I’m in Africa!

So my trip out of Cairo was definitely a typical Egyptian experience. I was sitting on the balcony attached to my hotel lobby looking out over the streets of Cairo. I kept waiting for my car, which was supposed to arrive at 11pm, but never saw it. At 11:20, I went to the front desk (about 30 feet from me) and asked if they could make a call and check on my car. My driver was sitting right there and had been for 20 minutes – they were just having a good time talking and didn’t think to let me know that I could leave now. Kinda typical. Then at the airport, I saw a security line as you enter the building. When I got to the front of the line, I was yelled at by the security guard and told to go back outside. No one out there spoke English and I couldn’t figure out what to do. Eventually, I saw other people heading in another door so I followed and saw about a dozen different security checkpoints. Great. I eventually found out that there’s a security checkpoint for every checkin desk, but there’s no signage to tell you which flights are which checkin desk or which checkpoint. I eventually got through the right one and without any signage, found my way through immigration and to my gate. My gate wasn’t open, but I found free wifi at – you should be able to guess it by now – McDonalds! Interestingly enough, the Starbucks next door (the first I saw since Thailand) did not have wifi.

Things (attitude, punctuality, friendliness) changed when I got on my flight. There were Africans all around me in colorful dress, amazing hats and headwraps, and big, big smiles. I’m not talking the polite, sedate Thai smiles (and I love those), but big Cheshire cat ear-to-ear grins where the teeth nearly blind you. And big belly laughs – no little chuckles here. I immediately got very excited – I was going to Africa! About time it hit me.

We made a stop in Khartoum to unload some folks and pick some more up. I have to say that flying over Sudan was a bit depressing. The ground was dry and just plain dirt (at least what I saw) and very very flat. There was a big river running through the city which I suspect was the Nile, but no vegetation on its shores. While I’ve seen UN planes and vehicles just about everywhere I’ve been, I’ve never seen them to the extent that I saw them at the airport there. There were more UN planes than all of the commercial planes added up. And lots and lots of UN helicopters which looked like old Soviet versions of Blackhawks. I guess that when you have mass genocide happening in your country, you get a big UN presence.

I changed planes in Addis Ababa and loved everything I saw in the store windows – lots of colorful clothes, handwoven baskets, really interesting jewelry and amazing sandals with all kinds of stones on them. I even saw a bright pink man’s tribal gown all decorated with embroidery. I thought that it would be the perfect Hernando costume for Surf City and would especially compliment his giant fro wig. But it was made for a very big boy and I didn’t have much time to catch my next plane. Sorry Michael.

After yet another flight, I arrived in Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. It sits right on the Indian Ocean and used to be the capital. The visa process was a bit messier than in other places I’ve been, but a very nice Tanzanian security guard helped me through. After all the warnings about how they’ll turn you around if you don’t have your yellow fever immunization certificate, no one asked me for it. I even offered it and was told that they didn’t need to see it. WHAT?!!? I did find out later that others were asked for it, so I must have just looked disease free or something. I then got driven over to another airport very nearby that they use for domestic flights. Here is where I had to wait. It was about 1:00pm when I arrived, but the safari company had me on a 4:45 Zanair flight to Zanzibar. But I’m glad I had that time – everyone’s so friendly that I met many, many people and had a lot of good conversations. Word got around that I had been traveling for some time, so I was approached by many of the airport workers to talk for a bit. Everyone wanted to hear my stories – it was kinda fun. Oh, and they were prepping for some big ceremony out on the tarmac. There was a military band, a stage, bleachers, etc. We weren’t sure who was coming, but when the Tanzanian president arrived, it was obvious that some foreign head of state was on the way. The funniest bit happened when they brought out the red carpet roll. The placed the carpet down upside down so that they couldn’t unroll the carpet. There were 5 military types standing there looking at it trying to figure it out. I laughed out loud a bit and the other man in the waiting room (a very nice Tanzanian) came over and took a look and smiled. And then he said something that I absolutely love and will never forget: “Common sense is not often common.” True dat. Anyway, they figured it out, flipped the carpet over, and unrolled. Then the plane arrived – the pomp and circumstance was for the president of Madagascar. I was told that they did the same ceremony earlier this year for President Bush. He came and stayed 4 days in Tanzania. Who knew?

I made it to the island in a very little prop plane (they had to weigh our luggage to make sure were weren’t overloaded) and picked up at the airport. It took over an hour to drive to the Kichanga Lodge. We drove through small colorful villages, past many spice plantations and through a wildlife preserve. In a way, it looks like Thailand – lots of banana, pineapple, mango and coconut trees with the beautiful Indian Ocean right there. But the dress is so colorful and the people so lively. We stopped a couple of times so that the driver could shout hello to friends that we passed. Without exception, everyone came up to the car, poked their head in at me, gave me HUGE smiles and welcomed me to Zanzibar. In one place, a group of boys were playing drums while folks danced around in a big circle. Did I mention I’m in Africa?

Anyway, the lodge is beautiful. I have this wonderful bungalow with steps leading to the beach and the most beautiful view (the photo was taken from my porch). My bungalow was decked out in flowers (the bed, the desk, the bathroom and the porch) and they even wrote Bienvenuto in leaves across the sheets. There’s a beautiful beach, a nice pool, kayaks and snorkeling gear, the nicest people and wonderful food (buffet for every meal all included in the price of the room, which is included in my safari package). Last night I even had homemade pasta (the owner is Italian) with a fantastic crab sauce along with some traditional Swahili dishes. The staff was so happy that I’m willing to try local dishes – apparently most guests do not. As a reward, they made me a local cocktail – ginger beer, freshly grated ginger and rum. I’ve gotta make those at home! I’ve got 3 nights here and a night in Stone Town (the city on Zanzibar) before flying to Arusha (Kilimanjaro) to start my safari. The thought makes me smile like the Cheshire cat.

I’m in Africa and I’m in paradise. What could be better?