Last day in Iceland

The title sounds ominous, but it was nothing of the kind. The day was actually sunny, and cool. We packed and left the flat we were in, with mixed feelings. This flat was large, and was an historic building in central Reykjavik. It had a modern and good-sized kitchen, large bedrooms and living room, and a modern bathroom. But it was so sparsely furnished as to be cold in character, and there were some things missing, like floor lamps so you could read at night. And the exterior was under renovation, which started with banging and hammering at about eight in the morning.

(Our first B&B, in contrast, was warm, cosy friendly-appearing, and well-equipped in large.)

A few pictures of Reykjavik.











As we headed out of town to the airport area (near Kevlavik, about 45 km out of Reykjavik), we saw this area in daylight for the first time. A friend who had recently been in Iceland said that the trip into town from the airport made him question exactly which planet he had landed on. It looks like the moon: flat, with lava fields of jagged rock, mostly covered with moss. At places it seemed that there was a "pimple" of lava about to explode upwards. At other places, we could see the volcanoes (all dormant) in the distance.

We were not going immediately to the airport, but to the Blue Lagoon, a large pool of mineral waters heated geothermically. This was hyped a lot, and we were prepared to be disappointed. It is popular enough that you have to have a reservation for it to get in.

We were, to say the least, not disappointed. It was magical, the waters about 38-40 degrees, filled with silica, and actually blue in colour. The pool was immense, so that the several hundred people in it did not seem at all to make it crowded. You could get (and the others got) an algae mask and/or a clay/silica mask. You could go to the swim-up bar, go under a waterfall, go into a cave area. And all the time you were outdoors where the air temerature was about 8 degrees.


We stayed for about two hours, came out looking like prunes, but smiling and feeling quite lithe. Truly an experience unlike any other, and one we will remember for a long time.

Then, unfortunately, to the airport, for the fairly short (2-½ hour) flight to London. And to Dan and Katy's flat for a quick supper with them, and to bed.

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Location:Dunton Road,London,United Kingdom

Time in Town

Today was my big day, and I wondered what else might have been planned for me. We had done the wonderful whale watch yesterday (and a good thing: the weather on this birthday was to be cool and damp). So today was a tour of the city, on foot. We also had some shopping to do. So we hit the commercial area. And went into several stores along this street, searching for just the right thing.

This took us up the street to the main cathedral, the Hallgrimskirkja. This is located on the Leifur Ericson (who we know as simply Leif Ericson) plaza, at the centre of town and the highest point around.





The Ericson monument was interesting: placed there by the USA, in the (likely mis-)understanding that Ericson explored the East Coast of America. The statue has the look of what I had seen of the Christopher Columbus monument in Portugal. However, it was impressive, as was the Cathedral.

We were hungry, and came upon the restaurant "Kol", where we decided to stop for a lunch. It was terrific: some of the best risotto we have ever had, as well as some cooked fish (cod for Darlene, salmon for me) that was to die for. All told, a good stop, but it didn't make we hunger for supper out on the town.

So we stayed in, ordered a pizza, and had bubbly and conversation for my birthday dinner. It was just fine.


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Location:Reykjavik, Iceland

A Whale of a Time

Today was my last day as a 60-something. And it was a nice day here, in spite of the weather forecast. So we needed to do something. And Darlene and the kids had decided that "that something" was to be a whale-watching cruise. There are a lot of whales in this area (even though Iceland is one of the two remaining countries in the world that still hunts whales, much to the consternation of the others). We had booked a cruise on the afternoon cruise.

Morning was leisurely. Bacon and Eggs were at hand (the bacon package was festooned with a picture of the American mid-West, interestingly and inappropriately). We were worried about whether Darlene could negotiate the hills between where we are and the harbour, so we drove the kilometre or two there.

We saw many white-beaked dolphins and minke whales (one at least, probably two). I will put in some photos of the occasion, not of the whales (Dan got better ones, and will share them with me at some point.)












The weather remained good for the trip. We had a bit of spitting rain, then clear the rest of the time. It was cool, the wind was moderate, and the rolling sea was, well, rolling. Katy and Dan both took Gravol, but Darlene and I were okay. And they dressed us in bright orange insulated overalls to be on the deck watching; that probably shocked my system into not being ill.

Than home to a meal of lamb again: it is very good here. No wine, since it is Sunday and this is an Evangelical Lutheran country which does not allow wine sales on the Sabbath.

But a lovely day to have as I enter my 70's.

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Location:Miðstræti,Reykjavík,Iceland

Capital Blues

This day was the transition to the city. After a lazy breakfast and a short packing, we were on our way to the big city. "Big", you understand, is a relative term. Reykjavik has almost half the population of Iceland, but is still two-thirds smaller than Hamilton.

On the way from Hveragar∂i to Reykjavik, we passed through lava fields which were spectacular in their scope and stark beauty.



We decided to stop at the geothermal plant for their tour. It is amazing to me how the Icelanders have used this source of "free" energy. They live over molten lava (not right over, but it is closer to the surface than in most places). And they are in the area where the two major tectonic plates touch and are in fact separating. This has the downside of giving them more than the usual number of earthquakes (this part of the island has had four significant ones since 2000), but also gives them abundant heat energy.

At the plant, the drill a hole between 1-3 kilometres into the earth, where the water they find is about 300 degrees Celsius. This is brought up, the steam that come off it is used to power turbines, and the hot water remaining is used to heat the homes. The hot water is transported through insulated pipes the 27 kilometres to Reykjavik, losing only 2 degrees Celsius on the way. The system is so cheap and efficient that the city now heats 99.9% of its homes this way. And the electricity is also relatively cheap as well.





A pretty impressive feat, all told. The Icelanders now have the best geothermal technology in the world, and can export this to other countries.

And from here to the big City. We are staying in a B&B which is quite large, and somewhat under renovation. They are working on the outside of the three-story place. But it is near the downtown, and we soon found a lovely commercial area about five blocks from where we are staying, We had a lunch at a cafe française, then went back to our room.

While Darlene read and Dan and Katy slept for a bit, I went out an explored the older part of town. I had a lovely walk, almost got lost, found the main cathedral


And then found my way home. The city is certainly more lively than where we had been. More noise, more bustle, more lights.

As I write this, it is getting dark. Darlene and I have decided to stay at home while "the kids" go out for a night out. The city reminds me of the feeling I had in Bergen, three years ago. Houses are similar in architecture, colours are bright.





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Location:Miðstræti,Reykjavík,Iceland

Icelandic weather

Today (Friday) is a very different day than yesterday: hard rain at times, sun very occasionally (even when it's raining!), and strong winds.

After the busy day yesterday, Darlene and I decided to stay home and veg out a bit. Dan and Katy went off in the car for a 90-minute drive and 3 km walk to see an old plane which crashed on the beach here and which is still there, mouldering away. Didn't appeal to us—at least, not as much as a lazy day and a sleep. Darlene took a short walk, I worked on this blog. And we both, yes, slept. Good first half of the day.

As I say, it was a lazy day. I read the newspapers, did the blog, read some of my book, ate, slept, and went for a quick walk through the town.

Hverager∂i is a small town, and seems to be pretty comfortable in most ways. The houses here, though, are almost all single-story, outside-finished with either stucco or with corrugated metal (really). And they keep the lights on a lot of the time. As well, this is an area with thermal springs, even to the point of having a geothermal park in the middle of town. Here, there are what they call "hot pots"—really bubbling springs through the mud of the ground. There is also a restaurant which claims to do the cooking using this as a heat source. For a small fee, they will give you an egg in a small net bag and you can boil it in the hot pot.

The thermal energy is quite abundant, we gather. They have an Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, open all year and heated entirely by the thermal springs. We never made it there, but I walked by it and it looked magnificent.

So back to the place we were in for these three days. It seems to be in a retirement community, and my guess is that they rent it out when the actual owners are on vacation. It was well-furnished and very cosy. The only problem was that the second bedroom was small. Katy and Dan took that one, with our thanks, but they had trouble sleeping because the bed and the room were both smaller than they liked.

About six in the evening, Dan and Katy arrived home. They said that they had not, in the end, gone on the walk to the plane: the rain was hard enough that they couldn't see, and the wind almost blew them over. So they cut their losses and visited another few waterfalls instead, on the way back to the B&B. We were glad they made it home all right, and hadn't taken too many chances. (Meanwhile, we had had quite variable weather, with some rain, at times heavy; then sun for up to an hour, then cloud and wind and spitting rain.)

We had a great supper and too much wine, Watched a bit of TV and talked a lot. Then to bed.


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Location:Lækjarbrún,Hveragerði,Iceland

Partly Iced

I am writing this at the end of our second full day in Iceland. Today has been wonderful, full, exciting, and all the things we would wish for in this country (almost).

But I must start with our travel day and our first day (yesterday).

We left Dundas at 10:30 AM; what a good time to be doing this. It allowed some checking of the suitcases and repacking in the morning, and some time to just relax a bit about the trip. And then we were picked up and on our way, with a taciturn Sikh man who drove us quietly and quickly to the airport. Since we had lots of time, we were not hassled, and got easily through security and down into the airport wing where our flight was waiting. We had time for a late breakfast/early lunch, and then were called to our departure lounge. We were actually going to try and leave early! There were only 60-odd people on the flight (a big, 220-seat plane). So the service was good and pretty personal. And there was lots of room for the flight. Darlene and I both got window seats, and we were both happy.

Iceland is the world's youngest large country/land: it is "only" 2 million years old. It is the place where the North American and European tectonic plates touch. And, since these two plates are gradually separating, there is a lot of geologic activity (including volcanoes and hot springs) going on here. We may remember the eruption of the volcano with the unpronounceable name about four years ago —the one that grounded aircraft all over the northern hemisphere. While eruptions are rare, hot springs are common; lava fields are common; the land has an appearance of being unsettled with plants.

Arrived in Iceland (Kevlavik is where the airport is, not in Reykjavik itself) at about midnight. Dan and Katy had arrived before us, had arranged for the car, and were waiting for us. The guest house was only a few kilometres away, and we were both in bed by 1:00 AM local time. It was raining, so sleeping was a good idea. We had a good plan for the next day....

...Which began with a gentle rain, but soon turned into a cloudy, windy, but dry, day. We had decided to drive further up the peninsula to Gardur, the westernmost point on the island, to look out towards Greenland and North America, and see the lighthouses there.We then took the route along the southern part of the peninsula to get to our B&B in Hverager∂i.

Stopped in the town on Sandger∂i to take some pictures in an old (for Iceland) graveyard and churchyard. Dan looks quite Nordic, eh?









Then through a lot of lava fields, which were stranger than I had thought they would be. The rocks were more jagged and smaller than I expected. But the landscape was—not exactly barren, but sparse, like an Arctic tundra, I suppose.






We were on our way to Hveragerði, and the road was good. We transitioned from lava fields to agricultural areas, passed through a fishing town with a fish processing plant. Then into the town of Hveragerði, population 2500. Master Google got us to our B&B without too much trouble, and we let ourselves in to a very pleasant home in what seems to be a retirement community (hmmm....). Weather was grey, but dry, as it had been most of the day.

Checking the weather forecast pushed us to plan for a longish day on Thursday: it was supposed to be the only clear day of our week. So we planned a full day of driving and site-seeing.

First stop was the Keri∂ volcano, dormant and small, but close and manageable for us. It was only about 20 km from our house, and the parking lot was close enough to the rim that Darlene could walk to the top and look over into the pool of water at the bottom of the cone. You could walk along the rim, and walk down into the cone as well. With a blue sky, and mild breeze, it was lovely.





The surrounding country was pretty flat plain, punctuated by volcanic hills (none is active). This area of the south-west is largely agricultural, and we saw lots of sheep, as well as horses. The horses are used for transport and for herding the sheep. September 30 is the annual festival called Rétir, where the sheep are herded into corrals for sorting and for winter habitat.

From here, we went to the Dingvellir National Park, which is where you can actually see the separation of the North American and European tectonic plates. There are several places where this was happening. One of the biggest separations was now a narrow valley we walked through. Others were smaller and lower areas with water in them. And, in case you think this is just some theory, the separation has been measured to be between 1-15 mm per year! Iceland is getting bigger every year.

The land here as a result is partly settling (subsidence), to the extent that a church built in the early 20th century had to be moved because it was getting flooded.

In one of the narrow chasms caused by the separation, the water was almost 100 metres deep and so clear you could see right down. There was an opportunity (which we did not take) to put on a wet-suit and snorkel in this water (temperature was 3 degrees). But we walked to the top of the ridge, and explored the rifts. The last of the next three pictures is from the top of the North American plate, looking over the European plate.










It was also hear that I had my first experience with the Icelandic public toilet! Here (at least in the National Park) is a long narrow building that looks like a very temporary set of modular classroom buildings set end-to-end. The entrance is in the centre, and there is a person there to take your money—coin or VISA. I had no coin, so used VISA. I received a small slip from the machine which I took to be a receipt, but it turned out there was a scan code on it which allowed the machine at the entrance to know I had paid for my pee rights. And I had been warned to keep it so that I could get out of the bathroom. That place itself was clean, modern (as befitting a Nordic appliance), and outfitted at chest level with several windows along one wall. This seemed a bit unusual, and afterwards I checked to see where these windows looked out to. It was barren terrain, no chance of human voyeurs. But still a bit unsettling at first.

The roads are good here, and there is minimal traffic. They are sometimes quite narrow, so that you had to pull over to let others pass in the other direction. We headed on. Our next stop was Geysir, the original spouting water for which all the others are named. My thinking on driving there was "oh yeah, not too exciting, just a tourist trap". Was I ever wrong! The area around the main attraction was alive with steaming water holes of varying diameters, some bubbling, some sending up just steam. There are three main geysers there, with Strokkur being the most active at present. On a fairly regular schedule (5-10 minutes apart) it will shoot up a stream of hot water to the sounds of astonishment and awe from the attending crowd.





You can see people in the left background of the second shot, for reference. The day was still sunny, and cool with a fairly strong wind.

But we were not yet done. A brief stop in the coffee shop for a coffee and snack, and we were off to the big attraction: Gullfoss ("Gold falls", in Icelandic). It was just around the corner from the Geysir site.

Even though this is outside the usual tourist season, the parking. Lot was full of cars, with a load of large busses to add to the sense of busy-ness. The falls themselves were down a well-trodden, and very comfortable, path. We were lucky to have sunny weather, which meant there was a rainbow present. And they lived up to their reputation. The pictures don't really do them justice. But you can see the people on the path for reference.





After this, we were tired and cold. The obligatory gift shop was there, and we availed ourselves of it to warm up before heading for home. This time, we chose a roundabout trip to take us to a grocery store to pick up some supplies (butter, chocolate, coffee: the essentials). We hit a patch of decidedly second-rate road, but again we thought most of the roads were quite excellent.

And then to home to a home-cooked meal prepared by Dan, with Katy as sous-chef (the previous night's meal had been done by Darlene, with me as cleanup person). Lots of post-prandial talks with the two of them.

To our great fortune, the night remained clear. About midnight, Dan and I headed out to see the Northern Lights. They were there, albeit a bit underwhelming (monochromic, and faint); but at least we saw them (Dan's first time).

To bed by 2 AM.

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Location:Lækjarbrún,Hveragerði,Iceland

Final Day

There were two tours set up optionally this morning, and I skipped them both. I am ready to go home. So even a chance to meet with people about solar energy, or meet with people in the government interested in mental health issues, was not enough to drag me away.

This morning, I have caught up on sleep, emails, and blogs. We are off to an artists' location this afternoon, then back here for a quick shower and freshening up before the 24-hour flight back to Canada.

The folks who went to the solar event were flying high when I saw them; many innovative ideas coming out of that. You put down $25 on a panel, a battery, two lights, one charging area, a radio and a flashlight. Then you pay 50 cents a day (about the cost of the kerosene they are now using), and it is yours after about two years. The company can keep track of your payments remotely, and use triangulation to know roughly where you are located. The can cut off the solar panel's function if you don't pay. The panels should last over ten years, so you will have profits. And the Chinese are working on stoves, TVs, and refrigerators. And you can use the panel as collateral, to buy seeds, fertilizer, etc.

Those who went to the mental health thing were less enthusiastic. There is too much to do and too little money. But they are aware and are trying.

We were off to lunch at the Slipway, and some shopping as well. And then, now, back to the hotel for packing, a shower, and getting going.

The ride to the airport was something not to be forgotten. We were told to leave about 8 PM for a midnight flight, even though it is only about ten kilometres to the airport. We found out why: we were on a four-lane road, but there was a stoppage on the way. Everything was stopped for about an hour. Except, of course, the motorcycles which whizzed between the lanes of traffic, and the bicycles and touts who were there in a flash. We were in three different vans, and had no contact with each other, so were a bit worried about whether we would all get there in time.

And then there was the need to pee. Looked like you could get out and use a bush along the side of the road, but of course that would be the exact minute that traffic would start moving again. So you held it, and gritted your teeth.

The airport was open to the elements on the main floor, and not air conditioned (except for the wind, of course). There were several steps to security, first just to get into the airport, then to get your ticket, then to get to the gate.

But we got there, with time to spare. And prepared for the long, 24-hour trip back to Toronto.


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Location:Dar es Salaam

On to Dar

There was a poignancy about the final day at the resort. We all knew that we were here for an educational trip, but leaving the ocean was tough. It had been a needed respite from a pretty tough trip, and we were heading to the big city (Dar is about 4 million people, and growing; all of the island of Zanzibar has about 500,000).

But after a lovely day hanging around the resort, not doing too much, and having a final swim in the ocean, we packed and were ready to go early on the morning of the 27th. In the bus, and on the hour drive into Zanzibar Town. And down to the ferry terminal. This is a busy place, and a favourite for touts as well as tourists (or because of). It had the feel of India, or what I imagine India to be. We were required to show our passports again and fill out forms, since the Island is part of, but different from, the mainland state. We were escorted into the business class lounge to await our departure.

The ferry itself was a modern ship, catamaran-style, with good seating for those of us in First Class. Doris bravely ventured up to see what was involved in "cattle class", and found bare metal chairs, totally occupied and with people on the floor without chairs!). The view back over the harbour to the town was lovely.












Fortunately the sea was calm. One of the taxi drivers had said it cold be very rough on the transit, which takes over an hour. But we sailed through calm seas down to the Port of Dar es Salaam.

On this side, the human activity was even more crushing and hectic than in Zanzibar. Lots of people offering everything from CDs to drinks to t-shirts to services of various kinds. We found our bus and went for a short drive to the hotel. A standard hotel, with some differences. The reception in on the 11th floor, and my room is on the 15th. There are offices and a shopping mall below us. I look out onto the city, and can see some new office buildings, the mosque, a bit of the harbour, and the streets of traffic. And it is stifling hot out there, with air pollution as an added bonus.

We walked to a nearby Lebanese restaurant for a lovely supper.

Yesterday, we had a fair schedule. The morning was spent at the Canadian High Commission (there is no Embassy in this part of Africa). We met with the High Commissioner, who happens to be a friend of Kevin (our leader and the CEO of Farm Radio), and were given a good run-down of the ways in which Canada relates to both the country, and to Farm Radio. We had several questions, and he answered them diplomatically, as expected. We took the morning there.

As an aside, the Commission is in a neighbourhood of other embassies and High Commissions. Ours is, like others, heavily guarded. We could not take phones, computers, cameras, etc. Into the compound. And we had to go through the same type of security that you wold get at airports. But once in, it was quite congenial. And pleasant to see other Canadians.

Then to lunch, at a high (23rd story) revolving restaurant, overlooking the city. The views, as you would expect, were quite stunning, and the food was also quite good. Since this is all pre-paid, we ate, and then just walked out, which feels very strange.












From here, we were to go to the Ministry of Agriculture for Tanzania. We were told that this would take an hour, and it did. Although only a few kilometres, the traffic was horrible, with long stops (when you got surrounded both by people selling things and children begging), followed by short bursts of movement. In the end, we got out and walked to the compound of the Ministry. I didn't take a photo of the building, but should have: it reminded me of Cuba. There was no power, at least evident. It seemed to be in quite bad repair. And the halls were long and dingy.

We were met finally by one of the senior folks, who took us a longs ways to a board room in another building. We were going to have a question-and-answer session. Unfortunately for us, he was a stutterer, and talked very slowly. His companion talked fast and with a strong accent. So comprehension for me was poor. And he talked politically, by which I mean superficially, and somewhat vaguely.

Eventually, it was over, and we got back on the bus for the excruciating long ride back to the city centre. Some time to rest, and then out to supper at the Badminton Institute, a quite lovely Indian food restaurant close by. But early to bed for most of us.

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Location:Morogoro Road,Dar es Salaam,Tanzania

Beach Time

I am writing this on the final full day of our time here. I admit that I thought four days here was too much; I was wrong. We all needed a serious break in the hectic pattern of events we had been involved with.

So our first day was a recovery day. A lazy breakfast, followed by some quiet time, in which I re-organized my packing, caught up on emails (there is better wifi here than we have had for a while), had a lengthy shower, and generally relaxed. Oh yes, and swam in the ocean: the Indian Ocean is warm here, and the beach slopes gently out for about 750 metres at high tide before being above your head.


It was wonderful not having to go or do anything!

Our second full day—yesterday—we spent the morning going to the northern part of the island to a women's cooperative to see how they harvest the seaweed, and what they do with it. This was at low tide (there is a difference of about four feet between high and low tide), and much of the beach in this area was exposed, so we could walk out to where to harvest was going on. The weed itself is like tree coral in shape, although a lot more delicate.











It has the consistency of hard jello, and tastes a bit salty. It is used for its carrageenan, and this is used for soaps, perfumes, and so on, as well as for ice cream, milkshakes, and the like. Apparently, the industry was begun in the 1980's and now accounts for about 12,000 tonnes a year of exports, bringing in the second-highest foreign cash amounts, behind tourism. The shop is a small hut, again run by the co-op.

The afternoon, again, was quiet. And last night the resort decided to put on a special seafood supper for us. And it was great: tasty, varied, and of course too much food. There was tuna, Kingfish, prawns, octopus, squid, and dorado. We were all stuffed when we retired.

So this morning was a bit restrained. Some of the women had decided to go b ack into Stonetown for some shopping. Roger and Don and I did a tour of their garden here, along with their solar hot-water system. Then we men walked along the beach to the Rock Tavern and Hotel, which is on a small island you can get to by foot when the tide is out, and by boat otherwise. Since the tide was low, we walked in for a beer, partly to escape the heat.


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Location:Season resort, Pongwe Beach, Tanzania

Stonetown

Fortunately, the hotel Zenji comes with air conditioning units in each room. The room I had shared a toilet and shower with another room, and when I left my cool enclave to go to the bathroom, it was again like hitting a wall. I'm sure, if you lived here, it would become okay. But, for we northerners, it is too hot. Through the night, there was a lot of street noise, but that's the price you pay for a downtown hotel. The bed was comfortable, and the staff helpful. And the breakfast in the rooftop restaurant was very good.

We were met at the hotel by Dousa, who was to be our guide for a walking tour of Stonetown. Stonetown is the oldest part of Zanzibar City, and began as a trading post and port settled by Persians and Arabs in the 13th Century. However, things got more permanent,and the riches began to pile up with eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the Oman came and established a trade in gold, ivory, and slaves. The Portuguese came in the 18th Century, and tried to take over, unsuccessfully. It was only in the late 19th Century that the Oman lost control to the British, who established a protectorate.








Control went back and forth between various rulers, with the Oman staying in power until WW2, when the Brits regained it. Finally, in 1963, the Zanzibaris revolted and won independence, The following year, they united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania. Slave were traded through the port until 1873.

Much of the architecture of the place is a mix of Omani and European architecture, with the main ceremonial buildings showing both influences. But the balconies, the doorways are old and beautiful. Electricity was obviously an afterthought, and is chaotic.

We saw several places of importance to them: the house where Livingstone was laid in state before being transported back to England; Freddie Mercury's house; the old Fort.

Then through to the slave market area. This was quite moving. There is now an Anglican Church on the area where the slave market used to be, with the location of the whipping post referenced in White marble with red stone around it. Livingstone is remembered here as well, because he began a crusade to abolish slavery in the 1830's. One of the pictures is of the Slave Memorial, done in the last twenty years, but is very poignant: it points out that the traders kept slaves in bunches where each man or woman was from a different tribe, so they could not talk to each other.








We also saw one of the slave chambers, again quite chilling.

After this we needed a break, so the bus took us to a spice plantation, called the "Big Boy with Tata" plantation. We learned that there are very few spices native to Zanzibar (cardamon is one). But the climate and soil are good for growing them, so they were introduced by the sultans. After the Revolution, every family was given a small number of acres of land. Some of these people banded together to develop a spice industry on their collective land; this arrangement continues today. We saw the growing of pepper (a vine; all peppers come from one plant), cloves, cardamon, cinnamon (they use all parts of the tree—leaves, bark and roots), turmeric, vanilla, ginger, cacao, nutmeg; also lemon grass, coconut, jackfruit.

And we ate there. When we arrived, there was a lunch of herbed rice, with a tomato-based dish for it, as well as fried fish, and a soup. We were asked to take off our shoes (this area is 99% Muslim), and sit on the floor.Many of us don't bend that well any more, but we managed. And, after the tour, we had a sampling of fruits. As one would expect, they taste fantastic. Sweet pineapple and watermelon, lovely bananas, jackfruit, oranges (which are green on the outside, orange on the inside), coconut, breadfruit. It was lovely.








And after that, we were on our way to the beach! It had been hot, so we were all looking forward to some sea winds. The bus we were on was air-conditioned, so not too bad, since the temperature outside was over 30. As usual, after a stretch of paved road getting out of town, we were on a dirt road, bumpy as usual. We pulled up to a gate, honked, and were met by a Maasai in his robes, who opened the gate to a pretty messy place. We were prepared for the worst, and this wasn't it, so we held our breath. As we went over a slight rise, we looked ahed, and there was the resort itself, with a breezeway in the centre looking out to an azure sea with some breaking waves. You could hear the wave of relief.

Check in was smooth, and my room (actually like a chalet) is pretty far from the main lodge, but I look out to the ocean, and the doors open wide to catch the breezes. No air conditioning, but we cope. And supper that night was tasty and abundant, so we are happy folks.





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Location:Stonetown, Zanzibar City