I once had a tent in Africa .........

For two days now I have tried to write my blog about our African trip. It has been hard to put down on paper (Microsoft word actually!) my thoughts and feelings about this trip. I am struggling to express all that is in me and have sat in front of the computer for hours trying to get my thoughts organized and writing random thoughts. I could just list all the people and places and show you great photos but a mere list and a couple of pictures wouldn’t do justice to such an amazing adventure.

On this trip, Jeff and I would travel to Nairobi, the Grumeti River, Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge and Zanzibar. Somewhere in my preparation for this trip was a quote that went something like: the dust of Africa had settled on my heart. I can't remember where I read it and I would like to find the original quote again because somewhere along the bumpy roads of Tanzania (referred to as an African Massage!) I found that the some of that African dust had indeed found its way onto my heart.

I have walked away from this trip with a change in the way I viewed Africa. I never thought in terms of continent before- of a whole place. Granted, I only received a brief glimpse of a part of that continent (East Africa) but I think I saw the whole of Africa for a moment. On previous trips to Africa (two to Egypt and two to South Africa) I never thought in terms of the continent of Africa; Egypt and South Africa were just tourist destinations – great places to visit but I never felt like I was in my idea of Africa. Egypt and South Africa were just two different countries on a landmass called Africa. By the time I arrived in Zanzibar I knew something was different and I opened my eyes for the first time to Africa. I had touched the face of Africa. I saw an Africa that has yet to figure out what it wants to be and how to make it happen. And it needs to happen to the whole continent not just individual countries. The dust, filth, poverty and confusion makes you shake your head in disbelief. How can this be? You begin to understand Bob Geldorf's and Bono quest to help Africa (Madonna's less so!) I thought these celebrities were just being fashionable and self aggrandizing but I began to understand how they came to care about such a place and want to draw attention to the need for help. Africa feels like a bottomless pit of poverty that can never be filled in.

The amazing part of travel in Africa is how you look past the despair and begin also to see the wonderfulness. Giraffes loping across the plains of the Serengeti! Acacia Trees, sunsets, dhows, tall graceful Maasai wrapped in red blankets, secretary birds, monkeys carrying their babies on their backs and brainless gnu's trying to find their way.

Also, I now have to add Tanzanians to the list of the friendliest people on the planet (along with the Australians!). In the beginning Jeff and I thought the warm hospitality and friendliness was a put on for the tourist. It was also infectious (except for the time I almost punched a Spanish tourist!). In my cynical thinking I just couldn't imagine that it could be genuine. After meeting people like Didas, Reuben, Safari, Roger, Sarah and Mike, Jan and Linne; I know it to be very real and true. They were some of the people that would make this trip an amazing experience. Not because they served us but because they were of the place.