Tanzania needed to deliver something special to come close to the engraving Rwanda left on our hearts. Not that it was ever a competition, but the impact does linger. Some slow start it was to get anything going in Mwanza, located on Lake Victoria. We actually took off well, engaging with the coastal villages and it's many children. From games thought out never to be used, to playing the games unplanned when the situation demanded. This sums up a great deal of our time in Mwanza. Besides the games and children, we lingered, waiting for the next opportunity, occasion or anything really, to find the purpose of this stay.
The Serengeti, or 'endless plains' as translated in Maasai tongue, was covered in purpose, and animals. An endless amount to say the least. What a blessing, basking in the beauty of nature's finest source. We were there for one day anticipating cheetah kills and spotting other key animals, for instance, the grants gazelle. What an epic siting! If only you had seen it.
Farther along, Mwanza's story ends with the laying of another foundation. When it comes to voluntary labour, that's basically all we do. Call us 'The Foundation Layers', or 'The Layers of Foundations', cause by now we know how.
Knowing we left something of ourself behind sure validated the strive to move on - Zanzibar here we come. The distance between Mwanza and Dar Es salaam is over 1000km. We would cover it in class boarding the economy section of the train which would 40 hours later have us in Dar, with only a 4 hour ferry left to reach Zanzis. Praise God. This journey sucked much out of us, but with the foreknowledge of the rest that would be ours, we immersed ourselves, especially when it came to sleeping on the flavored floors of the train. Still nothing in comparison to they glory that would soon be ours, Zanzibar.
It has been all that, satisfying the hunger for rest, good company, adventure and good food. There's just something about seeing familiar faces after a timely journey. We were blessed with the best, if not for the 2 missioners who went ahead to prepare the way, or prepare the stay, then surely the 2 supposed surprise visits coming from home base. Plus Ernip, never to be forgotten. (Mascot)
Food played a big part throughout the duration of our stay. 'Come dine with me' was central to the Zanzibar experience, and getting creative wasn't only encouraged, it took on a whole new level. Dressing up, game nights, drive in movie nights - it was all that, and so much more. Later we would braai, sharing our South African culture with long-term influentials of the island.
Zanzibike. Here's a story of its own, an adventure unlike most. With half a year's stored energy building up, it was well-burnt in the 5 days it took to circumnavigate Zanzibar island on bicycle. The four of us, men starved of wild hearted nature, took with both hands this opportunity laid before us. It was the most satisfying of all things satisfactory, the core of what it means to be alive. We set our hearts on a pilgrimage, riding from strength to strength; living life on the road; at numerous beaches and with some radical locals.
Zanzibar served us well, providing us with a place and time to simply rest. Considering this foundation laid; and since no man is an island, we fix our gaze back to the mainland. Some exciting travels - boating by hippos; crossing remote borders - saw us through from Dar Es Salaam to Pemba, Mozambique. Praise God, again.