January 30, 2015

January 30, 2015 Well tonight's sundowner turned into two and then into three and before we knew what was happening we were into the buy 3 get one free zone which is dangerous! As luck would have it the rooftop patio is within stumbling distance though so all is good and we made it back to the room in one piece. Today was another tough one! Laying by the pool really knocks it out of you. LOL! This morning we hired a local cab and took a tour of the little village of Nungwi which was really interesting. Our driver Mohammed spoke English quite well and so our tour gave us some information as well as a tour of the sights. Highlights included the local government hospital (but if you're really sick you go into Stonetown to the hospital there), lots of locals (few who were willing to have their photo taken), the fish market, ladies weaving flat strips that could then be sewn together to make bed mats etc, ladies spreading tiny fish on tarps to dry in the sun, children coming home from the early shift at school (there are two shifts each day in the public school), children walking home keep off the road but as they walk along the front of the buildings they have to duck under barb wire (with rags tied on it for safety), laundry hanging everywhere so Friday must be laundry day, a common outdoor kitchen where ladies gathered around fires and large cooking pots, bundles of firewood for sale, roads are very narrow and nothing is paved, and houses are very rustic and old. All in all our tour of the village was only an hour but filled with info and sights. There are lots of free water stations in the village and residents make a business out of collecting water in 5 gallon jugs and then delivering them to homes and hotels for a fee. As there is no cost for the water, it is a good business. Another important task is the gathering of firewood. Children and adults alike have responsibility to help take care of daily chores so it is common to see kids out gathering sticks to bring home for the fire. Villagers in Nungwi appear to live a very simple existence (seemingly impoverished in fact) so the contrast of the affluence of the tourist accommodation and the simplicity of the village is stark by comparison. Villagers appear to live day to day and hand to mouth...so different from the live we live at home. Later this afternoon an odd and interesting sight appeared at the ocean's edge in front of our hotel. There were four cows just left there to bask in the sun on the white sandy beaches...yes...odd and interesting! Today seems to be a day for guests to check out and new ones to check in so there will be some new faces around the pool tomorrow. As you can see from the length of this entry....another quiet day. till tomorrow we go polay polay and hakunamatata, Darlorlynga