Canary Islands: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

To those who think that the Canary Islands is only a place with nice beaches and lots of sun, please read on! The two islands I had the chance to visit are that, but they are also SO much more.

The Canary islands are a group of islands, seven in total, conveniently located off the African west coast and therefore benefiting from a nice and warm climate all year round. Interesting fact, these islands are volcanic ones as you can notice by the lava fields covering pretty much the whole surface of the islands. Cactus, Aloe Vera and vine grow here, but apart from that everything is imported.

Some practical information: We rented a car at the airport of Arrecife, Lanzarote, For 11 days we paid only 111€ for a small car (Auroreisen), insurance included. You can drive to all the interesting places and  take it on the ferry to Fuerteventura. Accommodation can easily be arranged with airbnb. Be sure to check out the following hosts: Irene in Puerto del Carmen, Jindriska in Corralejo and Aurelio in Caleta de Fuste.

Lanzarote

You cannot talk about Lanzarote without immediately thinking of Cesar Manrique, the artist who tainted all the island with his art. He was an architect, a painter and a sculptor and his works can be found all over the island.

We started by visiting his house, which has been converted into a museum. The artist has ingeniously taken advantage of the location on the lava field and has used volcanic bubbles as rooms. You can acces the rooms through tunnels and the last one is a recreational area with a swimming pool. In the museum you can find Manrique's art, but also his private art collection.

Next stop is "El jardin de cactus", one of my favourite places on Lanzarote. Manrique designed a garden with thousands of cactus's. It is a combination of art and nature which is most successful. Big, small, green, pink, brown, yellow cactus's grow everywhere in a harmonious ensemble.

Jameos del Agua is another outstanding place to visit on Lanzarote. It is a volcanic tunnel with a high ceiling that gives it the feel of a cathedral. At the bottom, there is a natural lake with crystal clear water.  One of the inhabitants of the lake is the blind albino crab. It is completely white and only a centimetre long. This crab also happens to be the symbol of the caves.

Situated only a few km from this cave is another one worth a visit: Cueva de los verdes. A guide takes us from one rock formation to another. The last one is spectacular, and quite surprising! I leave you to discover it.

Do you know Aloe Vera? It is a miracle plant in the family of garlic! You can use the plant inside and outside your body and it has many special virtues such as rejuvenating and healing properties. After visiting one of the many Aloe vera museums and a plantation, we are convinced! You should try it too!

La Graciosa is a small island situated north of Lanzarote. We accessed the island by boat from Orzola. On the island itself, there are almost no vehicles, which is great! You can either rent a bicycle to get around, or walk, like we did. Try walking to Las Conchas, an unspoilt beautiful beach on the other side of the island.

La Geria is Lanzarot's wine region. The wine is excellent and the landscape impressive. To protect the vines from the heavy winds, the lanzarotenos have constructed little semicircular walls with rocks around them.

Parque nacional de Timanfaya also called fire mountains is one of the must see attractions on Lanzarote. We weren't very impressed by the so-called geysir, or the hole in the ground, but the bus ride through the martian landscape was nice. You can see some craters and the colours are beautiful, a subtle mix of ocre and sand...

Last stop for us is the coast near El Golfo, definitely the most beautiful place on Lanzarote. Waves as high as houses crash onto the black rocky coastline. It is wild, it is crazy and I love it! You can also see a strange green lagoon some hundred metres from the small village. To top of the visit, you can sit and watch the waves while sipping a drink in the village of El Golfo.

Photos Lanzarote

Fuerteventura

From Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) there is a boat going to Corralejo(Fuerteventura). The two islands couldn't be more different - what a pleasant surprise! Fuerteventura is wilder, less organised than Lanzarote, and we are about to discover its secrets...

Corralejo is in the north and a typical surfer and hippie place. The local market is full of inventive artists who recycle, re-use and upcyle almost everything. And then there are the beaches! No wonder Corralejo is called the Carribean of the Atlantic. Endless white beaches stretch out, bordered by incredible turquoise water, home to surfers and nudists.

Isla de Los Lobos is only a boat trip away from Corralejo and well worth a visit. We spent a day there, walking around the island and enjoying the silence. There are no cars and no inhabitants on the small island.

On our third day, we learned that Fuerteventura was an important military base in the earlier days (around 1800). It was raining, so we visited la Casa de los Coroneles to get an insight in how they used to rule over the island. Conveniently located next to the casa is the museum of Canarian art, a smell jewel of a museum. There we discover the cultural richness of the island, and also that Cesar Manrique was not the only talented Canarian artist.

I love goats, I don't know why, but I love  the way they walk, talk, look at you and generally the way they look. Even the smell I like. Did you know that on Fuerteventura there are more goats than peolple? Imagine my joy when I discovered this!

Betancuria is home to many goats and it is also a beautiful little village in the hills in the middle of the island, The trail GR 131 runs through the village, a trail that goes from North to South of Fuerteventura. We follow the trail for the day. It climbs up, up to the top where we finally have a 360° view over the island. The wind is strong and we are grateful. To finish the day, make sure to taste the goat's cheese, it is delicious.

Driving to Jandia is an expedition. The South tip of Fuerteventura is a protected natural area and driving there is very bumpy. Be patient though, reaching the lighthouse is worth to be shaken a little. The view is spectacular.

We stayed in Caleta de Fuste (Castillo), and not far there is the Museo de la sal. If you want to learn how salt is collected and processed, the museum explains everything. The most delicate salt comes from the foam on the waves, and to have tested in myself, it deserves its reputation.

Our trip has come to an end, I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Bye bye Canaries, thank you for sharing your beauties with us and thank you for being so kind.

Photos Fuerteventura

Belgium - Hautes Fagnes

You don't need to go far from home to discover interesting places. Hautes Fagnes in Belgium is a place like that, and it is definitely worth a visit if you are a nature lover like I am. The vast plateau is situated partly in Belgium, partly in Germany. Some of it is even protected as a nature reserve. The Hautes Fagnes are covered in moors and marshland usually encountered in more northerly regions or higher altitudes. Due to cold climate, particularly wet, and the composition of its soil, the flora and fauna is quite extraordinary for our region.

Muriel, our host and guide tells us about the area, and how the season's subtle changes transform everything, dress the nature with wonderful artifacts, colour the trees and the grass, and create all different atmospheres.

We chose to go in autumn, but we just missed the colourful trees. Only a few leaves remain on the trees, torn down by the powerful autumn winds, and they are already brown. Winter is around the corner. The rain pours down from the blue-grey clouds, without ever stopping. After some hours in the action, we have no doubt as to what the word soaked really means. To wrap up a long walk fighting both wind and rain, we are grateful for some glühwein at Baraque Michel. They rent out cross-country skis here, an idea for a next trip?

Photos Fagnes

And then I came home...

For a long time I haven't written because I didn't know what to write. It is like everything all of a sudden stopped and from being constantly on the move, I was standing still. I had prepared for the trip during a year, then there was the trip during one year, then what? Normal life can start again except nothing feels normal anymore. The trip had been my life for a year. I had gotten used to moving every second day, packing my rucksack over and over again. My daily life was to meet new people, get to know them, then leave, meet new people and leave them too. My worries revolved around finding a place to sleep and figure out what I would eat every day. Washing my clothes was also something I sometimes worried about, but I soon realized a T-shirt can be worn more than three days.

It is difficult to come back, as it was difficult to leave. When I left I didn’t know what awaited, when I came back I realized that what was is not the same anymore. Life has continued without me and I needed to find my place again, with my family, at work, with my friends, even in my apartment with my cats.

12 months, 6 travelogues, 75 blog posts (76 with this one), 5 continents, 16 countries, hundreds of people met, new friends, some answers, many more questions... This is one way to summarize my travel around the world. I have learned so much during this year, about differences, about similarities, about happiness, beauty and ugliness, poverty… All this is part of me now, and I am part of it too. I have left a little piece of me in each place I have visited, with each person I have met… Left are the memories… and the photos.

I know now that I can do it, I can travel by myself. I manage on my own out there in the big wide world. And this world is biútiful and it is worth leaving our daily humdrum for a while and take the risk to meet the unknown. If you have the opportunity to do so, I warmly recommend it!

Another thing I have learned is that hospitality is everywhere. As the sign in the non-profit organization in Arusha states: “Kindness is a language which blind people see and deaf people hear”. It is universal. Even more than the differences, whether cultural, material or of any other kind, what struck me the most is the universalism of humankind and its values. Children are the same in Norway as in Africa or Nepal. They laugh, they play and they need the same love and attention regardless of the place in the world where they grow up. Sharing a meal in good company is the same in Peru as in Russia or South Africa, or Belgium. Understanding transcends cultural barriers, even languages.

It is not about where you are but who you are and what you do.

I felt good in all your companies: hosts, all you people who took me into your homes and treated me like family, fellow travelers with whom I shared the marvel of discovering new customs and sometimes incredible sights. I really really hope that some of you will come visit me in Belgium some day, because I miss you.

To my family, to my friends : Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you. Your constancy, your love and most of all your faith in me was the most important item in my luggage. It was not always easy, but I know that you were always there for me.

And to you, faithful readers of my blog. Thank you for reading me. It has been for me a way to make you participate in my trip, my adventures. I hope you have enjoyed and that you will continue reading, maybe share my blog with your friends if you like it. This was just the beginning, more posts and travels are in planning. In fact, I am late. I was in Prague in November, the post is planned, Norway for Christmas... Iceland is coming up in May… 

Travelling is a like a bug, once you’re bitten it never stops itching.

Yours truly,

Esthel

Muizenberg - Cape Town

We arrive at Michael’s place in Muizenberg and even before we put down our luggage Elodie screams out: my camera! We must have forgotten it in one of the shuttles. Trying not to panic we call everyone to locate the camera. It is in the last shuttle. We can come pick it up says the driver, he lives on the other side of town, in a dodgy neighborhood… Let’s go says Michael, our host and savior. This is what a positive attitude does: we have a great ride through all Cape Town, while Michael explains about historical events, cultural phenomenons, and ideology. The camera finds its owner and we drive home in high spirits. No way does he want a compensation. The only promise we have to make is that we will do the same thing to someone else one day. The next day we go all three to the Cape: Cape of Good Hope, or Cape of Storms as it was called before, due to the numerous storms in this area, close to the meeting point between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The name Cape of Good Hope was given because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India and the East. After a delicious Tibetan lunch we visit the Jackass Penguins at Boulders, a whole colony of these small South African penguins live there. Three young ones try to conquer the ocean and make me laugh a lot as they stumble under a wave.

On the way back, Michael shows us a statue of the Great Dane “Just Nuisance”, the only dog ever to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy and buried with full military honor. Another great day.

The beach at Muizenberg is nice, I particularly enjoy watching the Seagulls dig for shells that they drop from a great height down on the beach to break them open. Elodie picks some shells – “I want to cook them” she says, and I can only believe her when she says they are good. To part from our host, and also to escape from the rain, Michael takes us to do some winetasting at Groot Constantia. Elodie knows a great deal about wine and we share some delicious moments, tasting and laughing.

Saths is our next host. He lives in a beautiful house just under Table Mountain which we never see because of the clouds. He shows us all his favorite places to have a coffee in Cape Town, great! He is good company and introduces us to his ten year old son with whom we spend some time and play Jenga while Saths is at work. In two days we leave South Africa and I finish my trip. It feels weird and good at the same time…

The sea is angry and we cannot visit Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Mandela was kept for 18 years. I will have to come back one day. Instead we go for a walk in town, and meet for lunch with Mary I met in Bolivia. We finish the day in the South African Art Museum where we have the chance to be invited to a private vernissage. A perfect end to the trip, tomorrow we go home…

photos Cape Town

Gansbaai – Overberg

It is a beautiful morning in Hermanus, and we are going to cage-dive with great white sharks…Who hasn’t seen the movies “JAW”? Listen to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=BE&v=ZvCI-gNK_y4&noredirect=1 it fills you with terror, right? It doesn’t stop us. What an adventure! What we discovered was amazing. These animals are not mean, as we might think, but they are very curious and like to taste with their jaws... One of them bite the cage right in front of me. Saying my heart did not beat twice as fast would be a lie, but I am quite confident that the steel in front of me will hold. No feeding they promised. This is not entirely true. To attract the sharks, they pour fish oil into the sea and to play with them a giant sardine head is thrown repeatedly into the water. After 20 minutes in the water I feel like an ice cube. Enjoying the sharks from above is also quite pleasant and certainly not as cold! We take a shuttle to our last destination in South Africa, Cape Town. For me it’s the last destination of my travel around the world…

photos Gansbaai

Oudtshoorn

The land of caves and Ostriches! Did you know that you can stand on an Ostrich egg without it breaking? Or that male ostriches also lay eggs? (the guide was so convincing, we even believed her for several minutes..). In one ostrich egg there are 24 eggs from a hen… time for omelet! Beautiful animals they are and not as ferocious as they say, I had four of them eating in a bucket in front of me and didn’t’ get a scratch. Another nice thing to see near Oudtshoorn are the Cango caves. We do the “adventure” tour where we crawl up a narrow chimney and slide through a “letter box”. The caves are beautiful and that is good because the weather outside could not be worse. The rain is pouring down and the clouds cover everything in grey.

photos Oudtshoorn

The Crags – Garden Route

Welcome to the Magic world of Khoinania… a mixture of the land of the Khoisan people, original inhabitants of South Africa, and Narnia, the magic world of C.S. Lewis we all know about. It is like entering another world where supernatural is normal. The cat from Alice in wonderland sleeps on the terrace, a 900 year old gigantic tree towers over the forest and the three dog pets of the hostel seem to know more than they want to share… As we descend into the Magic forest, we almost expect to see a gnome pop out from behind a tree, or a talking frog who shows us the way. It is pure magic and I love it! If you pass by this place you shouldn’t miss spending at least a few nights in the enchanted atmosphere of Wild Spirit : http://www.wildspiritlodge.co.za/ Let the pictures speak for themselves…

photos Khoinania

Port Elizabeth – Sun Coast

All friendships start somewhere. This one starts in Port Elizabeth. Leizel, Kurt, Niamh and Kay welcome Elodie and me into their family. Happy birthday Amir, what a beautiful birthday cake you have there. The day starts off with a children’s party and continues with a visit to Kurt’s parents, then to a family dinner with Leizel’s family. The food is delicious, and the company even better. To finish the day, we have tea with some friends. A busy day for us, but oh how good it is to feel the bonds that tie these family members together… Leizel has been to Belgium and she loved it. We share memories about places which used to be my home, tasting African liqueur, even better than Bailey’s.

The next day, they lend us their car so we can drive around a little.

Our first destination is the Daniell Cheetah breeding station, about half an hour’s drive inland. Lucky us, there is no one there so we get a private tour. The guide lets us enter many cages with wild cats, but the most impressive one is the cheetah itself. A female who has grown up in captivity is quite tame and we get to meet her, pet her and even play a little with her. Her name is Ola. If something goes wrong though, we have no chance of escaping as the cheetah is the fastest animal on earth, running as fast as 120km/h. She is beautiful! We see two lion adolescents playing with each other, a leopard in a cage, Caracals, Servals… this is Paradise for cat lovers!  

After that, we drive to the Red Location, a museum on Apartheid, situated in the township. Interesting building in the middle of the shantytown. Unfortunately I have no photos as I didn’t want to take out my camera. Inside the museum are various boxes showing how different groups of people fought against apartheid: workers, musicians, politicians…

To complete our experience, we drive to the South End museum. The South End suburb used to be a good place to live for all sorts of people, regardless of their color: whites, blacks, colored, Indians, Chinese… This vibrant, harmonious spirit was crushed when the Group Area’s Act came into force. All non-whites were forcefully removed from their homes, their lives and assigned to areas far away from the city centre of Port Elizabeth, far away from their homes. “The museum has been designed to provide an accurate picture of the life once enjoyed in this bustling and diverse neighbourhood. More than this, it exposes some of the injustices experienced by non-whites, and it honours the key figures who lived (and sometimes died) for their eternal determination for justice and racial equality.” (http://www.southendmuseum.co.za/) We say goodbye to our lovely host family and hop on the Bazbus to our next destination.

 

photos Port Elizabeth

Coffee Bay - Wild Coast

Wild Coast…the name suits the coast. The cliffs plunge into the sea, with waves covered in white because of the wind… In the distance we see a whale, they are migrating. Have you heard of the great Sardine run? It is comparable to the great migration in West Africa only it happens under water. The sardines migrate up the coast, followed by predators such as dolphins (they are the ones rounding up the sardines!), sharks, even birds who hope to feed on the huge amount of fish available. Trekking along the coast is a good way to explore the surroundings. The first day we walk West to some caves and a nice cliff where we can jump off into the water. The second day we walk in the other direction to the hole in the wall. Our guide explains about different plants, some are even deadly. Elodie cuts off a piece of an Aloe and I taste the bitterness of the juice. They use this juice to stop babies from breastfeeding. I understand why, the taste stays for more than an hour! After some swimming our guide makes toasts on a fire with a two-sided grill – delicious!

photos Coffee Bay

Durban

After a last night of sleeping in the car at a petrol station, we get up really early to get it cleaned. It sure deserves it! The two cleaners do an excellent job, even removing the glue on the windows after the plastic bags in the back. We can return car as new, only with some more kilometers on the counter. We spend a few hours in Durban and the city has potential, I can feel it. My father told me that when he was in Durban, he saw a guy being robbed of all his belongings right in front of him, in one of the more dangerous neighborhoods. We luckily see nothing of the sort and stroll on the beach and near the stadium before jumping on a bus to Coffee Bay.

photos Durban

Sainte Lucie - Imfolozi

After our adventure with the Zulus, we need some rest. We decide to spend a couple of days in Ste Lucie, notably to visit the natural park full of wild animals near Hluhluwe: Imfolozi. We set off as early as we manage to get up and drive in our Nissan Bakkie to the entrance of the park. It is always a surprise when going on a safari, you never know if you will see any animals at all… that’s the game! We are very optimistic as always, and after driving an hour or two (mostly in huge holes in the road or into trees on the side of the road) we start seeing them: a giraffe eating off a tree, impalas as far as the eye can see, zebras, wildebeests…  Some vultures circle over our heads. We don’t see the cadaver, but we know it must be somewhere close. To me the highlight is the white rhino. We see several of them, and not too far from the car. An elephant feels threatened by our car and waves his ears while she stamps her feet. We stay calm in the car and she leaves with her baby in the opposite direction. Phew!  

 photos safari

Sainte Lucie estuary is definitely worth a visit, especially when we discover that you can potentially meet hippos, sharks and crocodiles there… We unfortunately only see the latter. Fishermen on the beach tell us that they sometimes get a shark on their fishing line, but that they throw it out in the sea. Fishing shark is prohibited in South Africa. On our way back, we meet some friendly monkeys. Bye bye Sainte Lucie, we need to deliver the car in Durban tomorrow.

photos Sainte Lucie

 

With the zulus at Zamimpilo market

Our idea is to find some zulu women willing to teach us their handcraft. Elodie is interested in the weaving of zulu baskets and I am keen to learn anything really, they make so many beautiful things… We have an idea of the area where to go and after asking one person who sends us to another person who suggests us to go to another place, we find exactly what we are looking for: Zamimpilo market! Zamimpilo is a community of 144 women. They manage the market 24-7 where they sell fruits and vegetables in the front and handcraft in the back. Behind the market there is a huge space where they prepare the fruits and those women who don’t work from home have a workshop where they make their craft. Some are making baskets, others ceramics, beads, shoes, mats… They sing and dance for us to welcome us in their community. We can start from Monday and one of the women, Bhekiwe comes up to us to ask us if we would like to stay with her and her family during these days. You bet we will!

During the weekend, the women all go to church, either Saturday or Sunday. Mrs Thusi, the manager of the market, invites us to her church, a Christian Lutheran church, in a huge tent filled with a congregation all dressed in white. She has previously dressed us up in traditional zulu skirts, necklace, bracelet and hair band. When we arrive, the archbishop invites us to come in front, so we can photograph and film the faces. The scene is hilarious. Mass lasts for more than three hours and we witness preaching in zulu, crying, screaming, zulu dances, drumming and even vuvuzelas. What an experience! The following day we also attend mass, but on a smaller scale, in a small gospel church. We are still dressed up in zulu costumes, we are getting used to that now. The rest of the weekend goes by with washing of our clothes and spending time with our host family. Nothile shows us her school and we even get to meet her teachers.

The first thing we experience when showing up when they told us to come Monday morning is that time is quite different from our time. Nobody is there! We wait. The women in the front ask us to help them to sell. We can do that. Each woman manages her own little stand, but they take turns selling. We take the payment from the customer and put the named price tags in a huge basket. Twice a day, the money and the tags are counted and the pay is distributed among the women, minus 10% for the running of the market.

Finally some of the women arrive and they start showing us different crafts. I start with beadwork. Ritta shows me how to make a round zulu necklace with lots of colors. I realize how long it actually takes to make it. She also shows me a bracelet. Suddenly, one of the women gets up and starts dancing, two others swing a rope and soon we’re three jumping in it. It is quite tiring to sit all day and this is nice distraction.

On my second day I can finally start with ceramics. The zulu women make beautiful big black clay pots with different designs: ukhambas. Gladness gives me one of her aprons and I can start. I enjoy making these big clay pots. We form the pot by building up coils of clay and smoothing them down with the back of a spoon and an old telephone card. Then the pot is left to dry and only after we decorate it with little lumps and thin coils on which we roll a wheel with a pattern. In total I make three of them, but they are too big to carry, especially because they are not fired.

One day we visit a Sangoma, a traditional healer, with our guide friend Xolani. She lives in a traditional zulu village, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was chosen to be the next Sangoma when she was very young. She treats all sorts of different illnesses, from stroke to less serious cases. She also talks to the spirits and predicts the future. We spend some time with her where we ask her all sorts of questions.

On Friday we do the firing of the clay pots. There is no kiln; the fire is prepared on the ground, with old wooden pallets and dead trees. The pots are placed in between the wood and the fire is then lit. They do two firings like this: a small one to start with, then a bigger one. Each one takes about one hour to burn down. The last firing is to give the pot its black color. Before we start, one of the women paints my face with red clay, to protect the skin against the sun and the heat from the fire.

On my last day I learn how to make the traditional zulu baskets. That is, I start one. Making a basket takes a long time– a medium-sized basket can take about a month to make The women use palm leaves that are cut until they have the right thickness. These are thread on a thick needle made from an old umbrella and sown around a base that makes the thickness of the walls. To make colors; they use roots, leaves, berries, and tree bark. It is hard work and I pierce my fingers, more than once.

After 10 days with the women, it is time for us to go, but not light-hearted. These women have become our friends now. To say goodbye, we all dance to traditional zulu songs and even a drum  I hope to come back one day.

photos Zamimpilo

South Africa - Johannesburg

We only make a short stopover in Johannesburg and don’t get to explore much of the city. Billy hosts us for two nights and his lovely niece Ruth takes good care of us. Rebecca cuts and fixes our hair. Elodie arrives one day after me and we pick up our car at the airport, a brand new (only 67 km), white Nissan Baki with space to sleep in the back. We cover the windows with black plastic bags and stow our stuff in the back. This is our home for the next two weeks. We are both very excited about our following adventures in Zululand!

photos Jo'burg

Zanzibar

Zanzibar, also called the Spice Island is so different from mainland Tanzania! I had gotten used to being the only white person. Here tourists are everywhere. I ask for the cheapest and best hostel and a man brings me to Manch Lodge. If you want a nice place to stay on Zanzibar, this is it! The dorm is huge with big beds lined up against the wall like in an orphanage. In total I stay three weeks on Zanzibar, in different places on the island, but whenever I’m in Stone town, this is where I stay.

Zanzibar has a rich history and the architecture of Stone town witnesses of many influences. The massive wooden doors are of Arab influence. Stone Town used to be Africa’s main port for the slave market between Africa and Asia. The British then gained control over Zanzibar and abolished the slave trade. In 1964 Zanzibar became part of Tanzania.

I am very excited because I have booked a dolphin tour on my first day here. We set out in a boat, search for dolphins for an hour, snorkel a little bit, then search again. I am sitting on the edge of the boat, waiting for them to show up so I can jump in and swim with them. We see two Humboldt dolphins but they disappear as fast as they appeared. Then, three bottlenose dolphins surfing on a wave approach our boat. Jump says the driver and so I do. They are there, I can see them but then they disappear too. Still, it was a great experience, AND not the last one with dolphins. Unfortunately, the water but also the wind is cold and I didn’t bring enough clothes. On my return I feel like crap and go to bed. Some people at the hostel bring me water and try to convince me that I have malaria! Luckily I don’t have it.

My second dolphin experience happens two days later, with Caren from Kenya and Ken from Glasgow. We have booked a spice tour combined with Prison Island with a local guy, Juma. The spice tour is very interesting. We get to taste pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, chili, and cinnamon among others and see how they grow. They decorate us with lots of different accessories made from grass as you can see on the pictures. A local kid climbs a palm tree with a rope tied around his legs. I even climb a tree to see if I haven’t forgotten how to do it. The lunch is delicious and desert is local fruit. The Jackfruit is a pleasant surprise and Caren swears she could eat at least five of them!

The afternoon starts with a nice boat ride to Prison Island. Juma then guides us through the island: women gathering shells on the beach, giant tortoises as old as 189 years old, the buildings meant to be a prison but that were used as a quarantine station for ships going to Zanzibar. We put on our snorkeling equipment and jump into the water. After half an hour Caren shouts: dolphins! Three of them! We swim as fast as we can to reach them. They are not afraid of us, three wild dolphins, a mother, her baby and a huge one. Thy swim around us, under us, in front of us, as if they are playing. I can’t believe this is happening! They stay half an hour at least, then they swim off into the ocean. Wow! So unexpected, the dolphins are not supposed to be there at all!

Nungwi is my next destination, in the North of Zanzibar. Juma organizes our transport. He is very professional and his prices are more than correct, after a little bargaining of course… The place is amazing: beach, turquoise water, lots of sun, Dhow boats, Sea Turtles, snorkeling, yoga on the beach, fake Masais, Mister Quality Products (he said it was his real name), relaxing, bargaining… Even more amazing than the place though, are the people I spent time with here: Miriam, Martin, Ken, Caren, Elvie, Jolanda. Without you it would not have been the same! So thank you for these fantastic days in Nungwi, I will never forget…

My plan was to volunteer in Kenya but as this doesn’t work out, I decide to learn something new. Since I first saw the Tinga Tinga paintings I have wanted to learn how to paint them. Tinga Tinga is a painting style that developed near Dar Es Salaam in the second half of the 20^th century. It is a naïve and caricatural representation of African animals, very bright and colorful. Oscar accepts me as a student in his workshop. During five days I work from morning till evening to learn as much as possible. The smell of paint and kerosene sticks to my clothes. During the night I dream of lions, giraffes and elephants running over my canvas. During the day I paint them. What wonderful days…

My last destination on Zanzibar is Paje. It is on the East coast of the island and I have no problems understanding why they call it Kitesurfer’s Paradise. My kite lessons start the next day, with a local guy who charges 4 times less than the kite schools.

Lesson One: master a small kite by playing with it on the beach

Lesson Two: security measures with the big kite.

Lesson Three: master the big kite

Lesson Four: Body dragging. You basically let the big kite drag you in the water, without the board.

This is as far as I got this time. Next time I will start on the board, but now I have to go to South Africa and meet Elodie.

photos Zanzibar

Dar es Salaam

Digna and I take the morning bus to Dar es Salaam where the family is expecting us. We are all here for the same reason, to celebrate the communion of Zeno, a ten year old boy. On my first day, Athanase takes me to the city as we live a little bit outside of town. The micros here are if possible even fuller than any other place I have been, and people push to squeeze in even more passengers. It takes more than two hours to get to town and to be honest it is not a very nice one. The beach however is nice and it is only two buses and a ferry away… The moon is beautiful tonight and as I was watching it rise I thought to myself that either you have or you will be watching the same moon wherever you are in the world.

The day of the celebration we first all go to church. It is not a stone church or brick church like we have at home. It is a huge tent and whoever doesn’t fit inside it can sit outside, on one of the nearby hills. That is what we do so we can enjoy some sunlight at the same time. After mass we head to the family house where everybody is getting ready. Last preparations before the big evening which proves to be perfect! The food is so delicious and there is a lot of dancing. Zeno is in the center of the celebration, gets a lot of gifts and even gets to drink champagne. I know about one happy boy who is going to sleep tonight.

photos Dar es Salaam

volunteering in Tanzania

Near Kiberege in the Morogoro region Bibi Kalembwana herbalist trust fund is to be found. Kalembwana is the grandmother, bibi in Swahili. She founded the herbalist hospital in 1912. When she felt she would only have a few years more to exercise, she transmitted all her knowledge to her grandson, Shaibu. Today, he is a renowned doctor and people come as far as from Morogoro to receive his treatments.

Kalembwana is also an organic farm with rice, bananas, papayas, coconuts to mention only a few, and an orphanage. In total 9 children live and go to school from here, 17 others are supported by the organization, but they still live with a family member in the nearby villages of Mkasu or Kiberege. To send one child to school costs about 30 dollars a month, school fees, uniforms and books included.

Shaibu and his wife Digna are the “mother” and “father” of all these children. They love them as if they were their own, care for them and teach them about responsibilities and duties. The children participate in the daily life of the household by cooking, cleaning, carrying water from the river, watering the plants…

Every morning I wake up at 7 and I start the day with sweeping the floor in the house and mopping if necessary. After that I assist the women in their daily chores in the kitchen. We make chapatti in the morning, and for lunch and dinner rice or chips. There are many chickens around and every day one ends up in the pot, together with coconut milk, ginger, garlic and some tomato. They don’t use the milk inside the coconut. We use a special chair that has a metal handle with a blade to scrape away the coconut. This is then mixed with water and that’s the milk they use for cooking. It is also put into the green vegetables that we eat almost every day: pumpkin leaves. Delicious! Some days we go down to the river to wash our clothes or even our bodies, other days we go to the village to say hello to relatives or friends.

When the children come back from school and they have finished their chores and eaten, I teach them English, and then we play games until the darkness sets in and we move closer to the house to eat the evening meal and talk about our day. The life here is good. The men work on the farm and rice fields and the women prepare the rice and take care of the house and the food. The kitchen area is huge and has many little fires where different preparations are cooking all day long, filling the air with delicious smells.

Anu is my friend. She is 21 years old and she introduces me to many aspects of the African way of life. We wash our bodies in the river, we talk about the differences between us and our cultures, and we prepare food together. Her family is from Kiberege and we visit them several times. Her mother even gives me two Kangas (matching pieces of fabric) as a present. Kangas are very appreciated here in Tanzania. Not only are they beautifully colorful, but they also have inscriptions sending messages to those who read them. Mine say “if talking is silver, silence is gold”. I like it.

One day the women redo their hair. First they take out the previous plaits, and then they do it again, in a different pattern. African hair is different; it is easier to make it hold. I am fascinated by the speed with which the new hairstyle is created. Another day the children and I go for a walk on the property. We even see a snake and many banana trees and jackfruit.

There are so many things happening around here. The former Tanzanian minister of natural resources is a close friend of Shaibu. He visits him for lunch on his way to somewhere else. I am lucky I get to meet him and we even take a picture with him and the children. There are many dogs around, and cats too. They wait for us to finish eating, then they get the rests and lick the plates. One of the dogs has puppies! She has hidden them under a bush. They are so small they look like rats.

I am so lucky! Digna is part of a women’s group and it is her turn to host the party. 30 women arrive, dressed in their most beautiful clothes. They have brought food and the whole day goes by with cooking and laughing. After, they bring gifts to the hostess, usually money, and then they dance. When I start to dance as well they all start laughing. It must look really funny, a msungu moving to African rythms! The children join us and we dance until the sun sets and even longer… Such beautiful three weeks. I wish everyone could experience this.

photos Kalembwana

Safari

My first Safari!! Five days of game drive in four national parks. The organization is chaotic, the plans change all the time, people leave, others come, the car breaks down... It requires a lot of patience, but in the end everything works out and the animals and scenery we see are amazing.

We start from Arusha and drive to Tarangire first. Tarangire National Park has the greatest concentration of animals outside of Serengeti. It even starts outside the park where we see blue-balled monkeys and magnificent starlings. Then we enter, I am very excited. We are driving a jeep with a roof that opens so we can stand up and watch the animals. The African elephant is majestic and there are huge flocks of them. A warthog crosses in front of our vehicle. Impalas, giraffes and ostriches grass nearby and the highlight: a female lion resting under a tree, 8 meters from the road. We sleep in tents near the second national park, Manyara, and watch the moonrise and the sunrise the next day.

photos Tarangire

The setting changes completely as we enter Manyara National Park. From open plains we now drive through a forest with huge trees. A group of baboons are camping on the road and a bit further a blue monkey makes a brief appearance. Our driver knows where to find the animals. We are going to see hippos. They are quite far away, but I am still able to, catch them with my zoom. Elephants, gazelles and more giraffes inhabit this park. I keep an eye open for climbing lions, but am not able to spot one. That’s the game!

photos Manyara

Ngorongoro is a huge crater with flat grassland inside. The crater used to be a mountain even higher than Kilimanjaro before it collapsed. Today, the crater is a natural sanctuary with 30.000 animals. The game drive in here is not a game, the animals are everywhere! There are herds of zebras, wildebeests, elephants, hippos, lions, buffalos and even a black rhino in the distance. Luckily Hannah has a big zoom so she can catch him on a photo. The area is also home to the Masaais, one of the ethnic groups in Africa who live close to nature and wildlife.

photos Ngorongoro

 Our first day in Serengeti starts off with a broken car. Sultan, our driver, and Mister Bean, the cook, jump out of the car to fix it. We also get out of the car, to see what they are doing. They decide to attach a wooden stick to the steering, which is broken. “Don’t worry”, they say,” we have done it before”. I’m not worried about the car, but more about the 5 lions which were resting only 500 meters from where we stopped… Serengeti is even better than what I imagined. It is so beautiful I could stay here for days trying to spot animals and enjoying the landscape. It stretches as far as your eye can see and the game viewing is incredible! A huge male lion sleeps under a tree, a half eaten carcass of a zebra in front of him, the definite highlight of this fourth day. Sultan even manages to find us a leopard, even if it is far away, lying on a branch of a tree. We have thus seen the big five: elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard. Incredible! A stork sets off in the air from a tree, showing us the way to our camp, where we set up out own tents today.

photos Serengeti 1

Serengeti’s second day is if possible even better than the first. We have an early morning drive to try to see the predators returning from their night hunts. The sunrise is breathtaking and in the early morning light the animals are numerous: hippos, monkeys, hyenas… Some vultures are eating from a dead wildebeest, probably killed by the group of lions in the distance. Then, the most beautiful scene happens right in front of our eyes. A female lion and her two cubs cross in front of our car. I hold my breath and almost forget to take pictures as the mother and her stumbling children act as if we weren’t there. On our way back to Arusha I see Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance, at the back of Mount Meru.

photos Serengeti 2

Tanzania - Arusha

Karibu Sana means you are very welcome in Swahili. My African adventure is about to start! I land in Arusha at 4 o’clock in the morning. As I had told my host I would arrive at one I didn’t expect him to still be there. But Kened is there with a friend and a sheet of paper with my name on it. What a relief and a pleasant surprise! His house is spacious and I even get my own room. His mum prepares nice spicy food and the next day Kened and I visit the city together. The central market, where they sell food, is the first stop. I buy some huge avocadoes for supper. In the center there is a clock tower with the map of Africa on it and different signs with cities and national parks of Tanzania written on them. We meet a Masai who guides me through the Masai market; masks, wooden sculptures and my favorite, the Tinga Tingas. These are oil paintings of animals drawn as cartoons. They make me smile. Kened and I go home, we didn’t sleep much last night.

I was supposed to leave for a Safari on my second day, but the group is only leaving the day after, which means another day in Arusha. Kened has to work, so Juma is my guide, and a good one too! I had seen in a brochure that there is a place called Shanga nearby Kened’s house. Shanga is a project started by a Dutch woman. It is a non-profit organization employing disabled people to create beautiful products out of recycled materials. Two professional glass blowers train two deaf people. They show me how to say hello in sign language. A man with paralyzed legs paint the most beautiful Tinga Tingas I have seen so far. Women make jewelry and lamps with glass beads from recycled bottles. The products are sold in the shop, where they also sell the gemstone Tanzanite. Tanzanite is to be found only in Tanzania. It is 1000 times rarer than diamonds and it is estimated that once the mines near Arusha are empty, there is almost no chance to find it again. After this very refreshing visit, Juma wants to show me the Polish cemetery. It is outside of town, so we go by micro, the local bus. The cemetery is near a beautiful lake and at the end of a forest. The guardian knows everything about the Polish refugee camp and tells us all he knows. There is a very special atmosphere in the cemetery that the pictures cannot completely render. Leon, my other host is back from Lake Victoria. We spend a nice evening together, Leon, Kened and I, cooking and talking before I set off on my first safari tomorrow!!

photos Arusha

Lima

Last stop before Europe. Jorge hosts me for these two days, he lives in Barranco, the bohemian part of Lima, with his lovely white female kitten. “Have you already tasted Pisco?” He asks me. I have, but not the way he prepares it, with canady dry, delicious! On my first day we stroll around in Barranco. The area is nice and relaxed, overlooking the sea. A pity the weather is not better but the second day the sun decides to shine and I can enjoy the center of Lima bathed in sunlight. What a delightful end to the South American part of my trip!

photos Lima

Huacachina, Ballestas, Paracas

Huacachina is a small oasis in the middle of a desert outside of Ica. All the houses are built around the Laguna in the middle. My hostel has a swimming pool and a big garden with a giant turtle living in it. I relax there for some hours before going on the sand buggy and sand boarding tour. The boards are old and broken so the sand boarding is a deception. Better to slide down head first. The sand buggy however is really fun! Our driver takes us up and down the dunes at a tremendous pace. We scream as we pass the top and fly down, only to start again on the next top.

photos Huacachina

Ballestas is sometimes called “Poor man’s Galapagos”. I can assure you it’s not at all like Galapagos, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing. From Huacachina the bus leaves early in the morning to bring us to the boat going out to the islands. Pelicans follow us as we enter the dung bird’s territory. Before, Peru used to export the bird shit to Europe as fertilizer, but they overdid it and had to stop the production, the fish were getting scarce in the ocean. Sea lions sunbathe on the rocks, vultures circle over our heads, but most impressive are the millions of birds nesting on the 3 islands.

Paracas is less visited than Ballestas it seems. A shame because it is really worth it. We are only three visiting, a charming couple from Isla Margarita, Venezuela, and me. We admire the beautiful scenery, the birdlife and finish off with having delicious lunch at a restaurant by the sea. The Cathedral, a rock formation that used to be the symbol of Paracas unfortunately collapsed during the latest earthquake. Vultures fly over the area in search for food. I jump on a bus to Lima, my last destination in South America.

photos Ballestas and Paracas