And Here We Go!

Ah! Internet overload! So much to write and not the least bit of time to do it!

I'm headed out to the vast plains of the Serengeti, where we'll be waking up to the call of lions (and hearing them rub up next to our tent :P Just kidding...) and bathing in the light of the luminescent and outrageously bright Milky Way. In other words, Safari Time!

The plan is to trek through all manner of different national parks throughout northern and central Tanzania, spot as many forms of life as we can, and take part in the ancient rhythms of life on the very plains where humankind first came to be. From all that I hear, it oddly enough feels like you are "coming home" -- after all the human migrations, and all the evolution of our own kind, I still believe that there is something primal etched into our far-forgotten collective memory that knits us back to the land that we'll be treading over and sleeping on. You'll be sure to hear all about it once I return.

The past week and a half has been a blur, as the whole trip has, and I unfortunately don't have the internet time to type it all out. But I'll give it a go right now.

After our week in Zanzibar's Stone Town, we spent a spectacular and relaxing day off in the north of the island on October 2nd on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world (so they say... I would agree, though). Clear, warm waters of the central Indian Ocean, soccer games on the beach (which are probably the most exhausting games ever -- running on sand....), dinner of pizza and passionfruit juice at a romantic table on the beach, not ten meters from the lapping, sussonant surf (don't worry, it wasn't just Anton and I at the table, we had another couple...), a late night with everyone laughing on the beach, and the best sleep I've gotten in a while with an air-conditioned bungalow and double sized beds. Luxury, despite it's cultural pretentiousness, is quite wonderful when the time is right.

That next morning, two sketchy sketchy boats were waiting for us in the meter of water right off the beach, which would take us across the straight of Zanzibar to the mainland of Tanzania. Our destination was a little village called Pembe-Awbe -- site of the Dorobo Brothers spectacular beach-front snorkeling hangout.

The ride across was .... slightly terrifying, but what we're coming to realize is, well, it's Africa. Everything is just a bit sketchy. The boats were pretty tiny, powered by a five horsepower engine (could have been even less), and looked handmade (I later found out they were). About halfway across the straight, after surfacing from the knockout punch of Dramamine, I saw that our "copilot" was bailing out water from the belly of the boat, not for simply a few minutes, but for the rest of the trip across. We weren't sinking, but I wouldn't put it past the boat to pull a move like that. We powered along at all of four miles an hour, and it took us about five hours to make the 22 mile trip across the straight. Pretty, pretty funny, actually. It was also quite a fun feeling to board and exit the boat by simply walking into the water and climbing a ladder, and then jumping off when you got to the meter of water on the other shore. Sort of like the excitement that is boarding a plane by a stepladder; the method makes complete sense, but it feels so antiquated that you just can't help but laugh. We did this method for the entire week we were at the coast.

And man! The Coast! So beautiful. Pictures will be up sometime... maybe. Or you can just see them when I get home....

Anyway, the Dorobo Brothers, who we will be doing safari with, are a company of three brothers who were born in Tanzania to missionary parents from Minnesota, and were brought up here in Africa, went to school here, and decided to live their lives here, heading up a sustainable and local safari company that also operates a low-key snorkeling base. Our accommodations consisted of "bandas" -- thatched hut A-Frame tent like structures, with screens and a porch, with room for four people and their sleeping pads and mats. We were seriously right on the ocean. Our porch was all of ten meters from it. The breeze blew constantly, and the bugs were nonexistent. Palm trees everywhere, white sand, curious sand crabs, and beautiful sunrises. The main banda where we had our classes and our meals was built right around a baobab tree (the tree that Rafiki lives in -- pop culture reference of the day...) , with a super cool loft built in the upper branches that had an every more stellar view of the beach.

For five days we went out to Maziwe and Fungazinga reefs, about four miles off the coast, and snorkeled around for about four hours each day. Butterflyfish, lobsters, octopus, coral galore, groupers, urchins, sea cucumbers, sea stars, and all manner of other amazing life that is expressed only on the tropical reefs structures that dot the underwater tapestry of the equatorial world. Our group (Rachel Young, Anton and I) decided to do our data collection on Butterflyfish diversity, and saw some beautiful fish swim our way as we layed transect lines and counted them. There is a certain magic and peace to snorkeling -- only hearing your own breath in and out, watching the world shimmer below. I could do it for days, and am thankful we'll be heading back to the coast for one more week at the end of the trip.

Alright, really running out of time now, so I'll finish this off ....

We're in Arusha right now, the main safari hotspot for departures, and are about to head off to Ngogorogoro Crater (and many other parks) tomorrow. The drive up to Arusha was a stressful 12 hour adventure in a cramped bus, included fishtailing on a slick dirt road and doing a ferry crossing on a tiny transport (oh Africa....), and making it finally to our campsite at around 8 at night, after starting at 8AM that morning. Good fun....

We've had two days off to explore and relax in Arusha, and while we all could use another one, we're stoked to be heading off. For the time being, no news is good news from me, and I'll be away from internet for the next three weeks. We'll be back to Arusha in the beginning of November, so look for word from me then. For now, I'll be as safe as can possibly be, taking loads of pictures, wrangling lions and leopards, conversing with elephants, and the like. There will of course be Circle of Life singing too. Over African sunrises. Heck yes.

Love and miss you all, and be sure to leave me some messages for when I get back to the land of internet!

Zach