House sitting in Nkhata-Bay

Finally I managed to upload some pictures of the house that I am house sitting. It feels like a very European house and reminds me of the summer cottages we have in Finland. Also because there is no eletricity in the house and it is by a lake. I could just well be in Finland :) except for the African women doing their laundry in the lake just right next to the house. That part of the beach is the women's bathing beach, where they basically take their showers, scrub their toes and washed their hair. They do scrub their body like they are cleaning a dirty carpet. I am sure they are super clean afterwards :)

I have only two more weeks in the house and then I am off to Zambia for a safari and big Victoria falls!

Back in the Bay

I haven't had the energy to do much Internet lately. I rather just watch the lake, enjoy the full moon and just sit around doing just about nothing. You know my favorite hobbies. Internet can be so energy draining... or maybe it is walking to the Internet cafe that is more draining.... but I gave myself a kick in the butt today and now I am here in front of my blog. And as usual I want to write about everything, so many things happen every day.. I think I probably mentioned that already 200 times in this blog and I would like to write about all of it... but then when I get my arse to the Internet cafe I have already forgot so many of those things.

Anyhow, I had an amazing time in Zanzibar and I cannot say that I saw much of Tanzania as I spent all of my time on the beautiful Zanzibar island. But I went on this amazing train journey from Dar es Salaam (by the way I just got to know that Dar es Salaam means "the door to Muslim", nice name for a city ain't it) to  he city of Mbeya, which is close to the Malawian border. The train ride was just amazing and such a beautiful experience. It took 24h as the train went poli poli (slowly slowly) through the jungle, the mountains and the country side of Tanzania. I had got a first class ticket (I think a must for this journey) and shared my cabin with 3 other local women (men and women cabins are separated) and we each had a bed., pillow , sheets and blankets. So I was lying in my bed, the train was moving slowly, the full moon was shining through the window and the warm air blowing in my hair and I just lied there looking at the moon and just enjoyed the simple beautiful things in life like the fresh breeze on my cheeks. It  was magical or maybe I am just sentimental....anyhow it was beautiful.  

During the day, I hanged out in the restaurant car, got to know the other few muzungus (backpackers) on the train and tried to speak to the local women in my cabin but their English weren't too good. We did a lot of stops and I managed to read a lot, enjoyed the beautiful view of the green and lush mountains and had my eyes out for any potential animals like giraffes or elephants... but spotted non. You know how it is when you are looking for something and you never find it but then when you stop it is right there in front of you. .. I guess this time I just never stopped looking and of course saw nothing. 

I would so recommend taking this train trip if you are every in Tanzania. There are not many rail tracks in Africa so this is a must even though the train can be 2 days delayed and you are stuck in the city with a bad mood (as I was). It is so worth it.

We arrived to Mbeya for midnight the next day and four of us took a taxi to the bus station where I knew an ok guest house to sleep for the night. Bright and early at 7am the next day, me and a n older man from the UK continued the journey to Malawi and Nkhata-Bay. This journey is more tiresome than the train as it means constantly changing minibuses, crossing the border, ignoring sales hassles and just sitting uncomfortably for about 12h. But we made it and I had done the journey before so I knew what to expect, how much to pay and how long it would take.

I arrived in Nkhata-Bay when already dark but thanks to the full moon I could easily see in the dark and find my way to the house without a flashlight. Thank godness! So I have not mentioned why I was going back to Malawi. It just happened that I got to know two Dutch girls while in Nkhata Bay and they happened to look for someone to house-sit their house for one month while they were going back to Holland for a visit. And I just happened to say Yes to the job and voila here I am again. It was not a difficult decision (even though I did think about it for two days) as their house is beautiful, just by the lake, a short bit away from town and I would have it all to myself. On top of that I would have the company of one sweet attention seeking cat and one crazy energetic dog, plus two egg-laying chickens... so easy piecey decision... who wants to go back to cold Europe in February anyway???

So now I have been in the house for a bit more than a week and I feel rested, relaxed and clean. I have cleaned all my cloths, even my big backpack as everything was just so dirty after my Tanzania trip... I have managed to manicure my feet, shaved my legs, and do my own hair treatments. On top of that I go to bed and wake up with the sun, I do morning yoga, I cook my own food, and I can relax as much as I want and read my book in peace. To me this is heaven right now. Luxury even!

All in all I just love the house and the peacefulness. Om, shanti, I am in peace... no need to go to an Ashram for me :)

The other night I also had some great friends over and I learnt how to bake a cake on charcoal (as I have no electricity in the house). The three of us ate one huuuge cake all in once and it was soooooo gooood! I am seriously going to bake some serious cake while in this house. Yum yum yum it was good!

Oh and Happy Valentine's Day!! My dear Indian friend Sonu surprised me with roses, chocolate and Indian vegetable curry yesterday. Thank you Sonu! I had a great time and it was fun to see you again :)

I will soon upload some pics from Zanzibar and my new adventures in Malawi but until then SAWA SAWA, poli poli and hakuna matata!!

All my love :)

Yet another day in Dar...

I was suppose to take the Tazara train yesterday from DAr es SAlaam to Mbeya in south oF Tanzania. We got to the train station and the first thing we see is the notice board saying the tarin is one day delayed.... great.. we just spend 10,000 shilling on a taxi to the train station, which is located some distance from the city center.

At the train station though we met a German girl and her boyefriend and they said well let's go back tp their hptel... it is chep and clean.. so off we go and squeeze into the local minibus and hike for some 20 minutes before getting to the hotel. The hotel was nice and cheap just as she said but there was no electricity during the day and that meant no shower or water working... so what else to do than to sit and sweat just a little bit more. Anyhow, we had to spend another day in Dar, which is not too bad but it is also not as nice as Zanzibar. Luckilt the water came back on at 7pm and we could shower and chill while the fan was on high speed.

The next morning we got ready to check out and looked forward to finally get on the train. Just as we were about to check out, we were told that the train is another 9 hours delayed so instead of leavign at 14.00, it would leave at 22.00.... oh my... oh my... what to do now? Well hang around Dar until 22.00 I guess at the end of the day THIS IS AFRICA, TIA as they say. NOw it is 15.30 and I just called the train company again to make sure it for sure leaves at 22.00 and they said it would. I pray and hope that it will!!

I am really looking forward to be on the road again and to go back to Malawi. LEt's hope I will be there in two days time!

Hasta Luego!

Turtles

I am back in Stone town, Zanzibar after two great weeks in Nungwi. I truly enjoyed Rasta Magologolo's place and had quite a few shanti shanti days doing just about nothing. The main aim for this Zanzibar trip was that; to be able to just relax, read my book and be at peace with nothing on the agenda.

But now I am back where I started in Stone town. Here it is more busy with people and traffic (well not that much traffic, I am still on an island) but I cannot walk barefoot. Anyhow, I like Stone town as well. One of my favorite Zanzi restaurant is here; Lukumaan, where I have good food for a good price. However, I must say that the best best food I have had here in Zanzibar was at Langi Langi hotel in Nungwi. I became friends with the owner and the chef Sele (a true Zanzibarian) and he just makes the best food ever, no matter if it is seafood, sultan cake or spiced potatoes. Yum yum yum... I get hungry thinking about it!

Besides enjoying good food in Zanzibar, I also enjoyed well not sure if I enjoyed it but I witness some old school sex by two humongous 125 year old turtles on the turtle island right outside Stone town. Quite a scene to watch two big big turtles mating... and the noise they made.... waaaa sounded like a mix between a lion and an elephant..... rroooooooaaaawwww. Well I have it on tape, in case anybody is interested.

Tomorrow, me and my friend Theo is about to leave this beautiful island. We will take the ferry in the morning and head for Dar es Salaam. Let's see what Dar has in store for us...

Microloan

I just made another loan on KIVA. Check it out. This is not an ad by the way... Cheers!