Bush Camps, Donkey Showers and Long Drops- part 2

Location: same Zanzibar internet cafe
Its the morning, roughly 25 Celsius outside- can't complain, and i just thought id get this finished early so i can get to the beach, as Ive arranged to have a cup of tea at the bar overlooking the ocean with a fellow traveller!
Anyway, continuing my snapshot of our night with the Tonga tribe, we started the day by getting onto the boat that would take us to their village, a vast block of plywood that effectively acts as a floating bar, two floors, with two motors somewhat attached on the back- and as we glided along, we were treated to a few of the members of the tribe, who have never had visitors such as us to stay with them, doing a tribal dance and song. Id fel spoilt by it, but i became genuinely convinced that they were enjoying it as much as us, so all was good! The reason they have started hosting tourists is so they can have a little money to build up their fishing community with the money it generates- though I was pleased to hear theywont be hosting too regularly, as it would be awful if they had westerners pouring in from all over the place, warping their way of life. We arrived and were again treated to a welcoming ceremony, with more dancing and singing, a fantastic sight, it was great seeing all the kids of the tribe getting really enthusiastic about it. We had the dances explained to us by one of the women, who said one was demonstrating the strictness of the US army (I didnt quite pick up why) and the other was the equivalent of a UK public service advert, a joyful dance outlining the story of a man who would beat his wife, fearing she was possessed by the devil, when really the convulsions shed been having were from her epilepsy- a completely surreal dance considernig the lightheartedness with which they performed it. Again to further jolt our expectations, as one of the tribe was dancing, their mobile phone fell out their pocket and they left to make a call! This was a society living in an area only reachable by foot or boat, still struggling with general social equalities, yet enjoying the peaks of technology! after the supper which we had separate from the tribe, we were encouraged to join in their dancing, and naturally it didnt take me too much to shed my dignity and be outdanced by a 6 year old. Photos to follow. Myself and another traveler, (Marty, 20 Aus) found ourselves being taught how to use their drums, quite cool when we have firefly buzzing all around- a somewhat unforgettable atmosphere. Before the night was up, we got chatting to some of the tribe, a man (well, of about my age, much more mature though) introduced himself as lakimbundu- which he explained to mean twin, but on a sad note we followed up with the question that would seem natural in England, "wheres your twin" only for him to tell us, matter of factly, that he had lost his twin at a young age. Though this is in no way a surprise to any of us, in my cse i swallowed thousands of facts like this when raising money for wateraid, but seeing it up close it does catch you off guard, leaving us feeling naieve and guilty. Though that said, at no point did any of these people seem to be living in the misery that companies such as oxfam depict, so while there is no question that the problem of such abject poverty existing is a problem that desparately needs solving, for it shouldnt be happening, its a problem being put upon people who have learnt to live with it, and despite all this, theres a tangible joie de vivre and close knitted-ness throughout this tribe, and all the other impoverished villages I have visited, that one can't see in the UK. Very inspiring.
We then retired to our sleeping bags, and fell asleep to the sound of theriver. And the sound of the mosquitoes buzz-sawing their way into our tent.

So thts a snapshot of our life as we're living it. I also thought Id put a little bit about the blog itself, while I have time- just to say that Ive never been a fan of blogs, unless for a specific purpose- i hate the idea of being longwinded and self indulgent for the sake of it and expecting people to read, but as this is also acting as a journal for myself- in no other place have i put such detail into my descriptions, I believe its alright to be a little egocentric, as Im gonna be the only one reading a couple of years from now!

Also Ive been devouring the books, not got onto my jane austen, but i found copies of both orwells down and out in paris and london, and vonneguts slaughterhouse 5, and covered both in a day or two. I also read yes man by danny wallace (hilarious) and Harry potter 1 (again), but they dont sound as impressive. Its interesting how still-pertinent Orwells description of the organised chaos of working in a restaurant is even today! Im now onto the kite runner and i might try and swallow no1 ladies detecive agency later today, apparently i might be able to get it done in an afternoon. Maybe Austen later.

Right now Im off, sorry if its been long winded and self indulgent.
Love and Regards,
Laurie

btw:
bush camp- a campsite with nothing but the bare essentials
long drop- hole in the ground, toilet
donkey shower- basic shower. essentially a watering can with a string as a lever.

Bush Camps, Donkey Showers and Long Drops

Location: internet cafe facing indian ocean in Zanzibar
Jambo!
As it says, I have made it as far as Zamzibar! Am safe, in fantastic spirits and have thoroughly enjoyed the last week and a half. To quickly summarize, in those 11 days, Ive: danced with the tonga tribe on the banks of the zambezi river, found myself in a malawian rainstorm at 2 in the morning pulling a raincover over our tent, eaten seafood at the zanzibar night market, swam with (well near...in the same ocean..) dolphins, visited a malawi village school and hospital, played a local at a game similar to backgammon, sampled the spices fresh from the trees in zanzibar.. the list goes on, but i dont have my diary to hand, so it will hopefully come tomorrow..
Just to give an idea of whatg my life is at the moment, an average day will fconsist of us waking up in our tents roughly 6ish, making ourselves breakfast from the truck- a behemoth of a vehicle, photos to follow, before piling in and being taken to our next stop, in journeys across the african landscape that vary from two hours to eleven. I havent found myself bored yet in the truck, as we're a small group of 7 travellers a guide and a driver, and so were spoilt for space, so one can comfortably stretch out and sleep on the floor of the truckj as we pootle along, if one's not playing cards, reading, listening to music, or just watching this alien world open up in front of us (a mezmerizing experience).


Before I left John pointed out that Im travelling through countries roughly in the order of the standard of living, going from poorest to best, and I was thinking, while it could serve as an interesting tour through the various ways people live around the world, I also think its a shame, as I wont experience the "reverse culture shock" Ive been warned of, where, upon returning, one sees their hometown in a completely new light. Instead Ill be somewhat acclimatising to each country as I go along, and as a result, I fear I may not be able to benefit from seeing directly the contrast between the mud huts and mosquitoes of Malawi and the lush life that I have in Hatfield. Thaqt said Ill do my best to bear it in mind, as its something i feel incredibly strongly about at the moment, the luxury in which I live, and how I should appreciate it as much as I can.

As weve been soo busy and done soo much, I wont write it all down here, instead Ill paint a picture of the night we camped on the banks of the Zambezi river alongside the tonga tribe:
We started by travelling ................

MUST DASH, as internet cafe is closing, but ill fill in the second half of this tomorrow, as were still here, and this is the only internet Ive seen for a long time, so I want to make hay etc.
Love and Regards
Laurie X

Africa i presume

Hey everyone or anyone- Im in the internet corner of the campsite im staying on on the banks of the Zambezi River, just updating to say that myself and lou got here safe and sound, and within an hour of arriving and meeting everyone, we were shipped off to Victoria falls- "the smoke that thunders" - And by word, it does. We were slipping and sliding at the opposite edge of the falls, staring feet from the abyss, getting absolutely soaked, not before we got to try our hand and haggling in the curios market- A tip, keep hands in pockets, as they want to get you holding as many of their products as possible, to guarantee a sale, and also, if your hands are there, noone elses are!
Anyway, shooting to bed now, have had little sleep over the las 48 hours, but i wanted to write this, as apparantly its one of few internet spots well come across in Africa.
Love and Regards
Laurie "Livingstone" kearns

To Do

Hey- welcome to the blog of the travels of the noble explorer and renowned good fellow, Laurie Kearns! 

I'm writing this from Base camp Hatfield, and just getting the ball rolling for when I want to access and update this from the wrong side of the world. At the moment, Im surrounded by papers and to do lists, all of which have to be crossed off before I embark on Thursday, and the current ratio of trembles to excitement is about 70:30, but whether I like it or not, the trembles will have to have disappeared by the time I get onto the flight..

About this blog- Ill be updating it at as many internet cafes as I come across, and I hope to be able to get some pics up as I go, and as well as this, Ill be accessing my facebook and my emails at each stage, so I should hopefully be fairly accessible. I'm also taking my phone, the number of which will stay the same, but I can't guarantee signal! When I get past Africa, I hope to pick up local Sim cards, so I'll get numbers as I go, and keep yus updated..

To Do: 

Africa

India

Australia

LA

New York

Vancouver

I cant wait

Laurie X