Backpacking

Ok, so it's been a while. I am currently at a B&B on the Indian Ocean in Wilderness South Africa. This afternoon I am off to check out a winery in Stellenbosch. I will spend a couple days in Cape Town and from there I will jump on a plane to Toronto via Amsterdam. I will write a final blog once I return home, a summory.

I went to Cohara Bassa in Mozambique to go Tiger fishing. The water is part of the great Zambezi and was full of fish, fish eagles, hippos and crocodiles! Our boat got really close to the hippos and crocs!! We could even see lots of baboons on the riverbank. In order to catch a tiger fish, you have to use a chunk from another tiger fish as bait. They have a mouthful of GIANT teeth, (I kept a tooth from each fish that I caught).

So far in Zambia I have been to the Victoria Falls and a Zoological Park. The water at the top of the falls was a bit low. I climbed through the water and jumped up on a large rock meters from the drop! Exciting! There were also many baboons around. I saw a couple of them mate. They put on a display about 5 feet away from me!

While on a drive through Mosi-O-Tunya Zoological Game Park I saw my first RHINO since being here in Africa. We were able to get out of the 4X4 and walk within meters of him. He was very sad because his wife was slaughtered about 3 weeks ago by poachers. I think he is the only Rhino left in the park. There were many armed guards following his every move.

I have been busy enjoying ZIFF, (Zanzibar International Film Festival). Between the day and night screenings, there is live music in the Fort. The day screenings are held in Beit al Ajaib, more famously known as the House of Wonders seeing as it was the first building in East Africa to have electricty and a lift. Right next to the Palace is the Fort which is split into two. One side is an outdoor ampatheatre where the evening programs are shown on the big screen. The other side is where the live music is preformed, during the daytime intermission as well as after the evening screenings.

I have seen many films and documentries. I think the Danes have something going on here because there were LOTS of Danish films shown. Mind you they had some of the best films in the festival. Many of the African films were based on social issues, especially focused on a women's place in society. Watching these programs in the outdoor ampathertre was really something. The locals, (especially the men), would shout out and cheer for the womens rights. They were especially loud during a film about women footballers in Zanzibar. Watching these films really gave me a deeper understanding of East African, especially Zanzibarian culture.

I am still here in Stone Town. I do not know when I will leave. I have booked a spice tour for tomorrow which includes a stop at the 'slave caves'.

Hello everyone

Michael and I are fine. We arrived in late last night. Everything went well. Our driver from the hotel picked us up at 2:30 am from the airport and our room was upgraded to a suite for free. Today we went on a LONG camel ride to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. At first it was a bit strange although by the end, we were riding like pros, one handed, down hills, and at a quick pace I tell you!

We booked our tickets to travel to Aswan tomorrow evening, found a place to store our luggage during the day, walked around cairo for a while and are back at our hotel about to have dinner. Our hotel is nice. It is located in Zamalek, an island surrounded by the nile. Everthing is great although the pollution in the air can be a bit overwhelming at times.

Our stopover in Amsterdam was quite an experience I tell you!!!!
Mike now understands what "Red Light District" means!! We walked around the city for a few hours, had a coffee at a "Coffee Shop," consumed a couple Heineken pints, and headed back to the airport.

Cheers,
Sarah & Mike