16/12/2018
Easy flight from CPT to Addis. Sat next to an Indian women heading to Mumbai for Christmas with her husband and 2 unruly boys. Attempted and finally succeeded at getting a hotel transfer for our 12 hour layover. Although it took up 4 of the 12 hours so not much sleep had. Met some fascinating people waiting in the numerous queues on our way. Waheed the jeweller from Marina de Gama, Marti the overwhelmed front desk manager at Getfam hotel, Reg the engineer working in Mali and Winnie the PhD student the child institute at FHS UCT (?!). Sitting at the airport now waiting for the connecting flight from Addis to Zanzibar via Kilimanjaro. Ethiopian coffee giving us the early boost we need.
20/12/2018
Listening to the sound of tropical rain falling on the banana leaf roof after our last night in Villa Kiva, Matemwe. Swam with dolphins yesterday between our last 2 dives with Ocean Blue. The site of 3 large bottlenoses sifting the sand for fish before taking a breath right next to us will be a hard memory to forget. Seemingly unbothered and happy to share the ocean with us - if only humankind was as gracious and forgiving.
Matemwe is poor. And beyond the gated resorts, goats eat the rubbish that line the streets. Dusty children play everywhere. Girls in kangas and headress, boys on bicycles and shorts. The women and men eyeing us with some suspicion wondering what the mzungus are doing outside of their resorts. But still here there is fun and life and hope. We watched a large field of soccer players playing on a sand field, Pete with his Zanzibar team soccer short invited to practice goal kicks for a while. And in the small main street, a man called "Garden Bob" (Sibuso) who has set up a village garden and basket shop that supports local women. Plots of basil and tomato as high as my shoulder and baby green peppers taking shape. With only a brackish water well and little support from the government it was truly inspiring to meet a man with so little trying to do so much.
Other people we have met include a very peculiar German couple on the boat, diver Keith from Sinagapore, a South African family who's daughter also had Mrs Dickens as a grade 1 teacher at Clarendon, Jaco from Pretoria and 2 little delightful boys who guided us across the coral reef yesterday avoiding poisonous stone fish and sea urchins and pointing out giant star fish.
Our dive instructors were also great: Chief who could talk the hind leg off a donkey (no more blah blah) and who said diving made him so strong he now has 10 children including 3 sets of twins, Chette who smoked way too much marijuana and Mark, the Irishman who knew Mama G in Koh Tao and recommended our best meal yet - king prawns in coconut curry at Seles beach restaurant.
The diving has been stunning too and a real treat to get back under the water. My favourite fish is still the Moorish Idol with his beautiful black and white masked face and long white headdress, but the lion fish, red-toothed triggers, mooray eels and stone fish were also something to behold. Clown fish too hiding in there anemones and bursting out to defend their territory. We also saw a field of sand eels yesterday with their heads creepily sticking out the sand and disappearing again in fright - weird. Jen and Sven kindly leant us their gopro so we have some record of these stunning creatures and some of us playing weightlessly in the water.
Today we head off to Kendwa on the west side of the island for 2 nights of sunsets before heading to stonetown and home. The rain is easing off now and some blue sky is starting to peak through the thick white cloud over the reef. Off for breakfast downstairs - mango, star fruit, pineapple and watermelon. Delish!
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