This sight was priceless - a run-down building with the words "Tourist Information Office" on the front. By the looks of it, I don't think this building was open.
And for some strange reason, a boat in the sea a kilometres or so away had the large letters "HELP ME GOD" on the top of the boat. Strange, eh?
Well, this just gives you an interesting first glimpse of one of the things to expect in East Africa.
This is our Dragoman tour leader, Babs. And I just loved the sticker on top of the drivers' seat - "I don't believe in miracles, I rely on them!" Get the picture yet?
Actually Babs was a fantastic tour leader - she made our tour just amazing with her never-ending energy and her "Hurrah!" and "Gee-raff" exclamations. ;c)
Here's our tour group - mostly composed of British folk, with a dash of Austrialians, and just barely a sprinkle of 1 American and 1 Canadian (c'est moi!).
When we were spoiled, we slept under these mosquito nets. As it was my first time sleeping under a mosquito net, I felt as if it was an alien pod.
I think I've watched to many extra-terrestrial movies.
Mostly, we slept in these tents - that were furnished by Dragoman. They were very quick to put up (5 mins) and kept all the bugs out. Worked for me!
When we were really spoiled though (1 night only), we slept in "bandas" - little huts on the beach (with barely enough room for a double mattress).
Let's just say, the sunrise was beautiful.
And after the tents were up, our group would - with great dedication and persistence (every night!) - head over to the camping ground bar for a little Konyagi (Tanzania Cane Alcohol) and Tonic. Yes, this was truly roughing it!
I the morning, we set out the tables, the cookies equipment, the pinneaples, chairs, etc., and chef Kaunda made great "sunny runnies" (eggs, sunny side up) for us all.
The funniest part was that we would have to flap the plates and utensils until they would dry out. Of course we all look very funny doing this - but we had to get excercise somehow!
Here is the coastline of our first stop, the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam (Haven of Peace).
Here is a kiosk selling cold drinks (much needed in hot Dar - 30 degrees Celcius) and snacks. The funniest part is the name of the kiosk, "Disabled Kiosk". Not sure where it was meant to go, but evidently someone thought it could still be put to good use!
This collection of restaurants made me laugh so hard - "Chicken Inn", "Creamy Inn", and "Pizza Inn" - tough competition when you're all called the same! (Based on Tanzania, restaurants are actually called inns.)
Seeing the little boy sitting on the wall next to the church was a really inspiring moment for me - I had to take a picture of it. Not because of any religious meaning, but more for the beauty of the sight.
Most East Africans are muslims (and we learnt that they sing four times a day, and usually at 4am - to the detriment of those of us who were light sleepers).
These houses are on Zanzibar Island (Stone Town), which is a collection of islands that is a part of Tanzania. As I was caught by the boy sitting next to the church, these little guys in the window also made for an impressive sight, as they are just hanging out watching the crowds (as many of the adult Africans do too).
As Arab traders developed strong commercial relations with the government of Zanzibar (before it became part of Tanzania), it was evident through elements such as these carved doors and Zanzibar cuisine, that the arabs had left their stamp on the culture of the islands.
This is a monument to slaves - left on Zanzibar as the island cluster was one of the last regions in Africa to ban slave trading. It is frightening how real these sculptures look.
Low tide on Zanzibar. I just have never seen boats in such diagonal (almost horizontal) positions.
A random forest of palm trees (as opposed to the cleanly lined up palm trees in Las Vegas or Florida).
Hmmm. Not sure how this happened. It's all personality!
Here is Helen, one of my colleagues, saying "I can't believe it's the Indian Ocean!" Evidently, the locals just shook their heads at us. Silly tourists!!
One of the most interesting (and tasty) parts of the trip was the spice tour on Zanzibar, where we saw all sorts of fruit, spices, and herbs.
Here's an interesting one. Did you know this is how pineapples grow? (Now you know why they ar so expensive -- no scale advantages here!)
Hard to see, I know, but this is Peppercorn... a parasite!!! And just to drive the point home...there is no such thing as a peppercorn tree, directly anyways.
