water. She had been stung by a jellyfish. Luckily it was just a little one so the sting went away quickly. But we didn't get back into the water again. We went to a little restaurant on the water and had a late lunch then caught the daladala back to town.
Our last night we wanted to go to the Foradhani gardens again since it was so good and cheap. We got everything: Coconuts $.50; Meat skewers and "chips" (french fries) $.90; and chocolate pizza $1.50. The chocolate pizzas were the same ones I used to get in Thailand and thought I'd never get again! They were amazing. Definitely going to miss this place when we leave.
Chelsea
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day Two of our Tranfser to Paradise
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania - Zanzibar Town, Zanzibar
My travel buddy, Megan (sorry we're greasy, just off the plane)
My travel buddy, Megan (sorry we're greasy, just off the plane)Mosquitos here are nuts. I've done everything possible: malarone, 100% deet bug spray, and treated bug nets yet they're still getting me! They are super bugs...
Megan and I had a long day today. We woke up early and explored the area around our hotel. From the drive in last night it looked a lot scarier than it did today. However, I have yet to see a tourist so I feel very alone and out of place. Especially when all the locals stare at you like you're an alien...
The street our hotel was on
Our taxi picked us up at 9 and we headed to the ferry terminal. Our driver was crazy! There was a traffic jam so he went over on a parallel side street and followed that until it was backed up too. Then he reversed a bit down the highway (with people behind us, mind you), honking the whole way until we came to a clearing with a foot and a half tall cement barrier blocking the two roads. What does he do? Drive over it, bottoming out his little car the entire way across it. The rest of the trip smelt like burnt oil so I'm sure he ruptured something...
I didn't realize how hectic it is when trying to buy a ferry ticket. I imagined it something like the Seattle ferries with one office where you buy the tickets, etc. Nope. There are a bunch of different ferry companies and each has different times (that they don't tell you) so you have to try to pick the one that's leaving the soonest. We picked Seabus which acording to them loaded at ten and left at eleven. Ten-thirty rolls around and nothing. By the way, don't let "porters" take your bags for you. They won't tell you how much right away and you assume 2-5 dollars and then demand 30... UGH. Finally a ferry arrives and we try to board and are told it's the wrong one. Ours is the next one. So we wait ANOTHER hour and ANOTHER ferry and finally it's our turn. We board and take a seat. As soon as we pull out of the dock I realize another thing about these ferries: they sway. I immediately realize I'm going to be sick; it's a two hour ferry ride. They let us go outside and I sit on the bow. It starts to feel better and it turned out to be quite a pretty trip.
Zanzibar - So beautiful!
We unloaded off the ferry, caught a taxi, and headed to our guesthouse of choice, the Jambo Inn. We were so lucky and got the last available room for the night. We explored Stone town and went into a cathedral used during the slave auctions. We actually went into the holding cells and they were so damp, dark and cramped that I don't know how anyone could have lived down there.
After that we set out to find the beach. We found A beach, but not really
It got dark really quickly so we figured we should head back to the room... it was a long walk and by the time we got back it was pitch black, but we made it!
Chelsea
First Impressions
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
So I have finally arrived in Africa. Everyone told me how shocked I would be once here, how "you won't understand untill you see if for yourself." In all honesty I didn't really believe them. I feel like a "seasoned traveller," I've been to third world countries before, but I really was shocked. I thought for sure I could handle it, but now I'm not too sure...
We flew into Dar airport and it doesn't seem like an international airport by any standards... very weird. We walked down stairs and were stopped at a gate by police. We had to fill out forms saying we didn't have swine flu and then proceeded to customs. We showed them our faxed copies of our residence visas (which we were told would be fine to get in the country) and they looked at us like they had no idea what we were doing. The main officer came over and goes, "I don't know what to do with this. Sit here." Megan and I just sit and go oh shoot what are we going to do?! Finally he comes back after like half an hour and tells us we are ok. Then my stupid passport won't scan in the machine. I'm sitting there thinking I'm not going to be able to leave the airport! But finally the guy just shrugs and sends me on my way. Some security... but at least we're finally here! Our taxi driver is waiting with a sign with my name on it just like in the movies (I've always wanted that to happen) and we head to our hotel. It's late so we just lay down and try to sleep.
My family at the airport saying goodbye :(
Chelsea
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
6 days to go...
I'm nervous. Not to fly, my flight isn't too long. It's only 22 hours and luckily I've been on enough of the that I don't get scared (knock on wood). I'm nervous about leaving home. I'm going to miss everyone so much: my family, my friends, my boyfriend and my little baby puppy, Eva. It's going to be really hard being away from everyone I love for such a long time and the realization of what I am doing is starting to catch up with me. I don't want to be gone for three months. I don't want to not be able to talk on the phone and see people in person that I'm used to seeing everyday. I don't want my puppy to forget about me.
Anyone have tips on how to make the loneliness and homesickness go away? The closer I get to leaving the more I'm wondering why in the world am I doing this to myself!?
My best friend
My Baby Puppy
Hopefully I'll be so busy over there that I won't have much time to think about home...
Chelsea
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