Tanzania: Conclusion's video

Hi everybody,

Sorry the video is just ready but you know, finding a good internet connection here (enough to upload a video in low quality) is very difficult :-)

Anyway, enjoy it and let your comments :-)

VIDEO HERE

Ilha de Moçambique : everything & nothing and a lot of creativity

After a one hour flight from Dar we arrived in Pemba (North of Mozambique). The country has the same time than France but it is much more in East than France…That’s why it’s the country with the earliest sunset in the world (4.40 pm in winter)!!!

Pemba town doesn’t look like the cities we visited in Kenya and Tanzania: Pemba is much more “traditional”: Houses are made with wood and stones and the roof is usually made with palm tree leaves. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, so the official language is Portuguese! (Of course there are a lot of several dialects in the country. In the North it’s Makuwa language and in this dialect a white person is called “Akugna”)

Pemba is a coastal town where the most important activity is fishing. Everywhere in Town we also find a lot of Palm trees, it is very nice for walking.

Mozambique is one of the first destination for South Africans who do business there or just have holidays. But unfortunately once again, it is almost always “white” people who run lucrative businesses… History really impacts this continent!!

After 2 days in Pemba we took a bus to Ilha de Moçambique, a 3 km long and 0,5km wide island linked with the mainland by a 3,5km bridge. The island has completely a different style from what we saw until now. It is extremely influenced by the Portuguese occupation and the northern town (Stone Town) looks like a Mediterranean City: Small streets, colourful houses and an architecture with a mix of Portuguese, Arabic and Indian styles. The island was used as a hub for the slave market and it was also the capital of Mozambique until it changed to Maputo.

The island is protected by 3 fortresses : One in the North, the biggest one, one in the South, which is not directly on the island but on a rock few meters from the coast and one in the East which is now a church. The island was attacked several times, and also by the Dutch but they had to give up because they didn’t have fresh water at all. Nowadays water is still coming from the mainland and there is also a reserve in the northern fortress. Constructions have started to bring water through pipelines under the bridge.

The southern town was built after the colonisation and is called “Makuti” which means “Roof with palm tree leaves” because the houses are traditional.

A story showing the credulity of people happened in 2008. A man came into the island and said to everybody that the coming month he will fly. After one month, on the D-Day more than 400 people came to see the flying man. Of course he didn’t fly… People were so upset that they put the man in prison!!! We could believe this happened in the Middle-Age but it was in 2008!!!

We were shocked by the attitude of the kids on the island: as they are used to see tourists they try each time to get some money. And the easiest way they find is to ask to be taken in pictures. They loudly say “Photo!! Photo!!” and take some model positions!!! Of course we never took any pictures of them and please, if somewhere someone ask you to take a picture in exchange of money don’t accept… it’s almost prostitution!!!!!

Of course, some of them are still “just” kids and we had a great time with them at the pre-school of the island. This “Kinder garden” welcomes more than hundred kids between 2 and 5 years old. This project is supported by a Portuguese association and started 3 years ago. We were very impressed by their materials to play and learn: as the association doesn’t have a lot of money they recycle everything to built games. It’s so fantastic!!! They use empty plastic bottles, caps, paper…   For example they have a bowling game made with empty plastic bottles fulfilled with sand and a ball made with old fabric!!!! To learn the shapes they use 3 empty bottles as box and 3 types of caps : the plastic caps for water bottles, the metal caps for glass bottles and the coffee caps. They have to put the caps in the good box! They also have small tables made with plastic bottles and a lot of creative ideas!!! Sooooo nice !

When we came into the room, they first were shy because we don’t speak the same language but after few minutes they played with us. At this age they don’t have lessons, they only play and learn shapes, colours and the life in society… They also really like singing and dancing!!!

But the education system in Mozambique is very poor: we discussed with Vanessa in the guesthouse who was a mathematics teacher previously and she told us that a large majority of the children goes to school (which is good) but at 7-8 years old they still don’t know how to write or read their name!!! There are several reasons for this weak school system: first the teachers don’t get paid a lot so they are not motivated at all to do a great job and second it is also because of the colonialism, or better said because of the end of the colonialism: when the Mozambican army pushed the Portuguese and fight for her independency, all Portuguese people have to leave the country. But they were all in key positions such as teachers. From one day to another all teachers were gone and that’s why the best students had to become teachers without any specific studies… It will take a long time until things change in a positive way!!!! 

Tanzania: The conclusion

First we wanted to continue to Mozambique by bus but there is no « correct » border between Tanzania and Mozambique: The first one is only a river that you have to cross with a small canoe; a lot of canoes sink and in the river there are plenty of hippos and crocodiles… So that’s not the best option!! The second border can only be crossed if you hav your own car, there is no bus service over there... We could try to make hitch hiking but if nobody’s coming, then we will be stuck in Tanzania!! The last border is close to Malawi Lake but it is veryyyy fare to drive there, so we decided to fly between Dar and Pemba!

We really liked Tanzania, much more than Kenya: First we found the landscapes more beautiful (on our point of view of course), and streets are not so dirty. National roads are in a better condition than the ones in Kenya. People speak also Swahili but only few of them speak fluent English. About food, unfortunately it is almost the same as in Kenya: Chicken and Chips and a lot of fat things…

PS: a short movie is coming soon....

A small nod to Katinka, Axel and Finja ;-)

First of all; sorry for the late post,but you know Africa is not a really good "connected" continent !!! (but living without internet has a lot of benefits...like enjoying the outdoor...)

And about "Outdoor" we have a small "gift" for you!!! It's not so impressive than Australia but it's nice...
And for sure it is a least a V8 ;-) ;-) ;-)
Okay...sorry I'm kidding !!! But just for fun, let's see our performances!!

From Mwanza to Zanzibar: a lot of new friends

Tanzania offered us a lot of surprises: moment with artist street kids, a lot of animal viewing in Serengeti, swim in Indian Ocean in Zanzibar… And a lot of new friends!!! With this short post we would like to thank them for the nice time we spend together!

In Mwanza we spent a nice day with Adam, Jordan and Larry: 3 Canadians coming here for one month to teach at Mwanza University. Thank to them we met Gilbert and the Pamoja Centre! 3 guys looking like basketball players, long T shirt and askew cap!!! 

Unfortunately we couldn’t go on safari with them because of schedule issues but we met other new friends during our trip in the wildlife: 2 Dutch couples: Gejs & Nelly and Thomas & Lisanne. All of them are very friendly but we exchanged more with Thomas and Lisanne (a bit younger than us). Thomas came here 2 months ago for a placement in the poultry industry and Lisanne his girlfriend came after for holidays. On the campsite we met two Spanish people living in Reunion Island: David and Haizea. After their safari they go to Zanzibar… Good opportunity to meet again! 

Sam, (notre chauffeur), Gejs, Nelly, Romain, Flo, Thomas, Swedi (notre cuisto), Lisanne

Romain, Flo, Thomas, Lisanne, Gejs, Nelly

Before swimming at the beach, Thomas Lisanne and we went in the same hotel in Arusha. It’s very nice to spend moments together and to share cultures, anecdotes and memories!!! After that it was a chain of coincidences: At the hotel we met Zsolt, an Hungarian guy in holidays and on the way to a restaurant he recognised Leonardo in his previous hotel. Leo is an Argentinian living in Paris and in Africa for his research. All together we spent a nice evening: smiles, discussions, and games!!!

Zsolt and Romain on the ferry to Zanzibar

The next day, Thomas and Lisanne went back to Mwanza, we went to Dar, Zsolt to Serengeti and Leo stayed in Arusha… But not for long… In Dar, Leo, Zsolt and we, were in the same hotel and we met again in Zanzibar (we actually shared the same dorm with Zsolt). Walking in the street, Zsolt met one of his Couch Surfing friend: Wendy a Belgian girl!! One contact more for us: her sister lives in Australia!!! And because it’s a small world, Zsolt had another friend in the staying in the same hotel: Chrystelle: a US girl coming here for a placement at the hospital!!! What a chain a great things!!!

Leo with Indianah Jones style

 Last but not least, we also met David and Haizea again!!! They proposed us to come to Madagascar with them…but that will not be possible, it’s very expensive…. (but never say never)

David, Haizea, Flo and Romain

Sunset on Zanzibar with David and Haizea

So, Tanzania was a full of coincidences, and lots of new friends!!! We thank all of you for the great time we spent together...and we hope to keep in touch and to see you again!!!!

Finally we hope that we will always meet nice people like you because travelling is also having new friends, sharing moments and culture… and having new home stay (or couch) everywhere in the world ;-)

Zanzibar: Sea, Sun and Beach

The hot and humid climate of Dar Es Salaam (Even of peace in Swahili) is hard to live with… The only solution is to go at the beach and walk in the water… That’s why we decided to go to Zanzibar by ferry. 1:30 hours to do 80 kms, that’s very fast!!!

 Stone Town, the city of Zanzibar is a mix of several styles: Arabic, Indian, Tanzanian, Oriental… The majority of the inhabitants is Muslims and traditions are strictly followed (Women with niqab…) so be careful with your clothes: don’t show your shoulders and don’t wear a too short skirt or pant!  

The fruit and spice market is very nice… We discovered new fruits : a small mango with the taste of a kiwi and new passion fruits !!! We also tried two Tanzanian pastries: The visheti is like a doughnut in shape of a 8 and the vitumba is a doughnut made from rice flour and cooked in oil. It’s good but very fat!!!

Zanzibar is surrounded by a coral reef. Perfect for some snorkelling! We sa a lot of fishes, seaweeds, urchins, star fishes and coral! So impressive!! And very nice in a clear blue water with perfect temperature!!

Romain snorkelling

Doesn't need any comment ;-)

The island is also well known for its spices, we decided to visit a spice farm! We discovered (and sometimes tried) Cayenne pepper, Ginger, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Vanilla… And we also discovered that avocados grow in trees ! We didn’t know before! We also tried the Dorian: that’s a very stinky fruit (prohibited in public transport) but when you eat it it’s very good! And we also get a lot of accessories made with banana leaves!

Lemongrass

Cacao

Vanila

Muscade nut

Coffee beans

After few days in city center, it’s time to relax on the beach ! We took the dalla – dalla (Tanzanian matatu, better than the Kenyan version of it) to go to Nungwi in the north of the island. Our schedule: farniente, swim, games, friends and fun! So great!!!

But on some points we were a bit surprised: first the island was really empty! Only few tourists and no hotel full! Okay it is still the low season but it is strange.. Nungwi is one of the most popular beaches of the island! And there is no ATM there.. We forgot to take money in Stone town and even if in the hotels and restaurants they have a card reader, it never works!!! We had to change money at a forex point…with 17% taxes…that’s a shame!!! At last, the village is very dirty, without any attractions, so if you are a tourist, please stay at your hotel or take a boat but don’t visit the village… that’s a pity!

Anyway, we enjoyed these few days in Zanzibar and we also saw a nice sunset… And now we are tanned!!