So Africa Isn’t Perfect After All

10/9/09 – 10/10/09: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Last night will probably go down as one of the worst thus far in Africa.

After returning from dinner at 8:30, Zhou and I and most everyone else were ready for an early night to prepare us for a pre-5am wakeup this morning. By 9:00 we were ready for bed.

Mistake #1: It was quite hot on the beach, so we decided to go without our sleeping bags for the night. The one time we’d done this in the past we had our silk liners, so it was no problem. This time we did not.

Mistake #2: There was no chance of it raining, so we left the rain cover off the tent. We had made this mistake once before (remember when Zhou came to the rescue?), so we did leave the rain cover in its bag next to the tent.

Problem #1: Just after 9:00, the neighboring campsite decided it was party time (it was Friday night after all). They cranked up the music and either danced or waited outside our tents to see if anyone would crack under the loud noises. I’m not sure which would have been more fun.

Problem #2: At about 10:00, our campsite decided it was tribal drum time. As loud as the other campsite’s dance music was, this was much louder since it was right around the corner.

Problem #3: At about midnight, the skies decided to open up and release a warning rain – just enough to force everyone who had just fallen asleep to jump out of their tents to put on their rain covers.

Problem #4: Zanzibar had left me with a plethora of mosquito bites all over my upper body and Zhou with mysterious red dots all over one arm and leg.

Problem #5: Did I mention wakeup was before 5am?

If you piece all this information together, you get: unhappy, sweaty, itchy Kevin and Zhou trying to sleep stuck to their mattress pads with loud Madonna in one ear and louder drums banging in the other. Then the rains came and we were forced into a stuffy, covered tent with no ventilation just long enough to get in a quick catnap before waking up in the dark and tearing everything down to board the truck for a full day ride to Baobab camp somewhere in Tanzania.

At least I’m actually still having a great time.

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Picture of the Day: This little guy is stealing all the pineapple!

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Great Expectations

10/5/09: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Today was our one-month anniversary. [Side note: Isn’t it strange that Kevin and I have been together for over five years but we’re now celebrating our one-month anniversary?] We celebrated first by spending eight hours on a truck (with 21 of our closest friends). When we finally arrived at camp, we pitched our tents in the sand and ran down to the water (with 21 of our closest friends). We then walked down the beach (with 21 of our closest friends) to a nearby restaurant. We sat down and had a romantic candlelit dinner of chicken fajitas and fries on the beach (with 21 of our closest friends). We even shared a coke in honor of the occasion (our 21 closest friends mostly drank beer).

Oddly enough, even though we spent it with our tour group, the night was actually really romantic. While we were eating dinner, an almost-full moon rose over the water, turning from orange to a bright white, leaving a sparkling trail to our table on the beach.

I can’t wait to see what Kevin has planned for our one-year anniversary. I can only hope that it will involve 21 of our closest friends.

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Picture of the Day: The moon over the Indian Ocean

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