I actually only have about T-minus 10 mintues to catch the bus so this is just a quick 'hello' to let you all know I'm still kicking around.
Malawi was fabulous, very green, and very relaxing. Dave and Danielle and I spent the last 4 days busing across Tanzania, which was slightly less fabulous but still a cool adventure.
We crossed the boarder into Rwanda yesterday and met up with another group from the programme and today we are all headed out to Volcano national park to do some hiking. Rwanda is not only incredibly safe, but incredibly modern - there are paved roads and tall office buildings and the biggest supermarkets I have seen since Nairobi. Its incredibly cool - I will fill you in on all the details soon.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Malawi!
So the hummus place, it turns out, no longer exists, but you'd amazed at how good a mashed-up can of chickpeas and some serious amounts of garlic powder can taste after 3 months of longing.
The train ride was a blast -it was 5 hours delayed which dragged out a bit at the end - but our cabin was relatively roomy, and triple-layer bunk beds were enough of a novelty to keep us happy for the night.
The train got in at Mbaya which is in the south of Tanzania. We found a hostel to crash in and then spent the next day hiking Mbaya peak. It took us 3 hours to reach the third fake summit (1 more fake was still aparently between us and the real one) when the whole expedition was called on account of thunder. Fabulous view though and my legs are still screaming from the exercise. We got up early the next morning and caught a bus to the boarder. It took two more buses to get us from the boarder to Kogonga and then to Livingstonia. Livingstonia is an insanely remote little village that costs a fortune to get to because the road is actually dirt trail full of potholes and ill-placed rocks that winds 16km straight up the mountain. Our cabins at 'the mushroom farm' were sitting nearly on the edge of the cliff and you could look out clear to lake malawi. The guy working at the mushroom farm is actually a McGill-alumni who was biking from Cairo to Capetown with a big group , but lost interest when he hit Malawi and is spending the next two months running a couple of the lodges in the area. So weird. Even weirder is that he's Jen's roommate's ex-boyfriend. I love that even in Africa its a small world. We stayed for 2 nights, hiked to the village and toured the museum and Livingston's church. Apparently though Livingston himself never actually made it there which was mildly dissapointing - there was however a large collection of his random personal effects, like his spoon, and the blanket from his bed. Also an cross-stitched picture that the Girl-guides of scotland apparently made for the Girl-guides of Nyasaland (pre-indepence Malawi).
Yesterday we came back down the mountain and took a bus to Mzuzu. We are staying at the Mzoozoozoo which is alot of fun and has a great book exchange. We not only met up with the other malawi group from the trip but also the cool Ottawa couple that we met in the north of Zanzibar. The night was chill because everyone was tired from travel days, but this morning there were banana pancakes with honest-to-goodness CANADIAN maple syrup. Like a little easter miracle. Happy Easter by the way!
The train ride was a blast -it was 5 hours delayed which dragged out a bit at the end - but our cabin was relatively roomy, and triple-layer bunk beds were enough of a novelty to keep us happy for the night.
The train got in at Mbaya which is in the south of Tanzania. We found a hostel to crash in and then spent the next day hiking Mbaya peak. It took us 3 hours to reach the third fake summit (1 more fake was still aparently between us and the real one) when the whole expedition was called on account of thunder. Fabulous view though and my legs are still screaming from the exercise. We got up early the next morning and caught a bus to the boarder. It took two more buses to get us from the boarder to Kogonga and then to Livingstonia. Livingstonia is an insanely remote little village that costs a fortune to get to because the road is actually dirt trail full of potholes and ill-placed rocks that winds 16km straight up the mountain. Our cabins at 'the mushroom farm' were sitting nearly on the edge of the cliff and you could look out clear to lake malawi. The guy working at the mushroom farm is actually a McGill-alumni who was biking from Cairo to Capetown with a big group , but lost interest when he hit Malawi and is spending the next two months running a couple of the lodges in the area. So weird. Even weirder is that he's Jen's roommate's ex-boyfriend. I love that even in Africa its a small world. We stayed for 2 nights, hiked to the village and toured the museum and Livingston's church. Apparently though Livingston himself never actually made it there which was mildly dissapointing - there was however a large collection of his random personal effects, like his spoon, and the blanket from his bed. Also an cross-stitched picture that the Girl-guides of scotland apparently made for the Girl-guides of Nyasaland (pre-indepence Malawi).
Yesterday we came back down the mountain and took a bus to Mzuzu. We are staying at the Mzoozoozoo which is alot of fun and has a great book exchange. We not only met up with the other malawi group from the trip but also the cool Ottawa couple that we met in the north of Zanzibar. The night was chill because everyone was tired from travel days, but this morning there were banana pancakes with honest-to-goodness CANADIAN maple syrup. Like a little easter miracle. Happy Easter by the way!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Set loose
Last monday, we signed away the programme and were turned loose to wreak individual havoc on the continent. We spent a day wandering stone town, shopping and taking some time to regroup.
2 friends and I went up north and spent a few days in Nungwi. We caught a daladala which is the local kind of bus system, it is essentially a flatbed truck but with a kind of cabin instead of a truck bed. There were benches and a roof , and handles to hold on too, but you would be amazed at the ability of people to find a way to turn 2 free inches of space into room for another person. It was an absolute riot - and I even got to rock my Swahili trying to ask the woman sitting across from me if I could take a picture of the live chicken she was carrying in her handbag. (the computer won't read my thumbdrive - but its a great photo)
There was not much to do up north besides lie on the beach but the people were wonderfully friendly and the water was gorgeous. We met a fabulous couple from Ottawa who'd been traveling since November starting in Europe and on their way down to Johannesburg. They were some of the only backpackers that we've found since we got here in January- Africa seems to be a place where old people come to travel and feel wealthy. Especially Italians but no one's really sure why.
On friday we caught a daladala back to stone town and then a Ferry to the mainland. We are staying at the YWCA in Dar Es Saalam which I think has probably not changed since the 1950s since there is actually a 2 page list of rules including a description of the authority of, and the diciplinary action that will be taken by the matron. Yesterday we went grocery shopping, and then treated ourselves to a movie. ( 'we' by the way is the group of 6 I'm traveling in to Malawi. 2 guys and 3 other girls from the programme, all of whom are lots of fun) We saw Marley and me, which I guess was entertaining, but was actually a huge cultural experience. Dogs are not at all the same here- there are very few of them, and they're not so much pets as guard dogs or tolerable strays. It was incredible to see the different reactions in the audience, and blatantly obvious that only the ex-pats and tourists were really broken up by the ending. So funny to really notice that taking animals as family members is a genuine luxury. Its crazy how the little things can get you here.
Today we are hunting for a small restaurant that is rumoured to serve hummus - and I am at the point where I am actually willing to look all day- so keep your fingers crossed.
Tomorrow we hop the train and its a short 26 hours to Malawi. - we've started collecting bottle-tops for our very own travel checkers set, which should help pass the time.
Be in touch soon.
xxK
2 friends and I went up north and spent a few days in Nungwi. We caught a daladala which is the local kind of bus system, it is essentially a flatbed truck but with a kind of cabin instead of a truck bed. There were benches and a roof , and handles to hold on too, but you would be amazed at the ability of people to find a way to turn 2 free inches of space into room for another person. It was an absolute riot - and I even got to rock my Swahili trying to ask the woman sitting across from me if I could take a picture of the live chicken she was carrying in her handbag. (the computer won't read my thumbdrive - but its a great photo)
There was not much to do up north besides lie on the beach but the people were wonderfully friendly and the water was gorgeous. We met a fabulous couple from Ottawa who'd been traveling since November starting in Europe and on their way down to Johannesburg. They were some of the only backpackers that we've found since we got here in January- Africa seems to be a place where old people come to travel and feel wealthy. Especially Italians but no one's really sure why.
On friday we caught a daladala back to stone town and then a Ferry to the mainland. We are staying at the YWCA in Dar Es Saalam which I think has probably not changed since the 1950s since there is actually a 2 page list of rules including a description of the authority of, and the diciplinary action that will be taken by the matron. Yesterday we went grocery shopping, and then treated ourselves to a movie. ( 'we' by the way is the group of 6 I'm traveling in to Malawi. 2 guys and 3 other girls from the programme, all of whom are lots of fun) We saw Marley and me, which I guess was entertaining, but was actually a huge cultural experience. Dogs are not at all the same here- there are very few of them, and they're not so much pets as guard dogs or tolerable strays. It was incredible to see the different reactions in the audience, and blatantly obvious that only the ex-pats and tourists were really broken up by the ending. So funny to really notice that taking animals as family members is a genuine luxury. Its crazy how the little things can get you here.
Today we are hunting for a small restaurant that is rumoured to serve hummus - and I am at the point where I am actually willing to look all day- so keep your fingers crossed.
Tomorrow we hop the train and its a short 26 hours to Malawi. - we've started collecting bottle-tops for our very own travel checkers set, which should help pass the time.
Be in touch soon.
xxK
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