We lived in the bush of Africa, and I was 6 months pregnant and in DESPERATE need of a vacation! We researched a few options (most people suggested South Africa) but hated to pay so much for airfare. We decided on a Mozambique beach, but that fell through at the last minute due to us having to drive through Zimbabwe, and things were just starting to get crazy there! We finally talked to some people who suggested a train ride! Now, we had seen the trains in Zambia, and had heard the horror stories about how late they are and awful they are, etc. But after a little research, we saw that the cost simply could not be beat. We headed to the train station to buy tickets for the train that would take us to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Men and women were not allowed to room together on the train unless they have bought the whole cabin, so we went ahead and bought 4 tickets so that we could be together. We first took a Zambian bus 3 hours further up into the country to the train station. That was an experience in itself! People acted like they had NEVER seen a pregnant white lady before!
We got to the station and we ended up leaving maybe 2 hours late...not bad we thought! We had a nice stewardess who took care of us the whole time. The cabin was TINY...there were two sets of bunkbeds, where the bottom bunk functioned as a sofa as well, with a tiny table in between them. There was a one huge window so that you could sit on your bunk and look out. We basically played yahtzee on that table for hours as we passed the landscape! There was a community bathroom that was dirty and very tricky to use!! You had to walk between cars to get there, and they shook so bad! So trying to balance over a toilet while the car is shaking wasn't fun! Flushing was interesting as well, but I'll leave the details at that. There was another small room where we could take a shower, but I was literally thrown all over the room as the train cars shook! Kinda fun!
Me on the train in the "lounge" room
As we passed into Tanzania, we were amazed at the beauty. There were green rolling hills on either side of us. We could look ahead and see when we were about to go through a tunnel. It was so neat! As we passed through little villages in Tanzania and stopped for fuel, the kids would all run to the windows and yell "bottles!" They were begging us to throw empty water bottles down for them to play with!
Now, I honestly can't remember how long the trip was supposed to take, I think it was 24 full hours! The first night, we fell asleep on our little sofa/bunk only to wake up about 6 hours later and realize we were stopped. Then, in the morning, we realized that we hadn't moved at ALL from the time we fell asleep. To make a long story a little shorter, we arrived in Tanzania 24 hours LATE. Unbelievable! It was about 10pm, and we had arranged for a Baptist missionary to pick us up, but of course, it was now 24 hours later and he was nowhere to be found. So as we step off the platform, dozens of taxi drivers swarm us. We ask one if he knows the address we show him for the Baptist Mission. "Of course! I know this place! I take you there!" We hopped into his taxi, so ready for a shower and a bed.
Blu and I both agree that this taxi ride was the scariest experience of our lives. My husband does not yell, and is kind to everyone he meets. He screamed at this driver. "The light is red!!!! You have to stop!!!" And "Those are brake lights in front of you!!" We both thought we were going to die. After about an hour of this, it became clear that Mr. Taxi Driver had no idea where the Baptist Mission was. He finally said "I know a good hotel. I take you there." He drives up to this place (it's nearing midnight now) and we realize that he gets commission for people he brings to the hotel. But it was an exquisite lobby, and we walk in and feel AIR-CONDITIONING!!!!! I gave my husband a look he will never forget and said "Pay for a room. I don't care how much it costs. Get me a room." We slept so good in that bed with air conditioning!!!!!
The next morning, we had planned to head to the island of Zanzibar. We found another taxi driver who was oh so eager to help us. After spending the morning at travel agencies trying to get airfare to Zanzibar, we realize that it will be cheaper to just take a ferry. We finally get down to the docks where a boat is about to leave. We are told it takes 2.5 hours to get to Zanzibar by ferry. We get on the ferry, which is actually quite nice, and we realize we aren't moving very fast. After talking to a few other tourists, we realize that we paid for the "slow boat". The trip takes at least 5 hours. *sigh* This vacation is not going as planned....
It's going to be a long ride...
The water was beautiful though!
Because we changed everything at the last minute, we didn't make hotel reservations, but instead found a small resort that we assumed wouldn't be booked (it was February--not really tourist season). We got to our resort at about 9pm that night and found only one room left. Not a great room, but a room we could afford. However, they were out of mosquito nets and there was no a/c...but we took it! We took a shower only to realize that they used the ocean's saltwater in the sinks and showers....ever tried washing your hair with saltwater?! But at last, we were there!
The next day we set off to do some snorkeling. When you ask someone in Africa where something is, they will always tell you it is "just there." We knew better, but we fell for this. After about a 2 hour walk, we reached the snorkeling spot, to find out the group had just left. We headed back to our hotel, but I soon realized that I was VERY sunburned (pregnant belly included.) I told Blu we were spending the rest of our vacation at OUR resort, or along the beach of our resort, but no more walking!!
See my sunburn?!
Strangely, we realized that nobody was in the water. We saw lots of sunbathers (including many topless European sunbathers, including a topless European midget sunbather, but that is REALLY another story...) but nobody in the water. Hmm..that's strange...
A suffering missionary...
Blu headed out to the water while I sat under a cabana to read a book. I see people starting to stare at Blu and then to yell "watch out!" What?! Sharks??? No, instead it's this sharp, spiky stuff underwater that makes it impossible to swim. Insane... Blu came back with cut feet and we didn't get in the ocean again.
The food at this place was AMAZING. It was run by a Belgian and the Belgian chocolate mousse was to die for. We were paying in Euros, and someone told us the exchange rate for Euros to dollars, but they told us backwards. So the whole time we were there and eating, we thought we were paying a lot less than we were. When we paid our bill to check out, we asked "What's the exchange rate again??" Oops.. We splurged our last night and ordered lobster together. The food was just incredible! We ate clam salad sandwiches for lunch and ordered fruit drinks out by the (saltwater) pool. It was neat!
We spent our last day touring some of Zanzibar island and it was so different from the Africa we knew. Zanzibar is like 99% Muslim, so it was like stepping into the Middle East. So different from what we were used to! We carefully bought ferry tickets for the way back to Tanzania, knowing that we wanted to get on the fast ferry! We sat on the boat in airport style seats for the 2 hour ride back. The ferry moved so fast that Blu and I were both white and VERY seasick. It was a rough ride!
Our train ride home was uneventful. We only arrived 3 hours late to Zambia, which was wonderful after getting there 24 hours late on the way! When we returned home, people asked us how our vacation was. We looked at each other, shared a small smile, and said "It was very African..."
2 comments:
This was so stinkin long!! But I liked it!! I want to go on babymoons someday! haha
I'm sure that trip is much more amusing in hindsight than it was when you were living it. But seriously, I'm still laughing at the image of Blu screaming at a taxi driver. rofl!!
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