Thursday, May 6, 2010

Zanzibar

This has been one of the most hectic weeks of my life. I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Losing 5 days last week due to sickness was not much help either. And next week is promising to be just as hectic. But the end is near and my reward for hard work will be a trip with my family to the African island of Zanzibar! Visiting Zanzibar has been my dream for many years now but we have never had enough money to actually go there. This year we finally have enough and so, Zanzibar, here I come!

You guys are probably wondering where in the world is Zanzibar? Well, it is a beautiful island about 30 miles of off the Tanzanian mainland. Zanzibar is where Africa and Middle East meet! The cultures have fused together to create a wonderful and unique flavor. The things I want to see the most are some amazing old carved doors. They are located in the old part of the city, the Stone Town. I have heard so much of them and it will be wonderful to finally see them. Zanzibar is also famous for the vide variety of spices, the most famous of them being cloves. The Stone Town market is full of all sorts of spices and other neat things to buy. My kids are excited about the beaches and being able to see century old turtles. Unfortunately not all of Zanzibar’s history is sweet and colorful. Many years ago it was used as a base for Arab slave traders. Heaven knows how many poor souls have gone through the island on their way into a life of pain and despair.

Another good thing about this trip is that I will get to spend a couple days with my Afrikaner friend Karlien! Karlien used to live in Malawi and we were the best of friends. She is a lot like me only with an Afrikaans accent! We used to get together and plan how we were going to kill off our husbands for insurance purposes. Right now Karlien lives in Dar-es-Salam. I have not seen her in years and it will be absolutely wonderful to see how she is and how her girls, Anna-Mart and Karon, are doing. I’m sure we will not sleep that night, talking long into the night about everything and nothing.

And I should not forget to mention the actual trip itself! Instead of flying we are going to drive all the way from Zomba, Malawi, to Dar-es-Salam! In Malawi we will take the lake shore route and it will be so picturesque! Then I will get to see my second African country! Ah, I just can’t wait :-)

8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Hi my friend. You have a very very very nice blog.
    I am from Greece and i have a blog also

    http://diaforetikimatia.blogspot.com

    the URL above is my blog.
    Please visit me my friends of Africa.
    Thank you so much. Your visit is too important to me.
    Have a nice nice day

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  3. Um, my name may be Greek, but that is about it when it comes to the actual language. Sorry, I do not understand a word of your language.

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  4. Wow sounds like you're going to have a very fun trip! Not only will it be beautiful and cultural but you will also get to see your best friend, which will be a wonderful feeling! I'm sure it will be like no time has passed for the two of you! I hope you enjoy yourself and your trip!

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  5. Be leery of men wearing an eyepatch..I heard there are pirates, yes real pirates there. http://theexpress.server295.com/node/672

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  6. Arr matey!! Bumping off my husband for the insurance money has crossed my mind a few times.....

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  7. Hi great Bol *-*

    VISIT MY BLOG PLEASE >> http://artmusicblog.blogspot.com/ :)

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  8. Well, I looked at it! I’m sorry, I am not really into art. Sorry.

    ReplyDelete