Zanzibar

What a beautiful island this is....very HOT and humid but a good start to being conditioned to ride in this type of weather. We have stayed two nights in Stonetown and will now go to the north end for a few days. We all rejoin as a group in Arusha ready to leave on March the 16th.

The adventure continues and each day brings new insights. We are all happy to leave Ethiopia and be south of the equator. The countries we will be in over the next two months are more developed and geared to tourists. Do not get me wrong each of the three countries we have traveled are beautiful and the people as a whole have been amazing but it is all about making money and pressuring you and following you at all times. Here in Tanzania we walk about without a hassle and feel the pressure of watching over you back to be gone. We are a large group and when we come to town to eat they are not used to such a number and the service fro even a coffee can take an hour...and anybody who is impatient will eventually get mad and try to get what they want when they want it...and of course get more frustrated.

It has been an experience to watch how others handle situations. Myself i just sit back and say to myself...this is African time.

From the TDA website..."The cyclist’s bodies have also begun to break down. It has not been just the weight loss that comes with the massive amount of mileage. The “veggies” have had a particularly tough time. A number of them have small wounds that are just not healing well. Miles, our chef, has done wonders with the food but Africa is definitely not prepared for vegetarians, at least not those that intent on cycling more than 100km per day."...seems if the doctor is saying this then you would think that something would be done about it...but that has not been the case to date..I will bring this up when I return...you can see why my riding has been reduced...and I know that I must remember the difference between an intention and an expectation.

I am now up at the North end of the island and have checked into a beautiful resort on the Indian Ocean. The largest regret I have is that my partner Randi is not here to share it with me...as relationships have a lot to do with memories this will be one that will be in my mind only..photos will have to suffice for Randi. I know that we will have a lot to talk about when I return but this has been my experience and it will not be his..such is the loss...LOVE you anyway:-)))


Deb and I are the only two who are staying here at the moment. It is hard when there are nine of us trying to book into a hotel...so many patterns come into play. Deb and I have become used to sharing a hotel room..we are respectful of each other and make sure we pay each other back when we "borrow" money...we are each able to allow the other their adventure...many of us do the sharing to cut down costs as we are all on budgets that have been blown out of the waters...thank goodness for plastic as it is now accepted in Tanzana...and what a treat to use my ATM card. The currency in Tansania is shillings..you get about 11,000 per dollar so when you get money from the ATM you have a HUGE wad of money that is worth very little...and it goes quickly as you eat.

We went on a spice tour yesterday and I now know about many of the spices that I use and why some are so expensive. I was able to enjoy a spiced coffee here that had ginger, nutmeg and cloves in it...hmmmm...maybe I need to bring this back to Toronto and see if it is worth starting a coffee house over...just kidding!!!!


I am now going to go for a nap...I have found that since I have stopped riding that I realize just how tired I am..so off to the hammock I go and dream about getting back onto the bike...well I will try!!!


Stay well fellow readers and send me some comments!! I will update mileage tomorrow.

Cheers
Jamie