Kili and Zanzi

While visiting the country of Tanzania, beyond spending time with the people, there are three unbelievable spots not to be missed.  The Serengeti, which I have already shared with you, Zanzibar and Mt. Kilimanjaro

Zanzibar, also known throughout the world as the Spice Island, has exotic white sand beaches on the northern end of the Island, with crystal clear, blue-green water from the Indian Ocean.

Spice Farms dot the Island, and farmers will take you on a tour, walking you through the foliage as you 'hunt' for spices.  My personal favorites, being a baker, were:

Nutmeg.  These look like veins on the nut, which later turn brown as they dry.

and Vanilla Bean.  Yum

On the southern part of the Island lies Stone Town where the Sultans lived, who ruled Zanzibar.  The Persians built Stone Town and used it as a trade port for all of East Africa to and from India and the Middle East.

You could get lost in the catacomb of narrow streets.

     

 Old Town Market

Unfortunately, one of the things being traded were slaves.  They were captured in East Africa and sent to the Middle East or India.  The slaves that were sent to the USA didn't come from here, but from the western side of the continent. Fortunately, Dr Livingstone (I presume) convinced them to abolish slavery in 1873.  An Anglican church was built on top of the location of the slave market, and houses a museum. It is a similar story to that of Charleston, South Carolina.

The slaves were held in this basement (minus the window) in the dark,
 for three days without water or food.
If they lived, they were deemed fit to sell.

This sculpture was recently installed as a memorial.
The slaves are seen beneath the ground encased in concrete, wearing the actual chains.
Very powerful.

part of the Old Fort was turned into an amphitheater and a market for artists

street meats, Seri's favorite

sunset

      Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in all of Africa, and I had the joy of seeing it every morning before the clouds covered her face for the day.  Many people come to Africa, specifically to climb the mountain.  It takes 6 to 7 days to reach the Ice Cap, and at 20,000 feet, a majority of the slow climb is acclimating to the altitude.  Some people manage fairly well, and for others it is much more difficult. It doesn't seem to have as much to do with fitness level, rather how well your body handles the altitude when you reach such heights that there is very little oxygen in the air.  I encountered many people as they came off the mountain exhausted yet glowing, saying it was the hardest thing they had ever done in their life, but they were ecstatic with the accomplishment. 

       There is nothing I love more than a personal challenge and I waged a war within myself for two months as to whether I should climb. The argument for; maybe this would be the thing to snap me out of my stupor. The argument against;  with asthma, I have spent my entire life trying to get oxygen into my lungs.  Why would I deprive myself of the very thing I fight for every day?  People with asthma do successfully climb the mountain, and you can pay a little more to have a porter carry an oxygen tank, but for me, when I added age + asthma + twenty-thousand feet, survival won the debate.  I was really disappointed, but discovered there was one trail that could be taken as a day hike.  I could climb up to the first base camp on Kili and spend at least a little time on the mountain that had inspired me each day.

The base of the mountain is a very beautiful rain forest.

up, up, up we went

       We hiked several hours, stopped for a picnic, and then kept going.  After lunch it began to rain, lightly at first.  Then it started to pour, and quickly became very cold.  I hate to be cold. When I'm freezing, that is all I can think about, I can't even enjoy the moment.  I silently became increasingly miserable, when I began to feel a stinging.  Earlier in the day, ants had crawled up my pants legs, and bitten me ferociously. I brushed at my legs until I realized it was hail beating down with a vengeance! Incredulously I asked the guide, "Does this always happen?" "Not this low on the mountain. In all my times up here, this is a first." We were prepared for rain, but not for cold. My hands and feet went numb, and we tried to quicken our pace. Our "mountain top experience" was seeking shelter on the porch of the base camp lodge.

Smiles, Seri!?  Really?

       I wanted off that mountain as fast as possible and once we started back, my trail running days kicked in, and I began to haul it down the mountain. The others yelled to me that it wasn't safe to run on the trail which had now become a river, but I didn't care. I didn't slow down until I got below the hail line, at which point the others ran past me all the way to the bottom.  In the van on the way back, the shivers set in, and we all looked ridiculous, soaked to the skin with our teeth clacking, and bodies shaking.  Maybe it wasn't Africa after all, maybe it was just   us.  Eventually we started laughing and couldn't stop.  How could we have ever thought it would turn out any other way?

Thanks to Charlie and Seri for the photos.