Crossing into the territory of Tanzania.

Good news: I have arrived in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Bad news: I feel sick.

I've been using Pepto, Gravel, Motrin and Imodium like it's going out of style the past two days. At what point does "using" become "abusing" these over the counter drugs? My problem is: without the aid of Pepto and Imodium I have the "Poops" then of course comes the fact that with the "poops" comes dehydration. I guess it doesn't help that I may have gotten a sun/heat stroke in my excursions of visiting Hell's Kitchen and walking the beach.

Of course I will not let this ill feeling bring me down.

Yesterday (as you can assume from the above statement) we visited the beach. It was surprisingly warm to the touch. In fact it felt more like a warm bath then the Ocean temperatures that I'm used too. The beach was quite a sight. There was about half-a-dozen barefoot pick-up soccer games. Instead of nets the guys were using any kinds of random objects like sticks, rocks, sandals...

The pier was also filled with people just sitting and enjoying the warm breeze being brought in with the ocean waves and children where playing in the waters near the shore.

It wasn't until I got back to the room that I realised I was no longer sun kissed. It's more like the sun decided to full out skip the kissing part and just give me a glow; a bright glow of red. Before going for dinner I took a cold shower and hopped that it would cool my skin down. I called it an early night and went to bed (not before taking an imodium, gravel and motrin).

It was another early morning as we headed back to Mombasa to catch our flight to Zanzibar. We opt'ed to an hour flight into Zanzibar instead of a long bus ride followed by a ferrry (very much more agreable for a girl with an upset stomach).

The border customs at the Zanzibar airport didn't feel nearly at all as proffesional as the one in Kenya. As we walked onto the tar mat we were greated by someone demanding to see a yellow fever certificate then yelled at to fill in a customs card. Then at the visa office we were told that they only accept American dollars and refused to return our passport until we got everything exchanged to American currency. I finally got some Euro's exchanged and went back. The guards behind the window totally looked sketchy handing each other $50 bills trying to hide it from us. Made me wonder what kind of curruption was going on.

The city itself isn't nearly as nice as the past towns that we have visited. You can tell that people here have more money (with the kinds of vehicles being driven) but it seems that with the money comes a more laissez-fair attitude with the amount of garbage on the street, the revving of the vehichles, black smoke emissions etc...

We'll see what tomorrow brings to redeem my opnion thus far...

Off to Zanzibar tomorrow...

We are staying in Melindi for another night at the Ozi Guesthouse. We are hopping to dip our feet into the Indian Ocean for a swim as the sun continues to kiss my skin.

Melindi is a little coastal town north of Mombasa. I guess it's a popular spot for the Itallians to come visit and move to. In fact my white skin has lead alot of locals to believe that i am itallian and am welcomed by alot of "Ciaos".

Today, we got up early and went to visit "Hell's Kitchen". We hired a driver to take us out on the offroad exursion. All along the way we saw the most beautiful children waving with the biggest smiles greeting us with the words "ciao". I wish i could have gotten out and given them all a hug, but alas we would have never gotten to our destination.

Hell's Kitchen is a  little natural wonder that not many people go visit. If I were to discribe it I would say that it is a little cross between a Drumheller and the Grand Canyon. Our guide told us that his people have a tale that goes back a long time about the place.

Apparently the land where it is was once believed to be flat and lived on by a very rich family. The man had many wives, goats and cows. In fact they were so rich that they use to wash their clothing in the milk of the cows instead of giving and helping the people of the village. Then a long drought hit and the man still refused to help the village people. Then God was angry and he openned up the sky and let the rain fall on the area. The white of the sand formation is said to be the milk they bathed in while the red is the blood of all the people and animals that died in that place.

To this day at night it smells of something cooking which is why they call it hells kitchen. The people also don't go near it at night in fear of the devil.

The formations were beautiful.

On the way back we experienced our first road block by the police. Apparently our driver didn't have a proper photo on his liscense. He droped us off and was to return to the deal with the problem. I hope he's okay.

Tomorrow we are getting up early again to head on the flight into Tanzania. We got a cheap flight from Mombasa to the island of Zanzibar. I'll try to let you all know when I get there....

And the Kenyan Adventure continues

This is the first time I have been able to access the internet since the last I wrote. A lot has happend since then. Sorry it's a short update with many grammar mistakes. I just don't have the time to edit...So much has happend and I wish I could write it all. I've so far people have all been great and everything can only be discribed as beautiful and breathtaking.

We left Nairobi for a four day safari that we organized with Big Time Safari. Our Safari Guide; Tom, took us to our first stop in Lake Nakuru where we saw flamingos, zebras, gazelles and we even got to see a Rhino chilling with a herd of waterbuffallo. I called him UNO.

It was truely amazing. We spent the night in a hotel in the town Nakuru. After our visit in Nakuru we picked up an American group of two (Greg & Denise) to head towards Maaisa Mara to spend three days. The camp we stayed in was almost a spitting image of something you would imagine from Gilligan Island. Each day we spent some time in the park and each day the scenerary surprised me. I can only hope that my pictures can capture some of the majestic beauty.

We had a pretty successful safari. The animals we saw were diverse: cheetahs, lions, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, zebras, gazelles and all kinds of birds.Greg and Denise were also fabulous and the last day had us a little sad to say our good byes, but alas they had some Gorilla trecking to do and we had a bus to catch to Mombosa.


The bus ride to Mombosa was intense. Neither of us had thought to ask not to be sat at the back... and alas those were the seats we were assigned. Fortunately I got some sleep on the way there. Apparently the anti-malaria medication I'm taking is messing with my sleep and giving me odd dreams (those are a bunch of stories for another day).

The moments that i wasn't sleeping on my way to Mombassa I looked at the stars backdrop the shadows of what I saw to be beautiful trees. The skies were clear and reminded me of the stars back home when I lived in northern ontario. As we approached the coast the humidity became evident in the air and that's when I realised that I wouldn't need my sweater i had laying across my lap.

We arrived in Mombassa at around 5 a.m. The smells, sights and buildings were much different then that of Nairobi. It was almost like spice was alive in the air. We got into a three-wheeled trike like taxi and started heading towards our hostel. I couldn't help but think at some point sitting in this taxi that I was probably playign with my life a little but I couldn't help enjoy myself and the breeze against my face.

The sun was rissing and we literally watched the streets become alive with people and traffic. After a few failled attempts, our taxi finally brought us to where we  needed to be. The hostel didn't quite meet expectation but that didnt stop from the taking a shower and falling asleep for a few hours of exhaustion.

After waking up we began a trek to the old town to visit Fort Jesus. We hired a guide (which we probably over paid but I suck at haggling solo) he gave us a great tour and it actually made me feel safer to be following him and he went into detail of everything so it was a good buy. This was the night we decided to splurge on dinner, but the restaurant had a beautiful view.

And that brings to today. We left the over dirty hostel/frat boy house and jumped on a Matutu and came to Malindi. We have two nights booked here. We still aren't sure what we are going to do yet but I look forward to some R & R on the beach....

In the next couple of days we will begin our venture over to Tanzania. We are hoping to be able to get  a cheap flight... fingers crossed...

Being a tourist in Nairobi

Well my tan lines are being established and may have a little bit of a red hue (don't worry, I have some gel treatment for it).

Today I feel like a tourist. But it's okay. I woke up with the sun unable to sleep anymore. Upon waking I came to write a bit in my journal I met and spoke to a few people before heading out to the Elephant sanctuary. Followed by going downtown to check out the Masai Mara Market and book a saffari.

We leave tomorrow to visit Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru.  After our four day Safari we are planning to head by bus to Mombasa (A town on the coast of the Indian Ocean).
Internet is expensive here so I can't write to much today... I think when I get back I may have to do a little bit more explaining..

I love Africa.

Drive to Calgary  --          5 hours (approx)
Drive to Lethbridge --      3 hours "
Drive back to Calgary --  1.5 hours "
Flight to Amsterdam --    8 hours "
Layover in Amsterdam-- 10 hours "
Flight to Nairobi ---        8 hours

Visiting Africa, unforgetable



Well we've arrived. Landed in Nairobi today at 6:30 a.m. and are staying at the Wildebeest Camp (http://www.wildebeesttravels.com/). The camp itself is pretty beautiful and the staff have been extremely helpful thus far.

Upon arriving to the camp I was in dire need of taking a shower. I swear that I probably stank worse then blue cheese soaked in sour milk. After the shower I felt refreshed enough to explore a bit before our 2p.m. check-in.

Showered, clean hair and a new set of clothing, off to the Giraffe sanctuary we went. Here is where I'm admitting some action... So even though I'm single, that didn't stop me from getting any kisses today. I heard about these Giraffes that give kisses and I was all about it. So I put the piece of food in between my lips and SLURP went the giraffe in my face :)

After our Giraffe experience, we visited a market and went for dinner at Carnivores. I tried a bunch of new meat that I've never had before. I had some Crocodile, Ostrich, and a bunch more that I can't remember right now. I do have to admit that it was delish! My favourite is Ostrich.

Well I"m off to bed. Even though I had a bit of a nap when we finally checked in I feel like exhausted.

Tomorrow is our last night here as we hope to finalise a booking for a  camping safari that leaves on Monday morning to the Masai Mara.

In Amsterdam and Nairobi bound

What can a person do with a 10-hour layover?

Explore a bit of Amsterdam, visit the Anne Frank house museum, visit the red light district, check facebook quickly and do a little blog post.

Next mission: catch plane on time to go to Nairobi.

Dreaming of Africa...

I leave tomorrow for East Africa.

My backpack is packed and I’m heading down to Calgary to share some of this pent up excitement energy with some friends before leaving. I only have a few hours to decide if I have everything I need. If not, I will have to make do and go without or improvise something.

I can’t remember ever being this excited to do something, it’s like the kid inside me is jumping up and down doing jumping jacks on one foot while eating lots of candy and chocolate (normally my inner child is only eating chocolate).

I use to dream of Africa when I was a child. I remember missionaries coming to the church when I was but a wee girl and my imagination ran wild. When I was old enough, I remember going into the library and reading about Africa, even Lion King made me dreamy.

Now, I get to go and in just one sleep!

Before landing in Kenya, there is a 10-hour layover in Amsterdam. I hear there is a speed train from the airport into the city, so there will be plenty of time to explore; maybe go to a museum, have lunch at a cafe and take in some other scenes.

After the Netherland visit the next stop will be Nairobi. So far the first two nights and return flight (from Dares Salaam in Tanzania) are the only things booked. Everything else in between is still yet to be determined but hope to get on a camping safari with a group...

I’ll be trying to keep you all updated on my plans and whereabouts as often as I can but I have a feeling it may not be as often as my other trips...

Capturing memories on a waterproof accessory

The countdown is on:  two more sleeps. I’m getting a little anxious and I predict that I will only be sleeping one of those two nights. 

Before I leave on my backpacking adventure in East Africa, let me make the introduction to the most high-tech item I will be bringing with me (it has even survived a fall in the Aegean Sea):

“World, this is Camera”

“Camera, this is world”

Don't be fooled by size. Camera isn't all that much too look at, but camera and I have a history. Camera and I were united last year (around this time) after Camera became an outcaste for being the wrong of shade of purple.  As an “experienced” display model, Camera just couldn’t keep up to the sales of the new, younger, brighter, edgier pixeled modern Cameras.

Fate brought us together.

Our friendship grew as we travelled together from place to a place. We went by plane, bus, boat, car and foot. We documented our journeys in photographic means through Camera’s eye. Memories were captured to remember forever...

As our friendship continues, we decided that it was time to load up on even more camera memory in preparation of our new photo essay. Together we will capture wonderful people, beautiful landscape and maybe some animals that I’ve only ever seen on screen or in the zoo. 

Camera and I hope share some fabulous photos with you all soon...

The super powers of a super pack...

In the spirit of my countdown, I’d like to announce that I have six more sleeps before it’s time to embark on my new epic adventure. 

The most super-powered item that I bring with me is my backpack. It's not fancy; nor is it eye pleasing to most. In fact, it's pretty basic. The best part of the backpack is all the different compartments it has (especially handy for this trip).

Since I will be over 13,600kms away from home (seperated by an ocean), I'm trying to ensure that I bring all the items I need. Travelling with one backpack is a challenge because it means bringing only the most essential items. So I gathered my “pile of stuff to bring” that I have been compilling for awhile now and I placed them in the backpack for a “dry-pack”.

Thank goodness for the dry-pack, because afterwards I looked in my bag I realised there are a  few critical items missing like:

• suntan lotion
• bathing suit
• towel 
• toothbrush 
• toothpaste  
• rain coat
• socks
• meds (pepto, motrin, anti-hesitamines, anti-malaria etc)
• etc...

Good thing the backpack has the superpower of having more room. I’ll have to try another dry-run over the weekend.  

The hands free flash light alternative.

The countdown for departure has officially entered single digits. Just 9-days to go.

Still not packed. I think I will do a drypack over the weekend. A drypack is kind of like a dry run as it gives a chance to see what fits in the one backpack. It gives the opportunity to do cut-backs or add-ins.

One item being squeezed in for certain, is my head lamp. If you are scratching your head questioning "head lamp?", well it's my opinion that it's far better than a regular flash light. It takes up less space and it's just as easy to use.

FACT:  I've decided that if my head lamp had it's own skit, show or comic strip, superhero brand etc..  it's tag line would be...

"Green headband by day; letting people see hands free by night".(It would also totally have a hollywood scandal with a Bluetooth hands free device).

Although I may feel and look like "The Gofer" from Winnie The Pooh when Iwear it, there's no denying that it has it's own superpowers. Aside from the awesomeness of being green, the headlamp has the following benefits:

• shows me the way to outhouses in the dark (without worrying about a shaky fearful hand);
• allows me to read if it's "lights out" and I'm just not tired yet;
• lets me search through my bag with both hands on those days I need to get ready in the dark;
• free my hands if ever I need to change a flat tire in the dark.

The possibilities are endless when you travel with a headlamp!

May "The Force" be with me

Let’s walk down the cinematic memory lane...

REMEMBER:  the scene in Star Wars, when young Skywalker is learning about the “force” and has begun his Jedi training? Or, the movie Jumanji and that scene with those huge flies buzzing around and attacking?

Lately, I’ve been having these daydreams that I’m a female version of Skywalker dressed up in an Indiana Jones “get-up” fighting off Jumanji sized mosquitoes. I think this daydream may stem from a group of people that keep telling me of all the bugs I will encounter on my up comming trip.

I’m not too scared of bugs. In fact, when I was in kindergarten I remember sitting in the dirt playing with daddy long legs. I probably even ate a few.  I will admit, however, that I hate mice. Therefore, I’m not sure how I will react if I did see an overgrown mosquito the size of a mouse flying towards me.

I must be prepared.                                                                                           

How will I fight off the epically Jumanji sized bugs?

With the force called BUG SPRAY!

In fact, my pores will probably be so seeped and steeped with DEET you may just be asking for the name of my new perfume when I get back.

Now the question is: should I get a sticker and write “The Force” on my bug spray can?

Another thought: 
Maybe the Star Wars franchise will branch out in offering this new Eau de Toilette  "The Force" aroma and I can be their spokesperson in a bohemian looking outfit using the bottle as a lightsaber...

I don't want to be Mosquito Chocolate...

Bug net in the land of Green Sky

Only 14 days to go before lift off. Soon I will be beginning the journey of my next travel adventure. Am I packed yet? In a simple one word response, I will say : "No".

I've been reading alot about the items I should bring (by reading I mean skimming). One of the items on the top of every list has been Mosquito Net. So I put it on the top of my list and I got one because I don't feel like becoming mosquito chocolate while I am sleeping.

Instructions

Now that it's out of the box and in my pile of things to bring (along with my traveling underpants) I'm a little worried. You see, as I was shopping for my Mosquito Net I was subconciously looking for something that would resemble the outdoors. All the boxes had images of a green background. Does that mean these people use bug nets where there is a green sky? Do they have bigger bugs in this land of green sky? Where is the land of green sky and why don't they have a Lonely Planet book about the land of green sky? Can I one day visit the land of green sky?

Enough of me questioning the land of green sky. My only hope is that the Mosquito Net depicting the land of green sky will avert the mosquitos from thinking I am their white chocolate..

So this Mosquito Net has come with a bonus. It came with a nice little bag to store the Mosquito Net when it's not in use. I say: "that's awesome". On the side of the box are instructions of how to place the mosquito net up. But there's nothing to tell you how to place it back into the bag... I see this as becoming an epic episode of trying to roll  an air mattress to fit it back into the original box...

An episode I will wait to premier when I get there...stay tuned!

My travelling underpants...

How the packing starts....

Just 18 days left before I leave on my next adventure over the ocean. I have to admit that even though that's over two weeks, I’ve begun the process of packing. By process; I mean,  making a list and placing the things I may need in a pile.

As any travelling list, underwear has made the cut. My last adventure to Europe has taught me that hand washing cotton underwear isn’t the greatest option when you are living out of a backpack.

Reason: They don’t dry fast and usually not over night and then they start to stink.
 
Since I don't exactly feel like going commando for a couple of weeks and I don’t feel like wearing wet underpants I decided to solve this problem by a quick trip to the city to buy additional traveling underpants. 

Now please don’t confuse travelling underwear and the travelling pants (made famous by a movie). If you didn’t watch the chick flick “The Travelling Pants”, It's a movie about a group of best friends that share a pair of special pants.

What do the travelling pants and travelling underpants have in common? Travelling underpants are  also special. (I guess this is where I should make it clear that I will not be sharing my underpants with anyone and they will be only worn by me).

In fact they are so special they have superpowers:

• Quick drying
• Wicking
• Light weight
• Odour resistant
• Breathable
• Anti-insect

They also claim that you can travel to 17 countries with just 2 pairs in 6 weeks...

I have to admit I feel like my underpants are bragging with everything they can do because they had me at Quick Drying...

Now to gather the remaining of the superpower stuff that's around my house somewhere....

A city girl way to enjoy the wilderness in the Canadian Rockies

(A much delayed post of my mountain adventure last summer from July 18th to 25th)

The 2010 summer mountain excursion was made with a friend who had never before been to Canadian Rocky Mountains. Together we proved that if you are willing to give up on a few “luxuries” (especially if you are traveling during high tourist season) it doesn’t have to be an expensive.

She flew out from Toronto, for a week. Just like any road trip, a mountain road trip means being well equipped. This means bringing items that a person may for a week to survive in the mountains. As the planner, I had more wilderness experience then my travelling partner  and I decided to ditch the money saving idea of camping and instead optted for a more comfortable indoor “hostel stay”. Reason:  I didn’t want to be the one hitting pots and pans to scare away the bears.

The car resembled that of campers (minus tent and sleeping bags):

• Cooler (with food and beverages)
• iPod (with maps, music and email reservations); and,
• our bags of clothing.

The first stop on the road trip was Jasper for two nights. Summer is a busy time of the year so I booked all our beds in advance. We saved extra money by staying dorms instead of private rooms. We arrived quite late on our first night and had just enough time to set our things down and make our beds before it “lights out”. Hungry and tired, we shared a box of KD before going to bed in preparation of exploration the next day.

I hope the rest of you don’t get pulled into the tourist trap that we did (especially if you have access to a vehicle). Sure, you will get tempted by “tour” signs and shinny brochures. But before booking go to the information booth and double check all the details. You may be able to do it for the fraction of the cost. That’s what we did for the wilderness tour. Instead of booking one, we found out which hiking trail was around the area that the tour bus was going to take and drove out instead. So, not only did we see wildlife on the road, we enjoyed a nice scenic route around Maligne Lake. After our self guided tour we decided on a quick gondola trip up Whistlers peak for a bird’s eye view before sun down.

We weren’t so lucky with the next travel brochure that razzled and dazzled. We both wanted to visit a glacier since it is a life time experience. The tour was scheduled to leave the next day. The experience was spectacular, but it was a mistake that could have saved us each over $50 and a lot of time backtracking.

But we didn’t do our research or even bother to look at a map. The bus left Jasper early in the morning and the tour took us to Glacier and a mid-way stop to Athabasca Falls. After returning to Jasper in the afternoon we headed back in the same direction we had just been in to see the Glacier and made our way  to Banff.

Banff was our adventure stop. We spent two nights and enjoyed white water rafting and the hot springs. Banff is a lot bigger and more commercialized then Jasper seeing how it was our first time there for the both of us we took in the city including the tourist shops and restaurants. After our fun filled stop we headed down to Calgary.

The drive to Calgary was a shorter one compared to the other day hauls. On the way there we discussed our visit to Drumheller and we were both excited for the room that was booked in Calgary with air mile redemption. The hotel had a pool! As luck would have it, our rooms were pool side. When we got there we unloaded our stuff into the hotel room and visited some friends, called it an early night for our next adventure to Drumheller.

I hadn’t heard of Drumheller until I moved out west. So those of those that don’t know about it, you should Google it. It’s so much fun. It resembles a desert and there’s dinosaur stuff everywhere including the museum. There’s something to do for everyone. We hung around there for a whole day felt like a kid again looking at huge dino stuff! After feeling minuscule against the giant bones, we headed back to Calgary for the last night of our Mountain Trip before my Toronto friend was to fly back home and me back to the reality of Northern Alberta.

A new adventure on the horizon..

Mother nature has ushered in winter and I still haven't shared my late summer adventures! How horrible of me.

The two major road trips that "Yari the Yaris" carried me through included a week through the Rocky Mountains and a longer trip to visit family in our neighboring country that bear the flag of strips and stars.

Since I just got home from night shift, I'll write a little later about these trips. It'll take my mind off the next trip I'm in the middle of planning...