Zanzi paradise!

What can I say??? Karibu!

I absolutely LOVE it!!

Nungwi beach, north of Zanibar is an amazing place. Soooo beautiful and relaxing. It has beautiful long white sandy beaches, turquoise water, palm trees and coconuts, goooood fresh seafood, the best reggae vibes, the tastiest fruit juices and plenty of sun. What else can you ask for??? You can even go to the beach at sunset and watch all the fit locals running around playing football half naked. I mean, does it get any better than that? Maybe in heaven... Hahahahaha... It is just so beautiful here! 

When there is low tide you can walk for miles on the beach. A 20 minute walk takes you to Kendwa, which has a huge white beach. There are of course plenty of resort and hotels here as well but not huge ugly kinds you can find in Canary islands, Miami and a like. Here they just blend it on the beach.

As for me, I am not staying at any of these posh expensive resort. I am on a lovely budget, which has taken me to one of the most chilled places in Nungwi; Rasta Magologolo's. In Stone town, I randomly met Rachel from the States while ordering a nutella pancake on the lake shore. We started talking and within five minutes she had already given me the directions and the phone number to Rasta Magologolo. She said I had no choice but to stay at his pace as it is just to cool to be missed. And I have to agree. Rasta Village as they also call it, is based up in the village about 10 minutes from the beach and is run by Magologolo and his rasta friends. It is a new place with just five bungalow style rooms and a few tents. The bungalows are nice and I have my own room with shared bath for 15k shillig, which is about $12. They also serve you home made breakfast in the morning. Today I got a good omelet with fresh mango, papaya and banana...mmmm.. .. it seems like I am writing an ad for these people, which I am not...I am just sharing the good things in life. It is a sweet place and some nights we cook dinner together and they play local music for us... all rasta style. 

On my first day here in Nungwi I bumped into Daisy. My sweet sweet friend from the UK that I hung out with in Nkhata-Bay, Malawi for almost one month on and off. She must be the most adorable person on earth. She even tought for one day at my school in Malawi just because she loves children so much. Anyways, I always end up seeing Daisy at the most random places. I knew she had left for Tanzania but I had no idea she would be right here on the same beach as me. So me and Daisy have had a good good time chatting, enjoying good food and talking about the random Masay people you see everywhere. I cannot explain how strange it is to see a Masay person walking on the beach in their traditional kangas (wrap around fabrics) holding their sticks, tall, dark and striking. And they always walk with the white muzungus (tourists) trying to sell them something. It is so random. I need to take a picture of it so you can have a look. They are so striking, tribey and has such a strong presence. They definitely do not belong here on these touristy beaches chatting up muzungus. They are suppose to be in the jungle feeding their tribes and hunting their food.  Ah I am amazed by these Masay people. The are incredible! Specially when you see them playing pool in the bar or shake it on the dance floor. Just so odd! :)

Besides being fascinated by the Masay I have basically just been chilling here. There's been quite a lot of parties, dancing, shisha pipes and so forth. I have met really good people and having a lovely time with them. Especially Theo and Andy from the US.  I have also found this reggae place on the beach with the best beats and delicious fruit juices run by Salomon, a local dude that can speak Norwegian (again so random). The place has a gooooooooood goood vibe. I tell you, my house will have a vibe like this. So I hang out there a lot, enjoying the music, the hammocks, the sun and the beach.

I will upload pics, sooon. It is just so hard to go to an internet place here as it is just so much better to chill on the beach. But I will do it "poli poli" as they say here (slowly slowly).

Asante Sana! (thank you so much)  and all my LOVE!

Zanzibar, Tanzania!

After two taxi rides, three minibus rides, one long bus ride, and a ferry I have finally reached Zanzibar in Tanzania. The journey took me 2.5 days and a lot of sweating! But I made it :) 

Crossing the boarder to Tanzania was not a problem as I had my US$50 for the visa and I happened to meet a friendly Japanese couple traveling to Malawi at immigration. We changed money (Kwacha to Shilling) and travel stories and updated each other on where to go, how much to pay and where to stay. So I got my itinerary already set up on which hostel to stay at and how much to pay for the minibuses. I just love fellow backpackers! 

Besides these two I did not meet any other muzungus on my trip and traveled alone the whole way to Dar es Salaam. The bus journey from Mbeya to Dar was long and hot but with plenty of food stops. The road goes through a nature reserve and I managed to spot for the first time in my life a living giraffe munching away on a tall tree. I also saw some elephants, buffalos and those deer looking animals. I was probably the most excited passenger on the bus (well the only tourist) as the locals did not seem to care about the beautiful animals.

In Dar es Salaam,  I managed to ignore all the hassling taxi drivers by giving them the silent treatment (they do not like that one) and find the dalla-dalla (cramped mini-buses) to the city center. The Japanese couple had recommended me to stay at the YWCA (cheap and clean) and I managed to find it easily after asking for directions from the rastafari dude in the dalla dalla. At the YWCA I met another single traveler, Nanhee from Korea, and we headed out together to get some lovely street food. For 2000 shilling (something like 1 Euro)  I managed to get a two egg omelet with french fries and a salad topped with red pinkish tomato sauce, which I ate with a toothpick! Well, I ended up eating with my hands after the failed attempt to eat salad with a tooth pick.... By the way, tooth picks are popular utensils here in Africa, unless you eat with your right hand. After dinner I had a well deserved shower and a good nights sleep. Bright and early at 6am I was already wide :S awake and off to hassle my ticket to the ferry. The ride to Zanzibar was really nice and only took 1.5h but I also paid US$35 for the fast ride. After cruising around in Stonetown and getting somewhat lost (Stonetown is like Venice, just a big maze of small alleys and streets) I managed to find a decent hotel for a decent price. And since we are living in the 21st century, I already managed to get recommendations on where to eat and where to go in Stonetown from my fellow backpacker friend Bree, who sits across the globe in Alberta, Canada, by chatting to her on Facebook while writing this blog. Small world, isn't it?!

So I am off to explore ZanZiBaR and enjoy some good quality time with the island :)

Until next,

xoxo

Last day in Nkhata-Bay

The time has come for me to leave this beautiful place :(

I had my last day at school on Wednesday and it was an all game and candy English class for standard 7. We played charades, pictionary, hangman, etc. for about two hours and every student (all 72 of them!) got a prize, which mainly consisted of candy. I have really enjoyed my time teaching at the school and I'd love to get to know these kids even more. I see my students a lot when I am in town and when I walk down the street I hear "Madame, Madame!" and they wave and laugh. They are so sweet and shy. I love the fact that I know the kids in a different way and not just as a tourist in town. 

But all sweet things come to an end and I have to admit that I am also glad that the teaching is over. It is not easy to be a teacher! Hehehehe... I applaud all the real teachers out there and salute you!! Doing this full time and as a profession is not for me. I love my business. I do love teaching but then I would teach something that I am as well passionate about like salsa, natural remedies or give an advanced course in backpacking!

But I will miss this place! I have to say that I love Nkhata-Bay. It is beautiful and relaxing here. I can swim in the lake every day, enjoy good food and have good conversation with the locals. The people are really friendly and the longer I stay the more friends I get and the better I get to know the people. So it is sad to say good bye. But who knows it might not be an ever lasting good bye ;-)

2012

Here we go again, another new year!

Time truly flies by when you have fun and 2011 went by like a speeding car. But I must say I enjoyed it a lot and I hope 2012 will be just as good :) Life is full of surprises and don't hesitate, just go for it!

2012 started with a heavy rain storm on new years eve but that did not stop the people from dancing and celebrating the new year at the local Kaya Papaya bar. We danced to the best African music like "sour sour" and I got a chance to see everybody drunk as I do not drink anymore these days. I have banned alcohol all together since some time ago. And I like it like this. Especially here in Malawi, it is nice to be sober as everybody else is drunk almost all the time. Of course the backpackers will always party but the locals take the price. You can see them in the bar from early morning to late at night drinking away their savings. Of course not all Malawians behave like this but the majority does. I find it very sad as instead of drinking up all their money they should buy food for their six children. There is also not one person over 25 that does not have a child. Married or not, you will have one child or more. But let's not talked about the bad stuff in Malawi as I could go on forever about their mentality, having three wives, hiv, cheating, drinking, etc etc. Most of these problems are cultural and the only way out is knowledge and what is accepted in society. But also who says that this is the wrong way? Maybe there is no right and wrong. Things just are.

As for me, things are back to normal. I am back in school teaching English for grade 7. However, my three month period is almost over and I will only be two more weeks in school before it is time for me to start my travels.

It was nice seeing the familiar faces in class again and they are all good children. Some have more energy to learn than others. Today, we went through chapter 8 - a visit to the airport - and there are always about ten children that are eager to stand up and read out load. I love to teach these kids as it is so easy. The other 30 or so is another story as they seem to lack motivation to study. But when I play 'Simon says' with them, they are all 100% into it. :) And that was what I did yesterday and they absolutely loved it. I hope these kids will all see the value in being educated, going to school and of course learn how to speak English fluently. :)

I am getting excited to start my travels as well and explore Tanzania and Zambia. Mozambique is also on my list but not sure yet if I have enough time to go there. And then there is Cape Town in South Africa that I would love to visit too. Ah, so many countries!

Until next , so long!