#2 Journey Through Africa: Zanzibar to Lilongwe
The last time I posted was from Stonetown in Zanzibar. We arrived there after having scorched ourselves on the beach throughout the entire morning. My first priority upon arriving was to go and see the sunset, for it definitively was a sight not to be missed. As the huge orange ball descended we meandered through the narrow alleyways out to the seafront and watched the silhouettes of the dhow boats as well as all the other fishing vessels out on the water. It was truly an amazing sight.
Couple notes about Stonetown. The whole island of Zanzibar, although part of Tanzania, is currently in the process of filing for independence. It is a primarily Muslim island (I think well over 90% of the population is Muslim). It has its own elections and its own president. Stonetown is its main city and is essentially a larger version of Lamu. Winding alleyways filled with various shops and stalls with women walking down the streets covered from head to toe and men dressed in the traditional white outfits with little hats on their heads. The kids look absolutely adorable dressed like this. I really loved it there and could get lost in the little streets for hours upon hours simply taking the town in one step and one corner at the time. Julita on the other hand wasn’t too fond of it – but it wouldn’t be the only time that we’d have a difference of opinion as to what we liked and what we didn’t.
After the sunset we headed to the local market for some fresh seafood. As usual, the eyes were hungrier than the stomach, for I ordered barracuda, shark, octopus, shellfish and some lobster (all pretty much on skewers). The food was delicious – although not as tasty as it sounds in writing – but I couldn’t even finish half of it. The guy behind the grill, when he came by to clean up our plates said that Julitia’s he’d throw away into the garbage, but my would be his dinner that night.
The next morning was spent roaming and shopping. With the power being out throughout the whole town there was no chance to use the internet, but then we also didn’t have the time for any of it. At 4pm we caught a ferry back to the mainland and for the ride we had at least 4 meter high swells that sent the large catamaran high into the air. Half way through the trip most of us were sitting outside on the stairs trying hard to keep ourselves from throwing up. Somehow, with the exception of one girl, we all managed to keep it in.
The night was spent at the campground in Dar es Salam and from there we headed south towards the Malawi border. The first night of the trip was spent at the Old Farm House an amazing little campground in the southern part of Tanzania. We had driven past amazing countryside and tones of baobab trees (or otherwise known as the upside-down trees – since they look as if they’ve been planed with their roots upwards). At the Old Farm House we got a fantastic meal of carrot soup and some very tasty ugali. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve truly grown to miss ugali. However there was also so much other stuff to eat that I couldn’t fit much of it in, not to mention the brownie that we were served for dessert. The neatest thing though about this site was the fact that it had no electricity. Everything was by candle light, including the showers and toilets. The bar reminded me of a large tee-pee with little stools and a fire in the middle. We all sat around drinking hot chocolate with Amarillo (like Baileys) and gawking up at the star-filled sky.
The next morning we hit the road bright and early and headed towards the boarder. However, truck problems still kept on pestering us and we had to stop for two hours to get some ball-bearings repaired. By the time that was done and by the time we got through all the border formalities, it was too late to continue on all the way to our intended campsite. So we stopped for the night at the northern end of Lake Malawi and decided to make it up in the morning.
Now a couple words about Malawi. Malawi is probably the most beautiful county that I have visited so far in Africa. However, it is also one of the poorest countries in the world (according to the last stats I saw it ranked 7th poorest). Only 10% of young people will find employment after completing their schooling. Corruption and deforestation is also a huge problem. Malawi is also supposedly well known for its wood carvings – and primarily for its Malawi chairs. I had held off on purchasing any statues in Kenya and Tanzania with the intention of doing so in Malawi – where the work was supposed to be much better and much cheaper. Well... I should have known better. When you see something you like, buy it and don’t wait. The carvings here in Malawi are completely different from anything we have seen in Kenya and Tanzania and the stuff that I liked there is completely non-existent here. Well, that’s Malawi.
We’ve spent the last two nights on the shores of this gorgeous lake. And it truly is stunning. It’s 500 km long with amazing blue waters. Due to its unpredictability and the weather conditions on it or something along those lines, it’s also classified as a sea and the waves sure make it seem as one. We roamed through the nearby village here, getting a tour from some of the locals. Most people here either farm or fish or are involved in the tourism industry. Malaria is the biggest health problem that they have here. Marriages used to be arranged originally, but now they can choose. However, it costs about 10,000 Kw for a man to marry a woman. If she lives with him and decides that he is a bad man and she wants to divorce him, then her family will have to pay back the 10,000 Kw (about $100 CAD). I guess it’s a kind of ‘satisfaction or your money back guarantee’. The local school here has 1450 students and 10 teachers – even worse off than anything we had seen in Kenya. However, as I said, the people are incredibly friendly and nice and the country is really beautiful.
We’re spending one more night here – having a bad taste party tonight (all of us purchased the ugliest piece of clothing we could find at a market - for a different member of the truck) and roasting a whole pig on the spit.
Tomorrow we head to Lilongwe (the capital city) and from there on to Zambia. The next time I’ll probably be able to post is from Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls. By then there will be plenty more to tell.
Couple notes about Stonetown. The whole island of Zanzibar, although part of Tanzania, is currently in the process of filing for independence. It is a primarily Muslim island (I think well over 90% of the population is Muslim). It has its own elections and its own president. Stonetown is its main city and is essentially a larger version of Lamu. Winding alleyways filled with various shops and stalls with women walking down the streets covered from head to toe and men dressed in the traditional white outfits with little hats on their heads. The kids look absolutely adorable dressed like this. I really loved it there and could get lost in the little streets for hours upon hours simply taking the town in one step and one corner at the time. Julita on the other hand wasn’t too fond of it – but it wouldn’t be the only time that we’d have a difference of opinion as to what we liked and what we didn’t.
After the sunset we headed to the local market for some fresh seafood. As usual, the eyes were hungrier than the stomach, for I ordered barracuda, shark, octopus, shellfish and some lobster (all pretty much on skewers). The food was delicious – although not as tasty as it sounds in writing – but I couldn’t even finish half of it. The guy behind the grill, when he came by to clean up our plates said that Julitia’s he’d throw away into the garbage, but my would be his dinner that night.
The next morning was spent roaming and shopping. With the power being out throughout the whole town there was no chance to use the internet, but then we also didn’t have the time for any of it. At 4pm we caught a ferry back to the mainland and for the ride we had at least 4 meter high swells that sent the large catamaran high into the air. Half way through the trip most of us were sitting outside on the stairs trying hard to keep ourselves from throwing up. Somehow, with the exception of one girl, we all managed to keep it in.
The night was spent at the campground in Dar es Salam and from there we headed south towards the Malawi border. The first night of the trip was spent at the Old Farm House an amazing little campground in the southern part of Tanzania. We had driven past amazing countryside and tones of baobab trees (or otherwise known as the upside-down trees – since they look as if they’ve been planed with their roots upwards). At the Old Farm House we got a fantastic meal of carrot soup and some very tasty ugali. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve truly grown to miss ugali. However there was also so much other stuff to eat that I couldn’t fit much of it in, not to mention the brownie that we were served for dessert. The neatest thing though about this site was the fact that it had no electricity. Everything was by candle light, including the showers and toilets. The bar reminded me of a large tee-pee with little stools and a fire in the middle. We all sat around drinking hot chocolate with Amarillo (like Baileys) and gawking up at the star-filled sky.
The next morning we hit the road bright and early and headed towards the boarder. However, truck problems still kept on pestering us and we had to stop for two hours to get some ball-bearings repaired. By the time that was done and by the time we got through all the border formalities, it was too late to continue on all the way to our intended campsite. So we stopped for the night at the northern end of Lake Malawi and decided to make it up in the morning.
Now a couple words about Malawi. Malawi is probably the most beautiful county that I have visited so far in Africa. However, it is also one of the poorest countries in the world (according to the last stats I saw it ranked 7th poorest). Only 10% of young people will find employment after completing their schooling. Corruption and deforestation is also a huge problem. Malawi is also supposedly well known for its wood carvings – and primarily for its Malawi chairs. I had held off on purchasing any statues in Kenya and Tanzania with the intention of doing so in Malawi – where the work was supposed to be much better and much cheaper. Well... I should have known better. When you see something you like, buy it and don’t wait. The carvings here in Malawi are completely different from anything we have seen in Kenya and Tanzania and the stuff that I liked there is completely non-existent here. Well, that’s Malawi.
We’ve spent the last two nights on the shores of this gorgeous lake. And it truly is stunning. It’s 500 km long with amazing blue waters. Due to its unpredictability and the weather conditions on it or something along those lines, it’s also classified as a sea and the waves sure make it seem as one. We roamed through the nearby village here, getting a tour from some of the locals. Most people here either farm or fish or are involved in the tourism industry. Malaria is the biggest health problem that they have here. Marriages used to be arranged originally, but now they can choose. However, it costs about 10,000 Kw for a man to marry a woman. If she lives with him and decides that he is a bad man and she wants to divorce him, then her family will have to pay back the 10,000 Kw (about $100 CAD). I guess it’s a kind of ‘satisfaction or your money back guarantee’. The local school here has 1450 students and 10 teachers – even worse off than anything we had seen in Kenya. However, as I said, the people are incredibly friendly and nice and the country is really beautiful.
We’re spending one more night here – having a bad taste party tonight (all of us purchased the ugliest piece of clothing we could find at a market - for a different member of the truck) and roasting a whole pig on the spit.
Tomorrow we head to Lilongwe (the capital city) and from there on to Zambia. The next time I’ll probably be able to post is from Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls. By then there will be plenty more to tell.
posted by Kasia Koltunska at 5:22 AM
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