Further comments on Matemwe

Zanzibar

Hi all,
I just wanted to add to Carol's description of Matemwe. It was wonderful to witness the rhythms of the day by being in one place for five days in a row. The tide went out as the morning progressed...and as the tide went out many women waded in the water fully dressed head to toe (As Muslim women they cover their head as well) to collect seaweed to sell. They gradually would fill up canvas sacks full of seaweed and carry the bags on their head to a spot where they could hang it to dry. Women collected seaweed all day long until the tide started coming back in around 4pm.
Also first thing in the morning, you would see men leave on their boats. The boats were mostly wooden catamaran style sailboats without motors. In low water they would use long wooden poles to push themselve out far enough to then raise their sails to head out for fishing. The men would return around 4pm with their catches of the day. Carol and I found a bar alongside the fish market where it was quite an interesting scene to watch. Men, and children would gather at the market to await other men returning with their fish...then the cleaning of fish, bargaining and selling of fish would take place. Another common sight was to see lots of kids playing on the beach some naked some clothed...and many would approach us as they did all over the country..Mzungu, Mzungu (white person)...some just found us a novelty. Others wanted us to give them money.
Occasionally you would see other Mzungu stroll down the beach from one of the other beach resorts. As Carol said the beach was very beautiful..adding to the beauty was observing locals in their daily routines as well as the many wooden boats anchored along the coastline.

A few notes on the chimps

As Mike wrote, the chimps were truly a highlight, along with the Red Colobus Monkeys and the Baboons (very entertaining creatures). The baby chimps, Grimly and Tabora, were particularly captivating and playful and toddled along much like human babies do. One fun moment was when Gremlin, Gimly's mom, was pounding a wild mango on a rock to open it and Grimly grabbed some leaves and started mimicking her mom :) We were also lucky enough to see Titan and Tarzan, two males, the males being much more elusive than the females. We were really lucky with how close we were able to see them and the variety of activities we saw them engage with. They have intelligent looking faces, a calm demenour (though this is not always true), and are quite avid groomers. As Mike wrote as well, Gombe is a beautiful park and Lake Tanganyika is gorgeous- rippling crystal waters the color of aquamarine.
While in the town of Kigoma we stopped by the Jane Goodall Institute and talked with the director of the Roots to Shoots Program and also the premere researcher of Baboons, who moved to TZ in 1972 and worked side by side with Jane Goodall. People spent an hour with us there and were really generous with their time. The Institute is doing great work re: trying to re-establish a cooridor between Uganda/ Rwanda/ TZ b/c the chimps live on "islands," such as Mahale and Gombe Parks and can't migrate due to deforestation. Inbreeding is becoming a problem for the chimps and their physical size is decreasing. So, JGI is doing some really progressive work trying to re-establish these cooridors and working *with* the locals to do it, as opposed to creating more problems for the local people. You can read more about JGI and also check out their Google Earth site to see Gombe where we were (can see Jane's research site and the buildings where we stayed). I am a proud member of JGI and "adopted" a little chimp named Nani. :) Check 'em out at www.janegoodallinstitute.org

From the White Sands of Zanzibar

Mike and I have spent the past week enjoying Zanzibar Island- a beautiful and very interesting island off the coast of Tanzania... the perfect way to close our trip. We spent the first three days here exploring Stone Town, the main town on the island, went on a spice tour (loved seeing nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, cocoa all growing... and for the record nutmeg is one funky looking seed in its fresh off the tree form), and went sailing on a dhow (gorgeous wooden sailboats made exactly as they have been for the last 100 years) out to Menai Bay Conservation Area for some snorkeling. It was lovely. The Indian Ocean is spectacular- every shade of blue from deep slate to bright topaz. It is not, however, extremely warm. It is not freezing like our Pacific waters, but it definiely takes a bit to get used to, even with the warmth of the sun on our backs. We also went to see a local group rehearse Taarab music, a wonderful bled of Arabic, African, and Indian influences. The men and women sit on different sides of the room, (though they welcomed me to sit with Mike and the men), and the women dance up the aisles to give the female singers money if they appreciate the music. Men do not give women singers money, as that would have sexual implications, but will give money to women audience members to bring to the singers, so that whole exchange was as fun as the music.
For the last four days we went to the east coast beach, Matemwe, with its palm trees and powdery white sands. It didn't even feel like sand, but was blindingly white and extremely soft. Our days consisted of reading a good book in a chase lounge or in a chair outside of our bungalow in the sun, walking along the beach, drinking a soda or beer now and again, and eating a meal. It was blissful. We did have one scheduled activity, however. We went snorkeling off of Mnemba island along a coral reef yesterday. The coral itself was not too spectacular, but the fish were great. Special highlights for me were two different types of Moray Eel and many Moorish Idols- I think they are really cool looking fish. We also saw many different types of parrot fish, which are also fun and colorful and a little freaky looking b/c of their teeth :) The water was chilly, so we had to take breaks on the boat, but it was a great day.
We are back in Stone Town for the remainder of the day and then fly to Dar Es Salaam and to Dubai tomorrow. It is sad that our trip is ending and we feel it has been a great and diverse experience- a magical five weeks.