Zanzibar

I got back to Sudan yesterday after an enjoyable time in Zanzibar with three other South Sudan staff and a few days in Nairobi. There are a few pictures of Zanzi for your viewing pleasure, but if you want to see any that include some of the ladies I met, you’ll have to ask. It is a beautiful place that also happens to be the home of Freddie Mercury. I didn’t and probably still wouldn’t know who that was except that my friend Aaron who was along is a pretty big Queen fan. It was way more fun than it probably should have been, but we spent a whole afternoon searching the island for the birthplace of the lead singer of the musical group Queen. Not only that, but when we ate dinner at a restaurant/bar named after him, Aaron sang “We Will Rock You” and “Fat-Bottomed Girls” in an attempt to get the waitresses to recognize who the bar was named after. It is rather ironic that none of the people who worked in the restaurant even knew who the guy the place was named after was. (Other songs by Queen include “We are the Champions” and “Bicycle”).

Some of the other stories of the island include almost spending a night with some remote fishermen due to the tide coming in after a 20 km walk down the beach when we kept thinking there would be another resort just around the next point. If it hadn’t been for Ndumi, the guy who helps run the bungalows we stayed at, and the rescue boat he sent for us, it would have been a very chilly and uncomfortable night’s sleep. Instead, we got to enjoy a sunset and starlit cruise back to where we stayed. There was also two days of renting dirt bikes and cruising the island, one of which was with some new friends, and also a cookout with the yellow-fin tuna and mahi-mahi that two of the guys caught while fishing off a dhow.

I found out quite a bit happened while I was gone. You can read about some of it on Phil’s blog from the link on the side. Things haven’t slowed down any, but are still rolling along in spite of the rains. Our plans have been changed somewhat due to the conditions of things here, but we are adjusting accordingly and will continue to adjust daily as that is a fact of life here. It was a bit more difficult returning this time compared to last time for some reason, but I trust that getting back into the flow of things will help. I do hope that you are all doing well and enjoying the last bits of summer.