This weekend's adventure took us to Pangani, which is a beach town 40 miles south of Tanga. You would think we could make the 40 mile journey in less than an hour, but no, not even close. We made the journey in a good two and a half hours. Gudila joined us for a day in Pangani and met us at the Tanga bus station. The bus station consists of 30 vans and buses lined up waiting to be filled. The minute we stepped out of the car at the bus station, six different bus conductors came rushing to us to get on their bus...but non of them knew where we wanted to go. Luckily, Gudila got us all situated and onto a little van headed for Pangani. I thought the ride would be a pleasant journey, but I was wrong again.
The road to Pangani, not surprisingly, unpaved. Traveling down an unpaved road in a small van filled to capacity means tilting your head so you don't smash it against the roof when you're hurled over a massive bump. I was pretty fearful the windows of the van were going to shatter because they were rattling out of control. Despite the chaos and discomfort inside the van, the view on the outside was really nice. We passed many thatched hut villages surrounded by huge palm trees.
Once we arrived in Pangani, Gudila took us to the tourist information office where we were given a long list of possible adventures for the day. Chloe, Gudila, and I decided on the most exciting adventure that could be completed in a single afternoon. We chose to go on a river boat cruise down the Pangani River. The Pangani River begins at Mount Kilimanjaro and winds its way to the Indian Ocean in Pangani. At some point along its journey, the water passes through a water turbine to produce energy. The energy produced by the Pangani River is the source of power in Tanga.
After eating lunch, Gudila, Chloe, and I waited for our tour guide down by the river. As we waited, I heard Gudila humming a familiar song. It happened to be a song by none other than Lady Gaga. I got excited that she was humming Gaga so I busted out my iPod and Gudila and I started jamming out to Lady Gaga on the banks of the river. I think I need to start playing some American tunes during work. I also told Gudila as we were waiting, that I want to learn how to carry things on my head like everyone else. She said "like this?" and proceeded to put a water bottle on her head. I tried for ten minutes to balance it on my head, but it was a total failure. However, I am determined to learn before I come home.
Our boat pulled up and we began our trip upstream passing thousands of mangroves along the shore. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses can sometimes be seen lurking in the murky waters, so you can imagine I was on the edge of my seat the entire trip looking for animals. I thought I spotted the head of a hippopotamus and I got very excited... it turned out it was a coconut drifting in the river. Our tour guide then proceeded to tell us that this river is used for transporting coconuts, which is the biggest income generating product of Pangani and the surrounding area. We saw several boats hauling thousands of coconuts down the river and dropping them off in a village where they are then distributed throughout Tanzania.
The road to Pangani, not surprisingly, unpaved. Traveling down an unpaved road in a small van filled to capacity means tilting your head so you don't smash it against the roof when you're hurled over a massive bump. I was pretty fearful the windows of the van were going to shatter because they were rattling out of control. Despite the chaos and discomfort inside the van, the view on the outside was really nice. We passed many thatched hut villages surrounded by huge palm trees.
Once we arrived in Pangani, Gudila took us to the tourist information office where we were given a long list of possible adventures for the day. Chloe, Gudila, and I decided on the most exciting adventure that could be completed in a single afternoon. We chose to go on a river boat cruise down the Pangani River. The Pangani River begins at Mount Kilimanjaro and winds its way to the Indian Ocean in Pangani. At some point along its journey, the water passes through a water turbine to produce energy. The energy produced by the Pangani River is the source of power in Tanga.
After eating lunch, Gudila, Chloe, and I waited for our tour guide down by the river. As we waited, I heard Gudila humming a familiar song. It happened to be a song by none other than Lady Gaga. I got excited that she was humming Gaga so I busted out my iPod and Gudila and I started jamming out to Lady Gaga on the banks of the river. I think I need to start playing some American tunes during work. I also told Gudila as we were waiting, that I want to learn how to carry things on my head like everyone else. She said "like this?" and proceeded to put a water bottle on her head. I tried for ten minutes to balance it on my head, but it was a total failure. However, I am determined to learn before I come home.
Our boat pulled up and we began our trip upstream passing thousands of mangroves along the shore. Crocodiles and hippopotamuses can sometimes be seen lurking in the murky waters, so you can imagine I was on the edge of my seat the entire trip looking for animals. I thought I spotted the head of a hippopotamus and I got very excited... it turned out it was a coconut drifting in the river. Our tour guide then proceeded to tell us that this river is used for transporting coconuts, which is the biggest income generating product of Pangani and the surrounding area. We saw several boats hauling thousands of coconuts down the river and dropping them off in a village where they are then distributed throughout Tanzania.
As we turned the first bend in the river, I thought I was floating down the Nile River in Egypt. The river was lined with palm tree forests with mangroves in-between. I could just picture myself floating down the Nile River in one of Pharaoh's large ships. I was half expecting to turn another bend and see a pyramid.
After drifting upstream for an hour, we took a turn and meandered up a smaller river feeding into Pangani. The tour guide told us this spot is where they sometimes see crocodiles. I immediately jumped up and stood at the front of the boat with my camera waiting for one to lash out. Unfortunately, the crocodiles must have been entertaining other tourists at some other part of the river, because we did not see any. However, there are over 500 different species of birds that live along the river, so we did get to see four different birds out of the 500!
We headed back to the Pangani River where the tour guide took us on shore where several people were watching us and told us we were going to go visit a village. The boat couldn't make it on shore, so a villager waded out to our boat and carried me on his back to the shore. This became a historical show for all the village people watching Gudila, Chloe, and I being carried to shore. We walked through the village until we found a man who was going to take us to see the coconut trees. We began walking and I eventually stopped to see if he was following me, but he had disappeared. After searching around for him I looked up to find him climbing a 40 foot tree with his bare hands. He then cut down four coconuts from the tree and took them back to the village. As he was preparing the coconuts for us, we wandered through the little village. One villager showed me how they throw their nets into the river to catch fish. We headed back to the boat and made our way back to Pangani.
Here is a little lesson on coconuts. The coconuts we were given had been growing for three months. The hard coconuts you find in the grocery store in the United States grew for four months before they were cut down. The softer coconuts that we had have what is called coconut water inside, while the four month old coconuts have coconut milk. You can eat the inside of the three month old coconut because it is relatively soft, whereas the four month old coconuts are hard. Regardless of how old the coconut has been growing on a tree, I am still not the biggest fan of coconuts, but it was a fascinating experience nonetheless.
After our exciting boat trip, Gudila headed back to Tanga. We had reservations at a beach resort located between Pangani and Tanga. We rode with Gudila on the bus until we reach the resort. As we were traveling back down the make-you-car-sick road, the sun was setting. This sunset is the sunset you expect to see in Africa. There was not a cloud in the sky and it looked like a giant ball of fire falling from the sky as it turned the sky dark red. Pretty great way to end the day. Actually, the best way to end the day was having a HAMBURGER for dinner at the resort. I wasn't aware Tanzania knew about hamburgers, so I was quite pleased.
The next day Chloe and I had breakfast and arranged to go on a snorkeling adventure. We went out to the reef on a dhow and dropped anchor. Unlike last week, it was low tide so the reef was six feet below us. I was in heaven exploring the reef and all its hidden secrets. The sea floor was covered with everything from fan corals to giant brain corals to anemones with clownfish. I felt like I was in Finding Nemo. I dove down to the sea floor and found several species of starfish. Some were bright blue while others were red and white. I of course had to pick them up just to examine them. I spent about 45 minutes diving to the sea floor and exploring all the colorful life hidden amongst the coral.
After the first snorkeling spot we headed further out to sea to another reef. This reef was closer to the drop off so the fish were larger. As I was snorkeling and exploring the reef I saw big angelfish, a pufferfish, and an eel hiding in the reef. The colors of the fish were unbelievable. Some were bright green and electric blue, while others were gold and violet. I could have stayed and explored the reef and all its beauty all day long. However, the sun is pretty intense and you can burn very quickly.
After our second snorkel adventure, we headed further out to a sand island. However, the tide was coming in, so the island was disappearing. During low tide, there is a massive island of sand that hotel guests can relax and enjoy lunch before heading back to shore. It was probably a good thing that we did not get to stop on the island because I may have gotten a little more sun exposure than needed.
We returned to resort and had our lunch under a banda instead of the island. After eating another American classic- a hotdog, I took a shower and prepared for our departure. Instead of taking a bus back to Tanga, Chloe and I called a taxi. I have decided that a taxi is well worth a little extra investment. Not once did my head hit the roof of the car. It was like the road had magically changed overnight. Goodbye buses, hello taxi.
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