Christoph's Travelblog

Black water fever

christoph_j — Mon, 6 Dec 2010 22:40:00 GMT

I had seen and done many things in Nairobi, neglecting the fact that I wasn't really feeling too well. When I arrived in Nairobi I started feeling unwell, had problems with my stomach and felt feverish many nights. In the beginning I thought it might go away.. it's probably just something I ate.. but it didn't. It just got worse and worse. I decided to see a doctor and went to a clinic that looked quite reputable. In retrospect I should have known they were not. They took a bunch of tests (for some of which I am still waiting for results!) and made me pay a lot of money. Probably without really knowing (and really caring) what I had they gave me some random medicine that did not at correspond to the symptoms I had explained to them. I took the medicine anyway, they were doctors after all, and I had to trust they knew what they were doing. Not surprisingly I did not feel better. It got worse. I continued to take the medicine hoping it would help but knew I would have to seek another doctor pretty quick. I went to the doctor that is used by employees of the German embassy. Even he took a lot of tests and said that all my values look normal. By random guess he ordered the lab technician to test me for malaria: it was positive.

I was happy that I finally knew what wrong with me. Still I felt extremely sick and violated as I had trusted that the prophylaxis I had taken in addition to sleeping under mosquito nets and using repellant, would protect me from this nasty disease. The doctor prescribed some medicine that was supposed to treat malaria (I was sceptical because it seemed so random: why should I have malaria? Did this doctor too make a mistake?) . That evening, feeling like dirt, extremely lonely in a crappy bed in a noisy hostel, I decided I wanted to go home to Maputo. So that is what happened. On the flight back I looked outside and saw Mt Kilimanjaro towering above the clouds as if to say goodbye to me. It made me think of all the things I have accomplished and seen on this trip and made me very sad that it had to take such an aprupt end. I don't want it to end but in the situation I was in it was the only right thing to do.

Just like Livingstone and so many other African explorers before me my trip was cancelled due to a simple vicious parasite causing the nasty black water fever they call malaria.. Unlike these explorers I didn't die. This is not the end of my travels. It is only the beginning.

Karen Blixens trail

christoph_j — Mon, 6 Dec 2010 13:44:00 GMT

The time I had in Kenya was amazing.

I spent two more days in Mombasa. On the first day I went to Old Town together with my fellow resort crashers. We spent the entire day exploring the narrow streets. It wasn't quite Stonetown/Zanzibar but the Swahili vibe was still omnipresent. We had a look at Fort Jesus, Mombasas famous landmark and enjoyed the beautiful sights of the Old harbour.
At one point we went into a local café with the sole motive of having a gingercoffee and ended up getting everything else but the coffee (the pilau there was delicious though!) So we ended up drinking chai tangawizi (ginger tea) from a street vendor which was a delightfully unique experience.
The following day we teamed up with some more americans from the hostel and went resort crashing again.. worked wonderfully. This time we were offered free water and had an intense waterpolo match Animation staff vs. Guests. Good thing I was leaving Mombasa soon. Crashing resorts is so much fun and worst of all really addictive ;-)

Lamu island was an interesting place. It is so small and so remote that they have been isolated from development for a very long time (electricity was first installed end 70ties). It is a very tranquil and calm place. Time is very abundant! There are no cars on Lamu island, which is very relaxing for the ears. The main means of transportation are the plentiful donkeys. They carry people and goods (mostly building material) from one side of town to the next. If they don't do what their master says they get a good whipping.. you can't help but to feel sorry for them, but then again, that's what they are bred for.. There is a donkey sanctuary in town where people can bring their sick donkeys and have them treated for free.. a very good idea in my oppinion.

Everywhere you saw people chewing on small twigs of myraa. It is considered to be a mild stimulant and by chewing the twigs people gain a similar high as from drinking coffee: they become happy, relaxed, awake and loose their appetite. Speaking from personal experience the main problem is that you have to chew A LOT of these bitter tasting twigs before any effect sets in at all.. I'd rather stick to coffee ;-)

A thing I love about Swahili towns is that no matter how small the town is (and Lamu town, e.g. is a lot smaller than Zanzibar town), you will almost certainly get lost in the maze of narrow streets ending up in places and situations you would have never imagined..

While in Lamu I also spent some time on the beach. The walk to the good beach took 30 minutes and on the way you tended to get a little hungry. Good thing some friends and I found the best chapattis in my entire time in East Africa. Chapattis: Salty, oily, soft and crunchy pancake goodness. The lady was delighted that we loved her food which was sweet to watch! If you were still hungry when having arrived on the beach: not to worry, there would be a man coming with freshly made kingfish or vegetarian samosas. Swahili people know how to cook!! (as you can tell, the actual swimming was second ;-) )
One day I went on a dhow sunset-cruise with some people I had met in Mombasa. It was great fun and very fascinating to watch the crew working hard to keep the vessel afloat. There was no sunset that day (covered in clouds) but still we had a great time.

After a small pitstop at the Italian enclave that is Malindi, exploring Hell's Kitchen, a limestone gorge, and the Gede Ruins of an ancient Swahili town, I went back to Mombasa with a friend of mine to catch the famous Mombasa-Nairobi train. This was the gateway to a vast continent by which many settlers arrived in East Africa. Amongst these: Karen Blixen. Standing on the train station, entering the train, observing the landscape rolling past, I tried to imagine what it must have been like back then, when she arrived here to build a farm. The train ride was incredible, we were treated like Kings. People came to arrange the beds while they sent us of to 3 course dinner in the eating wagon. This was quite a sight: through the movement of the train the waiters were thrown in every direction while trying to balance the soup, the rice, the chicken. Still nobody spilled a drop! In the morning during breakfast the train snailed trough big herds of Wildebeests, Zebras and Topis. We also saw the occasional giraf and ostrich. I felt completely warped back in time when the animals must have roamed freely around the train througout the trip. This must have been what it was like for Karen Blixen. I was delighted :-)

Arriving in Nairobi (beautiful train station!) I was expecting the worst. Everyone tells horror stories about the place, so I was on the lookout for anything strange and expected 100s of people to swarm me, trying to sell me safaris or neclaces or even worse: rob me. Exiting the train station I was almost dissapointed. A single inpersistant taxidriver asked me quite timidly: "yes taxi?". "Sihitaji!" (I don't need it!) And he left me alone. Nobody bothered me in Nairobi and I walked the 30 minutes walk to the backpackers being bothered slightly only once. Maybe because I was expecting the worst it didn't seem too bad after all. I don't think that Nairobi (centre!) is any worse than any other capital in the world. You need to be cautious and sensible and you'll be fine.

The following week I explored the city mostly on foot or by matatu (the public busses). One day I visited the railway museum, learning about how the Kenyan-Ugandan "lunatic" railway line was built in the 1890s. I loved the fact that you were allowed (without supervision) to go into the old wagons and locomotives pushing buttons and having a seat in the old coupés :-)
Another day I visited the Nairobi slums. The Americans I had met in Mombasa were doing volunteer work and had asked if I wanted to join them for a day to see what they were working with and to see how people were living. It was a sobering experience seing how these people were living in shacks. The slums are truly a city within the city. People pay rent, go to school, have small businesses, try to survive. Despite the circumstances people seemed resonably happy. The children would crowd us shouting in a sing song: "HOWAREYOU? HOWAREYOU?" as soon as we they released us from hugging and holding our hands (it was heart-melting!) they would shout "BYEEEIIU! BYEEEIIIU!". They knew nothing better then to have taken their picture and I simply had to comply :-).

The Americans had started a small eyeclinic in a school where I helped out in the morning. We checked how well the children could see (if they needed glasses) and had an eyedoctor check for any diseases or abnormalities. It was a great feeling to be able to help even though it was only for the day.

I spent quite some time hanging out with the Americans in Nairobi. They invited me for a Thanksgiving party but had mixed up the dates (the party we were going to was the day after Thanksgiving) so we ended up showing up all dressed up for the big feast a day early :-) The real party the next day was great fun and I can't remember ever eating so much in my life: Delicious. We also watched the movie Out of Africa (in preparation for visiting the farm!) and Harry Potter 7. Can't miss out on that even though I'm in Africa ;-) I had a great time with these guys!

In Nairobi I also went to the Elephant Orphanage. It is a great project where elephant orphans from all over Kenya are nourished and given love in order to eventually get a second chance in the wild as soon as they are strong enough. The project has had an incredibly high successrate reintroducing the elephants and the dedication of the caretakers is admirable: they take turns sleeping together with the baby elephants. If they didn't the elephants would die of stress as they have no one to protect them from predators.
The elephants are only shown to the public for one hour everyday and it took quite some effort to get there by public transport (3 matatu-rides and a 20 minutes walk), but it was totally worth it. Seeing the elephants playing with eachother, rolling aroung and making eachother wet was priceless. I had an extraordinary experience with one of the baby-elephants. With its trunk it took my hand, squeezed it and let it go. I felt a teardrop running down my chin.

After this beautiful experience I went to the Karen Blixen museum. Walking up the driveway I felt instantly happy. The garden, the house, the setting (with the Ngonghills in the background) was otherwordly and extremely beautiful. "This was what it must have felt like, back then, visiting the baroness", I thought. I got an very informative tour, remembered to say: "Nixen Bixen, Karen Blixen", as instructed by a good friend back home and left the place with an immense feeling of satisfaction.

Now I felt I had seen what Nairobi had to offer and had followed Karen Blixens trail into Africa.

From summit to sea

christoph_j — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT

Exactly 10 days ago I stood on the peak of Africa. No words can truly describe the magnificence of the hike and the extraordinary experience of standing at the summit but I will attempt to give you an impression of it in the following..

On the first day we got picked up by a shuttle bus that took us from Moshi (800m above sealevel) to the small village of Machame (at 1800m). After meeting the porters (our team including the five of us consisted of 21 people!!) for the first time and getting the last formalities settled (which took a little longer than usual as the power at gone off, and somebody was sent to fetch a generator) we started the hike. On the first the hike led us through a dense rain forest. In the beginning it was very humid and hot but it became gradually colder as we walked higher. In the distance monkeys were crying and birds were chirping. Trees were covered in moss and lianas and every once in a while you would have to crawl over a decaying log. I always kept pushing myself to walk slower than a actually wanted to, using taking pictures as an excuse to stop. As I had no idea how my body would react to the altitude I thought it was probably the most sensible thing to do. My guide Stephen totally agreed: "Is good to walk pole pole (slowly) on mountain".. so that's what I did. You couldn't help to feel sorry for the porters who were carrying a lot of things (including all our tents, cooking equipment etc etc)and I would show them my respect by telling them "Pole", which basically means: " I am sorry for you to have to do more work than normally necessary". The usual reply would be : "Asante" (thank you) or if I looked especially tired: "Na wewe pija" or "Na wewe pole" (The same to you ;) ). Arriving at Machame Hut, our first camp it started raining and we had to seek shelter in our (which were already set up thanks to our kind porters!) I hoped it wouldn't rain more on our hike but I did look forward to snow in higher altitudes. On the first day we had increased altitude by a whopping 2200 m and I still felt great. My spirits were high for the following days.

On day two the landscape had already changed completely. The big trees and dense forest disappeared to give way for moss covered rocks, cactus-like plants and smaller shrubs. The path was winding and steep. Rocks were treacherous and slippery due to the rain that had fallen the previous day. Extra care had to be taken not to lose sight of the group as we were quickly concealed in a dense fog, normally described as clouds. The camp, Shira hut (3800m), was also completely concealed in clouds and the guide deemed it to be too dangerous to go on a half day (acclimatisation) excursion to the Shira caves. Therefore the group and I decided to spent the day playing cards, drinking tea and coffee and eating basically :-)

On day three I woke up before dawn as I had slept badly the entire night and decided to go for a walk. I was exhilarated when I say the sun rising just above the beautiful ice covered summit which was completely free of clouds. I couldn't wait to be up there myself!
Day three is probably the most important day of the hike apart from summit day, naturally ;-) the trail leads through a high altitude, snow blown desert up to a natural monument called the Lavatower at an intense 4700m. After consuming lunch at this high altitude the path winds through a gorgeous canyon sprinkled with small encalves of green plants and waterfalls to Barranco camp at 3900m. This is the key to why the Machame route has a higher success rate. Climbing to a very high altitude at such an early stage signals to the brain to produce more red blood cells in order to cope with the lack of oxygen at the high altitude. The view from Barrancu was absolutely stunning. When we arrived the summit was clearing and we looked down on a fluffy candyfloss blanket of clouds beneath us. At night the clouds would disappear and the town of Moshi would have a twinkling competition with the stars.

Day four included the most challenging and simultaneously the most fun hike of the all (so far). It led up the Barrancu wall which at some points was at an angle of 60-70 degrees and took some arm power to overcome. The trail led up and down several times this day again allowing the body to get used to high altitudes. Karranga hut was again at 3900m and I could feel my body getting used to this altitude feeling stronger than ever ;) We went on a small day excursion to 4200m where I built my own little rock-tower monument to please all the coming generations of hikers. When the summit is clear and you sit in the right angle the peak of my rock tower reaches the peak of the summit.. ok I will have to show you pictures of that as soon as I have proper internet!
The sunset over the clouds at Karranga was magnificent painting the summit in reddish pink colours.

Day 5 we hiked to Barrancu (snow/ice) camp at 4600m. The landscape was desert like again and the clouds swept through camp ever so often. I was getting quite nervous and could tell that the other members of the group were too. We got a last briefing of Stephen before going to bed at 5 o clock pm.

Summit night! We were woken up at 11 o clock pm. I hadn't slept at all, too anxious to rest. The fact that my tent-buddy Harriet was perfectly asleep and breathing deeply made my even more nervous: why couldn't I fall asleep? Luckily I heard the guys in the other tents turning and talking: I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.
And then it was time: I put on 4 layers of clothes (it gets as cold a -20 degrees C at night!) drank a cup of tea and ate a biscuit. Off we hiked towards the summit.
It is difficult to describe exactly what I felt. I was very tired due to the lack of sleep, awed by the beauty of the night sky and Moshi beneath us, my feet were freezing and my mood went from being very happy and making jokes, to not being able to move and having to sit on the next rock due to oxygen deprivation. One thing I know for sure: it was a good thing that we walked by night and couldn't see how far we still had to go. I tried to concentrate on walking one foot at a time, trying not to stumble or fall. Our guide Stephen but especially Rich, the assistant guide were very motivating and helped us keep going. All of us were very tired except for Maria, the Swiss girl, who seemed completely unaffected by the altitude. She was probably the main motivating factor of the group, joking, singing and hugging people when they needed it. Looking back I was probably quite lucky. Yeah I was tired (my legs have never felt as heavy before!) but at least I wasn't nauseous, didn't have a headache and didn't get an edema. When we reached Stella point, which is located at the crater rim I got an energy boost. From here it is only less than an hour to the summit. I walked pole pole, one step at the time, stopping every 5 steps to catch my breath, getting Rich to take pictures for me because I was just to tired. And then: There it was in the distance. The world famous signpost I had been walking to wards for 6 days. What happened with my body is difficult to explain. Tears filled my eyes, endorphins and adrenalin were pumped into my blood making otherworldly happy. I was so exhausted but still I had all the strength in the world to walk now that I was almost there. I walked towards it the sun rose and drenched the summit with all the beautiful glaciers in beautiful colours. I stayed on the summit for at least half an hour. Stephen had to drag me down again. I could have stayed there forever! The roof of Africa!

After this extraordinary experience at the summit we still had to walk down. When we finally reached camp (blisters covering my feet and my knees hurting badly as soon as the adrenalin had worn off) we had walked a total of 15 hours since midnight! At camp we celebrated and the following day walked all the way down to receive our diplomas.
We celebrated once more with our porters and guides inviting them to the moonshine brew: banana beer and some kiti moto (fried pork). They all appreciated this gesture and it was a perfect end to a perfect week.

Climbing Kilimanjaro is probably at the same time the hardest thing I have ever put my body through and the best thing I've ever done. Having climbed Kili I feel I can do anything. I've been on top of the world already so every thing else should be a piece of cake, right? ;-) I am happy I pulled it through even though it was hard at times and I thank my group for that as well. I consider myself very lucky to have found these people. We had great fun together and I hope that I will go on more adventures with these guys in the future!

What happened after Kili then.. well since then I've been on a safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro which was a perfect reward. There was nothing better than just being able to sit in a while watching nature and animals walking by outside. And we (Rif and Jen who I met at the hostel and who were on Kili at the same time with another group) were very lucky as well. We saw all Big 5 as well as 3 cheetas, crocs, hippos and a serval cat. The absolute highlights were the leopard 10 m from the car eating a kill in a tree, the elephant bull drinking water from our water tank at camp and the wild boar ripping open my tent to steel some non existing food from my tent :)

Now I am in Mombasa planning on going to the city center today (the backpackers is located a bit out of town!) Yesterday I spent the day at a luxurious resort at the beach. Some Americans (from the hostel) and me just walked into the resort, claimed some chairs and were even offered towels and tea. The animation team invited us to play beach and water volleyball with them.. Nobody asked us if we actually live at the resort.. In a way it is reverse racism because they just assume we must be rich because we are white (even though I was wearing a very dirty t-hirt and smelled a little bit of sweat ;) but you know what, I don't care. We had a great day at the beach :-)

My plan now is to go to Lamu island, which is supposed to be the Zanzibar of Kenya.. :-) I think I really need a hot beach after the cold mountain :-)

Mountain of Whiteness

christoph_j — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 12:55:00 GMT

I am currently staying in probably one of the most magnificent places this planet has got to offer: Mt Kilimanjaro. When I arrived here on Monday the majestic mountain, which I so far only have seen on pictures or in videos, was covered in clouds.
I asked around if this is normal (as in my imagination I had always pictured the mountain always clearly visible with snow on top while the sun is burning down on the savanna surrounding it.

Apparently this fantasy is far from reality as Mt Kilimanjaro is almost always covered in clouds, except for early in the morning and late at night, hence the name of the city located at the foot of the mountain (where I'm staying at right now): Moshi- cloud in English.
The day after my arrival it finally happened. Within only 10 minutes the the impressive mountain shed its fluffy covers and dominated the landscape just as I had always imagined. I was totally mesmerized and stood there gazing at it until the last rays of the sun had vanished and the mountain was concealed in darkness.

Tomorrow I will start my seven day hike attempting to reach the summit, the Uhuru peak at 5895m. I have met a group of people I am very happy with. One Australian girl, a Swiss-Italian girl, two Swiss-German guys and then there is me :-) The Swiss people of course have more experience in hiking but they respect Mt Kilimanjaro a lot and also don't want to rush it. The Australian girl is just as inexperienced as me, so we have decided to be each others mental support :-)
The route we are taking is the Machame route, which is manageable in 6 days, but considering that I have been living in flat Denmark for the past 3 years and have no experience in mountaineering I am very happy to do it in 7 days which allows us to take it more slowly. The Machame route is increasingly getting more popular than the infamous Marangu route (or Coca-Cola route) which is easiest to walk but does nothing for acclimatisation. The Machame route is slightly tougher, however the route leads up to 4000 meters already on the third day, where after the next two days are at a lower altitude.. perfect for acclimatisation.
I have no idea how my body will react to the high altitude but I will take all the necessary precautions that help prevent altitude sickness.
I really hope I reach the top, but if I shouldn't that is just how it goes. Better not reach the top than never reaching the bottom again!!

Yesterday I picked up all the gear which is of surprisingly good (brand) quality: Timberland, Northface, Norrøna and Columbia, which I am very happy about. Today we met the guide (Steven) and assistant guide (Rich) and they seem to know what they are doing (Steven has been up the mountain at least 140 times, which is very comforting!)

Even though I'm nervous as hell I am looking very much forward to the entire experience. I think it will be better as soon as I actually start the hike and am on the mountain tomorrow :-)

I will definitely write and update as soon as I am in Moshi again and tell you how it went :-)

Island of Spices

christoph_j — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:00:00 GMT

The last two weeks I have spent on the beautiful island of Zanzibar.

The moment I stepped out of the ferry I knew I loved the place. I spent the first couple of days getting lost in Stonetown on purpose. Strolling down narrow and winding streets I listened to the people speaking in their fairytale-like language, enjoyed the smell of freshly brewed coffee and exotic spices in the air, watched women wearing colourful khangas and children playing ball in the streets. What I enjoy the most about this place is the way people with different cultures and religion live side by side in mutual respect and harmony. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what Swahili culture is, because it is the mixture of many different cultural influences: African, Indian, Arabic, even Portuguese and English (to a small extent) that makes out the Swahili culture. When I decided I had enough of getting lost on purpose I started getting lost involuntarily. The streets here have no logic whatsoever and there are no street names. The streets are too narrow and the buildings too high in order to use 'classical' markers, such as church towers or mosques. But now, shortly before leaving of course, I feel like I have learned my way around :)

Even though I could have stayed in Stonetown forever, I decided to explore the island as well. I went on a 'Spicetour' which was a tour to a spice plantation close to Stonetown. It was interesting to see how the fresh spices looked like and I think the guide was quite impressed with me, as I knew (or guessed correctly) many of the spices he showed us.. ;-)

After that I went to Jambiani in the southeast. I arrived there with the Dalla Dalla (public transport) and had absolutly no idea where I was going to stay. Furthermore I didn't know that Jambiani is Zanzibar's longest town (3+ km) so when I arrived I was at the southernmost tip of the town. I decided to start walking and ask every guesthouse along the way for the price of a room.. I soon figured that the prices are considerably higher at the beaches than in Stonetown (most of the places charging 60+$ per night!!) After having walked for 90 minutes with my backpack in the midday heat and being REALLY tired I was approached by a guy wearing a Bayern Muenchen Tshirt. He told me that his friend owned a new Guesthouse which he could show me if I wanted. Even though my natural reaction was to be somewhat sceptical I decided to trust the guy and he showed me to the place.

The place was called Jumba Baya (bed palace) or in short 'JB' and it was owned by this local guy Kishuka. The price for a night was fair (15$) and the place was clean. So I decided to stay there. In retrospect I am really happy that I did. I had the most amazing 3 days in Jambiani. Kishuka would sit and teach me Kiswahili every morning and evening and told me many things about Swahili culture. The first night he said to me that he thanks God that I arrived at his place as low season has been especially hard on him..

The beach in Jambiani was beautiful. The sand was so fine that it felt like soft butter between the toes.The water was very clear but only swimable during high tide. At low tide you would see all the women of the village either sitting in the sand or standing bent-over their small fields of sea-grass, planting, maintaining or picking the sea grass for drying. Apparently sea grass is exported to the EU and USA for the cosmetic industry..

The second day I went to the beach and a guy, who called himself 'Captain Cook' approached me and asked if he could cook lunch for me: octopus in coconut sauce. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of octopus I agreed and Captain Cook ran off into the lowtide and caught an octopus for me (it doesn't get any fresher than that!). When it was time to eat he put several pots on the table.. rice, vegetables and the octopus which he hadn't bothered to cut into pieces and therefore was still whole and watching me. Normally I am not squirmish with food but I must admit that I lost my appetite jut a little.. I asked him how do you eat it. He replied: 'you just cut!'.. Easier said than done.. the octopus was very chewy and tasted fishy.. The problem was he was watching me eat the food so I had to pretend I liked it ('mhhh') in order to not insult him. The rice and coconut sauce was delicous by the way! When I finished I said to my self I would never eat octopus again.. I arrived at the Guesthouse just to find a very proud Kishuka telling me that today he would cook 'Makujat', octopus soup, for me. Makujat is eaten by men only (especially two days before a wedding) and is supposed to make you strong. I didn't have the heart to tell Kishuka that I didn't like octopus and I was also very honoured that he considered me his 'Rafiki' (friend) and wanted to cook for me.. so I ate the soup.

After my stay in Jambiani I went up North first to Matemwe at the East coast and then to Kendwa West. Kendwa was incredible. The beach was swimable at all times and there was even a small coral reef just 5 meters from shore :) One day I went diving at the marine conservation area 'Mnemba Island'. The absolute highlight were the whitetip reefsharks and the turtles :)

And now I'm back in Stonetown heading for Dar es Salaam on Wednesday. I'll probably stay in Dar es Salaam for a couple of days and then taking the bus to Moshi afterwards. From there I will arrange my hike up Mt Kilimanjaro :)

Karibu! (You are welcome!)

christoph_j — Sun, 3 Oct 2010 18:28:00 GMT

Karibu (you are welcome). Rafiki (friend). Asante sana (thank you very much). Mambo (what's up). Jambo (hello). Poa! (I'm cool!) My Swahili voacbulary is slowly expanding ever since I entered the swahili-stronghold of Tansania :) But now to what has happened so far:

I stayed longer in Nkata bay than I had originally planned (5 days instead of 2..ups ;) ) But I've been told that this happens to most of the backpackers that stay there because the place is just incredibly friendly and hospitable (In additions to that people are in a constant party mood, which is always a pleasant change ;) )

Meri and I had planned to go diving Friday morning as the dives around Nkatabay are supposed to be the best of the entire lake. When we showed up at the diving school Rod, the divemaster, gave us a very detailed dive-briefing, explaining to us exactly where we would be diving, when we would be doing swim-throughs, which fish we were going to see (and around where we would expect to se them!), he explained all his special (not exactly PADDI-conform) dive-signals and then he told us to wait for someone to give us fitting equipment. When Rod returned he didn't look happy. He said he regretted deeply but that entire Nkatabay as well as all major cities in the region were out of gas and that he therefore could not take us out to dive.. What a bummer! I had been looking very much forward to see the mouthbreeders protectingly taking there young into their mouths.
There was however nothing much to do. Therefore we sucked it up, took our snorkeling equipment and went snorkeling in the bay. I stayed in the water for a very long time swimming down to the bottom and looking under rocks and into caves.. And then I saw a small school of very small fish swimming around panickingly. I couldn't believe my luck when I saz a much larger fish swimming towards the small fish and scooping all the fish into her mouth! I had seen what I had come for (in addition to many other things such as the upside-down fish, and the mating-ritual of the colourful ciclids) and in addition to that had saved alot of money :-)

This had to be celebrated, I meen it was Friday and Meri's birthday was the following day. So we bought a bottle of Malawi-Gin and some tonics and started celebrating. The backpackers had organised a delicous BBQ-buffet and had even backed a birthday cake for Meri. After the dinner we went to "Jam Rock" probably the most famous 24h bar in Nkatabay and decided to party til we could see the sunrise in the bay..

We didn't.
;-)

Still it was an amazing night out! we jammed and danced to the reggae-beats, met alot of incredible people (I even met some danish people. wupdidoo) and first came home 4.30-ish.

The day after we packed our stuff and headed for Chitemba further up north at the lakeside. The road first took us up the mountains to Mzuzu (biggest city in the area) and thereafter led down the mountains to the lakeside. At the side of the road baboons were waiting for the bus to pass. They knew that the people in the bus would open up all the windows and throw out the pieces of Cassava and bananas, which they had just bought from vendours at the previous stop. Even though I didn't really like the idea (baboons that get to accustomed to humans can become very aggressive and dangerous) I couldn't help to be amused, especially because the entire bus, which just moments before had been crammed in painful silence, lit up with delight and laughter!

The day after we decided to try and hitch a ride up the mountain to the Livingstonia mission. The road up there is horrendous and no public transport goes there. So we sat at the side of the road underneath an enormous mangotree and waited.
Luckily we didn't have to wait for long as 45 minutes later two trucks came down the mountain to pick up students of the technical school of Livingstonia. First they said that we couldn't go with them under any circumstances, but soon after Meri had a talk to the drivers, they changed their minds and said the students (of course) had first priority.
Meri was the lucky one. She even got a seet in the front of the car. I on the other hand was less lucky. I must have look very unconvinced because the driver said to me: "Ok soldier! Get up there!" How on earth am I going to get up there never mind the backpack, I remember thinking. The back of the truck was only about 2 square meters big, and this limited space was already filled with 14 students in addition to their luggage. I didn't really have a choice: this was probably the only ride going up there for the day. I put on my cap of "African Spirit" and climbed and crawled and pushed my way into the small space that was reserved for me. I was standing up, my backpack was on the roof of the truck.
As soon as the truck started driving I thought I was going to die! The road, which I knew was going to be bad, was even worse than I imagined. It was a very ill-maintained gravel-road that snaked its way through 29 horrific bends up the mountains. I felt like I was going to fall off the truck anytime! I didn't even have time to enjoy " probably the most scenic road in Southern Africa" as Meris guidebook had put it. At one point I had to sit down, which ment partially sitting ontop of to other people, who accepted it without any complaints. I think the people on the back of the truck that that I, the Msungu was very amusing, at least I could hear them talking and laughing about me.. I didn't really mind and made self-ironic jokes, which made them laugh even harder..

When we were up there I instantly knew that it was totally worth it. WHAT A VIEW! We stayed at a place, which motto was to be selfsustaining and biodynamic. This meant amongst other things: compost-toilets, reusing all water and growing all their own food (even the coffee was from their own garden). And man-oh-man the food was the best I have had so far!!!!
We visited the waterfalls and caves nearby that had been used by people to hide from the slavetraders and went to Livingstonia village to see the church and the "Stonehouse" that had belonged to the famous missionary Dr. Laws.
On the way back to the lodge I met Code. This is how the conversation went:

Code: Hello. How are you?
Chris: Good. Thank you. How are you?
Code: Fine. How are you?
Chris: (pausing)
Code: Where are you going?
Chris: Home. What about you?
Code: Macheve!
Chris: Is Macheve your home?
Code: (Confused) Macheve!
Chris: Is Macheve your HOME?
Code: Yes!
Code: Are you my friend?
Chris: Yes. Thank you! Are you my friend Code?
Code: Yes (smiling).

This kid was just amazing even though we had some communication-difficulties in the beginning. After that he showed me his home and waved goodbye!

Many kids in this area would come and talk to you but often the conversation would take a different turn more like. Hello. How are you? Fine how are you? Yes! Give me bottle, money, water, balloon etc!

The last day of Meri and me travelling together (by now we were in Chitimba again) we went to the local pub (as the place we were staying was pretty empty). We tried the local maizebeer "Napolo International Beer". This beer can have everything between 1% and 6% depending on how long it had been standing in the bar. On the pack there was a slogan "Masese!", which meens tastes as it looks: and one thing was for sure: the slogan didn't lie! ;-)

And since then I have been travelling alone again. First to Mbeya and now I'm in Dar es Salaam.
In Mbeya I met Ali, who approached my while I was looking for the right place to buy the busticket to Dar es Salaam. After he helped me I invited him for a Coke and he aske me whether I like to cook. When I said yes, he suggested that we could go to the market together and buy the ingredients and then prepare the food at his home for his family, as a souvenir. I deemed him to be trustworthy so I agreed to it. The food we prepared (very Gumbo-like vegetarian food) was delicious and it was a wonerful experience. We washed our hands before eating and then took the ugali (corn staple) with the right hand, formed a ball, squished it to a spoon-like structure, used this structure to scoop up the gumbo and ate :-) Afterwards I was invited inside to watch TV in the livingroom.

The day after (yesterday) I took the bus to Dar es Salaam. 12 hours. Luckily I had a good book to read and the landscape was never boring. At one point we drove through the Mikumi national park and I saw impalas, giraffes and zebras.. pretty cool! Every once in a while I saw the Massai driving their cattle. I have finally arrived in East Africa!

Dar es Salaam is an exotic city. It is sweatdrippinly hot and very multicultural. This morning I went for a walk and heard te moezzin inviting the faithful to the morning-prayer. This sound mixed with the sound of churchbells and choirs singing. The streets are narrow and filled with indian spiceshops and arabic traders. The life of people seems to be taking place in the streets. There is a big contrast between the modern skyscrapers and the old collapsing buildings that remind of the past. Even though Dar is completely different to what I imagined I still enjoy the vibe of the city!

Next I'll probably head to Zanzibar and afterwards (if I ever want to leave again) I'll make my way to climb Africa's highest summit (I hope :) )

The big lake

christoph_j — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:30:00 GMT

This is the first time in the past that I have been able to get into an Internet-cafe that is how off the beaten track I have been on my journey so far. I have already had some incredible experiences and met amazing people that I have been longing to talk about so now and without further ado: The update! ;-) (I just hope the power doesn't go out again (as it did before!) :-))

In the last post i wrote that I would be traveling alone. Funny thing is: Ever since I started "traveling alone" I have not been alone for a single moment. On the second day of my travel, taking the train from Nampula to Cuamba in Mocambique (a journey that took 12 hours and let through one panorama landscape to the next - incredible train-ride!) I met Meri, a girl from Finland who has been traveling in Africa for 2 months already and has another 10 months to go (talk about setting my 5 months into perspective ;) ) When we arrived in Cuamba there was no chappa leaving for Mandimba (the border to Malawi) so I took the chappa to Lichinga instead and was told that I would be able to get off at Mandimba as well! When the chappa finally took off (2 hours of waiting in a very crowded minibus) the driver said that I of course would have to pay the full amount to Lichinga even though I got off earlier. I took this as a sign that I should go to Lichinga instead. So I asked Meri if it was OK that we became travel-buddies for a while (which it was)and since then we have been travelling together.

The first place we went (after a night in Lichinga) was Metangula, a quite big village on the Mozambican side of the Malawi-lake. It was interesting because we were the only tourists in the entire village. Still people were very welcoming and extremely friendly always making sure to ask how you are, where you are from, where you are going next. I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the lake. (almost) Everything about it is just like an ocean. The horizon, the waves, the sand, the colourful fish in the clear water. Just one thing is different: the air around it does not have the characteristic smell of salt. (Which is logical, as the lake is a freshwater lake ;-).

The next day we wanted to go to another village at the lake called Cobue. We woke up very early (people had told us that the chappas to Cobue leave at 5 or 6 in the morning), but we soon found out that there was no public transport going to Cobue. The only car that drove to Cobue was an open truck. Therefore we spent 6 hours in the sun on the back of an open truck " waiting for passengers". It didn't feel like six hours, though, as the village was bustling with life and all the time something was happening or someone came and talked to you! All of the sudden we took off and the scenery on this stretch was otherworldly! It led through forest-covered mountains and every once in a while you could catch a glimpse of the lake. When the sun started setting (It took 5 hours to drive the 100km between the two villages.) The scenery became even more fantastic. Cobue was a lot smaller than Metangula and again we were the only tourists. We went to watch the local soccer match (between Cobues team and the surrounding villages team) and ended up becoming the main attraction of the event. We were surrounded by children and somebody explained to us that they were saying that they didn't come to watch the football match but to look at the Msungus (the Chichewa/Swahili word for white person). We took a lot of pictures and the children enjoyed seeing themselves in the camera. In the end of the match Team Cobue won and the entire village ran onto the field to celebrate their team.. :-)

In Cobue I also met my parents when they came back from their stay at Nikvichi-lodge. I was very happy to see them again (especially because I had already said goodbye to them!). We enjoyed a good! cup of coffee and my food supplies were filled up again before they had to head back to Maputo.

The same day we took the Dhau (small sailing boat) to Likoma Island, which is situated just in front of Cobue but belongs to Malawi, due to the Missionary efforts by the British during the colonial era. Likoma Island is very peaceful and if there is one thing you are able to do on this Island it is relaxing..
The days went by quickly. I went snorkeling in the clear water, went hiking into the village to see the Cathedral and the market, I even went to visit the famous witchdoctor Dr. William Kumpalotta. The doctor gave me a Juju (magic or charm) for good luck and to prevent thievery and robbery. Apparently when I'm wearing the Juju, bad people will change their minds!! Not a bad protection I think :-)
One night there was a bright red snake in the dormitory.. at first I thought it was a wire of some sort and almost grabbed it. Good thing I didn't.. I showed the pictures to the managers of the place and they said it was a poisonous.. We never got it out of the room, as it slithered into the bamboo-reeds of the wall. I comforted myself thinking it is too cold at night at the lake for the snake to be able to move ;-)
On Likoma Island I also learned to play Bao, probably the national game of Malawi and widespread in Eastern Africa. It is a lot of fun, especially because everyone knows it and you can play it anywhere. On my last day on Likoma I even bet my teacher Dan, which was a very special moment ;-)

Yesterday I took the Ihlala ferry across the lake to Nkata bay. Getting into the ferry I had to wade to a small transfer boat (backpack strapped to my back, holding my shoes in the one hand an the cellphone in the other..)
The boat was certified for carrying 22 people. We were, as far as I could count 33 people plus an uncountable number of bags filled with dried fish, corn and cassava.
As soon as we were on the boat the ride was very enjoyable. We slept on the top-deck under the stars while the boat slowly cruised to Nkata bay.
Getting off the boat was even worse than getting on. I had to hand my backpack down the side of the ferry in order to climb over bags of dried fish, pushing and getting pushed in a very small space (Good thing I'm not claustrophobic!). Then on top of it all a man blocking the entrance wanted to see my ticket.. which was of course in the backpack outside.. after a small discussion we agreed that I could go to my backpack and show him afterwords and everything was fine!

Nkata bay is lovely and refreshingly lively in comparison to the rather slow paced Likoma Island. There is music playing, lots of people on the street, loads of bars and restaurants! The bay is (once again) beautiful and water crystal-clear!)

One thing I especially like about Malawi is the Malawians! Seldom have I met such friendly and helpful people. They enjoy talking a lot and are very interested in who you are, what you are doing. I get some extra credit when I tell people I am Danish. Everyone knows Denmark here as Carlsberg has a factory near Blantyre ;-) Yesterday somebody told me: Oh thank you Denmark for bringing Danish water to Malawi.. I like Danish water ;)

I don't really know what my plans are next.. I want to go to Livingstonia and then to Tanzania.. this means that in a couple of days Meri and my paths will split (she is going to Zambia, Botswana, Nambibia). But I will just see what happens and that will be what I do :)

Phase two: Travelling alone

christoph_j — Tue, 7 Sep 2010 17:50:00 GMT

The past 10 days I have been travelling northwards in Mocambique together with my parents. It has been an amazing time! We started off driving a very long stretch all the way from Maputo to Vilanculos, which went pretty smoothly, as there was absolutely no traffic what so ever on the roads. As I wrote in an earlier post, the public transportation of Mocambique, called chappas (minibusses) decided to strike as the petrol/prices have become to high. We were lucky to get out of Maputo just 30 minutes before they closed all the roads to and from the city and the airport cancelled international flights. Aparantly in several of the bigger cities there had been some turmoil because people were frustrated that there only meens of transportation did not go. We did not notice anything, and the only reason why we know about this is that the collegues of my dad were very concerned of our safety and called us every once in a while to make sure we were fine and gave us updates about the situation in the different cities and also about how things were going at our house in MAputo. We really appreciated this! It is very wonderful to know that my dad has such great collegues!! Vilanculos was amazing! Unfortunately we did not see any Dugongs but we went diving twice and it was an absolutely mindblowing experience. Eventhough the visability was not the best, the coral reef was stunning and we even got to see a loggerhead turtle, a green turtle and a devil ray :) After two days in Vilanculos we continued to Catapu at a camp which is very involved in sustainable forresting. It was incredible to see the people of this camp working solely for the wellbeing of the forrest and the environment! They teach the local community how to work together with the resources instead of exploiting nature! We even bought trees that will be planted very soon. My brothers and I are now proud owners of the mystical african tree baobab: by far my favourite african tree! My cousins, parents and grandparents also each own a tree but I cannot remember which species.. The time in Catapu was far to short, I would have loved to spent more time at the community project, but as we were on a tight schedule, we had to continue to Ihla de Mocambique. Ihla de Mocambique is the old capital of the country and is from where the portugese colonialisation of the country began. The island has had a long history (starting long before the portugese arrived in 1522). What I found most interesting was the fort, which was built by the portugese and had never been conquered by anyone, even though it had been attacked 5 times (by the dutch and later the french). The buildings on the island were mostly not very well maintained, which however contributed to the special atmosphere of history present on the island. Everywhere there were children playing in the streets and the people were 90% islamic. It was as if we had entered a different country as soon as we drove over the one laned bridge leading from the mainland to the island. We stayed at Ruby backpackers which is owned by a young German guy called Uwe. He had decided to restore one of the old houses of Ihla and I must say did a pretty amazing job! The last two days we spent at Pemba, which is far up north in Mocambique. Today we went diving again and this time we had 25 metres visability: the best I've ever tried! After and amazing dive we even got to swim with dolphins, just to complete a wonderful day on the ocean :) Tomorrow I'm taking the bus to Nampula, spending the night and then the day after tomorrow I'm taking the train (at 04:00!!) from Nampula to Cuamba. From here I'll take the chappas (which are, as far as I know driving again) to Malawi. It will take some getting used to travelling alone (especially because the time with my parents has been absolutely wonderful!!!!!) but I'm looking very much forward to this next part of my trip :) I hope there are not to many mistakes in this update.. I don't have the time to reread it. :)

All packed and ready to go!

christoph_j — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:30:00 GMT

The trip to Ponta do Ouru was amazing. My parents are now officially Open Water I Scuba divers, which is really cool (I am very proud of them!!) :-)
The dives at Ponta do Ouru were some of the best I ever had. The reason for this is that I had less trouble with the diving technique (such as my buoyancy) and therefore was able to fully absorb the underwater world around me. I even interacted with a 2 meter long potato-bass, which let me stroke its fin..what an incredible experience!

Today I packed. In the beginning I was very sceptical that all the things would fit into my relatively small backpack, but after several hours of work, alot of downsizing, many litres of coffee and encouraging words of my mom, I made it..:-) Quite satisfying to see the backpack fully packed and containing everything I will be needing the next months.. :-)
Tomorrow we are leaving for Vilanculos, which used to be a popular holiday-destination of the portugese colonialists. Today it is still supposedly great with a beautiful ocean and good seafood :-) There is even the possiblity of spotting manatees (seacows)or Dugongs as they call them here, which would be extraordinary as they have become very rare elsewhere in Mocambique..

We are getting up very early tomorrow as the drive to Vilanculos is quite long and we have to avoid being caught in the major public transport-strike, which is being held in Maputo tomorrow. Apparantly they strike every year and often end up burning cars etc.. so better leave early ;-)

Tomorrow the East-African expedition will officially start and MAN it's going to be GREAT!

Phase 1: Getting there...

christoph_j — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:24:00 GMT

...COMPLETE!

The trip to Mocambique went without any problems :-)

I had some time in Lisbon and decided to spend the time in the city centre rather than wasting my time in the really uninspirational airport building!

What struck me the most the minute I stepped out of the airport was how similar the architechture of many buildings in Lisbon was to the architechture in Maputo. Of course Lisbon was the much cleaner and well-held version but lacked the african charm which I absolutely adore about Maputo. The next thing I was fascinated by was the trams slowly climbing up and down the narrow, steep and winding streets in Lisbon. Unfortunately I didn't try them, as I was afraid that I would get lost (I had no map and only little time ;-)) The rest of my stay in Lisbon I spent playing the extreme tourist taking pictures of the biggest, most decorative, important or special looking buildings without having a clue what they were.. It was alot of fun and I got to test my new camera :-) (check out the pictures under the "Photos" link above) But one thing I know for sure is that I have to and will definetely visit Lisbon again, when I have more time!!

And now I'm back in lovely Maputo, sitting outside in my parents sunny frontgarden, wearing shorts and t-shirt eventhough it's winter. I've got to admit that it is quite chilly when the wind is blowing but then again this beats the pants of the Danish "summer-weather" this August :-P I haven't been doing anything overly exciting other than enjoying being here with my parents and my dogs and cat, shopping (which can be quite an adventure down here), helping my mom with the chores around the house, sleeping and walking the dogs.. but I wouldn't trade it for anything :-)

This weekend I'm going to Ponta d'Ouru south of Maputo. My parents are taking their Open Water I diving certificate and asked me if I wanted to come along.. why YES :-) So no updates until next week before I'm leaving for the real deal on Wednesday..:-)

Take care.

Photos: Lisbon

christoph_j — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:06:00 GMT

Pictures from the few hours I spent in Lisbon

Some thoughts before leaving

christoph_j — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:00:00 GMT

I am writing this travel blog because I am pursuing my dream of traveling to East Africa with nothing else than a backpack strapped to my back for the next 5 months.

I have decided to do this trip alone, which undoubtedly both has major disadvantages as well as some great advantages. My biggest concern is that I will end up lonely meeting no people whatsoever, sort of like Tom Hanks in the movie "Cast away" talking to my Volleyball-friend Wilson on a random beach at the East-African coast.. but something tells me that this is not likely to happen! ;)

I have decided to focus solely on all the positive aspects of traveling alone, such as for one the amazing freedom I will be experiencing, not having to compromise with any decisions I make along the way. Even though I count my self as an optimist I am not naive, therefore I know that there will be hard times along the way which surely will testing my limits. In my opinion it is especially these negative experiences that will, in the end, be the most rewarding, showing me what I am capable of achieving on my own. :)

This trip is by far the most daring and exotic thing I have ever done and it's going to be UNBELIEVABLE!

I am leaving for Maputo first thing tomorrow morning. I will be spending the day in Lisbon and will get the late plane to Maputo.

Thanks to whoever is reading this. I really appreciate knowing that there are people back home interested in where I am and what I am doing! I love you guys!