[Previous entry: "August 12 - Stone Town, Zanzibar (Tanzania)"] [Next entry: "August 15 - Zanzibar (Ras Nungwi)"]
We are in Zanzibar and Katie has bet me $100 that I wouldn't write another journal entry before we left for home. Well, she would have won if she didn't say something to me today. Anyway, I'll write one, no big deal!
So this whole trip has been a doozy. I'll tell you this. I haven't written alot and Katie doesn't write about the bad stuff, but there has been some highs and lows. The safari's were cool, just not my style. Katie loves them, but I would like them better if we were in a zoo, where you could see everything in the span of 1 hour. When you go on Safari, sometimes it takes 3 hours to drive a place and then you have to find the animals for 2 hours and then drive back, another 3 hours. 8 hour journeys! Oh did I mention it was about 85 degrees the whole time! But when you saw the animals they were cool looking, don't get me wrong, but come on, they sat there and looked at us, there was also 10 other cars looking. So eventually the animals would get up and move to another location and a caravan of cars would follow and all you'd hear were camera shutters snapping, as well as Jane Gooddall's (Katie's) in our car. For me, if the animals weren't out on a kill mission, they were sleeping. That's cool to see them, but come on! I wouldn't want to watch anything sleep. How boring is that. I could go to the zoo and see the same lion sleeping. But hey, it might not sound like I am greatful to be here. I am, honestly. I first I wasn't. I mean come on, who wants to get Malaria? I don't. Who wants to get rushed by an elephant, rhino, or hippo? Once again, I don't. But then I say, hey I can tell people I've been to Africa, and thats pretty cool. Did a safari in the bush. Saw gorillas up close (really close). Thats cool. Almost saw a cheetah kill. That was the best part I think.
We were just coming out of lunch and a whole bunch of cars were just looking out in this field, and there were not one but two cheetahs. They were stalking gazelles. So they flanked the gazelle and went after them but they missed. Then they just sat down. The bad part other than the missed kill, was that we had to look through the binoculars to see any of this because they started close but then they walked away to start the stalk. When I was watching them though, I'm telling you, my heart was racing. It was better than watching TV and seeing it. I really wanted to see a kill though. But hey, came close. So we ended up seeing all the animals and that was cool. Not complaining. I had fun, but I am having the best time now. We are in Zanzibar, and honestly, I've never heard of the place. I'm not into the travel channel and E's Wild-On shows like that. I know of the places everybody else knows. Hawaii, Fiji, Caribean, and Ibiza off of Spain. You know well-known party islands. Well, Zanzibar is crazy. So we get here and it kind of reminds me of Italy. Venice actually. We both agreed on that. Like Venice, it's all sort of Persian and Indian looking. The first day we went to Prison Island where they used to keep the slaves. Well now its a turtle sanctuary. We fed turtles and that was fun. Then we kicked it on the beach. The beach was tiny, like a private personal beach, it was bad ass. So I made a sand counch and we lounged. It was cool. Then we went on a tour of the city. That was cool too. The next day we went to swim with the dolphins. For me, this was the best day on the trip so far!! So me and Katie had this idea that we were going to do the whole Sea World experience, and no no no. We get on this rickety boat and go out far from the coast. All these other boats are there and full of people, and we just cruise. Then a dolphin comes up for air and you see like 20 dolphins come up. Well, the boats take off after them, its like a race to get to them. Boats are cutting each other off. And its mayhem. Well, we get in front of the dolphins and they are coming right for the boat and the boat man goes, "OKAY, JUMP!" And you think he's kidding, but you look at the other people in the boats and they are piling out. Just mad scramble in the water. And I was reading in the book Katie has that you are supposed to slip into the water because the splash will make the dolphins run, and they did. So then the people are in the middle of the ocean doing eggbeaters to stay afloat while the boats are trying to pick them back up and asking the people in the water did you see what direction the dolphins were headed. Amazing, we did this about 10 times. After the first 4 I was tired of jumping in and out of the water. Swimming when you know the bottom is 200 feet below you is not that much fun. So anyway, I was done jumping and just when I said I wasn't going to jump in, Katie did, and the dolphins passed right by her. She said she saw them up close. Well, I was pissed. I wasted all my strength. Jumping in after they were leaving. Well, I was like the next time I'm going. So we tried 2 more times. Still didn't see them. Well, the third time, I didn't listen to the boat guy I jumped in with our driver. So we were sitting there in the ocean, and nothing was happening and all of a sudden, I feel something brush my leg. I look down through the goggles and see this huge head! So I did what anybody would do, I screamed through my snorkle. Well, that freaked the dolphin out and he booked. Well, when I put my head up, the driver was like they are over there and he was pointing, well, he went to swim and kicked me in the stomach. So I'm trying to swim in pain, and I just can't do it. So I try to look for my boat. Well, I turned my head, and the boat wasn't very far at all. When I turned my head, I ran right into it. THWACK!! Yeah, that hurt. Didn't bleed but everybody on the boat heard it. Then you hear the driver scream and he starts swimming like crazy back to the boat. I put my hand on the side of the boat and looked down through the goggles. It was awesome. Just this blanket of dolphins flying through the water right underneath the boat, I saw like 8 or ten of them. It was amazing. So we both get back on the boat, and apparently everybody on our boat and all the other boats were laughing at the two guys who were scared of the dolphins. Just to let you know now, we weren't afraid of the dolphins. We were just startled. Apparently the driver was screaming because when he went to swim to them, there were a bunch of them and he swam in their path. Well, he saw all of the ones that I saw go under the boat, but he saw them real close. A couple of them swam through his crotch! He was scared! I would have been too though. So he was screaming and swimming away from the dolphins path. Once we were back on the boat we were all laughing. It was great. The sun had just come out and we were happy as can be. Then me and Katie went snorkeling. That was cool too. It was relaxing and calm. It was good until I started thinking about that movie Open Waters. If you haven't seen that movie, don't if you ever want to go snorkeling or anything. Trust me. Anyway, so I was good until that point and I called it a day. We took some underwater pictures with the camera. Hopefully it worked out all right. And now we are on the North Tip of Zanzibar chillin'. Its cool. We have a beach front cottage, and I'm writing this journal entry just thinking about what I'm going to do with $100. Well, I'm thinking I'm going to do this for the next couple of days. If the sun ever comes out, I will chill on the beach. If it doesn't I will chill on the deck, when it rains, I will chill inside. The key word is CHILL. No Safari, no Gorilla Trek, nothing but chillin'. And I can't wait. This is the fourth and final journal entry, its been real, its been fun, but it hasn't been real fun! Just kidding, it's been great! See you all at home. And if you want more details that you couldn't find here. Just come over the house and bring me something to drink! Peace!
Beer Tally:
Castle
Serengeti
