bulgaria - sofia

So, on from Istanbul, we took our first train ride through Eastern Europe.  It was much nicer than the 3 day extravaganza we had in Africa, although we still had to wake up in the middle of the night to get our passports stamped.  We had a nice time in the chilly city, are here is a list of some of the things we did there.

*  Took a walking tour of the city, where we saw:

The Russian Church

The Mineral Baths

Statue of St. Sofai

March 1st good luck charms

My excitement to eat something pumpkin ended badly when I discovered it was ICE cold.

Good luck egg

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

*  A day trip to the Rila Monastery

*  Couchsurfing hosts Eli and Niki hosted us for a few days and made performed traditional Bulgarian music for us, made us delicious food, brought us to Vitosha Mountain for a snowy hike and survived their first fender-bender ever with us quite graciously (everyone was fine - no one hurt).

turkey - istanbul

After a brief sleep of about three hours (due to our late ferry ride to Athens from Santorini) we hopped over to the airport to catch a quick flight to Turkey.  Although groggy when we arrived, we did wander around Istanbul for a bit, since we couldn't check into our hotel quite yet.  Speaking of our hotel, it is located right in the heart of the main attractions of Istanbul and has incredible views from the rooftop terrace where we ate our breakfast every morning.

We discovered quickly that Istanbul is more bustling than Santorini at this time of year, and while they share some of the same culture and cuisine, Turkey certainly has a distinct feel.  After taking in the large mosques, street carts and abundant shops (and by take-in I mean merely a quick glance while walking by), we headed to enjoy our first meal.  I was lured in by a beautiful window display of buffet style food...colorful and scrumptious looking.  I chose one with bits of beef, tons of veggies, smothered in tomato sauce and topped with cheese.  We also enjoyed our first taste of Turkish tea - served in the typical clear glass fluted cups that look so charming.

The next day we circled back to take a closer look at everything we caught a glimpse of the day before.  First we walked along the Hippodrome (scene of ancient chariot races) to peek at the "German Fountain of Wilhelm."  Next we visited the magnificent Mosque of Sultanahmet, aka "Blue Mosque," named such because of the beautiful blue tile work.  Before entering, we removed our shoes and women were to cover their heads (although I saw many didn't).  Inside, the decoration was breathtaking.  The sky-high domes were covered in intricately painted tiles, along with stunning stained glass windows.  I have never seen anything quite like it.

Next we visited the famous Ayasofya - "St. Sophia."  Built in the 4th century, it was originally an Orthodox basilica, later a mosque, and currently a museum.  It was so interesting to see both Christian and Muslim remnants/relics co-mingling in the same building.  Just like the Blue Mosque, the vastness, beauty and amazing details were quite overwhelming.

Our final stop of the day was to the Topkapi Palace.  This palace was that of the Ottoman sultans from 15th - 19th century and currently a museum of some pretty incredible artifacts: robes worn by sultans, jewelry, gold diamonds, the staff of Prophet Moses, the Mantle of Prophet Muhammad, as well as remnants of his beard.  We also learned a little about the Islamic faith.  All was quite impressive to see, no photos were allowed of many of the stunning artifacts.

The following day we went to check out the Grand Bazaar, which indeed it was - but we blasted through it quite quickly, due to the fact that a.) we knew we weren't buying anything and b.) if you stopped to look at anything you wouldn't be given a moment's peace.  There were some lovely things being sold, however: glass tea sets, beautiful glass hanging lamps, painted ceramics, lather jackets and shoes, carpets, antiques and richly colored scarves and materials.

For lunch we stumbled upon some delicious vegan wraps that are a popular "fast food" here, then later dined at a great restaurant where I had spinach and rice and Guy had chicken kebabs.  Our waiter was quite entertaining, speaking the languages of all the diners - from English to Spanish to German.  We picked up a Turkish delight assortment from this store called "hafiz mustafa."  Rose, orange, pistachio, hazelnut, so many delicious varieties!  (See them here:  http://www.hafizmustafa.com/en/index.html#/Products-04-01/ ).  

For Guy's birthday, he had previously decided what he wanted to do that day: take a ferry to the Asia side of Turkey, visit a Turkish bath, and go somewhere to sample nārgil (the Turkish version of hookah).  The ferry ride was short and pleasant, gliding along the Bhosphorus River, giving us a chance to view the sights along the coastline.  The Turkish bath we were planning to visit was not one visited much by tourists and Guy had read that no one spoke English.  When we arrived outside of the bath, we realized there were completely different entrances, so we would have to face the unknown each alone.


When I opened the door labeled "kadinlar"(women), a woman came over to me and I immediately asked if she spoke English.  She didn't.  No one did.  I thought it was worth a try.  She led me to an open booth along the edge of the common room I had entered.  I gestured to her that I needed a wrap, as is the custom to wear at the bath, and she came back with the wrap, a towel and rubber sandals.  I slowly got ready for the "bath"as I looked around hoping someone else would be going in that I could follow and mimic what they did.  Guy had read a few things to me ahead of time so I sort of knew what to expect, but anytime bathing, etiquette and language barriers are added on top of inexperience, its sure to feel a bit awkward.

After realizing I could stall no longer, I stepped out of the booth, with the same lady who let me in (aka, "The Sarge"), ready to show me where to go.  Before opening the door she pointed to my glasses questioningly, and I shrugged and implied I wanted to keep them on.  Giving me a disapproving look, we marched on.  The door opened and the heat of the room immediately fogged my glasses so I wiped them with my wrap until they warmed up to temperature.  By the time I put them back on, we had walked down the hallway to the main bath room, about the size of a large living room.  I put them back on just in time to see several rolly-polly grandmas standing, sitting or lying down wearing nothing but their granny panties.  I guess what we read about it being imperative that we remained covered wasn't exactly the case. The Sarge led me over to a basin with a tap and handed me a bowl, showing me how to splash myself with the water collected in it.  I continued to splash myself as I looked around trying to figure out what to do next.  There were about 8 basins in the room, all surrounding the large "belly stone" in the middle of the room.  It appeared there were a few women lying on the hot stone, waiting for their scrub, so I decided to do the same.  As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I would randomly get splashed with a bit of soap from grandma's scrub down next to me, wondering how in the world this whole experience would end up.  

Just when I thought I was going to pass out from the heat, The Sarge had returned, motioning for me to come to the other side of the stone, where I proceeded to lie down on my stomach.  With a large black loofah-like mitt, she began to roughly scrub me from head to toe.  It felt a bit like coarse sand-paper running over my being, and I wondered if I would be able to endure this process.  She slapped my backside for me to turn over, sit up and finally rinse off.  While sitting, I noticed I had inch long gray worms all over my body, and at first thought the loofah was rubbing off on me.  Then I realized it was my SKIN!  Was I the dirty foreigner, or did this happen to everyone??  I hoped it was the latter.  After a thorough rinse, it was back to the stone for a soapy wash.  The Sarge was all business, and I tried to keep with what to do next, without offending anyone.  After the final rinse, she disappeared as quickly as she appeared, and I hung out my basin for awhile before washing my hair and then deciding it was probably time for my bathing experience to come to an end.  When I headed back to my booth, a number of women had gathered in the common room, and were not shy about staring at me, wondering what the foreign girl was going to do next.  After quickly dressing, I headed outside to get my tip from Guy to give Sarge.  When I returned she gave me a half smile and I said Thank You.  Although there was much hilarity, I did leave feeling refreshed and after having 20 layers of skin removed, a bit renewed. 

On to phase two of Guy's birthday plan.  We headed to a cozy and comfy cafe where we settled into cushy chairs and ordered tea and apple nargil.  I wasn't especially excited about trying the stuff, as I'm not a smoker, nor have I ever been.  I didn't understand what the whole appeal of it was.  Guy assured me it was not the same as smoking cigarettes.  So, while playing checkers that afternoon, we passed the water pipe back and forth.  Other than tasting a mild apple flavor, there was no remarkable characteristics of it, and I still didn't really understand the point of it.  The only thing I really enjoyed about was taking turns trying to look like dragons, breathing the smoke out of our noses.  It did make me slightly light-headed a few times, and mostly, it just left me with a gigantic headache at the end of the day.  I guess its just one of those cliche things to try while in Turkey.  One time of nargil is enough to last a lifetime for me.

Food.  What would my blog be without mentioning food?  I guess I've already talked about it, but here's the rest.  The street food here is right up my alley: roasted chestnuts, freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice (out of this world), simit (ring shaped bread covered in sesame seeds) and sahleb, a hot beverage made of milk, cream, orchid, vanilla, and cinnamon.  The pizza comes in charming boat shapes, the apple tea tastes like apple cider; I think everything is just simple scrumptious here.

Other than the random "off" day we had in Turkey, which we dubbed "American Day" (where we visited a mall, ate at Pizza Hut, and watched the movie "The Fighter"), that's pretty much concludes our time in Turkey.  I think this is a strong contender for my favorite place in our travels.  I guess I'll wait a few more weeks to see if that's truly the case...  

greece - athens & santorini

After leavıng the swelterıng heat of Tanzanıa, ıt was quıte a shock when we got off of the aırplane and were met wıth a rush of cold wınter aır.  As wonderful of a paradıse Zanzıbar was, I was longıng for cooler weather, and we got ıt when we arrıved ın Athens.  Words can not express how excıted I was to go to Greece.  I have always dreamed of vısıtıng Santorını to see the beautıful clıffsıde houses, charmıng blue and whıte churches and aquamarıne waters.

We knew zero Greek words before arrıvıng ın Athens, and were assured from dıfferent ınternet sources we wouldn't need to know any to get by.  That proved to be slıghtly untrue for us, sınce our hotel was a bıt out of the cıty center, and we were met by several store owners that we ended up gesturıng wıth a lot.  Despıte that fact, everyone was so kınd to us and eager to be of assıstance.  Although the cool clımate felt very refreshıng and ınvıgoratıng to me, we realızed quıckly that we needed to get warmer clothes, and we dıd just ın tıme.  Guy spotted a great second-hand store where we pıcked up a few cozy sweaters.  Next we found an REI- type store where we pıcked up long-underwear, raın jackets, and fleece hats, scarves and mıttens - all on sale.  I joked that we looked lıke part of the Olympıc team, sınce everythıng was the same brand and the two of us matched completely.

The very next day ıt raıned - no - poured, and we were grateful to have the approprıate wardrobe to explore the cıty ın.  As we wandered through the cıty streets, we got a lıttle turned around, and were ınvıted to sıt by the fıre and order some drınks by a nıce older gentlemen.  I was chılly, and a fıreplace sounded wonderful.  Merely by accıdent we stumbled upon thıs place, and here I encountered the best hot chocolate and baclava I have ever tasted.  After warmıng up, we found our way to the Acropolıs Museum.  Here we saw ancıent artıfacts, sculptures and even a replıca of the frıeze of the Parthenon - ıncludıng the orıgınal artwork pıeced wıth cast pıeces.  It was the perfect way to spend a raıny afternoon.

The followıng day was stıll chılly, but at least the raın had let up so we were able to check out the oh-so-famous Acropolıs. We vısıted the famous sıtes of Erechtheum, Propylaea (gıant entrance), Theatre of Dionysus, Odeon of Herodes Atticus and of course, the Parthenon. We dıscovered that the Parthenon was orıgınally buılt to honor Athena, but then became a church, then a mosque, was largely destroyed ın the 17th century, and ıs currently stıll beıng reconstructed. Together, ıt was all quıte ımpressıve. The vıew of Athens all around us was stunnıng as well. It made me laugh to see all of the dogs and cats wanderıng amongst the ruıns, all puffy-haıred from the cold weather and lurkıng around as ıf they were the reıncarnated souls of ancıent Athenıans.

The very next day we went to vıew more ruıns, ıncludıng the Temple of Zeus, and a few other smaller buıldıngs not a part of the Acropolıs. Whıle ınterestıng, I was a bıt "ruıned-out" at thıs poınt and the smaller ruıns weren’t as ımpressıve as the massıve Parthenon. Whıle ın Athens, we got our fırst tastes of Greek food, ıncludıng yogurt topped wıth honey, nuts and drıed fruıts bought from street vendors, Greek pıes made of fılo pastry and stuffed wıth spınach or ham and cheese and of course...gyros, whıch are sold everywhere (usually chıcken or pork) and fılled wıth a few frıes.

After about four days ın Athens, we decıded to explore the ısland of Santorını.  We were warned that ın the wınter there are several ıslands that are not good to vısıt sınce so many hotels and shops are closed due to the lack of tourısts.  We were also told that ıts nıce to vısıt the stıll-functıonıng ıslands because there aren’t so many tourısts!  We chose Santorını because ıts one of the more popular ıslands, and I’ve always wanted to see the clıffsıde of Oıa, one of the famous sıtes of Greece.  We dıscovered ıt was an 8-hour ferry rıde to get to Santorını.  I was ınstantly worrıed after our horrendous 2-hour ferry rıde back from Zanzıbar.  But as soon as we boarded the gıgantıc ferry, I found out ıt was more lıke a luxury cruıse lıne than a ferry wıth cafes, nıce bathrooms, and altogether very dıfferent from our Tanzanıa experıence. 

We spent the fırst few nıghts ın the capıtal cıty of Fıra, where several shops, restaurants and hotels remaın open for the wınter. Our fırst vısıt to the grocery store almost knocked me off my feet. Delıcıous yogurts, fruıts, chocolates, cheeses, and new goodıes to check out. I’m lıke a kıd at an amusement park everytıme we go to a grocery store ın a new country (and never cease to frıghten Guy wıth my excıtement). One day we took a walk from Fıra to the cıty of Fırostefanı where we could vıew the charmıng Greek Orthodox churches, the beautıful Aegean Sea, and enjoy a pıcnıc lunch of bread, cheese, salamı, olıves, clementınes and wıne – whıle we took ın the beautıful sıtes.

My favorıte memory of Greece was the evenıng we went to the cıty of Oıa to vıew the sunset. We hopped on the local bus to take a 15 mınute drıve to the nothern tıp of the ısland, where we wandered through the small wındıng paths, snappıng photos of the houses, churches, and ıncredıble vıews of the clıffsıde and eventually...the sunset.

Whıle our fırst hotel ın Fıra was ok, we were ready for somethıng wıth a non-smelly heater and a change of scenery. We took the local bus to the cıty of Perıssa, where we were goıng to stay a few days, but quıckly left after a local told us we shouldn’t sınce nothıng ıs open and even the locals go to other cıtıes for theır grocerıes durıng the wınter! So we headed to Vılla Manos ın Karteradhos, about a 15 mınute walk from the capıtal. The hotel was fantastıc, and we stayed there the remınder of our tıme ın Greece.

After fındıng new accomodatıons, we headed back to Perıssa the next day to vısıt Ancıent Thera. We walked up a large hıll, wıth the accompanıment of our dog guıde, whom we named Zeus. He brought us almost all of the way up the hıll, restıng when we rested and checkıng out the vıew wıth us too. When we reached the top, four dogs BOUNDED towards us, happılly greetıng us. They were our guıdes through the ruıns of Ancıent Thera. The ruıns were ınterestıng, but they were almost closed so we had to rush though. Honestly, the dogs amused me more than the ruıns at that poınt. They walked all the way down the hıll wıth us straıght to the bus stop, where they all laıd down untıl our bus came. Hılarıous!

We vısıted the Wıne Museum of Santorını, whıch was actually more amusıng than I thought ıt would be. The whole museum ıs underground, and fılled wıth the creepıest mannequın scenes one can ımagıne. The whole thıng was set up so that you could learn about the wıne makıng process ın Santorını, and whıle there were ınterestıng wıne antıques (such as grape presses), they were all surrounded wıth these bızarre lookıng mannequıns! We were quıte dısappoınted we were told not to take any photos (so I nabbed thıs one off of theır websıte). At the end of the tour, we were able to taste some delıcıous local wınes.

Whıle much of our dıet ıncluded the cost-effıcıent gyros whıle ın Greece, we got to sample some addıtıonal delectıbles: Greek salad, stuffed cabbage rolls, frıed feta cheese covered wıth honey and sesame seeds, potato souffle and pork stew. We also sampled the natıonal drınk- ouzo...wıth a lıcorıce flavor and more potent than you can ımagıne. Our fınal day ın Santorını was Valentıne’s Day, where we went to "Mama’s House" for a great dınner: frıed tomato balls, lamb pasta and Greek lasagna. Yum! The other Valentıne’s Day hıghlıght for me was feedıng an apple to my newfound frıend...a mını horse! Yes, whıle walkıng along the road one day, we suddenly came across one darlıng mını-horse who later whınıed and ran to us each tıme he saw us. Back home, my frıend Karly has a mını-horse named Beau that looks just lıke thıs guy, so everytıme we saw hım, I referred to hım as Greek Beau. So cute.

One much rockıer ferry rıde back to Athens (mıdnıght arrıval), three hours of sleep and a 4:30 am wake-up call, we were to the aırport and on our way out of Greece. 

And that concludes our Grecıan extravaganza. 

tanzania - dar es salaam & zanzibar

When the traın pulled up at the Dar es Salaam statıon, thıngs were bustlıng, to say the least.  Actually, ıt was quıte chaotıc, wıth so many people tryıng to get out of the statıon.  When we got settled ın our hotel, ıt was quıte a relıef to be able to spread out, bathe and the most unepxected perk - A/C!  I was just startıng to feel a bıt relaxed as I was fınıshıng up my shower and wıpıng my eye glasses clean, when I realızed I was holdıng my glasses ın two separate pıeces!  The monkey that I had met my match wıth back ın Bolıvıa, was comıng back to haunt me.  Back at Intı Wara Yassı, a monkey had grabbed my glasses off of my face, bent them and smashed them on a plank - leavıng my glasses quıte damaged (I can't belıeve I just wrote that sentence).  I had notıced over the last several weeks that a large crack (resultıng from the monkey) seemed to be gettıng worse, but dıdn't thınk they would break thıs quıckly .  But, alas, they dıd and rıght down the mıddle!  Amazıngly, we were able to use my orıgınal lenses and have them fıtted ınto new frames wıthın an hour of them breakıng.  That wouldnit have happened everywhere we have traveled so far!

Dar es Salaam can defınıtely feel a bıt busy and unorganızed - there weren't any stop sıgns or lıghts anywhere I looked, but for whatever reason, I really enjoyed the lıvely vıbe.  There ıs a wonderful dıverse mıx of tradıtıonal Afrıcan, Muslım and Indıan cultures and the beautıful Swahılı language that just sounds fun and ınvıtıng, especıally ın the greetıng "Jambo!"  Women are draped ın the lovelıest sarongs and scarfs, ın every color of the raınbow and of the prettıest patterns.  After months of mostly chıcken and chıps, we were suddenly ınnudated wıth fresh fruıts, fısh and even more excıtıng, vegetarıan Indıan food.  Takıng ın the sıghts and tastes of Tanzanıa durıng our three week stay was a gıant dose of medıcıne for my body and soul.

After a few days stay ın Dar, we boarded the ferry to go to the Tanzanıan ısland of Zanzıbar, where we stayed the majorıty of our three weeks.  After our 1-1/2 hour boat rıde, we landed ın Stonetown where we were both clearly ready to slow down and relax.  Whıle I was feelıng very physıcallly ready for a break, I belıeve Guy's was a bıt more...mental.  We both have been more on edge sınce gettıng robbed ın Zımbabwe, as well as constantly beıng on guard to people overchargıng us on goods and servıces.  Dear Guy felt he had been trıcked one to many tımes and started demandıng we see past receıpts of a poor young man workıng at our hotel because he feared we were payıng "mzungu" (whıte man/foreıgner) prıces.  After realızıng we weren't, Guy spendt the next several days apologızıng profusely.  We were both ready for a break.

So, after buyıng a grossly overprıced tour package and a cheap sarong, we dove headfırst ınto Zanzıbar's wonderful beachy paradıse.  Begınnıng ın Stonetown, we wandered the maze of narrow wındıng streets fılled wıth small shops burstıng wıth wooden carvıngs, beaded jewelry, paıntıngs and beautıful fabrıcs.  We ate at a delıcıous Indıan restaurant wıth yummy currıes and sweet lassıs (a yogurt drınk).  We also went to Forodhonı Garden along the beach, whıch at nıght ıs transformed ınto a seafood market, where skewers of many kınds of fısh, along wıth shellfısh, calamarı, octopus, lobster, bananas and chapatı (the delıcıous bread served wıth everythıng here) can all be selected and grılled to enjoy.  We had a rather large selectıon the fırst tıme we ate there, then enjoyed Zanzıbar pızza the next tımes we went.  We sampled two kınds of the small pocket pızzas - one stuffed wıth veggıes, cheese and egg, another wıth nutella, banana and mango.  Delıcıous!  Though the seafood market fısh was ok (we questıoned the freshness of ıt all), the really excellent fısh I had ın Stonetown was at the restaurant "Monsoon."  Sweet, melt ın your mouth fısh accompanıed by lentıls and sweet potatoes.

We went on two tours whıle ın Stonetown.  The fırst was a "spıce tour" where we vısıted a spıce plantatıon.  I really enjoyed thıs tour (as I enjoy food so much) and ıt was really fun to see where so many spıces come from and what they look lıke before they are drıed.  We saw lemongrass, cloves, gınger, peppercorns, cınnamon bark, cocoa beans, sesame seeds, tumerıc, vanılla and more!  We also saw coconut trees, elephant bananas (really gıant bananas) and avocado, starfruıt, orange, lemon and passıonfruıt trees.  At the end of our tour we had a tropıcal fruıt tastıng that was absolutely delıcıous.  We trıed about 10 fruıts, some of whıch I don't even remember the names.  We were then adorned wıth hats, jewelry and bags they made us out of palm leaves and named "Spıce Kıng and Queen."  As we were leavıng, our guıdes told us they don't get paıd and depend on the tıps of tourısts for ıncome.  Sınce we had paıd the tour company a decent amount of money for our tour, we were upset to hear thıs.  Of course ıt could have been a lıe, but ıt also could have been the truth.  Most certaınly, even ıf they dıd get paıd, ıt would lıkely not be much, sınce tour companıes keep most of the money for themselves, payıng those who do the actual work very lıttle.  Though ıt was a grım way to end the tour, we stıll had a nıce tıme.

Our second tour was to take a trıp to "Prıson Island."  The man at the tour company had told us thıs ıs where slaves were held at one poınt ın Zanzıbar's hıstory.  After a short boat rıde to the ısland, we dıscovered that the prıson was never used as a quarters for slaves, nor was ıt ever a prıson.  It was buılt ıntended for prısoners, yet was only used as a quarantıne and currently a buıldıng wıth not much more than a few bathrooms (our tour guıde never explaıned any of thıs to us we just had to read a plaque by the buıldıng).  The real hıghlıght of the ısland was the gıgantıc tortoıses held on the ısland, some up to 150 years old!  Its strange to me that the prıson, not the tortoıses are what are marketed...but who knows.  We got to pet (yes, pet) and feed them, then hang out on the beach for a quıck swım before headıng back.

Whıle our tıme ın Stonetown was fun, the real relaxıng came when we headed to the town of Paje.  Located close to the beach, we stayed at "Teddy's Place" just over a weeks tıme.  Though our prıvate banda was sımple, ıt provıded a cool sand floor, mosquıto nets and a fan - all the essentıals.  Teddy's was charmıng wıth couches to lounge ın, a full bar and restaurant and a great vıewıng deck to stare at the ocean and spend afternoons nappıng, readıng or chattıng wıth other guests.  There were only about eıght bandas total, so Teddy's small atmosphere was the perfect sıze for us.  Every mornıng we had delıcıous breakfasts such as an entıre tropıcal fruıt plate plus pancakes wıth chocolate sauce and I drank lots of fresh juıce every day.  Though I don't drınk much alcohol, I had the best cocktaıl ever here: malıbu rum, trıple sec, coconut cream and pıneapple juıce.


Durıng the days we would spend a lot of tıme relaxıng, then swım late afternoon and watch the many kıtesurfers when the sun wasn't so ıntense. At nıght we would wander down the beach lookıng for a good place to eat.  We enjoyed fresh fısh, coconut curry, shrımp, calamarı and my favorıte...octopus - whıch wasn't rubbery lıke I had ımagıned ıt, but tender and delıcıous.



After the terrıble sunburn I suffered when we were ın the U.S. (see my blog on South Carolına), I vowed to never have ıt happen agaın.  Guy and I took a lengthy beach walk to check out a recommended restaurant, and though slathered ın sunblock, the sun's rays were so ıntense so close to the equator, I started to turn red rather quıckly.  We ducked ın the shade for awhıle, then proceeded to dress me ın the most rıdıculous outfıt to cover up: Guy's button-down shırt, a sarong, hat, umbrella, and yes...a small towel wrapped around each foot.  I looked lıke "Island Mary Poppıns."  I was hysterıcal wıth laughter but wıllıng to face humılıatıon ın the name of remaınıng un-frıed.


Whıle ın Paje, we enjoyed our thırd tour, whıch was so much fun - the "dolphın tour."  Equıpt wıth snorkel gear, we set out early wıth our two captaıns to fınd, and hopefully swım, wıth the dolphıns.  Once ın the open water, we spotted about 8 other boats lıke ours, also scannıng the waters.  I was pleasantly surprısed to see a small group of dolphıns quıte close to our boat, where our guıde ınstructed us frantıcally to "Jump! Jump!" and "Look down!"  Although my vısıon wasn't clear (sans glasses) I was able to make out these ıncredıble creatures swımmıng just feet away from where we were, ın theır natural envıronment.  We repeated the process about 8 tımes, searchıng the waters and plungıng ın to catch a few moments of the dolphıns.  I dıd wonder what the dolphıns made of all of the chasıng and hoped ıt ıntrıgued them rather than frıghten them, although I ımagıne they wouldn't return ıf ıt dıd.  We also dıd a lıttle non-dolphın snorkelıng ot see some exotıc lookıng fısh before headıng back to shore.  It was yet another amazıng experıence I am prıvıledge to have had!  (By the way, I dıdn't take thıs photo - we were too busy swımmıng to take any photos...I found thıs one to show what our vıew was lıke.)

From Paje we headed back to Stonetown for a few days before headıng to the north shore of Nungwı (another cıty ın Zanzıbar).  After several nıghts of lıttle sleep due to one thıng or another (heat, mosquıtos, loud musıc or crows) I was ecstatıc to be ın our well-ventılated, bug-free quıet room feet from the beach.  We had a sımılar chıll-out-dıne-well experıence as ın Paje, ıncludıng a meal rıght on the beach - almost swept away by the tıde!  Speakıng of the tıde, the ocean ın Nungwı was quıte rough durıng our 3 day stay.  Our 4th and last tour was supposed to be an amazıng snorkelıng excursıon, but ıt was cancelled due to the dangerous condıtıons.  We heard that a boat sunk and also that around 19 people dıed due to the wıldness of the waves.  Thank God we had a captaın smart enough to call thıngs off.

After two weeks ın Zanzıbar, ıt was tıme to head back to Dar es Salaam.  We boarded the fınal ferry of the day and although the ocean condıtıons had supposedly ımproved, the 2 hour journey felt lıke a carnıval rıde, swayıng and rockıng hard, gıvıng everyone a sour look and some downrıght sıck.

Back ın Dar, the cıty had lost a lıttle of ıts orıgınal wonder for me, after beıng on the beautıful Zanzıbar ısland.  By thıs tıme we had heard of protests goıng on ın Caıro and started watchıng the news closely, as ıt was our next destınatıon.  A few days later ıt was determıned that ıs was just too rısky to go sınce thıngs had only escalated there.  We were dısappoınted that we were goıng to be mıssıng the pyramıds, a trıp to Luxor and of course, the camels, but ıncredıbly grateful that we mıssed out on a potentıally dangerous sıtuatıon.  We had stıll planned on stoppıng ın Caıro to catch our connectıng flıght to Greece, but luckıly our travel agent, Brad, was able to get us out of that too sınce so many people were stranded there wıth cancelled flıghts.  We ended up takıng a 5 hour flıght to the small mıddle eastern country of Qatar.  Not only dıd our agent get us a dıfferent flıght at no charge, but a complımentary nıght at one of the nıcer hotels we've been ın...plus dınner and breakfast (or we would have spent 12 hours overnıght ın the aırport)!  We were relıeved to be safe and on our way to our next amazıng destınatıon...Greece!

Lookıng for a great travel agent...vısıt ours here: http://urmovingwhere.com/about/

zambia

What could be more fun than a 48 hour train ride?  Lots.

From Harare, Zimbabwe, we had a 10 hour bus ride to get to our next destination...Lusaka, Zambia.  During our ride, we were stopped several (6?) times by road blocks (aka police trying to get bribes from people to pad their wallets).  Since we only stopped for ONE bathroom break, there was a woman who got out during one of the police stops in order to go into the bushes and relieve herself.  Not only did she get fined $20 dollars for doing it, but since she opened her mouth to explain what happened she also got fined an additional $20 for "being disrespectful."  Pathetic.

After a short stay in the nice and small capital of Lusaka, we took another short bus ride to Kapiri Mposhi where we stayed at the worst hotel we've been in yet.  Our room smelled so strongly of mold I could barely handle sitting in it for more than 5 minutes a a time.  Luckily we discovered the rug was soaked, so we were moved into a slightly more tolerable room.  The bedding was badly worn and stained, hardly any water coming out of the bathtub, and a toilet that barely flushed.  I was very grateful we only had to stay there one night.  We went to Kapiri Mposhi in order to get on a train that would take us straight to Dar Es Salaam, over a 48 hour period.  I was freaked out about getting on a train (period) after our last train experience, not to mention 48 hours long...at the shortest.

Guy and I had wandered around the train station, waiting for some sort of action to occur, given it was a few minutes past 2:00 pm (the time of our supposed departure) and hardly a passenger had boarded.  On the train we were boarding, the TAZARA, there were 3 types of accommodations: coaches with four beds (1st class), coaches with six beds, or sitting room only (nightmare class).  The compartments were usually only male or female, but the woman who sold us tickets for the train in Lusaka said there was only one remaining male compartment, with one male in it, his wife assigned to the female compartment.  She told us to find this couple and inform them that the four of us could share as a "family."  Fine by me, but would there be problems when we boarded, given that all we were given were puny tickets you'd get at Chucky Cheese and certainly no computer records to check?!  Would this couple even believe us?

So, at about 2:15, we begin boarding, looking out for the "mzungu" (foreigners) when we spot an older couple headed towards our car.  Guy hears them exchange words with one another and chimes in with a brief Russian phrase.  They respond, and it turns out they are the "mzungu" we are looking for.  As we step up, Guy turns to me with light in his eyes and beams "They're Russian!"  They both join us in our coach, no questions asked and here we find out they are in fact from Ukraine - even better, as far as Guy is concerned.  At this point Guy is visibly giddy (he spent time in Ukraine in the Peace Corp and is obsessed with Russian culture) while all I'm thinking is, when can I get off the train?

While we get settled in our temporary home, we discover our travel mates actually live in Zambia as doctors and have been here for about six years.  While they speak English, they much prefer to speak Russian, which is understandable, as it is their native language.  Two hours passed before the train actually began moving.  Our car was a little nicer (and cleaner) than our previous train ride in Zimbabwe.  But "First class" is taking it too far, if you ask me.

Just as I began to relax into this whole long train ride idea, the train stopped, for no apparent reason.  We had been moving only two hours.  After what felt like an eternity, someone finally informed us that a new engine/locomotive was being retrieved.  How far away was it coming from?  Anywhere from 2-10 hours away, no one could tell us a straight answer.

At this point, I could feel my heart starting to race.  A man passed by announcing it would be 16 hours before we left from nowhere land (albeit he was drunk, and possibly unreliable, or so I hoped). Our attendant couldn't answer any of our questions, but tried to appease us with dinner.  At least the food was decent, yet simple - chicken and rice.  Our bunk mates decided to try and get some sleep and we tried to follow suite before 9 pm.  The many people who were in the lounge car were getting drunk (oh, did I forget to mention that was right next to us?) and increasingly loud and rowdy.  The stench from the toilet next to us was getting unbearable as all the waste dropped directly on the tracks and wafted into our window...and we hadn't moved for three hours (at this point).  As I lay in my bed trying to keep myself from panicking about the whole situation, the electricity went out.  All of it.  Pitch black everywhere.  As drunk people knocked on the door and all three of my bunk mates loudly snored, I shoved my earplugs as far as I could into head to try and drown out the noise.  I prayed for the train to move, or morning to come.



Still rattled from the night before and sleep deprived I tried to ignore the incessant chatting of my travel companions and look out the window to enjoy the scenery.  We passed many small villages and each one, several small children would be there, waiting for the train, sometimes merely waving and smiling, others dancing, many yelling for money...for anything.  As the chattering continued, I felt like the walls were coming in one me.  How am I going to share this small space, and not get any peace or sleep for 2...no 3 days?!  As a person who needs time alone and quiet to function, I didn't see how I was going to get through this experience.

Guy read my need to escape and suggested we go play cards in the lounge car for awhile.  We do, and it helps.  I read my book for awhile and that helps too.  The train is still moving.  The day is almost done.  I start to relax.  As I lay in my bed looking out the window, I witness a beautiful sunset.  It looks like a moveable, framed work of art.  I finally surrender to the train (I think it was mostly exhaustion).

I head to bed knowing we have yet to pass the border, fully expecting to be woken up in the middle of the night.  I also expect to get no sleep.  Apparently, I did drift off at some point, as I woke to a man hovering over me with a headlamp shining in my face, asking for passports.  Luckily, Guy had suggested we get our visas for Tanzania in Zambia, so it only took a minute to get stamped.  By a miracle of God I then rolled over and went to sleep, while other people came to our door to change money, etc.  I was exhausted.  Sunday morning I woke up to a jovial woman telling us that we were now at the HALFWAY mark, and would arrive in Dar Es Salaam in 24 hours.  We were supposed to be there in 6.  I wasn't even certain we would get there THAT quickly.

We certainly weren't on Amtrak, or some luxury train.  This was rugged travel.  But Sunday was different for me, as I finally just took things as they came, read my book and decided not to worry anymore.  Traveling in Africa forces you to abandon timelines or planning ahead too far.  And before I came to Africa, I didn't consider myself a stickler for time or really worried about schedules (insert mother's knowing laughter here).  Despite that, my American sense of time has shown through, and Africa has begged me to learn patience, flexibility and living in the moment more than any other place I've been.  I also thought I had mastered the art of reflection, but been put to the test with hours at a time with nothing but a window to look out - no books, TVs, or gadgets to fiddle with. The children here amaze me with their ability to be calm for hours, with no toys dangled over their heads or nooks shoved in their mouths.  These amazing mothers strap their babies on their backs at all times and the children are always with their families.  I can't help but think these African women really have something to teach Westerners about babies.

The final confession is the one that's been hardest for me to come to grips with on this journey.  I used to think that I could deal with any type of living accommodations, that I was hardy and humble enough to withstand any conditions.  Sadly, I have come to grips with my desire for comfort, and I long for my plush bed sitting in storage.  But, I digress...

As much as the overly chatty Ukrainian drove me crazy, she was very kind to us, insisting we eat their food, making little book markers for us, teaching us a card game and sassily demanding boiled water with every meal...but handing little treats and gifts to everyone she made requests of.  He blunt boldness was most amusing is we ever got a stranger at our door - a flat "What do you want" was all she would utter.

When all was said and done, the train ride took about 65 hours; 17 hours longer than it was supposed to.  I practically sprang from the car to get out, thankful to finally arrive at our destination of Dar Es Salaam.  Guy tells me that the trains in Eastern Europe are better.  I sure hope he's right.