Nine Flights in Ten Days

View from our hotel in Mwanza, overlooking Lake Victoria.

Shahara and I first traveled to Mwanza, stop one of three during Shahara’s ten day visit to Tanzania.   We stayed in a nice hotel right on Lake Victoria, the largest lake in all of Africa, the world’s largest tropical lake, the second largest freshwater lake in the world, and, most impressively to me, the chief reservoir of the Nile. During our three days, and by three days I mean arriving the evening of day one, exploring the city for day two and leaving early morning day three, we visited the Mwanzan market, enjoyed a seafood lunch on the shore and took a sunset cruise around (part of, of course) Lake Victoria.  Lunch and the boat ride were nice, and I always am a sucker for

Shahara, enjoying our cruise around Lake Victoria.

a good African market, which the Mwanzan market was, but quite honestly, Mwanza was not that exciting. Yes, I can now check seeing the largest lake in Africa off of the bucket list. And, since I live in the northeastern part of the country, I was happy to see a city on the western side of the country.  In Ghana, we traveled twice a month to a different city/town/area, which left me feeling as though I experienced the country as a whole instead of just the city in which I lived.  Since Xavier University is not funding my trip this time, traveling cross-country has been more (financially) difficult; so, I was thrilled to be able to experience two very different Tanzanian cultures during Shahara’s visit.  But, having now visited Mwanza, there are a handful of other Tanzanian destinations I’d recommend first.  Sorry, Mwanza, sometimes the truth hurts.   

Shahara was a trooper during our flight in this tiny plane.

After our quick stop in Mwanza and then convincing the Mwanzan airport authorities that we were not late for our flight and should be allowed to board our plane, globetrotter Shahara and I jumped onto back-to-back flights to our next adventure: Mwanza to Dar and then Dar to Zanzibar! Shahara, who is not at all a fan of small planes, was a trooper for all 20 minutes of our perfectly smooth ride and landing, may I add from Dar to Zanzibar. Zanzibar, with its silky smooth white beaches stretching out to the warm, bluish-greenish-turquoisish Indian Ocean, is stunning.  Upon arrival, we stopped in Stone Town for a quick tour.  Stone Town, with its 95% Muslim population, is the island's city center.  Yes, Stone Town is where the two British female volunteers were attacked with acid.  No, nothing even remotely comparable occurred during our time in Stone Town or on the island. 

Walking through Stone Town.

Stone Town, a very historic town dating back to the African slave trade, is so very different from anything that I experience on a regular basis here in Moshi.  Shahara and I were led on a walking tour of the city center, where we learned about the large produce market that appears each night and is broken down before the sun comes up, the role that Stone Town played in the slave trade and how Muslims and Christians currently are working throughout Zanzibar to live together in peace.  We visited a former slave castle and the accompanying whipping tree, where people about to be sold into slavery were whipped to demonstrate the endurance and physical strength of the individual.  Eventually, a church was intentionally built at this site to stop the whipping from continuing.

A symbol of unity between Muslims and Christians

Although walking the streets and learning the history of Stone Town can be emotionally draining, knowledge is power and for that reason I am grateful that we stopped in Stone Town before continuing on to paradise for a few days.  Stone Town’s history and current religious climate makes it a pretty sobering city, which is a stark contrast to the feel of the beaches on the northern part of the island, just an hour's drive away.  Paradise near a place of such an indescribable injustice and the absolute worst display of humanity is a not a new experience for me, as the same geographical proximity exists in Ghana. The reoccurrence of such a reality makes it no easier to grasp.  I regularly feel overwhelmingly guilty about getting some R&R so close to where others were beaten, sold or killed, although I am fully aware my feelings will not change history.  It will not undo any of the injustices done or take away any of the pain of the past from those most deserving.  Nevertheless, it is still hard for me to choose to enjoy the sun, beach, warm water and fruity drinks.  However, traveling with Shahara, a much better compartmentalizer and a young kid at heart is a great model of how to try to do so.

Just an ordinary day in Zanzibar. 

Unfortunately for Shahara, who was traveling with the world’s most cursed traveler, we encountered a few bumps upon our arrival at our hotel on Kendwa Beach, unquestionably the most beautiful beach on the island.  The hotel had recorded our reservation for the wrong days, recording that we were both arriving and departing a day earlier than our actual plans.  Although the error was on their end, they were unable or unwilling some may say, cough cough, to allow us to remain in our preferred room for the duration of our stay.  The ‘hotel’ I am referring to is actually a collection of bungalows right on the beach, each with its own character, charm and decor.  I had specifically picked out a bungalow for our visit and was not happy about the need to move.  I also was very put off by the lack of flexibility, understanding and hospitality of all of the staff members we encountered upon arrival.  As someone who has not only lived in a hotel for the entirety of this calendar year, but has assisted everywhere in the hotel from reception to kitchen to housekeeping, I can proudly say that no one at Stella Maris would tolerate the way Shahara and I were treated.  Although I was ready to cancel our reservation, about which I had previously been oh so very excited, and take our business and money elsewhere, I was in an unknown city with limited resources.  So, we decided to stay for at least the first few nights of our trip and determine our next steps a bit later.

Hotel tribulations aside, Zanzibar was all that it promised to be: a warm, relaxing, beautiful paradise.  The view from our room, as well as the view when you step into the Indian Ocean was majestic, captivating and humbling.  It was pure joy to simply sit on the beach and be still, taking in the surroundings and that view.

On our first full day in Zanzibar, Shahara and I went on a day-long snorkeling trip, which turned out to be just fabulous.  Shahara had met these seemingly questionable gentlemen on the beach the night before, who were trying to pitch us their day-long snorkeling excursion. I believe this is where our bad-ass bartering skills

Kicking back on top of our snorkeling boat!

first appeared, and never left us from that moment on. We left early in the morning for a two hour boat ride to our snorkeling destination, during which time we sat on the top of the boat, wind at our back with blue surrounding us as far as the eye could see. We even saw a handful of dolphins, which you know made our trip even more special for me, the avid dolphin lover.  The snorkeling was not too shabby either, as I did not know what to expect in the snorkeling department from Zanzibar. After about two hours of snorkeling, we began the journey back to our hotel, stopping first on a beautiful, deserted part of the northern beach for lunch: grilled some-kind-of-fish-that-tasted-delicious-and-oh-so-fresh, watermelon and rice.  A perfect light, savory lunch for a glorious beach day.  Shahara and I carelessly swam around in the warm Indian Ocean until our boat crew told us it was time to head back.  We cruised back during the day's highest heat, the sun kissing our bodies and the salty breeze keeping us cool all the way to shore.

Sunset. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. 

For the rest of our time in Zanzibar, Shahara and I: lazily soaked up all the sun and water we could in the day, enjoyed the crisp, sea air during our night walks, ate well, laughed much and bartered our butts off with the local men on the beach.  We found an awesome local spot on our last night that served the best seafood we had eaten at the cheapest price - the perfect way for our taste buds to bid farewell to the paradise that is Zanzibar. 

Since Shahara apprehensively agreed to fly to Zanzibar, we took the ferry back to Dar.  It was nice to experience both forms of transportation, and can thankfully say that each is pretty painless.  It was just as cool leaving Zanzibar by boat and watching the island disappear from your view as it was to watch Zanzibar materialize from the air.    After stepping back onto land in Dar, we flew to Moshi, Shahara’s second to last in-country flight, to spend Easter with my Tanzanian family.  Visiting Moshi also allowed Shahara to see my current home, making her the first person from the Western world with this distant honor.  Unfortunately she did not get to meet my pupils or the rest of the Stella Maris teaching staff because of the holiday from school, but she was able to meet the wonderful Stella Maris staff and most importantly, Teddy and Inno. 

My Tanzanian family, my everything here. 

Teddy so graciously invited Shahara and me to celebrate Easter at her home.  Terry, a former Mailisita Foundation/Stella Maris volunteer teacher arrived back in country, now working as the Tanzanian director of an international organization focusing on medicine, education and development in both Latin America and Africa called MedLife.  Since Terry played an integral role in the foundation of both Stella Maris English Medium Primary School and Lodge, I have heard so much about him from both Teddy and Inno.  As such, it was so nice to finally meet him and share Easter with him as well as Shahara, Inno and Teddy's family.  Since Easter is a special occassion, Baba Sharon, Teddy's husband, slaughtered and prepared a goat for us all to enjoy and share. Holidays can be a tough time to be away from home, but my welcoming, loving, goofy and kind-hearted family Tanzanian family, dulled the sting of being away from my loved ones almost entirely. 

On Shahara’s last day, we were able to secure her final installment of souvenirs for family and friends, get her hair did Africana style and visit the Mataruni waterfalls that I visited and blogged about back in January.  The waterfalls were just as stunning and awesome the second time around, and Shahara was like a kid in a candy shop when we reached the waterfall after our 45 minute hike.  It was a fairly chilly day, in Tanzanian terms, but she convinced two fairly grown local Tanzanian men to get in the freezing water with her, as I stood warm and dry on the side snapping photos. 

While Shahara headed back to her home away from home, the airport, to return to the Big Apple via Dar and Dubai, I made my way to the bus station, yes you read that correctly to begin my next adventure: South Africa!