Jeroen Wolfers » Tanzania

Sol, bad och inkonsekvens

Jeroen — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:50:56 +0000

Nu har vi spenderat tva dagar pa Zanzibars norra kust. Vi har tittat pa jatteskoldpaddor och badat. Otroligt skont. Imorgon sticker vi till Dar Es Salaam dar vi ska tillbringa tva dagar innan vi aker hem till kalla Sverige.

Irma i gruppen blev biten av en skorpion i tan imorse. Nu blir det att se upp litegrann innan man tar av sig dojorna. Fast den har varianten var inte sarskilt farlig, for Irma ser ratt kry ut iallafall.

(Nej, det kandes inte sa naturligt att skriva pa engelska. Sadesa.)

(Nee hoor, in het engels schrijven was een beetje moeilijk. Ik probeer het later weer, maar nu zijn wij alweer op weg naar huis.)

Syns hemma pa fredag, ifall jag inte far ett infall att skriva mer i Dar es Salaam.

Sailing to Zanzibar

Jeroen — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 13:14:03 +0000

The alarm clock rang at 02.40. Time to get out to the beach! Tonight, we were going to sail over the straight to Zanzibar. Getting the bags out to the dhow seemed to a problem, and the crew had really not prepared anything for our trip. So when we finally set sail (because the engine wouldn’t start), we were almost two hours behind on our schedule.

Nevertheless, sailing in the night was really nice and soothing. The engine started after a while, and the trip to Zanzibar took six hours. We slept and read our books in the shadow of the sail. Perfect.

After a short walk we checked in on Safari lodge in Stone Town. The place is ok but a little dark. But hey, the airconditioning works!

Now, we’re going to write some post cards and perhaps have a drink at Emerson & Green hotel. Tomorrow: spice tour. One week left on our journey. Time to get a tan :)

Snorkeling by dhow

Jeroen — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 12:59:34 +0000

About two hours straight out from Bagamoyo is a sand bank that only emerges during low tide. We set out in a big dhow and sailed out to swim and snorkel around the sand bank. It was great to be out on the water again, and even better to plunge into the warm water of the Indian Ocean. The snorkelling was nice, and when we sailed back everybody was surprised to see how late it was.

We had lunch and a drink, and read our books for a while. Then we got to bed for a few hours of sleep. At three in the morning, we were supposed to take the same dhow that we used for snorkelling to sail over the strait to Zanzibar.

A dull day

Jeroen — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 13:06:12 +0000

I could have called it ”a shitty day”. We started off taking a guided tour in Bagamoyo. It was hot, the history only remotely interesting and the town was really abandoned a hundred years ago, and now they tried to restore the town. When our visit at the sculpture school changed to shopping-bonanza we bailed out and went back to the hostel.

In the morning, the guide told us that it would be high tide at three in the afternoon. So we took a walk in the heat to an internet cafe just to find it closed because of a power failure in town. We walked back and sat on our little veranda for a while. Then, at three, we took our towels and wald down to the sea, only to find it being low tide and no water.

In a really bad mood, we returned to our veranda for another hour. Then we tried the interne cafe again. Better luck this time, and we got two full hours tapping away. Nice.

In the evening we had some less expensive food then the night before, but it was still good. The night was warm. The drinks were cool. Life is ok after all…

To the coast

Jeroen — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 12:55:56 +0000

This day we travelled from Same to Dar Es Salaam and further on to the costal town of Bagamoyo. The bus trip was ok, and the hostel in Bagamoyo was great! We got our own little cottage, and to celebrate seeing the ocean again, Diana, Cecilia, Erik and I shared a ”Fishermans plate” containing lobster, calamari, fish, prawns and more. Toghether with a bottle of cold chardonnay, it was heaven.

Same Same, but different

Jeroen — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:48:18 +0000

In the morning, we started our descent down to Chome again. Mr. Mndeme offered us some coffee and ”ground nuts” (peanuts), and we sat down to have a chat. While we were sitting there, news came that one of the group, Eva, had hurt her ankle and that she needed help to get down to the village again. Guide Luther summoned a couple of boys and went up to get her.

Just twenty minutes later, Eva came roaring down the mountain lying on an up-side-down turned bed carried by nine (!!) boys. And she flew! The boys took turns in carrying, and they almost ran down the slopes. I didn’t even have time to get my camera before she was gone again. The verdict was a sprained ankle, but it wasn’t too serious.

After lunch, we said goodbye to ”our” families and crawled into our Land Cruisers again. Down the bumpy road back to Elephant Motel again.
Life had been pleasant in Chome, but I admit it was heaven to take a warm shower.

Puh, peak

Jeroen — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 12:40:28 +0000

Well, I know it’s nothing like Dennis climb in Argentina, but this day we should trek up to Shengena peak. It was estimated to be some four hours up top the top, and off we went.

The walk was steep and warm, and you really have to admire Inger and Tage, both in their seventies, pulling through the entire walk. I can’t say the view from the top monument was really worth the walk, but it was nice exercise anyhow. On the way down, we almost ran along with guide Eric. It took only two hours down, some difference. Taking a dip in the cold little creek by the camp was really nice afterwards.

At dinner, guides Eric and Josef sang and danced for us, and they’re really talented. They also know the ancient traditional songs, but often with a twist.

Again, we had goat for dinner. It was ok, but nothing special really.

Trekking Shengena

Jeroen — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:33:14 +0000

On Saturday, sister Mariettes birthday, it was trekking time. We were going to climb up some 900 meters to a camp, and then later on trek up to Shengena peak. The peak is not very high (cirka 2 500 meters), so it would bo more like a rainforest walk.

The walk up to the camp was quite steep at the beginning, and with sweat dripping from our faces we reached the cozy camp site. Our guide Hamisi had been starting earlier in order to slaughter a goat, and not everybody wanted to see that. At the camp, we put up our tents, took a brief walk in the forest, had lunch and spent the afternoon in front of the camp fire. The day continued in that fashion, and at night we got to bed.

It was quite cold at nighttime – some 10 degrees centigrade. So we cuddled up in our sleeping bags.

Eric’s mom and elderly greetings

Jeroen — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 13:20:25 +0000

On the friday morning, we skipped visiting the clinic and school with the rest of the group and helped the family weeding their onions. After that, we did some more washing, spoke to some more neighbours and then slowly descended to visit guide Erics mother on the other side of the valley. Sure, we’ve had lunch, but since we were guests she had to offer us some food. We got two boiled eggs each, and the universal Coca Cola.

After visiting Eric’s mom, we got toghether and listened to a story teller who told us about the Pare history, and the history of the village. Next up in the programme was the greeting of the elders.

Again, I really longed for the babel fish when they danced and sang for us, and judging by the laughter from our guides, the songs were really funny. We had already met the most of the elders, and they were wonderful. Really friendly, curious and full with jokes and stories. Our guides did try to interpret, but it was a bit too hard. We smiled and said thanks anyway.

Then we climbed to ”our” house again, getting ready for tomorrows trek up to Shengena forest.

Village life

Jeroen — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 13:11:28 +0000

In the morning, we ate breakfast and made ourselves ready to help the family in their daily work. They are farmers and have some different crops like onions and corn. It turned out there was nothing to do, said the family. So they proposed that we should take a walk so they could show us the neighborhood. But first we should drink coffee.

During our coffee break, some five different neighbours came by to say hi. We learned that this is common in Chome, to just check that everybody is all right. A very nice habit, perhaps something to mimic in harsh Sweden?

The walk was steep but beautiful. Mr. Mndeme and guide Eric showed us half a dozen medical plants and herbs curing everything from stomach problems to motion sickness and diabetes. Very impressive! From the slopes of the mountain we could see two peaks of mount Kilimanjaro in the clear weather.

After the walk we did some washing in the nearby creek. The water was cold and clear. We rested for a while and spoke to some more neigbours that came by. Everbybody was really nice, but they wondered why we didn’t have any children at our age. When you’re in your thirties you should have at least a couple of children, maybe as many as seven.

Everybody laughed in joy when we managed to greet them in swahili with a cheerful ”habari za asubuhi” (good morning).

Since the people in Chome belong to the Pare tribe, Eric also taught us the Pare word for thanks, ”Nahawatche”. That really made people stunned and very happy. Oh, how I would like to have a babel fish in my ear so I could speak and understand every language!