Day 324 – Tanzania to England

August 25, 2010 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to London, England

Our day begins with us waking up at 2:15am.

Our first flight of the day – Dar es Salaam to Cairo – is scheduled to leave at 6:15am, which means we have to be at the airport by 4:00am in order to check-in by 4:15am. And since you always have to factor in “Africa time”, we’ve given ourselves some cushioning in case of any unforeseeable delays, ie. our 3:00am pick-up turns into a 3:30am pick-up, our taxi driver doesn’t show up at all, etc. Luckily none of these things happen and we arrive at the airport with tons of time to check-in. So after going through the standard airport procedures, we have a snack and wait for our flight to start boarding.

Actually, the theme for today turns out to be “Waiting”…


After boarding the plane we wait for it to arrive in Cairo at 10:45am. We then have to wait for our next flight – Cairo to London – which doesn’t leave until 4:20pm. We board this flight and have to wait for it to land in London at 8:45pm. This process is followed by us waiting for our baggage to be unloaded, waiting for the Tube to take us into the city and finally waiting for our adrenaline to subside so we can go to sleep.

By the time all the waiting is over Eric and I have been up for about 24 hours.

But we are overjoyed to be in a familiar place – our home in London – my friend Erin’s condo. And like always, she shows us nothing but wonderful hospitality from the instant we arrive on her doorstep.

Day 323 – Tanzania

August 24, 2010 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

It’s our last day in Dar es Salaam, out last day in Tanzania and for that matter, our last day in Africa and it feels strange.

Eric and I have grown to love Africa’s raw beauty. It’s often described as a place that’s indescribable until you visit and after spending four months here, we’d have to agree – we’ve become very comfortable here, but we still don’t really get it. All we can think of to do on our final day is wander the streets, enjoy the sunshine and take it all in. We know this won’t be our last time in Africa but I’m already missing it.

So we spend the day reflecting, walking around familiar areas and exploring new ones - we aren’t going to be dormant today. We visit a few of our favourite haunts for food & shopping and explore Dar’s “waterfront” before heading home to bed.

Our flight leaves at 6:15am tomorrow morning, and given our recent history of “time failures”, I check it almost hourly throughout the day to ensure we have the correct departure time. After one final check, we line up a taxi driver for 3:00am Wednesday morning and call it a night.

Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.

Doppelgangers

Dop•pel•gäng•er

Noun – a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.

Doppelgangers we’ve encountered on our trip:

Dave Jackson – Eric’s cousin Allison * – Willie Lypko * – Rob Pue – Eileen from TCA * – Ryan Maglunob * – Eric’s brother, Chris – Michael from E.R.A. – the president of our condo board – Carly Price * – Eric’s cousin Mike – Jake from TCA * – Stephanie * – Eric’s Nana – Tammy from Luciani’s – Mark Bellamy – Hugh from TCA – Eric’s Uncle Paul – Robb Walker – Tom Young – Sandra Meret – Hunter Collins – Robyn’s Mom, Joan – Eric’s cousin Charlotte – Patrick Haye – Geoff Hendry * – Geoff George – Lisa Lupia* – Linda * – Eric’s grandfather, Garry – one of the custodians at CanWest – Scott Chappel – Eric’s Mom, Anne – Jeff Schouella – Frank from TCA – Ryan Painter * – Janet Harrison – Kramer (aka. Michael Richards) – David Suddaby – Carl Kam – Darren Frost – Nick Beaton – Jan Kabenak – Clint from TCA – Eric’s Grandpa Tony * – Jamilah Ross – Jason Blanchard – Shannon Litzenberger * – Sam Yamada * – Jeff Osborn – Chris Rock – Joey Giaimo

* indicates the doppelganger was of a different race than “the original”.

Day 322 – Tanzania

August 23, 2010 – Stone Town, Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This morning we wake, have breakfast, unsuccessfully try to avoid the touts at the ferry terminal, buy our ferry tickets and then catch the 11:30am ferry to Dar es Salaam.

The ferry ride is a bit rough and we find ourselves relieved to be on shore. We walk to the Econolodge and check-in for the third & final time because tomorrow our African adventure ends.

Hopefully.

The way things work in Africa, Eric & I have decided not to say our “adventure” is over until we have landed at Heathrow, gone through British customs and are on the Tube, heading into the city.

We head up to our room and the process of sorting, downsizing and repacking begins. We spend the remainder of the day figuring out whose carrying what, what we will leave behind and trying to figure out how heavy are bags are. We’re doing this now because we want our last day in Tanzania to be “logistics-free”.

And of course, our last trip to Dar wouldn’t be complete without a final visit to Mamboz, the awesome BBQ place on the corner.

Days 320 & 321 – Tanzania

August 21 & 22, 2010 – Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

After thoroughly enjoying Zenji Hotel’s breakfast of Spanish omelettes, homemade breads & jams, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, tea and some “chocolate loaf” – aka. cake – Eric and I go off in search of a new place to stay. We were hoping someone might make a last-minute cancellation but alas, no such luck for us.

We have no problem finding alternative accommodation and we check-in to the Karibu Inn, which is conveniently located right in the heart of Stone Town and next to the Radha Food House. It’s no Zenji Hotel but it’s clean & quiet and right now, that’s really what matters to us.

After visiting with Zanzibar’s infamous Mr. Mitu, we book ourselves in on one of his spice tours for the following day. He’s the owner of one of the original spice tour companies on the island and is very no-nonsense, which we appreciate in a tour company.

Afterwards, Eric and I decide to do some more sightseeing and walk over to one of the largest buildings in Stone Town, the House of Wonders. It was once the ceremonial palace for Sultan Bargash, but is now the Zanzibar National Museum of History and Culture. In the main hall there’s a life size mtepe, a traditional Swahili sailing vessel made without nails, and in a backroom there’s an exhibition describing the significance of the kanga, a Swahili fabric very similar to a chintaji. The exhibits are simple, yet interesting but I have to say the museum is worth a visit just for the views from the third floor balcony – you’re able to take in a 360 degree view of the city and the ocean.


Following the museum, we continue walking around the city and the waterfront and we wrap up our evening with some chicken & chips at Malindi’s.

The next morning we go on Mr. Mitu’s Spice Tour, which is a lot of fun.

Our tour guide walks us through the farm and points out all of the different spices, fruits and vegetables, while letting us smell and taste almost everything. We see nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, curry, vanilla, pepper, cocoa, oranges, pineapples, coconuts, soursop, jackfruit, tangerines, cassava, annatto, lemongrass and coffee.

We learn that besides producing nutmeg, the nutmeg fruit also supplies mace… the kind you eat, not the kind you spray in someone’s eyes.


We have the joy of smelling fresh vanilla. Vanilla is a very expensive product in Zanzibar because it’s very delicate and must be harvested completely by hand.


Being the chocolate lover that I am, I’m very excited to see how it’s grown…


…and Eric takes it upon himself to sample the fresh oranges.


After the tour of the farm, we stop in a nearby village for some lunch and then we’re taken to a secret beach just north of Stone Town for a quick swim.

Following the theme of the day, we go for dinner at a nearby restaurant specializing in fine Swahili cuisine. They have a great menu filled with interesting spice and fruit combinations. I enjoy king fish in a coconut milk & cardamom sauce, while Eric has a Swahili chicken curry. Both of our dishes come with a selection of sides including lentil daal, roasted vegetables, pumpkin in a chili-mango sauce, sautéed spinach and chapatti, and then Eric has spiced rice, while I have sweet potatoes. It’s delicious and a great way to finish off our time in Zanzibar.

Day 319 – Tanzania

August 20, 2010 – Pongwe to Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

As most of you know Eric and I aren’t good at being idle for too long, so after two days of doing nothing, we’re done.

After breakfast we check-out of our tropical paradise and take a taxi back to Stone Town.

We were so enamored with the Zenji Hotel – home of the BEST BROWNIES EVER – that we book ourselves a room. However, since they’re a very popular place, they only have room for us for one night. So we take full advantage of this night and use the free WiFi, enjoy a freshwater shower and greet the brownies when they come out of the oven.

Eventually we wander back through the alleys of Stone Town to make a return visit to Radha Food House for a late lunch / early dinner.

Days 317 & 318 – Tanzania

August 18 & 19, 2010 – Pongwe, Zanzibar, Tanzania

For the next two days we…

Eat.

Read.

Swim.

Sleep.

Repeat.