Oops!... We did it again - AFRICA, here we are!

June 20, 2021

The date our journey started....

It feels like ages ago.

Many of you probably feel the same because shortly after that, I didn't contact you anymore and this is the first sign of life in over a week.

1 week without a phone. (actually, I think today is day 9 or something)

No contact with the outside world.

Completely cut off from everything, we created our own reality.

It's amazing how little it bothers me not to constantly be in contact with people.

Not constantly having my phone screen in front of me, except for taking photos, has actually opened up a whole new world for me.

Digital Detox.

Actually, I enjoyed this trip more than any other trip before.

I am somehow less nervous inside and don't feel the need to check my smartphone every 3 minutes.

However, for the first time ever, I really struggled to start the blog.

Difficulties in finding the right words and motivation for it.

Quite strange for me because writing really is a lot of fun for me - you know....

But I hope that now '...by doing' it will somehow flow again....

Just start... Just type...

'just' - ha!!

Well, until then, I will dig into my memory to find anecdotes that I can share and maybe compensate some of you for any worrying moments ;)

Welcome back to the next chapter of my adventure tour around the world.

I can't promise to keep it short, but hopefully nobody wants that.

How it all began:

As always, I'm starting chronologically.

As always, it all starts with the flight.

We didn't even know if it would take place until we got to the airport.

So -

If it would take place WITH US.

So -

Traveling during the time of Corona is a thing...

So -

Not possible without a PCR test...

So -

Without going into detail:

Our test didn't arrive on time.

So -

We didn't have one.

We didn't have one to show.

God, I felt sick.

In 4 hours, the plane to Africa would take off and we didn't have the 'ticket' for it.

Shit.

The morning was anything but relaxed and instead of excitement, panic came up.

There was still so much to do.

We still had to write development reports for work.

Not a single sock had made it into our backpacks yet.

I had to go to Velten real quick.

We had to clean up, tidy up, water the plants, and take care of ourselves.... And And And!

Where should we find the time for all of that??

Honestly, every fucking time we promise ourselves to have everything done at least 1 day earlier for the next vacation.

And of course, we put it off until the motivation problem becomes a time problem.

Well. Next time we will really do it differently. (haha, just kidding)

Since we finally arrived here, it can only mean that the PCR test worked out.

It did.

Just minutes before check-in.

But at least.

The stress associated with it and the adrenaline that flowed through my veins for hours, how do you best relieve it?!

Exactly - with alcohol.

Lots of alcohol.

And because it's the most reasonable thing to do, it's also best not to eat anything before.

It was hot that day.

Very hot.

And I was still not knowing if a few hours later I could forget about all the problems above the clouds.

So I quickly got drunk.

Really drunk.

Carrying the 70-liter backpack on my back... A few sips... And off to the region train to BER... a quick beer... Of course, the train was not air-conditioned. As it should be with the Deutsche Bahn... And fully packed.

Just picture a tipsy Vivi... with a big backpack that sits crooked on her back..., staggering to find an empty seat.

And with every step, the travel bundle on her shoulder bounces from left to right.

And since the aisles were narrow, everyone sitting on the outside got my bag slammed against their sweaty bodies.

So, every few seconds and after each step, people heard me mumbling and giggling, '.... Oops... Sorry... Sorry... Hihi... Sorry... Oops... I'm sorry... '

All the way down the aisle.

Until we finally sat down.

All of this was only reported to me.

Because I was completely out of it.

And I don't really have detailed memories of it. 🤭

Oh guys, it was so nice to be able to board that stupid plane at the end of all that.

Even though I hate long-haul flights.

There is almost nothing worse.

Of course, these are first world problems, no question about it.

But well. Flying. No. I'd rather teleport myself everywhere.

And of course, alcohol was the solution to survive the first flight to Qatar.

Worked somehow.

'gin tonic please'

Oh, a beer is fine too.....

Although I didn't really feel the effect in the plane, I felt it a lot afterwards when we got off to wait about 2 hours for the next flight in Doha.

Why suddenly so dizzy?

Why do I have a headache?

Why do I feel so weird?

Yeah, why, Vivien!?

I felt like I was going to faint, I was exhausted, and I was painfully aware that our final destination was still over 14 hours away.

But one thing made it all much worse...

Most of you know that I'm not the most thoughtful person.

Always ready for mischief.

And well.

Of course, I thought it was a particularly good idea to smuggle some weed from Germany to Africa. (Sorry moms!)

Even better, it happened to be during a layover in the United Arab Emirates.

And also as a woman loving women.

A combination that could not be more DEADLY. 😅

Earlier, you imagined the tipsy, uncoordinated Vivi

- now please imagine the tired, dizzy, and completely overwhelmed Vivi.....

So we were waiting for boarding in a separate room with the other travelers.

Annoyed that we had to get on another plane... at the same time glad that we were moving on and getting closer to our destination.

Suddenly a distant voice.

I initially noticed it, but it didn't fully register with me.

I was lying on the seats, half-closed eyes....

'Miss Vivien'..... *snooorrreee... man, I want to get on the plane.... 'Miss Vivieeeen'... The voice got louder... Came closer... Again... 'Miss Vivien'....

Did he just call my name?

Thoughts were racing...

Looked at Juli...

Did she hear it too?...

'shit baby, the weed'....

Everything fell off my face... I turned red and pale at the same time.... 'Miss Vivien'... He walked past us now.... An airport employee... constantly looking left and right... Looking for... yeah.. probably FOR ME.... Now he took out a walkie-talkie... Excitedly speaking into it.... Juli and I exchanged looks... What did he want from me....

'no, baby, I'm not going there'...

... 'uhm, okay'....

We watched what he was doing... where he was going... Anyway, as long as we could see from our seats ...

I'll shorten it here:

He didn't come back again.

No one called me.

I was able to leave the United Arab Emirates without being dragged to the marketplace to be stoned.

And the green stuff also made it through 3 more flights without being discovered.

We will probably never know in our lives what exactly he wanted from me. But I can live with that.. But this experience....

(Phew. Never again!)

(haha yeah, exactly)

________________________________

Another 5 hours later, we finally arrived in Zanzibar.

And actually, the blog should only start here.

But honestly-

Should I withhold all the previous things from you?

-Maybe.

Will I still continue to tell every little incident and get lost in details?

-Ohhh Yeees!

_______________________________

It was now 8 a.m.

We had already been awake for over 24 hours and the next flight that would take us to Arusha on the mainland was not until around 2 p.m.

The weather was shit.

It's basically winter in Tanzania.

Of course, not winter as we know it.

But colder... windier... And even though the time is supposedly over, it's also a bit more rainy...

We just wanted to sleep.

We were happy to be 'almost' there.

But 'unhappy' that we had to kill so much time.

I couldn't imagine spending another 5 hours at the airport.
So my brain came up with a pretty good idea.
An idea that I admit I was still quite unsure about, but maybe it would work....
So after the first acclimatization was successful, we approached the guy who had just brought us the ordered water... Perfectly fluent in English:
'are there any hotels here?'
'No, not here. Only in Stonetown.'
Hm, too far for us. Not worth the time.
We only want to sleep for 3 or 4 hours.'
Ahh, he suddenly remembered that there are indeed accommodations that could be reached in a 5-minute walk.
So he called someone.
We were happy and ready to donate our organs for a bed.
'40 dollars.'
He was suddenly standing next to us again.
Suddenly it sounded quite a lot for an hourly hotel.
'sounds perfect.'
We briefly clarified with him which direction we should walk and that there would be a guy on the street waiting to take us to the room and bam, we had our heavy backpacks on our tired shoulders again.
After a little more than 4 minutes on foot, there was a large building on our left.
Although it was named differently than what we were looking for, it still had the beautiful word 'Hotel' in its name.
So why continue walking when we could just ask here?
Said. Done.

'4 hours - 22 dollars.'

'We take it.'

You can't imagine how run-down the hotel was. 
How the room looked like.
How everything seemed.
We were sure we were the only guests.
BUT it had a bed.
And that's all that counts.
Off with the shoes and into the bed.
I rarely had a better feeling.
We fell asleep within seconds and 3 hours, 12 mosquito bites, and 8 crazy dreams later, we were at least halfway among the living.
Or at least half.
Strengthened for the rest of our journey.
Our 3rd and final flight actually departed almost 25 minutes earlier and due to tailwind, we arrived 15 minutes earlier than announced.
So we only had to sit in the plane for about 60 minutes.
Finally to Africa.
Actually, to the REAL Africa.
I was super nervous and excited inside.
We had a driver who picked us up and would take us to our lodge, which is located on a hill.
And when we arrived there.... Wow! ... The pictures on the internet were already breathtaking...

But nothing compared to reality! 

We were absolutely thrilled.

The house.

The view.

Just everything. 😍

And in my head, I heard the seagulls from 'Finding Nemo'...

!!MineMineMineMine!! 

All just for us. Amazing! 

I took a few pictures and uploaded them here, but as usual, it never looks the same in photos as it does in reality.
Throughout the entire property, there were only a total of 3 houses for guests.
2 of them unused and ours the largest... most beautiful... most impressive... The view was phenomenal and even though we had the feeling, due to this and also because of the appearance of the 'hut', that we were in Switzerland -
We didn't want to be anywhere else! 
In the evening, Juli told me that I was the Booking Queen....

And well, what can I say?

She's right. 😝

In fact, it was the most amazing accommodation that I have ever booked. And I've booked many really great ones.
So we were going to spend the next 4 nights here.
Ah, life is beautiful.
We only ordered some food and then went to bed.
Wait- I have to stay true to myself.
So a few words about the food:
It was expensive. Like almost everything in Tanzania.
I had chicken wings. Among other things.
When the lady brought the plate, which felt like after 3 years, I had to use quite a lot of imagination to find it.
Because it seemed to me that I was served mostly boneless, seasoned lukewarm little knuckles to pick on.
I really got mostly boneless, seasoned lukewarm little knuckles to pick on.
Yummy. 

The scenery, however, made up for it.
Arusha, the place where we would stay for the next few days, is located about 1500 meters above sea level and is less than 90 kilometers from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.
That's why it was surprisingly cool here sometimes.
Ah yes, the good old mountain air...
We could even see Mount Meru from our lodge quite well, when the visibility was good. It is a 5000 meter high volcano. It's dormant and there is currently no danger from it, but that still didn't make us less impressed.
Otherwise, there were mega beautiful mountain ranges all around us, which showed great gradations depending on the light.
All in all, a landscape like a painting.
Similar to the one Bob always drew on TV, which always aired at night.
You know who I mean??

Anyway, when we sat on the lawn and looked into the distance, breathing in the fresh and clear mountain air and gazing at the landscape - I don't know when or if I ever felt such silence in my life.
It was so quiet. 

Peaceful. 

Beautiful.

 
Fulfilled with deep relaxation and happiness, the first evening and basically the next day went by very quickly.
We purposely didn't plan anything to really arrive and it was the right decision.
We stocked up on Desperados that we could actually buy for about 1 euro here, and also got a bottle of vodka, and we were already slightly tipsy before breakfast. 😜

At this point, you must really get the impression that I have a tiny alcohol problem, huh?! 

Whatever - 
It was the best start we could have after the torture of the journey.
Yeah well, in the evening we got ripped off by a taxi driver.

That was only semi-cool because we knew exactly what was happening, but unfortunately, we couldn't do anything about it, except for some minor damage control.

But in the end, a bonfire was made for us in front of our house.
We had it all to ourselves and how else can you end a perfect day than with that?!
A clear starry sky with a view of the Milky Way... crackling, flickering, warming flames driving away the slight cold... a drink in the right hand... the friend on the left... and the whole vacation still ahead of us.
What more could you want?!
_________________________________
The next day, Veanance picked us up. That's the dude who took us from the local airport to the accommodation. We arranged to go on a coffee tour with him. Then to walk to the biggest waterfall here. I prefer dark black caffeine-containing COLD drinks, as you know, but Juli found it quite interesting, as a coffee lover, to see how it all works. I was just looking forward to what would come after. And well. What can I say. Then we finally had our REAL Africa. We were practically at a huge bus station shortly after getting up. Hundreds of people. Strange, disgusting, unknown smells. Far and wide no other MZUNGU than us. That's how white European-looking people are referred to here. My backpack contained all the money I owned, which was still about 5000 dollars in cash. Plus minus. Yes, 4 zeros. Feel free to leave a comment! Here I will too. Although no, then I can't tell you how uncomfortable I felt in the crowds with so much cash in my pocket. 😅 I don't want to say that everyone in Africa is just waiting for 2 stupid white women to stroll across the place to rob them and have enough money to support several families for a very long time... But I can't deny that those were exactly my thoughts. 🙈

Everywhere there were old, rolling heaps of junk that wouldn't pass a general inspection even in new condition in Germany, and we eventually got into one of these buses. I would estimate that the vehicle was designed for a maximum of 10 people. Stacked on top of each other (while sitting, lying down, standing, rolled up), and with limbs unnaturally twisted, we were about 80 men, women, children, cattle, and mzungus in total.

Being white and privileged, as we are, of course, we traveled first class. Our seats were in the front, right next to the driver. Occasional elbows in the ribs or the seat cushion, which was uncomfortably pushed forward from behind, could just about be endured
We just didn't know what was worse.
The exhaust fumes or the stench of sweat coming from every corner and burning into our noses.
In fact, this bus ride was like a white-water rafting without water.
And also without pleasure.
The seats were worn out.

Hard and worn out.

You could feel every single spring.

You were thrown up with every bump in the road.

With your head against the ceiling.

And back down again.

You could feel the impact on the seat very clearly afterwards.

In addition, you had to be careful not to be slit open by some screw or sharp part in the process.

There were sharp objects sticking out everywhere.

Bringing legs and butt into safety was the top priority.

Only with a lot of luck did no one get seriously injured.

The only thing that was really funny and entertaining about this bus ride was a pretty fat woman who sat not far from us in the back row.

Every time she squeezed through the narrow and shaky aisle, which she did often, Juli had her arms, legs, hips, her wide butt, or the huge basongas on her shoulder, on the back of her head, or in her face.

And speaking of faces.

Julis face during this was just priceless.

She had the 'problems' and I really had something to laugh about.... (if I found the time between being thrown around and rough landings)

We were relieved to finally be back at our wonderful and above all quiet lodge after a very long and somehow very loud day.

We went to bed early and the alarm clock rang just as early because we had big plans.

We were going to the hot springs.

It would have been awesome.

But no.

In gambling, you would say:

Rien ne va plus!

Nothing goes anymore.

And indeed, nothing was going anymore.

We had overestimated ourselves a bit.

Less than half an hour before it was supposed to start, we canceled the trip and disappeared under the covers again.

And in retrospect, it was the best decision we could have made.

'Go with the flow' is what I always say and that's exactly what we did.

Finally, the sun was shining in Arusha.
It's not that common here.
So we drank a lot of water that day ... Nah, just kidding... Of course, we drank alcoholic things again and had a lot of fun at the lodge.
It was chill, beautiful, super funny.
We listened to good music, splashed around in the ice-cold pool, and simply fell dead tired into the super comfortable bed at night.

Hmm. Unfortunately, I can't think of a suitable transition in my sun-drenched mind, so I will be very uncreative and end this post at this point.
Whoever made it this far is really something. 😝
I did have the best place with the best view imaginable for hours of typing...

... But just writing this took me a lot of time and my eyes were quite overwhelmed in between because of the past digital detox.
Nevertheless, I promise that there will be at least 1 more entry.

... And that one will be wild!!

ParisAthensGoodbye. 👋