Zanzibar was amazing. Amazingly beautiful and amazingly humid. We stayed at a little hostel in Nungwi, on the northern tip of the island. I'm not sure I've ever been anywhere so hot. You could be sitting in the shade not moving at all and still have sweat streaming down your face. Not my cup of tea, but bearable when the Indian Ocean is accessible.
On Saturday night we roamed around Stone Town (central hub of Zanzibar) for a few hours which was so reminiscent of India. About 90% of the island's population is Muslim, with a lot of Indian immigrants and influence.
We bought cheap bananas and drank ginger coffee and chatted with some locals before getting on the overnight ferry back to the mainland. Ina slept the whole time; I woke up at 3am to the boat swaying quite intensely and the sound of about 10 people vomiting. Lovely. We arrived back in Dar Es Salaam by 6am, and hopped in a taxi which ran about 8 red lights to get us onto the bus to Nairobi by 6.15.
On the bus, eating a Tanzanian delicacy known as "Chips Mayai" (pronounced 'my eye'), which is, literally, an omelet with french fries it. Particularly tasty when consumed from a black plastic bag.
The bus ride took 16 sweaty hours, which was a test in perseverance after spending the entire night before on a crowded ferry. A plus was being charged $25 LESS than expected for our Kenyan visas. Since when does THAT happen, in one of the most corrupt countries in Africa?!
We arrived in Nairobi and decided to stay put for an extra day, take in the big city, and get our highly-anticipated hot showers, which were unattainable when we first arrived thanks to a city-wide power outage and the wells not being able to pump (classic Nairobi). We also visited a large AIDS home that has a 70% HIV reversal rate -- one of the highest Africa. (HIV reversal is when a child is born with or tests positive for HIV but after a particular amount of treatment, starts testing negative. VERY interesting and exciting stuff.)
I will admit, we also stayed in Nairobi an extra day so I could eat a proper Mexican burrito at a Westernized restaurant. Glorious.
Yesterday we got on a shuttle for a final 7 hours of travel to dear old Kitale Town. To our surprise and delight, the roads on the first 5 hours of the journey have been repaved... between that and a cheap visa, we're starting to wonder what's going on in Kenya!
No comments:
Post a Comment