So we originally were going to “Paradise” this run-down little two-bit joint complete with brownish water, tents and millipedes. We did that for a night and decided that free-travel or no, lazy time on the beach or no, sometimes it’s better to be proactive. Thus, Camille, Jessie, Aura, David and some other investigatory types walked a total of 50 yards to the left and found what we were looking for. This was how camping on the beach was meant to be. We deserted our “paradise” campsite and shifted oh so slightly and settled down to this awesome pad of thick canvas tents with mattresses, porches and cheap comfy tables with lights, scads of lounge chairs, a smattering of hammocks and great views. So Kigamboni went by with a lazy sort of sense of time, napping through the day, reading, taking walks and deciding what to eat were the major events of the day. For the boys (and the honorary boy: Aura) things such as soccer and crabbing took place to shake things up a bit. Along similar lines, sometimes adventure found those who weren’t looking for it. I (Rachel) had a very very memorable experience with a certain bastardly and recalcitrant sea urchin we named Freddie. So sit down for a bit…because the story goes like this: While I was out swimming that day a dip after my late breakfast I got past the break and found a clearing of smooth sand imbetween the large rocks and chose to amble about there. Unfortunately it was occupied by this guy who’d chosen the spot for the same reason. He greeted me asked if I was alone or with a group…said I was with a big group and then this happend.
“Ah, big group. Okay okay. You are friend?”
“Am I your friend?”
“No”
“Do I have friends? Yes I have lots of friends.”
“No, are you…” he struggled to find the word…”friendly?”
“No, I’m not friendly” very wary since being proferred by two guys in Arusha about staying in their hotels for free and one giving me the handshake for wanted sex.
“So me and you you think ni ku penda?” Which I knew penda was like or love as a noun but as a verb was sex. So I thought this smooth stretch of sand wasn’t worth it and struggling to swim back and find another place (it was lowtide and the current was strong) I was jostled by the water and my foot and a large black spikey sea urchin came in contact. So just from grazing it I promptly received around fifteen barbs around the nail on my right big toe and two barbs on my right heel. I curiously lifted my toe out of the water not quite what to make sure of the black spikes coming out of my body. I slowly made my way up to the tent. (We’re really close we hear the waves as we sleep) and caught the attention of my fellow mates and they asked how I was I said I needed tweasers and showed them. I put my foot up and Camille started attempting to take them out. They would crumble at every attempt we made to carefully pull them out. A nurse came by to offer her help. She took a needle and dug through my toe after pouring 96% alcohol on the barbs and tried to pry them out. After a while we decided to try the local cure…a mix of papaya milk and salt and lemon which took the sting out of the poison and supposedly made the skin soft and easy to dig the barbs out of. I grasped Camilles hand on my left and Matt’s hand on my right. Some people had to step in and change hands because I hurt their hands too much from squeezing so tight. Pretty much you put the milk salt lemon mixture on it with alcohol inbetween (the salt and lemon HURT) and let it seep in. After 30 minutes a guy in a white shirt took his acacia thorns and dug around the base of the barb trying and squeezing it out with his thumbs. The acacia thorn was as sharp as a knife and really hurt my poisoned highly innervated toe. I’m not that ashamed to say that I hyperventilated from the pain. I was actually really successful at keeping my foot still but at one point digging out a barb near the base of my toenail and strained in the back of my plastic chair so much to try and escape the pain that the chair’s thin plastic back broke in half. We got a new chair and began again. I was stung at around 11:30 and didn’t have permission to leave until 2:30 so it was this three hour long ordeal. Finally a red shirted guy said that it’s too fragile, we’ve gotten on tiny pieces a tenth of the size of a grain of rice out; and he suggested to create a hole at the top of each barb (when it happened to him) nicked the top poured alcohol and disinfectant to kill the barbs and then put antibiotic cream on and keep in wrapped so that’s what we did, wrapped it up drew a happy face on the bandage and named him George. Kevin thought that I should get a sea urchin tattoo on my toe in the future to commemorize the event. Early on people would ask to tell stories and sing songs and asked what my favorite band was…so it was that I sobbingly led a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with everyone and bantered with David quipping Monty Python lines. But it’s fine now and that tattoo idea is very appealing. It’s been fine since then, left alone in it’s bandage with some cleaning we moved on up to Zanzibar for more rest and relaxation by the beach. Kendwa Rocks is this sprawling resort with affordable prices for the dorm (if not quite the food) and the waters were kind and beautiful and gentle which I for one appreciated. Everybody spent there 4 days/ 5 nights lounging in the sun and waiting for their next meal. We went on a spice tour which consisted of walking around and smelling plants trying to guess what they were. We ate fresh fruit, drank tea, and wore hats made out of banana leaves. Then we got a tour of stone town where we saw the slave market, the anglican church, and a very old fort. Then we moved into the clove hotel, our last residence as a group. We started our scuba certification courses. Rachel, Kevin, Camille, Aura, Matt, Kate, Lihi, and Clairen took the open water course. And Curry, David, Jessie, and Andrea took their advanced open water course. While Zik did his own thing. The advanced divers went on 5 dives: Peak Performance Buoyancy(learning to be graceful underwater), Navigation (finding your way around underwater), a deep dive(self-explanatory), a wreck dive, and a night dive. Open water people learned basic skills and focused on breathing, swimming, and just not freaking out. The days went by very fast and now we are 2 days from coming home. Last night we went out to dinner and had our last meeting about re-entry and reverse culture shock. Everybody has mixed feelings about going home and is sad to leave behind the family that we’ve created here in East Africa. Tonight is our last night and Zik and Curry have set up a “surprise” for us. I think we’re all in a state of suspended disbelief; it’s incredible to think that we won’t see each other next week. David can’t relate his larium dreams, Matt won’t be urging us on to play soccer, Kevin and Camille won’t be bantering, and the warm African sun will disappear and be replaced with the throes of winter (Clairen especially will be facing this horrible switch…Alaska being Alaska and all that). It’s odd to think about, but I think we all hope to keep in touch, time and distance notwithstanding. And even if the practicalities of day to day life suck us all into our individual routines we’re pretty confidant (Jessie and Rachel) that we’ll all look back on our funky, crazy blend of a family and it’s comforting to realize that no one can take away the experiences and memories we’ve already shared. Love you all and we’re looking forward to seeing you soon and telling the rest of the stories that don’t fit on the blog.
Jessie and Rachel
