Pangani

So, I stand corrected. Pangani isn't quite an island but a large (and freakin beautiful) peninsula across a river from the mainland. It was a trip that definitely came at a good time. After a month in Moshi, it was time for a little refresher. We took a bus from Moshi east to the coast to Tanga. Tanga is a bit rough around the edges but it was a character building experience trying to figure out the next leg of the journey. The buses are also highly unpredictable so we drank close to nothing on the 6 hour/30 degree drive for fear of being left at the rest stop (we saw it happen- the bus company already has their money and that's all they care about.) We then hopped on the always enjoyable dala dala for a very fast and bumpy ride to Pangani town which was 1.5 hours from Tanga. A quick (Albion-like) ferry ride took us across the river and we found our way to Drifters Lodge. It was recommended to us by a volunteer at our hostel who had been a week before. It worked out to about $7.50 per night including an amazing breakfast full of fresh fruit! We stayed in bandas (small grass huts) right on the beach. Waking up with the sun and open your banda door to find the Indian Ocean 20 feet away is pretty unreal. A sight I didn't think I would ever be lucky enough to see.

Our first day we went with Mark (the South African owner of the lodge) and 5 other guest out on a boat to a remote (literally just a large heap of sand) island about an hour's ride of the coast of Tanzania. The island is surrounded by coral reefs in crystal clear water so we had a fabulous morning of snorkeling and shell collecting. It was Finding Nemo, to a tee! We even saw a Lion Fish which was a little scary but we kept our distance. As it is the winter season Mark was saying that the 4m of visibility into the water is poor. In the summer you can see 10-15m. We told him it was just fine as 4cm visibility in the ocean at home is as stellar as it gets! We rode back to shore and had a wonder around the neighbouring Ushongo village. Pangani isn't a very tourist-y area but we felt very welcomed. A local guy who works part-time at Drifters led us through the winding sandy paths through the village that sat right on the beach. There was a large Muslim wedding happening the weekend we were there so there were people everywhere, I have no idea where they all stayed! Looking like the westerners we are they assumed we had cameras so quickly pulled us in to the family house to take the official wedding photos of the wedding party. Hopefully we will be able to send some photos back so they can cherish the memories too. After being shuffled out of the family house we were taken to sit under a thatched shelter and were served platters and platters of food. It is rude to say no to food but we were going to need a miracle to get through all of it! We had pilau which is rice seasoned with spices from neighbouring Zanzibar and a tomato/cabbage salad and a mysterious meat in some sauce (I tried the sauce.) After the unexpected meal we walked back over the beach in front of the lodge to enjoy the afternoon sun. It didn't take us long to find another adventure as shortly after dinner we were whisked away to a birthday party at the hotel next door. There was music, dancing, more food- a very extravagant party we assumed was for a very important person. It was for a 4 year old. Maybe a very important 4 year old, who knows? Of course we had to high tail it out of there by 9:30 to watch the world cup final. Karoline, one of our good friends is from the Netherlands so this was a big night for her. We had to make her feel like she was at home so we collected up all the orange we could find and were waving it in the air all night. Our cheer just wasn't quite good enough- a tough loss for Karoline. Our second day consisted mostly of beach lounging which no one seemed to have a problem with. The local man we had met the day before collected us for a lunch of fresh octopus that his friend had just caught that morning! I had to try it. I knew that I would feel the wrath of my mother if I hadn't have gone for it. How often do you get fresh seafood straight out of the Indian Ocean. It wasn't bad either, the texture is just not my thing.

I'm back in Moshi now getting ready for another week of volunteering and hopefully a Safari trip on Thursday or Friday! More updates will be posted before then.

Lots of love,
Leila