Lazy Lagoon Bagamoyo

... to walk back to the hotel in the rain anyway.

Besides, we wanted to visit a few of the shops still and so we surveyed the street. By now it had become a deluge and showed no signs of slowing up. If we were going to go we didn’t have much time, so we dashed out again making for one of the narrow streets up the way. It was actually kind of gross, the streets were completely flooded and there was garbage and bugs sweeping down the road, cars and ...

... we did nothing but ate, sunbathed and read.

one event did occur
Dan finally changed his shirt. And then washed it so he could wear it again.

Anyway we're back in Dar and tomorrow we get the train to Zambia....and Mum flys home....


Update in Zambia. only 5mins left on my clocker

... actually reminded me a lot of Costa Rica, and similarly is where a lot of coffee is grown and produced. Oscar said that he actually had lots of coffee bean plants on his property, so on the way back we stopped by his family's house, met his mom and a few nieces/nephews, roasted coffee beans over an open fire, and ground them with a giant, standing mortar & pestle. After only having had instant coffee since I've been here, it was a treat to enjoy a real cup of fresh ...

... I haven't written much about these activities, because I haven't been able to keep up on a daily basis, but they were really great and eye-opening, and included:
-A discussion on Tanzanian family structure and values with a visit to a family compound which was the home of 4-5 generations of a man and his many (6 I think?) wives. The entire family is part of a family dance and music group, and they perform all over the country and world. Though their ...

... group are only staying for 3-4 weeks, so a big group traveled the very first weekend. Since it was still very new for me here, I was content to stay put, and explore this town a bit more. As I think I mentioned... the people here are extremely friendly, and though we've sadly become more hesitant to embrace their openness (we're finding they often want something else from us- money, sponsorship, romance, etc,), it is not hard to get an invitation to ...

... people could get on! The journey to Stone Town took about 1 hour 30mins and I have definitely had better experiences. When we arrived we were all fairly tired and disorientated to be arriving in a new place; we now faced running the gauntlet of finding somewhere to stay. This was never going to be easy: the 4 of us all had different priorities (mine was to go somewhere really cheap and never mind how nice it is!). On top of this we were constantly hassled by touts trying to ...

... with the kids in this way.
On one afternoon, we took a dhow trip to the nearby island of Memebe. This small island is privately owned and has only 1 luxury resort on it, frequented by the rich and famous. Anyone, including us riff raff, are able to snorkel on the reefs surrounding the island and the guidebooks say that this is some of the best snorkeling in Zanzibar. If it is, we didn't see it! There are 2 ways to do this trip - the expensive way ...

... will i be like the other 90% of the people who do the course and never dive again, hope not, cos its a lot of fun! (yes)

on friday we saw a HUGE sea turtle, and the corals here are crystal clear, 27degrees water, prisitine white beaches and beautiful turquiose water. when you go under, its like a scene from findingb nemo, clown fish, "dori" fish(cant remember the name, "just keep swimming") and loadsa zebra fish and all.

and today we saw an octopus. he ...

... that we might not be updating for a two or three weeks unless we find a reasonable connection. We plan to head into Northern Malawi, make a stop at a nature reserve, spend some time on the beach, then take the Ilala ferry down the lake and cross into Zambia. From here we'll head to Victoria Falls and then into Namibia. Just so you know ~Travis

20 June We left our hotel on the beach in Kendwe at 10:30, arriving at the ferry terminal in Stone Town just before noon. Since we had nearly an hour before our ferry was to depart, I went into town to buy a sandwich to eat for lunch on the ferry. In fact, though, the 2 hour ferry ride was so rough that I didn't get a chance to eat on the boat. Some people even had to make use of the "sick bags", but I didn't as I am not prone to seasickness for some ...