White sand and blue lagoon
Hello everyone! This is Celia posting now. We are now in Dar Es Salaam, at our dear friends Gertrud and Jochem's home. Gertrud and Jochem were our closest friends when we lived in Madagascar, and seeing them again after 10 years felt like not a day had passed. Except that now we 4 extra people between us :)
Our weeks in Zanzibar were interesting, challenging and wonderful. After 10 days in Stone Town at the home of the delightful Bi Mariam, we moved to Jambiani, a small fishing village on the East Coast of Zanzibar. It's white sand beach and turquoise lagoon are astoundingly beautiful.
Day to day, we have begun to work out our routine. It's a little tricky to figure out how to spend our time - do we try to see/do everything there is to see/do in one spot? Do we take our time and maybe miss some things, in favor of being more relaxed? It's impossible to be a tourist for a year - it's exhausting. It's also exhausting to have every single thing be new all the time. And we found out our kids really crave a certain amount of predictability.
So, our routine is this: we stay in one place for about a week - that's the minimum time for us to get comfortable, learn our way around, and settle in. We do school in the mornings, at home (ideally in 2 separate areas, each with tables and chairs!). Then we have lunch, either at home or out, and spend the afternoon exploring - either simply learning our new surroundings, or going to a destination (such as the Jozani Forest Preserve where we saw Red Colobus monkeys). In these afternoon activities we try to have the kids become 'experts' - they take turns learning about where we are going and preparing questions for the rest of us to answer after the visit. And then we try to just do cool things, like taking this outrigger canoe on the lagoon.
We are planning on spending the next week in Dar, with our friends and their kids (who our kids have immediately loved playing with!) Then we'll have about 3 weeks to explore Tanzania, before meeting up again with our Dar friends and our other dear friend from Madagascar and her daughters for a week of safari and beach. A vacation within our year off ;)
We miss you all and hope you are all doing well! We have had a few bouts of homesickness, but they have all passed. We learned that what helps with homesickness is to see pictures of friends, so please don't hesitate to send/share pictures and videos (via What'sApp, email or on the FB group).
Big hugs!
Our weeks in Zanzibar were interesting, challenging and wonderful. After 10 days in Stone Town at the home of the delightful Bi Mariam, we moved to Jambiani, a small fishing village on the East Coast of Zanzibar. It's white sand beach and turquoise lagoon are astoundingly beautiful.
Day to day, we have begun to work out our routine. It's a little tricky to figure out how to spend our time - do we try to see/do everything there is to see/do in one spot? Do we take our time and maybe miss some things, in favor of being more relaxed? It's impossible to be a tourist for a year - it's exhausting. It's also exhausting to have every single thing be new all the time. And we found out our kids really crave a certain amount of predictability.
So, our routine is this: we stay in one place for about a week - that's the minimum time for us to get comfortable, learn our way around, and settle in. We do school in the mornings, at home (ideally in 2 separate areas, each with tables and chairs!). Then we have lunch, either at home or out, and spend the afternoon exploring - either simply learning our new surroundings, or going to a destination (such as the Jozani Forest Preserve where we saw Red Colobus monkeys). In these afternoon activities we try to have the kids become 'experts' - they take turns learning about where we are going and preparing questions for the rest of us to answer after the visit. And then we try to just do cool things, like taking this outrigger canoe on the lagoon.
(To see more pictures of Jambiani, click here)
We are planning on spending the next week in Dar, with our friends and their kids (who our kids have immediately loved playing with!) Then we'll have about 3 weeks to explore Tanzania, before meeting up again with our Dar friends and our other dear friend from Madagascar and her daughters for a week of safari and beach. A vacation within our year off ;)
We miss you all and hope you are all doing well! We have had a few bouts of homesickness, but they have all passed. We learned that what helps with homesickness is to see pictures of friends, so please don't hesitate to send/share pictures and videos (via What'sApp, email or on the FB group).
Big hugs!
What a treat to get everyone's perspectives. Thanks for sharing. I've been telling so many people about your adventure, and more than a few want to follow in your footsteps. Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteTotally reminds me of this!
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/ubZrAmRxy_M?t=37
On oublie le temps passé devant l'ordinateur à vous lire, vous entendre et vous voir, et l'on se rend compte qu'à travers vos experiences si bien racontées et partagées, on est aussi parti en voyage!
ReplyDeleteBravo à vous d'accepter et de vouloir vivre les temps morts comme des temps vrais qui vous permettent d'entrer plus profondement dans l'experience des ces depaysements successifs. Merci de partager avec nous les temps bien vivants de votre voyage que l'on suit de l'ecran de notre ordinateur, bien pépère, sans les piqures de moustiques, les bus crachotants et chaotants et la fatigue du voyage! Mina