We flew back from Zanzibar on a little Cessna Caravan to the little Tanga Airport, and the journey couldn’t have been nicer. The airfare was worth every penny as it saved us from a 13 hour bus and ferry journey like the one we endured to get to Zanzibar. The flight back was Saumu’s first ever ride on a plane, and watching her face as the wheels lifted off the tarmac was priceless. She claims she wasn’t scared, but her eyes grew wide as the wheels touched down again upon landing. She’s got quite the story now about how she could see Tanga and Steven’s school from the airport and everything looked so very small.
Arriving back in Tanga felt so much like coming home, even though we were only gone for 11 days and Tanga is thousands of miles from home. We checked into Sea View Hotel with our sweet-as-can-be concierge, “Teddy,” and he gave us our same room (with the great balcony) back for the next couple weeks. Steven stopped by soon after our return to hear about our trip, wish us a Merry Christmas and take Saumu back to his place to stay until she starts school again. We’d love to have her here with us at the hotel, but we’re short on beds and I believe the family environment at Steven’s will benefit her in the long run. We still spend lots of time together, though it’s hard to fathom that her school will reopen tomorrow and within the next week her classes will be back in full swing. We’re happy to be back in Tanga with it’s regular prices (no Muzungu mark-ups here, unless you’re getting gouged at the big market for not speaking Swahili), good food, great friends and our comfy air conditioned room. We have affectionately nicknamed our dear friend, the Air Con, “A/C Slater,” or Slater for short. We missed him in Zanzibar with the sticky humidity and we’re feeling quite spoiled here for $20 a night.
It’s amazing how time loses all meaning in Tanga. Already five weeks have managed to fill up on the little calendar at the back of my journal. The days are crammed full of visits with friends, shopping with Saumu and Asia, walking around town, relaxing mornings of journal writing and reflection on the balcony at our hotel, delicious Indian and Swahili meals on the patio downstairs, and nights on the balcony with Kilimanjaro beers. 11 days of those 5 weeks are filled with lazy days on Ugunja Island – Zanzibar – wandering the narrow alleyways of Stone Town, swimming in the Indian Ocean with Saumu while the sun sinks low behind the palm trees in the late afternoon, scuba diving with schools of fish at Mnemba Atoll and small reefs off Stone Town, and low-key celebrations for the holidays. This week we were supposed to be headed north to Moshi, through Arusha, and on to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater for 5 days of game drives and camping in the bush. Unfortunately after almost 3 weeks of frustratingly poor communication with (or in other words, getting screwed around by) the Safari company, we were quoted too high a price at the last minute and we opted to turn the trip down. Instead, we’re spending our money on better causes and hoping for more time with my friends here in Tanga and a short trip to a brand new fishing resort that has opened up 50km north of Tanga. In 11 days we’ll be back on a bus heading to Dar es Salaam to catch a plane out of here, and Danielle and I will go our separate ways – She’ll stay on in Europe to visit family and travel for a month, while I’ll head back to Vancouver with a dauntingly wide-open calendar.
Here are a few photos from Home Sweet Tanga...
Getting our hair styled by 11 year olds. Saumu is focusing on tying a knot at the end of that little braid in my hair. Danielle's hair style courtesy of Asia.
A friendly public awareness notice on the road to Raz Kazone.
Speaks for itself.
The sign outside the local card shop.
The best soda, ever, and the view from our balcony at the Sea View Motel.
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