Christmas Vacation Part 1: Father-son Bonding
In early December, my dad came to visit me. I was extremely
happy to see him again and show him a slice of Ugandan life. After a couple
days at the factory, we did what all good tourists do when they go to Africa:
go on safari. There were two distinct types of safaris; first, we had the
savanna safari (see ‘The Lion King’) and the other was in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to
see the mountain gorillas (see ‘Tarzan’).
Other than living out my childhood dream of being in a
real-life Disney movie, we also got a chance to go whitewater rafting on the source
of the Nile River. We capsized more than a few times (our boat was quickly nicknamed ‘the
swim team’) and had a blast doing it. It was father-son bonding at its finest.
 |
| Passing through the equator with pa! |
Christmas Vacation Part Deux: Tanzania
The length of my vacation bordered on ridiculous since my
dad’s visit went right up until our factory shut down for the holidays—meaning
two vacations! This time it was off to Tanzania to meet up with Kathy and John
(of SPOUTS) and an army of Peace Corps volunteers. After a day traveling alone
in a Swahili-speaking country (my Swahili is limited to ‘Hey, how are ya?’, by
the way) without a working cell phone or email I managed to find our group in a
small coastal town. We boarded the ‘ferry’—I use that word loosely—and we were
off.
 |
| The ferry (in the distance) and the dinky boat taking us to shore |
Our destination, Mafia Island, lacking any connection to
Italian gangs that the name might suggest, was an adventure.
Approaching the island, we noticed it was lacking a pier. The ferry stopped and
we were shuttled onto dinky fisherman’s boats which then dropped us off in a
couple feet of water. With our luggage on our heads and pants rolled up to our
knees, we waded the 100 yards to shore. The Peace Corps group was great and we even
got to see whale sharks (the largest shark in the world) up close and personal.
The island definitely had its deficiencies though. In addition to a complete
lack of seafood in a place entirely surrounded by ocean, there was the whole
issue of getting off the island.
Trying to book our tickets for the ferry, we learned that it
hadn’t left the day before since it was too windy and the weather wasn’t
getting any better. With the ferry out of the picture, we had to find another
way back. We didn’t have many options so we did what all broke entrepreneurs
and volunteers do—charter a single-engine aircraft to Zanzibar. After stepping
off the plane and mourning the loss of a hundred bucks, we were astounded by
the island paradise we saw before us. Soon, we were surrounded by great sea food,
incredible spices, fresh fruits and juices, and beautiful architecture. Zanzibar
was simply amazing. I would highly recommend it.
 |
| The Peace Corps crew next to our plane |
 |
| Kathy, John, and me, about to board the plane |
To get back to the airport in Dar es Salaam, the capital of
Tanzania, we had to take yet another ferry. Our complaints about the overpriced
ticket were silenced when we laid eyes on the Kilimanjaro IV. This ruby red, dual-hulled, streamlined craft was
no ferry; it was more like a giant luxury speedboat. Inside, we found business class seating and
a/c on full blast (the coast of Tanzania is crazy hot). Liking the trips
progression from barely-seaworthy ferries to chartered planes to a quasi-yacht,
I leaned back and watched Captain Phillips fend off Somali pirates on the flat
screen TVs overhead.
 |
| Zanzibar at dusk |
Needless to say, the vacation was incredible through and
through. From a low-budget, unpredictable adventure to an island paradise—this
trip had it all. I sure am one lucky guy. Now I’m back to work and things are
going well. Factory is running smoothly and we’ll be filling our first orders
soon enough!
No comments:
Post a Comment