“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
This is the second part of the my trip to Africa with my family in 2011. As I was writing the first part I though I could do for everyday we where on the road a separate post. So this is day two.
Sunday - The Market and on the road
That day we woke up early, because we had a really thigh time schedule that day. After a nice breakfast with tropical fruits, the local coffee and dry cake we met our driver for this week and got some information about the whole journey and some advice.
We went to the local market there and you cannot compare this to any European market. It seems to be so messy but in a way everything has it own logic. And they do not only sell fruits and spices, they also sell alive chicken and in some way it seemed as if they kill it right there when you bought it. Or you could take it home with a cage. Anyways we had our guide who showed us around, but there was also about 5 other people following us, because it was not common that they see tourist around on a market. They were all really lovely, but for sure they wanted some money. You cannot blame them, they have not that much as we do and living there is a lot harder that it is here. However, you have too look that you have your money in a save place and you do not give too much money, there are many thief around and you have to be careful.
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| A salesman in his pile of vegetables and fruit. |
After walking around for a while and taking some pictures with the local people, we went to see the clock tower, which marks the halfway of Cairo - Cape town and the independence monument. We didn't have much time left but we still could go to this amazing local store where they sell art and jewellery, the local people made. We bough hats for the three young people of us(well my stepbrother and my brother tagged along this journey as well) and nice jewellery. Just after a nice lunch back at the lodge, we went on the road.
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| The outdoor dinning area, had a lovely lunch there. |
It was a rather long drive and as everything seems so close in Switzerland, Tanzania had a really different dimension for us. However the drive wasn't boring at all, due to our super good guide and driver Witress. He knew incredibly much about everything, he even learned once Italian in two weeks when he was guiding an Italian family.
Anyways as the drive went on we have seen so many beautiful sceneries already. It is so hard to write about this ride because it was a new experience for me and I couldn't believe I was really there. The time has flown by, we already saw some elephants, a lot of giraffes and some water buffalos, and it was already getting dark. Our guide told us that it wouldn't be save driving around at night without a protector, because it was still a reservation area and wild animals were wandering around at anytime and at night it is harder so see them and sense them. So we had to speed up a bit and I have to say it wasn't the most pleasant ride of my life, because the road has been really bad and with the speed it made it only worse. The lodge we were staying this time at, was in the middle of this park and also it was surrounded by a jungle.
It was a really nice one, again it had a main building and all over the area there where bungalows. However in a way when we first got there I had a deja-vu and I could swear I had seen this place before somewhere else. So the main building was open to all sides and had three floors. Or two, because I think the ground floor you cannot really count. It was an awesome place, I guess it would be easier to have pictures to explain.
That night i decided I would sleep alone, so my brother slept with my stepbrother in one bungalow and I in another. It might not have been the best idea, because that night I was terrified. Because the lodge was located in a jungle, there have been a lot of monkeys, running over the roof of my bungalow, screaming of course. Anyways as you might know I am still alive and the next morning I decided I would take a bath because the shower -dundundun- was located outside the bungalow and I wasn't that comfortable with this. But I think I should have at least tried it because all of my family said it was really nice looking out in the forest while showering.
Anyways It was a really enjoyable stay at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge and I was so sad to leave, even though I haven't slept that well. The people there were so nice, the food really good and everything made you feel like you were at home. Again I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to stay at a place like this and I hope I will be returning one day.
So more to come, in the next one I will be writing about the longest drive EVER and just a bit of our morning still at the Lake Manyara Lodge, which was at 6am and so beautiful.
All about my previous post about Tanzania can be found here.
Anyways as the drive went on we have seen so many beautiful sceneries already. It is so hard to write about this ride because it was a new experience for me and I couldn't believe I was really there. The time has flown by, we already saw some elephants, a lot of giraffes and some water buffalos, and it was already getting dark. Our guide told us that it wouldn't be save driving around at night without a protector, because it was still a reservation area and wild animals were wandering around at anytime and at night it is harder so see them and sense them. So we had to speed up a bit and I have to say it wasn't the most pleasant ride of my life, because the road has been really bad and with the speed it made it only worse. The lodge we were staying this time at, was in the middle of this park and also it was surrounded by a jungle.
It was a really nice one, again it had a main building and all over the area there where bungalows. However in a way when we first got there I had a deja-vu and I could swear I had seen this place before somewhere else. So the main building was open to all sides and had three floors. Or two, because I think the ground floor you cannot really count. It was an awesome place, I guess it would be easier to have pictures to explain.
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| Hello there! After a long drive we had a drink before diner, we absolutely deserved that. Also we were pretty happy that we have already seen two animals who belong to the big five. Cheers! |
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| The diner was held outside around a big bonfire and everything was only illuminated by candles and the fire. |
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| Such a nice room, everything was so cozy and made me feel right at home. |
That night i decided I would sleep alone, so my brother slept with my stepbrother in one bungalow and I in another. It might not have been the best idea, because that night I was terrified. Because the lodge was located in a jungle, there have been a lot of monkeys, running over the roof of my bungalow, screaming of course. Anyways as you might know I am still alive and the next morning I decided I would take a bath because the shower -dundundun- was located outside the bungalow and I wasn't that comfortable with this. But I think I should have at least tried it because all of my family said it was really nice looking out in the forest while showering.
Anyways It was a really enjoyable stay at Lake Manyara Tree Lodge and I was so sad to leave, even though I haven't slept that well. The people there were so nice, the food really good and everything made you feel like you were at home. Again I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to stay at a place like this and I hope I will be returning one day.
So more to come, in the next one I will be writing about the longest drive EVER and just a bit of our morning still at the Lake Manyara Lodge, which was at 6am and so beautiful.
All about my previous post about Tanzania can be found here.
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