African Travel

I've been home from the great continent now for almost a week.  It will take a while for me to truly process all that I saw, and I have no doubt for years to come, that I'll continue to relish in this amazing adventure.  But, while it is still fresh, I want to share a few tips and tidbits from traveling in Africa.

First off, if traveling to see the animals in Africa is even remotely on your list, make it happen.  There are several African countries that offer unique and memorable experiences where you can choose to safari.  Do your research, but I believe most offer similar opportunities and similar sitings of animals.  Tanzania was absolutely perfect for us!  (We do hope to go back to more places, though!)

I know that people may be cautious and/or anxious about traveling because of the expectations we westerners have when we travel.  The safari companies know how we are, they know our expectations, and things are catered to us.  (Un?)fortunately, we come with a bit of a reputation for high standards, but this meant that comfort, ease and culinary items all met those high expectations.  So, don't let that worry you! 

That being said, before we joined the Tanzanian safari, we experienced, to the tiniest of degrees, some of the inconveniences that people struggle with daily there when we were staying in much cheaper places.  Electricity, water (especially hot) and WiFi are not a given, nor are they constant even when they do work.  A restaurant we went to was out of power, so the menu was limited to what could be cooked on the gas stove.  A hotel we stayed at had power outages throughout the night, so our devices didn't charge.  The campsite we stayed at in Rwanda, that had showers and flushing toilets had no water one day.  But, they boiled hot water from their reserve for us to each take a bucket shower.  When I apologized to the man carrying my bucket for me, he simply responded with a smile and, "It's Africa.  This happens."

However, if you are paying for a safari tour (and I don't mean one that breaks the bank!), I believe these incidents would be incredibly rare.  Truly, the way we were cared for, was incredible.  I believe anyone, of any age could enjoy a safari.  Sure, the schedule is quite trying as you are usually gone by eight each morning and not returning until five or six in the evening, but you rarely have to walk far at all.  Remember, you're where all the animals are, so you are supposed to stay in the car!  The car rides were long and bumpy, but worth any minor discomfort for the reward of seeing the animals.  Most of the highways we were on were fine, but some of the dirt roads leading up to our accommodations were rough.  I mean, it is important for women to wear supportive undergarments kind of rough.  But again, utterly and completely worth it.  In fact, we learned that the sketchier the driveway, the nicer the accommodation! 

We expected things to be inexpensive.  They were not.  This is not to say that trinkets or restaurants were expensive, they just were not inexpensive.  This was due to many reasons.  First off, we stuck out like a sore thumb.  There was no blending in, even if we wanted, so I have no doubt that the price we were quoted was meant for us and would not have been the same for locals purchasing the exact same item.  Also, prices in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania were in American dollar.  Yes, we paid for most things using American dollars.  They did not use American coins, so things were rounded up and were often a similar to price to what we pay at home (Alabama prices, not New York City prices).  When you go, make sure you take new, crisp bills.  Rwanda and Uganda were very strict, only accepting bills younger than ten years old and with absolutely no tears or marks on them.  Tanzania was not nearly as strict.  Many places did not take credit card, or it wasn't consistent because of the internet and electricity, so cash was essential.

Cape Town was much more inexpensive than I anticipated, partly because they are not on the American dollar.  We enjoyed spending money here!  We went to a fancy restaurant where we each got three tapas and a large glass of wine.  After tip, it was $50 total for the two of us.   In Cape Town, we used our credit cards much more frequently and were able to use ATMs when need be.  (If you're headed that way soon, let me know as I accidentally ended up with about $35 worth of South African rands!)

One of the things that was difficult and hard to get used to was driving through poverty to end up at our luxurious accommodations.  This was hard.  It was icky.  It made me feel uncomfortable.  But, in the same breath, I would not have been comfortable pulling up to the concrete enclosure and sharing a small space with a leaky roof, a door that doesn't close completely, without a flushing toilet nearby with a large number of people.  My hope as we drove past these homes was that the money we were paying was going into the community and supporting people.  I'm not sure how to make it better, but this is just something to be aware of.  The children on the streets eagerly waved to us, and we smiled and waved in return.  Lou told us the kids would run home and shout, "The white people gave me greetings!"  I had taken stickers as an easy thing to pass out, but the opportunity to hand them out was very rare, so it was an unnecessary thing to carry.

Just as "island time" exists, there were certainly things that fell on "Africa time."  It just meant that I needed to be patient, knowing that there was no reason to rush.  Even when you are at the airport and your flight has been delayed by three days (no, that is not a typo), just be patient, it will all work out as it is supposed to.  "Hakuna Matata!"

There were certainly times that there were some misunderstandings or some miscommunications, but generally speaking, this was never a real problem.  Everyone we encountered spoke English, and I mean everyone.  I am always so humbled going to other countries when I cannot speak more than greetings in a few other languages, and they can sprout out conversations in a multitude of languages.  Many of the people we encountered could speak a handful of languages.

Who knew that Africa would be a great place to escape Alabama heat?  Was it hot?  Sure.  Was it as miserable as June in Alabama?  Far from it!  Most of our days were in the low eighties with incredibly low humidity which meant cool nights where we wanted to cuddle up with a sweatshirt.  We experienced one rain shower in Tanzania, and a few in Zanzibar, but otherwise, our time in central Africa was practically perfect weather.  These are not places that experience hurricanes nor earthquakes, so their weather is relatively moderate.  Lou said he could remember one tornado in his entire life.  Cape Town was a bit of a different story.  While the weather was not horrific nor brutal, several of the days were not at all pleasant.  If possible, I would make sure to go in a time not in the heart of their winter.

Always consult a physician before you travel.  I've had several vaccinations throughout the years, so most of those were up-to-date, but I did have to take the dream-inducing malaria pills as a precaution while traveling.  Although, I've gotten more bites in the week I've been home than in the month I was traveling.  I'm afraid that Imodium has become a regular companion for me in my travels.  I don't need it all the time, but with all of the different foods I encountered along the way, it can be very helpful.  And while I hate, absolutely hate, buying bottled water, it is necessary as the water isn't clean for anyone to drink.  I gobbled up cold tap water as soon as we got to Cape Town where it was safe to drink!

My friends and family are always anxious when I travel to a country that is a little off the beaten path, and I understand that.  I never once felt unsafe, though.  Yes, it is impossible to blend in, so you do stand out, but that did not mean I was any less safe.  As in anywhere, be aware of your surroundings, and make good decisions.  The people that we encountered along the way were incredible.  We had gracious, welcoming hosts at each of our stays and helpful people at every step in between.  The people we came across were proud of their country and honored that we had chosen to visit it.

So, should you travel to Africa? YES!  Go ahead, book it now.  Then, please tell me all about it so that I know where to go next time!  I am in no way an expert on this topic, but I took good notes and would love to chat if you ever want to talk.

Thank you for reading, and thanks for following along!

Cape Town

Cape Town, the Mother City, is beautifully situated on the south western tip of this great continent. As the Mother City, not only is she steeped in history as the oldest city in the country, but she’s warm and welcoming. Cape Town has struggled with equality for generations, but she seems to be overcoming that by embracing everyone.

Cape Town was aptly named because it is on the coast surrounded by so many welcoming capes. The Dutch first created a settlement here in the mid-seventeenth century as a stopping point from Europe to their trading points in the East. When they first landed, they were thrilled to see natives with cattle and goats that they could trade with for fresh meat. The Dutch, as they began to settle the area brought with them enslaved peoples from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa as well as skilled laborers from Asia, most specifically Indonesia. In the early nineteenth century, the British took over. 

We had about a week in Cape Town. Our time was lovely, but we did not count on difficult weather that impeded some of our plans. After a month of traveling, we were in an apartment where we were free to curl up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket and watch romantic comedies, most of which we could already quote. It is winter here, which I knew coming in, but the temperatures I had read about did not match what we encountered. Mid-60s and sunshine is very different from upper-50s with clouds and strong winds. But this just lead to shopping opportunities for us both! As in the winter, when days are short, and I’m prone to want to hibernate, I believe we both felt that, and embraced short days when the sun didn’t shine until around eight and it got dark by six. I do believe, however, that had we been here in different circumstances, we may have checked more things off our list. 

We had several “big days” that included things like our delicious food tour of Cape Town and another day driving south to see the penguins. On the Fourth of July, we booked a wine tram through wine country. It was so well done, so well organized, and so much fun! The countryside was beautiful, even though the grape vines were in a period of rest. A few notes to anyone else who may choose to do this: research the wineries on your trail ahead of time as we did, so we knew which ones we wanted to get to. Another lesson I learned (the hard way), is that it is not the best idea to squeeze in the maximum number of visits in the day, despite the desire to see them all. Visiting and sampling at five wineries meant the ones toward the end were well, um, not as “memorable.”

Another day, we went on a free walking tour around the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. It was great, and oh so informative. Those early Asian skilled laborers that were brought here first developed this area as their own, which is why there are so many mosques in the area. The mosques were welcoming places for all to learn, including many of the enslaved peoples, whom after receiving such generosity as a free education, often converted to Islam. It is why still today, Cape Town has the highest population of Muslims in the country.

In 1934, due to the crowds that were living in this neighborhood of the city, the area was deemed an undesirable slum. Slowly but surely, people realized the value of this land, so central to downtown. The families who owned these homes are now struggling to hold on to them due to gentrification. It has also become so popular because of how beautifully bright colored all the buildings are painted. There are lots of stories as to why they are so brightly colored, such as different colors represent different skills of the laborers, or because the uniforms they had to wear were so drab, they wanted to express themselves in other ways. But, the bright colors didn’t come about until the late 1990s. It seems, instead, to simply be a form of expression, celebrating freedom and the rainbow of the city.

On a rainy day, we ventured into Zeitz Museum, a contemporary African Art Museum. It was lovely, but neither of us is cultured enough to truly appreciate modern art. 

Twice we had tickets to Robben Island, the prison island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for nearly three decades. A former prisoner was going to show us around and tell us more about this political prison. However, weather meant that the ferry to the island didn’t run. After seeing the waves along the coast, we were disappointed but very thankful that the call was made for our safety.

As for the weather, most of what we encountered wasn’t much more than a torrential downpour or a light thunderstorm that we may encounter (we did have sunny days and hours mixed in, too!). At home, these would have canceled soccer games, and perhaps dinner plans with those friends you see all the time. But here, this weather was extreme. Many things were cancelled or closed due to the weather, even an indoor market we tried to venture out to. It was the winds that made this weather ever the more ferocious. There were several nights that the loud howling gusts of winds woke us both throughout the night. I must admit that at multiple points through the night, I wondered if we’d wake up in Oz, carried away like Dorothy. One morning, we even woke up to a pile of ice pellets in the corner of our vast porch, left from the hail through the night.

We found that shopping in Cape Town was really fun. This was for a few reasons. First off, there were some great items, some of which we had seen along the way through our travels on the continent, and some were new. Second, for just about the first time, things were fairly inexpensive because prices were not in dollar. Third, possibly most importantly was that this was our last stop, so we didn’t have to carry it on anywhere else! On days when the weather wasn’t great, shops welcomed us with open arms. We enjoyed shopping in stores along the waterfront, a fun area reminiscent of piers along California’s Bay Area. A huge, bustling mall even sat on the waterfront, very different from our own desolate, crumbling malls at home. The Watershed was a huge warehouse with little stalls throughout where artists sold their creations.  On the worst weather day, we ventured out to the Old Biscuit Mill where we had read the indoor weekend markets were always fun and filled with foods and crafts. The storms had closed most of the market, but thankfully a few small stores were open to look through.

The inexpensive prices also meant we treated ourselves to some delicious meals at some swanky places for reasonable prices. My favorite was Bouchon Wine Bistro where we each got two tapas that were creative and the perfect serving size along with a sweet dessert. As this country is still part of the British Commonwealth, we partook in one of our favorite British traditions of English Tea, twice! Once was on a sunny afternoon in the gardens, and once was at a fancy resort outside of town that overlooked the churning ocean waves.

On a sunny afternoon, we ventured to the outskirts of town to the Botanical Gardens. They were vast, expansive green areas in the shadow of Table Mountain. Even on a winter day, the grasses were lush and green and a few spots of color could be seen. Guineas wandered about, no doubt safe from most predators, although there were large dinosaurs present in the part that included ancient plant life. There was even a walk through the woods designed for people with poor vision, complete with a large rope to hold on to a guide you as well as explanatory signs in Braille.

We had a walking tour through District Six scheduled, but (un?)fortunately, that fell through. So, we went into the District Six Museum and paid the extra $1 to have someone who grew up in the area tell us her stories as she showed us around. Frances was the most adorable, fascinating person, and I’m only sorry that our time with her was limited. District Six is an area of town that was once deemed a slum, and the thousands of people squeezed into this area were neglected on all different fronts. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, this area became prime real estate due to the location between the mountain and the beach, so the wealthy whites wanted it for their own.

As Frances tells it, her childhood here was happy. She said it was crowded and there wasn’t good sanitation, but people of all sorts were squeezed into the tiny area, supporting one another and learning from one another. Jews, Muslims, Catholics and Protestants all lived happily here. Whites, blacks and colored (I’ll get to that in a minute) lived side-by-side. Frances even remembered the gay men in the neighborhood who taught them all to dance. When this area became desirable, with very little notice, everyone was forced to move out of town into segregated housing before the buildings were all bulldozed. She spoke of a favorite doll she had had to leave behind and how decades later, it was found in some of the rubble.

Where the word “colored” is no longer acceptable in the United States, it is a term that has been and continues to be used today as an a description for a race of people. Black was deemed as the dark skin color, more associated with African descent. Colored is used to describe anyone in between. It often describes people with a mix of Asian and African descent. Names in South Africa are also very telling of lineage. For example, one of our guides described herself as colored, but because of her last name, she was quite certain that her descendants had been enslaved peoples brought in. Her last name was January, most likely because her descendants were forced off the boat in Cape Town in January. Her sister just married an October.

There were so many features of Cape Town that made it unique and special. Not only is on the southern coast of a great continent, but its geography is fascinating. Within the city boundaries, there is ground at sea level and ground at well over 3,000 feet. Table Mountain, so named by the Portuguese over five hundred years ago, is just as one would expect, tall and flat. There are several beautiful peaks in the area, available for climbing, but Table Mountain is the most well-known. If you’ve followed us for long, you know Jessica and I love to hike and have climbed our fair share of mountains. We probably should have climbed it, but with questionable weather, colder than anticipated temperatures and some trail reviews that included ladders, we cheated. Table Mountain has a cable car that goes to the top. On a beautiful afternoon with little wind (it was closed during some of our stay due to wind), we raced up to catch the view. At the top, since it is flat, there was a very nice and accessible trail to wander around, and a cafe where we got hot chocolate with a view!

Many people we encountered, including some of the locals made us cautious about our safety while being in Cape Town. We never felt unsafe, although, just as in any big city, especially one with stark differences in wealth, there were lots of reports of pick-pockets. So, just as any good traveler would do, we were cautious and aware of our surroundings.

There were many things left undone in Cape Town, like visiting Robben Island and a bustling Old Biscuit Mill weekend market. Paragliding off Table Mountain sounded like a fun adventure (that I’ve enjoyed in other places), but, you remember how I thought I’d wake up in Oz, right? I would love to be out on the water there, especially to see a sunset. We had even looked at going cage diving to see sharks, but in reviews it seems that many of the great whites have been scared away from these waters from orcas controlling the waters. (And also, did I mention how chilly it was?) 

I’ve left Cape Town behind, but not as a checked item on my list, but rather a city that intrigued me that I hope will welcome me back again sometime.

Vast Differences and Penguins

While there were several big reasons for us to visit Cape Town, one of the biggest pulls was to get to see the penguins, Jessica‘s most favorite animal. While they do not live exactly in Cape Town, there are two colonies within a couple hours drive from here. We looked into booking a day tour, but we were worried that we would not get to be in control of the time and that we may feel rushed. With some research, it appeared that driving in Cape Town would be fairly similar to the driving we do at home, albeit on the other side of the road, so we decided to rent a car for the day.

There were car rental places within a couple blocks of where we are staying, so that part of the process was fairly simple. While I have often been the one to drive on our travels due to the cars being manual, Jessica volunteered to drive our car for the day, and she did an incredible job!

We had one slight detour, getting out of town, but generally, we got to Betty’s Bay without a glitch. During the hour and a half drive there, much of it was on a large highway similar to our interstate system. Once we got off the motorway, we drove through a very wealthy area. It was full of golf courses, grand gated estates, wide sidewalks, decorated lawns, and huge houses with views of the ocean beyond. The last 15 miles or so were on a two lane curvy road on the edge of the ocean, similar to highway one in California. There were rocky hillsides directly to our left and ocean vistas with signs to look for whales just to our right. Baboons blocked our progress only once, but construction crews blocked it many more times. Apparently, as winter is the low travel season, it must also be the season that roadwork is completed.

Betty’s Bay is a lovely little community full of moderate-sized vacation homes and retirees complete with a pickle-ball club. Many people come here to see the penguins, so there were lots of fabulous signs along the way. However, as we got close, our GPS and the signs had differing opinions on which way we should go. We were a little bit lost, when we saw, at a gateway to a parking lot, two little penguins, welcoming us, and showing us the way to go.

African penguins used to be called jackass penguins, not because of their personalities, but because of the sound that they make. It is incredibly reminiscent of a donkey! They stand about 2 feet tall and weigh around 10 pounds. So, yes, they are about as adorable as they come! Watching them waddle about was simply adorable. As these creatures are endangered, the communities that host them have fully embraced them. Their nests can often be found in peoples’ yards, but there is a nature reserve complete with a boardwalk where people can walk along and view their nests and homes without disturbing them. In fact, the communities have provided fiberglass burrows to support them. At Betty’s Bay, there were incredibly few people, but even then, the penguins didn’t act like they were bothered by us at all, although, they did hide their babies from us anytime we spotted them. 

Dassies, adorable mounds of brown fur in the ground hog family also dotted the coastlines amongst the rocks. They seemed to live in harmony, not really bothering one another.

Then, we set off to see Simon’s Town, another community where penguins live. Our route had us turn off the motorway and head south, but in a vastly different area than where we had been before. Cape Town is home to about five million people, but less than half a million people leave in the downtown area. Our guide the other night had explained that the median income for people living here is pretty low, and the cheapest apartments in the city were more than the median income, so most of the millions of people lived outside of the city. He had described their living arrangements that sounded impossible next to all this wealth we had just seen. After turning off the motorway this time, we discovered that while the living conditions were impossible, millions of people are living that way here. Living structures were created from scrap metal on top of dirt and were about ten feet by ten feet wide practically on top of one another with satellite dishes and power lines squeezing in amongst them. There were not just a few of them, but like the endless plains of the Serengeti, these homes stretched on as far as the eye could see. Roads were blocked, once by police cars and once by a purposefully set fire in the road, so we were in this area for much longer than intended. I did not feel unsafe, but I felt incredibly uncomfortable. Jess did a beautiful job and got us out of there safely, and we got back on the motorway and were able to take a different path. I’m sorry for the circumstances that led us there, but seeing it also was a good reminder, especially after the incredible wealth we had driven through earlier in the day.

Simon’s Town is a much more popular spot to view the penguins. This is partly because its proximity to Cape Town as well as its popularity after the recent Netflix documentary, Penguin Town. As such, it is much more curated for visitors with some shops and restaurants selling themed items as well as a very nice visitor center. While there were also fiberglass burrows in places here, many of the Penguins were kind enough to build their nests right along the beach in a large colony so that we had great viewing of their babies. The babies grow quickly, but it takes a while for their feathers to become waterproof and look like the adults. As such, we got to see babies of different sizes and shapes in all different stages of growing up. We got to watch as their waddle, or group of penguins on land, became a raft, a group of penguins in the water and vice versa, watching them go from awkward walks into expert swimmers.

As part of our drive, we also decided to enter the national park and were a bit pressed for time, so we did not get to go on any hikes nor enjoy much there, but we got to see a few ostriches and the beautiful rugged land on our way to the most southwesterly point of the continent. The Cape of Good Hope stands here where the Indian ocean and the Atlantic ocean meet. The water is stunningly blue, seals rested on large boulders, and rocky hills seem to drop directly into the ocean.

Leaving there, we knew we were pressed for time, but it wasn’t until I plugged in the rental car address that I realized just how pressed we were. Our car rental was due back at 6 PM. Yes, we had another viable option, but for the sake of the story, let’s say we did not. Our navigation system said that we would be arriving back at the car rental address at 5:53 PM. We were incredibly careful not to take any wrong turns on our way back, and Jess navigated so beautifully, that we pulled in at 5:56 and didn’t have to deal with option number two.

It was an eye-opening day, and well worth the drive for so many reasons!

Cape Town Food Tour

New country means a food tour! I absolutely love a food tour. It’s a way to get to know at least one local, often some fellow travelers, and try some food that I would not have tried on my own. Food is such a part of each of our cultures and heritage, that trying food in new places is almost like visiting the heart of a place. We found the food tour that we did today on Tripadvisor, and it had glowing reviews. We were very excited about it, but as our only other food tour in Africa had been a bit of a disappointment, we certainly went into this afternoon with a bit of hesitation. There was no reason whatsoever for us to be anxious.

Our guide, Sifiso, was incredible. He was gentle, kindhearted, and passionate about his home. He is from the other side of South Africa, but has lived in Cape Town for the past 10 years. He is a small business supporter, and he and his girlfriend have been handcrafting beautiful leather bags that they are trying to find a market for. He did not begin this particular food tour, his teammate, Dennis, an ex patriot from Germany, did. Their goal is not only to share food with travelers, but also stories. None of the places that we went into today were ones that I ever would’ve wandered in on my own, and the food was simply divine. He said it was hard to even call many of them restaurants, but they were called kitchens.

The history of South Africa is one that I have much to learn about. I do know, however, that it is one that is recent. This is a country that has only recently grappled with horrific inequalities. As such, however, it seems that they are eagerly moving forward, and in many ways by-passing other countries who have not dealt with the same recent struggles. We started our tour in a square where a famous Dutch church sits that has been in that same place for 300 years. Just outside the church steps, was a market where enslaved peoples were sold right after church services. There are plaques that include names of those people, of course, most of the names were not ever truly recorded, and the ones that were were rarely the names that their mothers gave them. And yet, today, the church stands. It holds services weekly for all to enter, but the service is spoken in Afrikaans. There is dark history here for sure, but beautiful irony as it moves forward.

The first place that we walked into was a tiny little hole in the wall with the sign over the top of a name that I do not remember, but it is of no importance. For the last 14 years that restaurant has not been the one whose name is on the board. Nor does the restaurant serve the food on the giant placard that takes up 2/3 of one of the walls of the restaurants. Sifiso told us he asked why they didn’t take the signs down, and they simply responded, “Well that takes money.”

The restaurant is a Somalian restaurant. South Africa is home to refugees from around the continent. The largest percentage of those refugees are from Somalia. We joined our fellow American tourists by eating with our hands using chapati bread to help us scoop up rich bites of rice, beef, cabbage, and potato. There were also spaghetti noodles on the plate. While these did not seem to fit with the rest of the traditional foods, as the story apparently goes, the Italians tried to colonize Somalia. It did not work, but Somalia kept some of the things that they liked about the Italians!

We walked around the city some, allowing our first course to digest. Sifiso told us about some ins and outs of the city, explained some street names, walked us through a flower market that has been in place for a number of years thanks to the generosity of someone who once owned the land it now sits on, and took us into the old post office building. It appears that many big old buildings here in the city that are no longer needed for their original use are being creatively repurposed. Throughout the large post office building, small booths and tables of vendors are set up and pay a moderate fee for being there. We were introduced to one entrepreneur who specializes in educating South Africans. He searches for used books on African history, business, interesting biographies, and self-help books.

Our next restaurant, a Xhosa one, represents one of the largest ethnic groups in South Africa. We had a traditional Sunday lunch of seven colors on a Monday evening. The rice and the meats represented two different colors while the vegetables and side items represented the other five. It was as beautiful as it was delicious! The bread like soft sourdough, but apparently it is cooked in boiling water.

Our next treat came from an ethnic group that I must admit I knew nothing about. They are called Cape Malay. They are a mostly Muslim group of South Africans, who trace their descendants back to enslaved people that the Dutch and British brought with them from Asia, specifically Indonesia. The chili bite that we ate was similar to a hush puppy in texture, but bursting with flavor as well as, yes, bites of chili.

At each of our stops, we always had some leftover food. Sifiso and his incredible kindness and thoughtfulness would get a take away container each time. He carried these with us, and I assumed they would be his lunch for tomorrow. However, slowly as we went, he found people that needed these meals and graciously passed them off. He didn’t want us to see him doing this, as he did it quietly and with intention on who he chose, but his generosity added depth to our tour. His simple acts of kindness showed the deep love he has for this country.

On our next stop, we went to Heaven. No, that’s not a metaphorical speaking of how delicious the food was, but rather a geographical location. If in fact, you are looking for Heaven, look no further than Central Methodist Mission Churchyard in Cape Town. It’s a coffee shop. This beautiful church is not much more than a century old, but it’s activism in the community rings truer than the bell that has only been rung once in it’s tower as it shook the foundation of all of the buildings around. The coffee shop has some outdoor tables, but if you want to sit inside, just pick a pew. The pews and altar cushions are covered in vibrant cloths in rainbow patterns. The church is known for being active in the community and speaking up when people are not being treated fairly. I was touched by this humble church and the beautiful work she does, especially after my own, home Methodist Church recently went through a great division, mostly due to the rights of the LGBTQ community. Looking around at the rainbows sharing God’s love for all was a perfect way to enjoy tea brewed by a man who had been so moved by the AA meetings held in this church that he wanted to help others by bringing Heaven to them. While many African countries still do not permit people to love who they love, some even punish it as a crime, South Africa has had legalized gay marriages since 2017. It appears that Cape Town is a haven for all sorts of people seeking refuge on this continent.

While sipping on our deliciously brew coffees and teas, we also had a delicious cake bite of sorts. It was called a Koek sister which simply translates to cake sister. It was somewhere in between a donut hole and a cake bite, and it was delicious!

Our last stop on the tour was a place called Fatima’s. Fatima and her sister come from the western part of Africa from the country of Mali. One of the reasons this restaurant has become so special, is that they have found ways to represent many different western African countries in their dishes, making people from all over this great continent feel like they are at home at this welcoming kitchen. Many of the flavors were similar to those that I enjoyed while in Senegal. We drank bissap and tamarind juice, dipped our food in peanut sauce, and enjoyed jollof rice along with our fish and beef. What a treat!

A few months ago, my Mom sent me this article. I read it, but I didn’t take note of the food tour as I should have. How lucky I was to find out on my tour, that this was the same one that a New York Times journalist had been on and enjoyed. It was not only the food that was delicious, but the spirit of the city that seemed to be conveyed by the people that we met and the stories that we heard.

Pole Pole in Zanzibar

In planning our trip, Zanzibar was in my realm of knowledge, but not high on my list of destinations. However, we both talked to enough friends that sang her praises with flying colors, so we added some time on this lovely little island, and I’m so very thankful that we did!

Zanzibar is a fair amount smaller than Rhode Island with a population of about two million people. It is an island that lies about twenty three miles off the coast line of Tanzania. Before 1961, when Tanzania was ruled by the British, the main land country was called Tanganyika. After 1961, the island nation and the mainland joined together, combining their names into one. While they are a joint nation in many ways, there are many in which they are separate entities. For example, there is a president of each. While the mainland has a higher rate of Christianity, the island is close to one hundred percent Muslim, so different holidays are observed by schools.

The island has a long history of being a trade capital, connecting east Africa to the Middle East and Asia. The island was an ideal climate for growing spices, cloves and cinnamon specifically. Unfortunately, it was also a major hub for the East Africa slave trade. This did not completely end until 1907, yes, just over one century ago.

Today, the busy city of Stone Town (so named because the buildings, still today, are made of stone) is central for tourism and trade. We spent a day in this city, with an informational tour guide who shared with us much of the history, most of which, I had little to no clue about.

There are four small islands off the coast of Stone Town. One, called Snake Island, not because of the slithery residents, but because it is really just a grove of mangrove trees whose roots resemble snakes. Another is popular for beach days and snorkeling. Another one is being developed into a fancy hotel resort. The fourth, the one we visited, is called Prison Island. 

After a twenty minute, questionably stable boat ride, we made it to the tiny island. It has great potential for a day escape, but as of right now, there is a lot left to be desired. In the 1800s, the island started as a hospital for those with yellow fever as a way to isolate them from the public. Afterwards, for a few years, while a prison was being built in Stone Town, the hospital was converted to what I can only imagine was a pretty horrific prison. It was only a prison for a few years. Then, in the recent century, a lovely hotel with a luxurious pool looking over the water was built. Sadly, it is now in a state of ruins, but there are hopes of someone building it back up. The prison itself has been turned into a fun, funky bar, a book store, a small museum, a restaurant, and even a space for some artistic demonstrations. 

But the real reason we wanted to go to Prison Island was to see the tortoises. After the island played host to people infected with yellow fever, as a thank you, the island nation of Seychelles sent four tortoises. Today, only one of them remains, and he just celebrated his two hundredth birthday. But don’t worry, he’s not lonely. He’s surrounded by one hundred of his descendants, as well as some peacocks. The young tortoises are kept in enclosures to ensure they don’t accidentally get crushed by their relatives. We did not get as much time with them as we wanted nor did we get to touch them as we had hoped (signs said not to!), but they were still so much fun to see.

Walking around the narrow, hectic streets of Stone Town was a history lesson itself. There were intricate doors carved in Arabic style or Indian style. While the city still has many evident signs of an eclectic mix of cultures, the city is nearly all African now. Freddie Mercury, once the lead singer of Queen, was born here. His home is now a museum. An old fort once used for protection, then for horrific slave markets, is now a venue for performances and a market for local goods. A walk through the food market is always interesting, and perhaps a bit of an olfactory overload.

Our guide picked a local Swahili restaurant where we got to try some pilau rice, vegetable samosas, chapati bread, and rice cake doughnuts (of sorts). All was delicious!

A spice farm tour was also on our agenda, and I learned so much about spices and how they are grown! We saw a nutmeg tree, turmeric and ginger plants along with lots of coconut and banana trees. Did you know that cinnamon is called the “queen of spices”? This is because all parts of the plant can be used. Leaves are dried and ground up into the cinnamon we use. The roots are used as a local replacement for Vicks VapoRub, giving off a strong soothing smell that opens up the naval cavity. And my favorite part…. Do you know where cinnamon sticks come from? I had absolutely no clue, and perhaps that puts me in the minority here, but they come from the bark. They shave the bark off the tree, then, as it dries, it curls into the beautiful sticks we know! Cloves are known as the “king of spices” because behind tourism, they are still the second biggest money maker in Zanzibar. Our tour also included some creative touches of palm woven rings with lantana “gemstones”, palm woven crowns ordained with red flowers, and a man who shimmied up a palm tree faster than I can climb a ladder.

We enjoyed our day in Stone Town, but that was not why we came to Zanzibar.  On our safari, we often heard people say in Swahili, “pole pole” which meant to slow down. Sure, it’s a fun phrase to say (with an accent on the e, not like the thing that holds up a flag), but on the island, people said it to us constantly. Was it just because it was a fun phrase many people knew in Swahili? “Hakuna Matata” was also frequently spoken here. It wasn’t until the end of our time that we learned that “pole pole” is a lifestyle in Zanzibar. It’s to live life slower, to enjoy life at a slower pace. That’s why we came to Zanzibar.

Most of our five days, outside of the one in Stone Town were spent on the beach. We were at an all inclusive resort where the fruity drinks flowed freely, and we were never in want of food. Beach chairs were plentiful and blue water shimmered in the sun. Palm trees offered shade and tiny divisions between groups of tourists. For some reason, standing in a truck, searching for animals for seven days had been exhausting, so this time of relaxation came at the perfect time. Our weather was not perfect, with strong winds and light passages of rain, but we had plenty of sunshine and the winds were not a bother for me to read my e-book on my phone.

We met two cats at the resort, and well, who can think of a better place for a cat to live than a resort? The two were happy, healthy and friendly, making the resort their own, just as most cats take ownership of whatever they see. The calico figured out how to slip by the staff (or more likely they had given up fighting that battle) in the main dining area and walk among the patrons, quietly asking for a small morsel. The large tabby’s domain was the snack bar by the beach where we often found him lounging on chairs.

Jessica, growing up with two older brothers, has a much more adventurous spirit about her when it comes to motor vehicles. So, one day, we satisfied her need for speed and rented a JetSki for a half hour. We zoomed around on the open waves filling our mouths and glasses with salt water. It was fun to be out on the blue water.

Other days, we laid and read. Sometimes we walked along the beach, marveling at the turquoise water and sugar-white sandy beaches while gathering tiny shells and bits of coral. We saw starfish during low tide, but unsure if I was hurting or helping, I only tossed one who had gotten caught upside down on a rope back into the water. My hope is that with quick changes in the tide, they all made their way back in!

Like a cruise, the all-inclusive offered lots of food and entertainment options. We were able to book dinner at the non-buffet restaurants a couple of nights that set out on a jetty over the water. A bar out here also offered stunning views of the sunset. One night, we competed in a Kahoot challenge, but sadly, I don’t know as many flags as I thought I did (and perhaps sitting where you cannot see the first few letters of all the choices would be more helpful). We watched an acrobatic performance one night, although, it was fairly similar to the show the “street performers” on the beach showed us multiple times each day.

The swim-up bar called Hakuna Matata was a fun way to spend afternoons, and I must say, I think I’d have a much better outlook on life if I could accept that as a way of thinking! For now, as I continue to work on this life goal, I’ll just be thankful for the pole pole time I had in Zanzibar!