Zanzibar #3

It didn’t make sense to be in Dar and not to make the crossing to Zanzibar, one of my favourite places in Africa. After the intensive travelling of the last few weeks, I felt like actually going on holidays. This time round, I arrived late at the ferry and was told “no more economy tickets” ($30), only V.I.P. ($50). I said I don’t believe it (rumours have it they try to sell V.I.P. tickets to foreigners), and stubborn as I can be I kept waiting by the counter. After some 20 minutes the lady offered me business class, and I agreed to pay the slightly more expensive $35 for the crossing. Once there, I ran into a taxi driver I knew, and Idri recognized me immediately. He proved to be very helpful. I hadn’t booked anything, which can be a bit tricky in high season, but my familiar Rumaisa hotel proved to be a good choice again. I got a discount (despite high season), and even my old room. Later that night, Adam, the barkeeper of the Livingstone, would come to me immediately, saying “Welcome back”… It’s amazing, I’m travelling now as if Africa were my backyard. 

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Snippets: dear significant people and other adventures in Germanland

I’m leaving Africa for a few days – there’s a party to attend, with some of my most favourite people in this universe, some paperwork and clothes for uni to pick up. I’m happy to visit friends and family. I leave Africa with lots of impressions, and a sense that I don’t have enough yet. I’m still hungry 😉

Back in Germany for a few days

The cold and the dark are appaling. I am still angry at my ancestors: they left the land of mangos, guavas and bananas to go north. Once there, they had to bleach their skin so the sun could make up for the poor diet. Then they realized they’d die in the winter months if they didn’t stress throughout spring and summer. So they became really good at that, stressing. It made them “successful”, if a stressful life is a success at all. So much so that they conquered the rest of the world and imposed this stressful system there as well, unnecessarily. Welcome the 20th and 21st centuries – my philosophy of history in short. We could be sitting under mango trees and wait for the next harvest, all the 5 million of us or so …

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