Sooo….I have to back track a few months here, but after popular demand, below are some pics from my Christmas holidays, spent in Tanzania with Andrea.
Now how did I get to go to Tanzania for two weeks, you might ask? Well, South Africa basically shuts down from December 15 – January 10th, so you have nearly a month off from work. Andrea, Shira and I started planning our trip months in advance. But when we saw it would cost us nearly $1000 to get from Jozi up to Dar es Salaam, we scratched Tanzania off the list. We then decided that we would take public transportation from Jozi up into Mozambique, to Malawi, and then back down to Jozi through Zambia. We had nearly everything planned, when one morning, we received an online special from Kulula (a discount airline) advertising for round trip tickets between Jozi and Dar for $200. So, we nixed our tour of Moz, Malawi and Zambia for two weeks in Tanzania.
The first part of our trip was spent up and around Arusha. From there, we went on safari in the Tangire National Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorogoro Crater. That’s where we learned Swahili words for all sorts of animals (tembo = elephant; twiga = giraffe; simba = lion; and, pumba = warthog). We couldn’t help but remember Disney’s The Lion King and realize ole Walt was teaching us Swahili without us even knowing it. We were lucky enough to see the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti, which is one of the most famous migrations in the animal kingdom.
The middle part of the trip took us to the middle of the Usambara Mountains, located in the northeast corner of the country and accessible from both Arusha and Dar. So Andrea and I went there for a few days for a break from the tourist trap that is Arusha and for an evening and day of hiking through various mountains towns. It was perhaps my favorite part of the trip – no people, lots of trees, and lots of exercise.
The final part of our trip took us to Zanzibar Island, or Spice Island! I don’t really know what to say about it other than it’s a tropical paradise, much like other islands, with lots of sand, and sun and surf. My favorite part of our 4 days there was when we left Stonetown for Paje (on the Eastern side of the island) for a night of dancing at out hotel bar, sleeping on the beach, and then riding bikes in the afternoon. I love bikes.
Shira was supposed to come, too, but she got a job back in the States and had to head back. Her loss! And also ours, as you can see in some of our photos below.
A Cup in Jo 