Oh.. my god.
We are now in Malawi, 3rd country of Africa so far. I am so sad to see Tanzania go, but I will definitely go back there someday. Met so many amazing people, and the beach was OH GOD amazing.
Now we have come to Malawi lake- which is amazing. It looks like ocean, so much sand and waves and so nice and refreshing but it is fresh water! I am excited to snorkel here and compare it to salt water. !! I hope it's just as colorful and amazing. I'm sure it will be.
I ran along the beach today, but it was much less enjoyable than it was in Zanzibar because of lots of things... the sand wasn't nearly as soft, filled with rocks, the shore was uneven and not hard so it was squishy under my feet making it nearly impossible to spring back up into each new step hahahaha and then to top it off, every african person I passed either yelled to me, followed me, ran alongside me, blocked my way, tried to sell me something, or hit on me. (or some combination of these) .
The sunset was very cool, not over the water, but it fell very quickly behind a mountain, the colors in the sky were so nice.
Last night we were star gazing, it was the most amount of stars and the clearest night we have seen so far. So great. I managed to find a few constellations, but the sky looks much different from the southern hemisphere.
We make friends easily, the Africans are so kind and friendly. It's really great.
I am speaking in quite a bit of fluff, but this is such a blast. I hardly have any complaints, save the weird temperatures. Do you remember me having trouble deciding how to pack for climate? NO WONDER! At night it can be as low as 0 (especially last night when we were so high in the mountains), and other nights I sweat my way through the night and can hardly sleep. Then some days I wear pants long sleeves and a scarf , and other days I wear a little dress with my bikini and sweat. Last night was 0, this morning was maybe like 15 maybe (cold though with the wind in the truck) and then all afternoon it reached 36-39 degrees!!!! it varies soo much it's impossible to gage!! hahaha!!
Okay everyone around me is complaining that internet is quitting, and the town we are going to tomorrow for the next 3 days has reported having no power for a couple of weeks now... so I h ave a feeling that there won't be power while we are there either hahahahaha. so retro eh? Anyways, that means 1. I won't be able to check my email, and 2. I will be living off of 5$ because that's all I have right now and no power means no money from ATM!!! hahahaha!!! Oh god. "This is Africa" is what we say about everything !
ooohhhh my. I miss you all very much
Ref- I wish so much you and X were travelling with me, and I hope all is well with Seb ... I think about you and him lots and lots
>Mum and Dad- I know OCtober is an exciting month what with the birthdays and anniversary - I hope you had such a blast and aren't too stressed with work!! relax, slow down , i LOVE YOU
Mag- thinking about you constantly!!! I hope you are well and I Am thinking about little love lump , my new little niece to be. <3
Charlie- Hope you're getting lots of work! I'm always wishing you were here to see all the cool animals with me
Erin- I'm glad work is going so well, I want more deets! Can't wait to spend time with you when I Get home
Jerr- I hope you are keeping the jams going, I can't wait to join in when I Get back
Holly- I heard Dynamite at the bar and wished you were jammin with me, the others were dancing a BIT but YOU are my dancing partner downtown lolz!!!
Tabi- I miss you so much <3 <3 I think about you every day, all day
Grammie and Grampie - I hope you are ready, because when I Get home I'm gonna sit you down and explain every photo (BEFORE they go on facebook muahahahaha) ... heheh i love you guys!
Lilly- Wish I had your snuggles
Antho- Wish you were seeing these crazy things with me (And the chocolate men are GORGEOUSSSS you'd love them)
Anita- you must be one of my most loyal readers- thanks so much!
Matty- thanks for having such a great trip with me, it's so fun and I'm glad I came with you
Mullo + friends - these parts of Africa are amazing, but all I keep hearing about is Uganda- I can't f*#$ing wait to come back here with you guys
All - thank you oh so much for supporting my trip here, it's amazing. I think about all of you and wish that you were seeing everything I see. I want to share share share.
xoxoxox
Happy, full, delighted, excited, overwhelmed, loving life, Jess
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
ZANZIBAR
Hi all!
Thanks for following, it's so nice to have listeners.
Zanzibar is incredible. it's so amazing here. white beaches, terquoise waters. I never ever tire of them. The people here are the most chill people I've ever met in my life, we've just been like sitting and listening to reggae music and contemplating life and tanning and playing beach volleyball, and snorkelling and going on boat rides and seadoos alllll day long every day for 3 days. I do NOT want to leave here. I suppose this is the downfall of going on a tour, you are stuck to a schedule and can't branch out on your own. wah. If it were up to me, I'd probably spend at least 6 more days here.
I love it so much.
I will definitely come back here. It's so easy to belong and meet hundreds of wicked people !!!
I miss home , of course, but am having the time of my life. Africa is so enchanting.
<3
xo
Jess
Thanks for following, it's so nice to have listeners.
Zanzibar is incredible. it's so amazing here. white beaches, terquoise waters. I never ever tire of them. The people here are the most chill people I've ever met in my life, we've just been like sitting and listening to reggae music and contemplating life and tanning and playing beach volleyball, and snorkelling and going on boat rides and seadoos alllll day long every day for 3 days. I do NOT want to leave here. I suppose this is the downfall of going on a tour, you are stuck to a schedule and can't branch out on your own. wah. If it were up to me, I'd probably spend at least 6 more days here.
I love it so much.
I will definitely come back here. It's so easy to belong and meet hundreds of wicked people !!!
I miss home , of course, but am having the time of my life. Africa is so enchanting.
<3
xo
Jess
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Zanzibar
We just arrived in Zanzibar. You should have heard the collective delighted sigh that flowed over and through the group when we came up over the hill and could finally see glimpses of the deep salty Indian Ocean!!! Ah ! sooo nice to be near water. as soon as we landed matt and I raced into the water and stayed there for ages and ages just soaking up beach time. We want more more more beach time. That was in Dar es Salaam (sp?) ... now we are in Zanzibar- one of the most famous little beachy islands that everyone comes to. it's very cool! the buildings are all retro looking and the people are very kind.
Everyone Everyone waves at you when you walk by!
The shopping is good too, but not cheap! this is NOT like thailand! yikes!
Anyways , I know this is short and sweet but there are beaches to walk on, People to chat with, clubs to explore!!!!
xoxoxox
Jess
Everyone Everyone waves at you when you walk by!
The shopping is good too, but not cheap! this is NOT like thailand! yikes!
Anyways , I know this is short and sweet but there are beaches to walk on, People to chat with, clubs to explore!!!!
xoxoxox
Jess
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Serengetti / Crator!
Okay where to start! I actually had to make a list in my journal of things to remember to say because the past few days have been so eventful and wonderful. So we have been doing loads and loads of driving , which is trying at times but the scenery is great and we stop along the way and see interesting local markets, supermarkets, cafes, etc. So it's all part of the experience!
The roads are SO bad around here, it takes FOREVER just to drive a short distance because of the quality of the roads. It's frustrating because what would take an hour to drive in Canada (good roads) would take all day here. So it's slow going, but we can tough it out. luckily most of our group are able to read while driving, so I've almost finished a couple of books. I read The Book of Flying, an enchanting story which brings my mind back to home <3 and now I am reading Eating Animals- so fascinating.
We stayed one night in a Snake Park- which is a place which collects snakes if they find them (poisonous and non) and keeps them locked away. There are a lot around here !!! I learned all kinds about poison snakes vs. constrictors- very interesting!!! I also got to see 3 crocs being fed raw meat ! SO COOL I took a video and will post it when I get home on Facebook!
Asanti Sawna= thank you very much
Mambo (instead of Jambo) = hello
pua= cool, good, no problem
We got to spend a night in the Serengeti park -- Amazing!!!Serengeti means : Endless plain in Swahili, if you are interested. It's just like you might see on Oasis or BBC. So cool. The most amazing part is the animals, they don't care at all about the safari trucks, and so they are so close! We were actually slightly disappointed in the park, because at the Maasai Mara we were spoiled with close animals of all sorts, and the Serengeti was a lot bigger and therefore it was not as common to see as many animals. But when we DID see animals , they were in enormous numbers. We saw hundreds... no thousands of wild Zebra just roaming around. Buffalo galore, and like a billion gazelle, other types of deer, hippos , crocs OMG just every kind of animal you can think of is there in HUGE numbers. The highlight of the Serengeti for Matt and I (and I think the rest of the group too) was a few things. 1. this incredible rainbow that occurred over the vast field, it was deep in color and so solid and even had a reflective twin. It was so very cool. 2. a wild heard of female elephants (apparently male elephants go off on their own and the females/babies stick together! that was an interesting fact that I didnt know! ) and finally........ 3, we saw 6 lions (female) and they were just hanging out beside the road! We stared at them for maybe half an hour before we realized they were planning a hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we followed them and watched them and they spread out around the fields (on either side of the road, the trucks were right in the middle of the action!!! ) and they surrounded this small group of zebras and they were like stalking them , as the cats do so silently and crouched down it was SO COOL.
Our driver was trying to get us to leave and go have lunch but we were all like NO WAY!!! SKIP FOOD! WE ARE WATCHING THIS HUNT!!!!!! so we did. But the zebras went too far out of reach and the lions gave up and came together for a "better luck next time" snuggle. It was quite interesting. The safari driver was even excited (this is how you know you've seen something cool!!) hahahaha
So then after the big eventful day of bumpy driving through African wildlife we set up camp on the edge of "The Crator" ... creative name. So literally this place is a volcano which never erupted and the inside of it collapsed and now it is jam-packed with animals who can't get out of it because of the steep outer walls (which we dangerously had to drive on...)
It was cool at night, and hot in the day (every day is like this) it's amazing. perfect perfect climate for living. I want .
After a lovely night's sleep (minus my horrible raspy cough) we got up at 6am (like we do every day) and went inside the crator to explore! Inside we saw some animals, but mostly the exciting part was the scenery. I can't wait to show you my photos of the crator. it's wicked wicked wicked. We did get to see about 10 hyenas working together to get a huge dead hippo out of the water . that was kinda cool!
It rains every afternoon around 3 or 4 and only for about 30 minutes, I guess this is "short-rain" season. It smells SO great. I love the rain. and it's such a temperature relief at that time of day.
I have so much more to say, so many more simple details that i want you to know but everyone is waiting for their turn on this sole slow-internet computer.
I la-la-love you all! Wish you could see everything as I go along. Thanks for supporting my trip here, it's incredible.
And, I couldn't ask for a better travel buddy, Matt and I are getting along famously.
xoxoxoxo
Jess
The roads are SO bad around here, it takes FOREVER just to drive a short distance because of the quality of the roads. It's frustrating because what would take an hour to drive in Canada (good roads) would take all day here. So it's slow going, but we can tough it out. luckily most of our group are able to read while driving, so I've almost finished a couple of books. I read The Book of Flying, an enchanting story which brings my mind back to home <3 and now I am reading Eating Animals- so fascinating.
We stayed one night in a Snake Park- which is a place which collects snakes if they find them (poisonous and non) and keeps them locked away. There are a lot around here !!! I learned all kinds about poison snakes vs. constrictors- very interesting!!! I also got to see 3 crocs being fed raw meat ! SO COOL I took a video and will post it when I get home on Facebook!
Asanti Sawna= thank you very much
Mambo (instead of Jambo) = hello
pua= cool, good, no problem
We got to spend a night in the Serengeti park -- Amazing!!!Serengeti means : Endless plain in Swahili, if you are interested. It's just like you might see on Oasis or BBC. So cool. The most amazing part is the animals, they don't care at all about the safari trucks, and so they are so close! We were actually slightly disappointed in the park, because at the Maasai Mara we were spoiled with close animals of all sorts, and the Serengeti was a lot bigger and therefore it was not as common to see as many animals. But when we DID see animals , they were in enormous numbers. We saw hundreds... no thousands of wild Zebra just roaming around. Buffalo galore, and like a billion gazelle, other types of deer, hippos , crocs OMG just every kind of animal you can think of is there in HUGE numbers. The highlight of the Serengeti for Matt and I (and I think the rest of the group too) was a few things. 1. this incredible rainbow that occurred over the vast field, it was deep in color and so solid and even had a reflective twin. It was so very cool. 2. a wild heard of female elephants (apparently male elephants go off on their own and the females/babies stick together! that was an interesting fact that I didnt know! ) and finally........ 3, we saw 6 lions (female) and they were just hanging out beside the road! We stared at them for maybe half an hour before we realized they were planning a hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we followed them and watched them and they spread out around the fields (on either side of the road, the trucks were right in the middle of the action!!! ) and they surrounded this small group of zebras and they were like stalking them , as the cats do so silently and crouched down it was SO COOL.
Our driver was trying to get us to leave and go have lunch but we were all like NO WAY!!! SKIP FOOD! WE ARE WATCHING THIS HUNT!!!!!! so we did. But the zebras went too far out of reach and the lions gave up and came together for a "better luck next time" snuggle. It was quite interesting. The safari driver was even excited (this is how you know you've seen something cool!!) hahahaha
So then after the big eventful day of bumpy driving through African wildlife we set up camp on the edge of "The Crator" ... creative name. So literally this place is a volcano which never erupted and the inside of it collapsed and now it is jam-packed with animals who can't get out of it because of the steep outer walls (which we dangerously had to drive on...)
It was cool at night, and hot in the day (every day is like this) it's amazing. perfect perfect climate for living. I want .
After a lovely night's sleep (minus my horrible raspy cough) we got up at 6am (like we do every day) and went inside the crator to explore! Inside we saw some animals, but mostly the exciting part was the scenery. I can't wait to show you my photos of the crator. it's wicked wicked wicked. We did get to see about 10 hyenas working together to get a huge dead hippo out of the water . that was kinda cool!
It rains every afternoon around 3 or 4 and only for about 30 minutes, I guess this is "short-rain" season. It smells SO great. I love the rain. and it's such a temperature relief at that time of day.
I have so much more to say, so many more simple details that i want you to know but everyone is waiting for their turn on this sole slow-internet computer.
I la-la-love you all! Wish you could see everything as I go along. Thanks for supporting my trip here, it's incredible.
And, I couldn't ask for a better travel buddy, Matt and I are getting along famously.
xoxoxoxo
Jess
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
TANZANIA
Just got to Tanzania!!!
the visa was easy. So far we haven't seen anything it's just been a hot bumpy dirty dusty drive with a short internet break!
I forgot to tell you
Jambo Jambo = Hello
Hakuna Matata = no worries
santi = thank you
in swahili! eee! fun!
Everyone waves and is so kind and easy going. It's so great. <3 <3
the visa was easy. So far we haven't seen anything it's just been a hot bumpy dirty dusty drive with a short internet break!
I forgot to tell you
Jambo Jambo = Hello
Hakuna Matata = no worries
santi = thank you
in swahili! eee! fun!
Everyone waves and is so kind and easy going. It's so great. <3 <3
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Kenya
WOW So Kenya is AWESOME.
Where to start? So our Bush House and Camp was cool, but nothing compared to what we have been doing the past couple of days. !! We met all of our group for real, and hung out with them a lot. there are 13 of us right now, (more to leave and join as the journey progresses) and we all get along great! It's a fairly quiet/tame group made up of mostly couples. But they are all really cool, close to our age, and have lots and lots of travel stories (I have about a hundred new places I simply MUST go to.,..)
We all packed up our bags to start our 31 day camping trip overland Africa, to a total of 6 countries. Our first destination : Maasai Mara game camp. We camped about 20 minutes from there (only about one kilometer but it takes FOREVER to get there because of the bumpy roads!). We got on the truck for the first time and were told "4 hours" so we settled in for a boring sandy drive, but not even an hour later stopped at a view point - OF THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY!!!!! omg!!! it was so wicked! I have loads of pictures, can't wait to show you. So each day for the past 3 days we have left our (luxurious wicked fun) campsite and headed towards the Maasai Mara ! It's this huge open area where wild animals dwell and vehicles can drive along the road (restricted to certain non-intrusive areas) and try to see animals. It's very hit and miss. Sometimes you see many, and someitmes you see no animals. We were OH SO LUCKY!!! We saw Gazelles, hyenas, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, foxes, wildebeasts, lions, lionesses, and even a CHEETAH (which apparently is rare!!!)
Oh my gosh it's just crazy how many animals catch your eye out of the blue, and the most amazing thing is that they are not confined to a zoo. the safari just feels so honest and true because it's all natural animals in their habitats. AMAZINNGGG I'm addicted to Africa. I love it here. I want more and more and more. But honestly, I am already satisfied with the money I paid for what I've seen so far.
When people drive on the roads here, they are all over the place because the roads are so rediculously bad. I swear the ground beside the road is flatter than the paved part. (they drive on the left hand side of the road, if you were wondering!)
The food is delicious. It's very.... irish?? like, potatos in stew every day with carrots and rolls. It's good, but they don't give us PEPPERRRR i'm going crazy without my pepper. hehehehe
Matt and I are getting along famously, I will travel with him anytime! so easy going . We are a good travel team. Last night outside our tent were 5 hungry hyenas!! COOL!!! we had a locked tent. we actually have to lock the zippers because the monkeys are so forward that they'll open the zippers an dmess up/take all your things!! HAHAHA!! they are cute. There are these mini monkeys called bush babies! ADORABLE!! look them up!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to give a million more details but I have to get back to camping. Internet access seems like it will be limited so I will do my best to blog it up when I do have a chance!!
x's and o's to everyyyonnneeeeee!!!!
Miss my specials !
happy happy happy for Seb!!!!! =D =D
Love love love love love THIS CONTINENT.
Where to start? So our Bush House and Camp was cool, but nothing compared to what we have been doing the past couple of days. !! We met all of our group for real, and hung out with them a lot. there are 13 of us right now, (more to leave and join as the journey progresses) and we all get along great! It's a fairly quiet/tame group made up of mostly couples. But they are all really cool, close to our age, and have lots and lots of travel stories (I have about a hundred new places I simply MUST go to.,..)
We all packed up our bags to start our 31 day camping trip overland Africa, to a total of 6 countries. Our first destination : Maasai Mara game camp. We camped about 20 minutes from there (only about one kilometer but it takes FOREVER to get there because of the bumpy roads!). We got on the truck for the first time and were told "4 hours" so we settled in for a boring sandy drive, but not even an hour later stopped at a view point - OF THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY!!!!! omg!!! it was so wicked! I have loads of pictures, can't wait to show you. So each day for the past 3 days we have left our (luxurious wicked fun) campsite and headed towards the Maasai Mara ! It's this huge open area where wild animals dwell and vehicles can drive along the road (restricted to certain non-intrusive areas) and try to see animals. It's very hit and miss. Sometimes you see many, and someitmes you see no animals. We were OH SO LUCKY!!! We saw Gazelles, hyenas, buffalo, giraffes, elephants, foxes, wildebeasts, lions, lionesses, and even a CHEETAH (which apparently is rare!!!)
Oh my gosh it's just crazy how many animals catch your eye out of the blue, and the most amazing thing is that they are not confined to a zoo. the safari just feels so honest and true because it's all natural animals in their habitats. AMAZINNGGG I'm addicted to Africa. I love it here. I want more and more and more. But honestly, I am already satisfied with the money I paid for what I've seen so far.
When people drive on the roads here, they are all over the place because the roads are so rediculously bad. I swear the ground beside the road is flatter than the paved part. (they drive on the left hand side of the road, if you were wondering!)
The food is delicious. It's very.... irish?? like, potatos in stew every day with carrots and rolls. It's good, but they don't give us PEPPERRRR i'm going crazy without my pepper. hehehehe
Matt and I are getting along famously, I will travel with him anytime! so easy going . We are a good travel team. Last night outside our tent were 5 hungry hyenas!! COOL!!! we had a locked tent. we actually have to lock the zippers because the monkeys are so forward that they'll open the zippers an dmess up/take all your things!! HAHAHA!! they are cute. There are these mini monkeys called bush babies! ADORABLE!! look them up!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to give a million more details but I have to get back to camping. Internet access seems like it will be limited so I will do my best to blog it up when I do have a chance!!
x's and o's to everyyyonnneeeeee!!!!
Miss my specials !
happy happy happy for Seb!!!!! =D =D
Love love love love love THIS CONTINENT.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Africa, day 1 & 2
Hi family and friends!
Our flights were sooo long. (but not as long as asia!!) I usually watch a billion movies back to back, but I didn't this time I slept most of the time(other than when they fed me icky airplane food).
GUESS WHAT? When flying out of Switzerland, we could see the tips of the Swiss alps protruding from the clouds below us- I took photos from the plane! it was SO cool. Matt and I were just staring at them amazed. So large and beautiful . !!!
So we are now in Nairobi at a place called "Bush house and Camp". we thought it was close to the city where we need to meet people tomorrow, but actually it turns out it's like 35 km away!!1 hahaha DOH! but we are out in the woods almost, and that is entirely different and great. It's quiet and the air is so clear. The roads are dirt and the people are friendly. In order to save on cabs we actually took the public bus into the city today which was an adventure. crowded and busy and bumpy to say the least.
We walked around town all day, eating random things and getting money organized and then at 6pm we met up with our tour group. they seem like a cool group. There are gonig to be about 18 people +/- . We only met about 11 so far, we will meet up with/lose others as the trip goes on. We are on the longest possible route!!!
Tomorrow we have to be somewhere by 6am (no early morning workout/run!) and then we will start our camping trip for real. SO EXCITING!
It looks like we are going to be dropping like, $500 more than we expected.. but hey, we're in africa. We just HAVE to do these things!!!!
Anyways. We are safe and sound and giddy as can be.
Missing lots of special people <3
xoxoxox Jess
Our flights were sooo long. (but not as long as asia!!) I usually watch a billion movies back to back, but I didn't this time I slept most of the time(other than when they fed me icky airplane food).
GUESS WHAT? When flying out of Switzerland, we could see the tips of the Swiss alps protruding from the clouds below us- I took photos from the plane! it was SO cool. Matt and I were just staring at them amazed. So large and beautiful . !!!
So we are now in Nairobi at a place called "Bush house and Camp". we thought it was close to the city where we need to meet people tomorrow, but actually it turns out it's like 35 km away!!1 hahaha DOH! but we are out in the woods almost, and that is entirely different and great. It's quiet and the air is so clear. The roads are dirt and the people are friendly. In order to save on cabs we actually took the public bus into the city today which was an adventure. crowded and busy and bumpy to say the least.
We walked around town all day, eating random things and getting money organized and then at 6pm we met up with our tour group. they seem like a cool group. There are gonig to be about 18 people +/- . We only met about 11 so far, we will meet up with/lose others as the trip goes on. We are on the longest possible route!!!
Tomorrow we have to be somewhere by 6am (no early morning workout/run!) and then we will start our camping trip for real. SO EXCITING!
It looks like we are going to be dropping like, $500 more than we expected.. but hey, we're in africa. We just HAVE to do these things!!!!
Anyways. We are safe and sound and giddy as can be.
Missing lots of special people <3
xoxoxox Jess
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