Vacation nears its end…
Well as all things do, our vacation is beginning to wind down. We have about 48hrs left in Zanzibar and the feelings of vacation idleness and carelessness are giving way to thoughts of travels home and the realities that await us (I know, I know… boo whoo), but I know that these feelings are commonly shared by many whose vacations are at an end. And this vacation, has been the best I can recall (I probably say that after every vacation), which is great because it came at a time when we needed it the most.
Emma, Lala, and Suma on the dhow
A wonderful time with family and friends in a familiar corner of the world. Throughout this vacation as I brought up my recollections of being here ten years ago, I kept asking myself, “Who was I?” This internal question set me upon reflection from time to time and I tried to picture myself here on these shores at the age of 24. As is the case my pondering brought forth further questions such as whether or not I kept the promises I had made to myself the anxious nights before returning home from Peace Corps (some yes, some no). So many of these types of questions have come to me that I honestly cannot answer, but I have reconciled myself to leaving them open. I am easily contented as I have a wonderful family and we are all fortunate to have each other and a wealth of shared experiences and love. I have abandoned my reflections upon my past and have focused them on the future for our family. We came off of a busy semester of work, adjusting, and frustrations, and so now we need to think of how we begin to operate back in Yola as a family.
Jambiani Sailing
A video of sailing (can't believe we were actually able to upload this)
A video of sailing (can't believe we were actually able to upload this)
The siren call of vacation’s end begins with Linda leaving us tomorrow; we will follow her the day after. We are set to sail again tonight on a dhow owned by the father of our new friend Suma (from the Starfish). We will soak in the essence of Jambiani while we can. We will follow the sail with yet another fresh fish dinner.
Sunset in Jambiani
Samaki wa Tasi
The Last Day
This morning we saw Linda off at 6:30 am, before the kids woke up. When the kids awoke we embarked on a day of total relaxation, save my neuroses of having to have some things packed before tomorrow. We had a beautiful swim and had a truly lazy vacation day. In the afternoon we took a dip in the high tide waters then showered up to take a walk down to the Starfish. Our trip was both frivolous and practical. The trip was frivolous in the sense that we wanted to have one more beer with Suma and Moody and the girls wanted to say farewell to Pakuwa (their adopted cat). We were practical in that we needed to get on the internet at the blue oyster to check on flight confirmations and those types of unpleasantries (made less unpleasant with a glass of vino). During our trek we walked along the breaking waves of the highest tide we had experienced yet. Some places we were forced to abandon the beach and head inland where we walked among the local houses built from coral. All in all a nice walk with a strong sea breeze. After our brief internet connection and our farewells to Moody and Pakuwa we hurried back as not to miss Hassan's dinner.
Bye Pakuwa!
Now Hassan has a little restaurant in the village named Karibu (Welcom in Swahili). We met him a few days earlier on the beach soliciting tourists to come and dine at his place. As it turned out his place was located about 50m behind us and appeared to be less restaurant more dilapidated shack (a stark contrast to Hassan's personality). Earlier in the morning I placed our order (you need to give about 8hrs notice for dinner...no really); octopus in coconut curry (surprise), fish masala, and chipati. My mouth was already watering as I could tell that the evenings dinner was going to be the pweza wa naazi Jess and I had remembered (something about a half blown over shack gives you these feelings).
We returned home from our little expedition slightly before 8p to get the kids down. After showering off their weight in sand we put them to bed. The timing was perfect as it allowed Jess to setup a table outside under the yard just as Hassan brought us our pre-ordered dinner. Hassan showed up with our spread, and we quickly sat down to feast. Wow! This is what we had been waiting for, the perfect blend of coconut and curry and octopus sooooo tender (we barely needed to chew). The fish was no slouch either, another perfectly spiced dish rich with tomatoes, onions, and the buttery flesh of a fish unknown to me. This was the dish we had been seeking (all for $8). Thank you Hassan. A wonderful night under the stars...
The Sign for Karibu Restaurant
Not much here, we woke up on our day of travel and took turns taking runs in anticipation of long hours in cabs and airplanes. To cool off we took our last dip in the Indian Ocean, which was the coolest yet, as the tide came in during the breezy night. We packed up and collected some momentos and cleaned the house. We topped it of with a light lunch of mango, avocado, chipati, and our two last remaining Kilimanjaros. We took turns saying goodbye to our Jambiani (misty eyed of course). Handed Shehe the keys, hugged Suma goodbye and jumped into the Suzuki Sidekick for our ride to the airport. Heavy hearts, but renewed spirits...thank you Jambiani.
Our Last Lunch
A sad goodbye
Our goodbye to Zanzibar was tough but we have one last one. I must be honest, some of the deep reflection upon life and love I had mentioned earlier had been brought about by the news of the death of a man that meant so much to us in Zanzibar ten and eleven year ago. His name was Moses Maha. He is the one that made Jambiani so special to us. He was the caretaker of the little house we rented back then and was our source for everything…food, information, travel etc… He was our junior and often spent late nights asking about life in the US with the curiosity of a child (he was perhaps 5 to 6 years younger than us so…maybe 18 years old). He really made this place special for us. Apparently he passed after a motorcycle (vespa) accident, the details are blurry, however, our memories of him are crystal clear…rest in peace Moses.
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