Found a new (expensive) hobby!

Last Wednesday we took the bus from Iringa to the Haven of Peace. The bus, size like a big touring car, took of at 7 in the morning and arrived in Dar-es-Salaam around 3 pm. During the, pretty comfortable, trip we were treated on some nice scenery because of the ever changing landscape. We even saw a lot of antelopes and zebras, plus a herd of elephants while passing through a National Park.
In Dar we found a place to sleep at the YWCA, afterwards we walked along the busy, noisy streets, till we found the Indian Ocean. Saw the sun set while searching for sea shells, bare footed.
Thursday we enjoyed good and cheap internet, a grocery with quite some western products (haribo, nutella) and we (were) discovered (by) a cheap safari bureau. I spend the rest of the day, night and following day in bed, feeling sick. But according to the stories of the other girls they didn’t see much more than I did; a real big city, complete with noise, dirt, lots of traffic, some unfriendly people and a lot of construction work going on. It didn’t really seem like an African city to me. At the other hand, still everybody noticed us, being white; a lot of people were hanging around in the streets doing nothing and the temperatures were still high.
On Saturday we took the slow (and because of that, cheap) ferry to Zanzibar. Again, a whole new world, and a new stamp in my passport. The Arabic influences here on Zanzibar are strong; almost a 100% Arabic names and many, many Muslims and musk’s. Walking around Stonetown at night, dark sky with bright stars above, between buildings in Arabic style and palm trees hidden in gardens behind high walls, I felt like Alladin could pop around the corner every second. The narrow streets where you get lost easily, remind me of Venice.
Went on an unforgettable spice tour Sunday and moved to the Northern tip of the island Monday morning early, because of the white sand beaches. The day of our arrival back home keeps coming closer, so we decided to take a four-day-washing-course. Four days of soaking of the dirt of our skins in the Indian Ocean while taking a scuba dive course. After four dives, reading a book and writing an exam, I can call myself an Open Water Diver since yesterday. Sorry to say may camera isn’t able to take picture under water; it was beautiful. We’re back in Stonetown now, just bought tickets for the ferry back to Dar tonight at 10 pm, tomorrow morning it’s up to Arusha, with a stop along the way. Don’t know where precisely. And the rest of the day? I’m gonna enjoy the sun, the air that smells like the sea, maybe go for a last swim and enjoy the good seafood on the market.

Greetings!

A proud Open Water Diver