Bad times

So much has happened since the last blog that it will be very difficult to fill you in on everything. But let me begin, and trust me, so many crazy stories, I swear you wont believe it all.

The first thing we did in Zanzibar was swim in the Indian Ocean. The water comes down from the equator which makes it some of the warmest water in the world. It is really very nice. But the first night we stayed in Stone Town, which is the "urban" piece of the island, and anything urban in Africa often also means filthy. The beaches were very narrow and honestly, not much to look at.

Our hostel was 200 meters from the beach but it would take us 20 minutes to find our way. Stone Town has got to be the most interesting city I have ever seen. The streets are only about 5 feet wide and every building is conected to its surrounding buildings (no spaces). On top of that, the streets are all windy and fragmented so the small city is literally a maze. I should bring you the map of Stone Town, it takes you a few minutes just to find your way out of the center on a map!

We went out after dark and walked down to the market place. There were thousands of people, probably 30% tourists, enjoying street cooked seafood and local dishes. It was really good but everything in Zanzibar is very expensive. There is no such thing as a good deal. We ran into some people that we met in Malawi and we were excited that we were going to get to hang out some more. That first night was fun but very melo because we knew that the next day was going to be big since there was a "full moon party" on the north side f the island. We walked home and got lost and Nathan asked a guy where "Jambo guest house" was. Jambo means hello, and the guy just kep saying "Jambo!" with a big smile, thinking Nathan just kept saying hello to him. It was hilarious.

The next morning we arranged to rent mopeds and ride around the island. We got up and around and told the moped guy to meet us at our hostel at 8. He arrived at 8:30, took our money and then went to get the bikes. He returned at 10 but our friends (the ones from Malawi) wanted to join and so we had to wait for one of the most annoying girls in the world to get her moped. She swore that she had riddin one before but when her bike arrived the first thing she did was crash it into the curb after riding it for about ten feet. I knew that we would be babysitting her the entire time.

Finally, at noon, we set off. Now, to drive this heap of junk I would have to teach myself bpth how to ride a motorcycle and also use a clutch (it was a 4 speed) all while driving for the first time on the left side of the road. In africa, roads are wide enough for two cars (one in each drection) but the people manage to make it a 4 lane free for all. Within 30 minutes of stalling, jerking around, and nearly crashing, I had the biggest scare of the trip. I went to make a right turn and as I turned right the car behind me passed me on the right side. I began to turn as it whizzed by at about 80 kph. I was literally 2 inches from the car. I had to pull over and take a deep breath. I was 2 inches from a very messy accident.

The first 2 hours were very nerve racking. Nathan had teased me about not knowing how to ride a motorcycle but from the start I was much better at it than him. He kept salling and could never get his bike to start. I thought that was really funny.

After we left the busy part of the city, things calmed down. The road became completely vacant and the scenery was beautiful. I am not the type of guy that gets off on adrenaline sports or things like moped riding but it was fun enough to see this island. If it were just me I would have taken more time to just explore the beautiful landscape and villages, instead of racing passed them at lightning s[peed. But oh well.

The island is smaller than oahu but we spent most of the day trying to figure out where we were. Right before nightfal we arrived at our new hostel in the north. We had to stay 3 k's from the full moon party becausse accomdation was sold out everywhere else. It would prove to be a real drag. We rode one bike (dumb and dumber style) over toward the beach with the party and it was 100 times better than our beach and 100,000 times better than stone town. Actually, it was picture perfect. White sand, beautiful resorts, clear water, calm water, palm trees, it was beautiful. And there were young people everywhere. We were very excited.

We ate dinner and met some canadians that invites us over for some hookah. It was a good 2 or 3 hours of interesting conversations. The canadians were muslims, there was a jewish brit and then myself to offer some christian theology. Of course, I always enjoy religion convesations. And these people seemed to as well.

Around 11 or so we headed over t the party and started tossing back a few beers. I only had 3 the whole night but it was enough to get me dancing (just a bit). Nathan somehow got smashed and couldn't stand up straight. We partied until about 3:30 and then started going back. Our friend was going to drive us back but his car was blocked by some asshole that doesn't know how to park properly. So we went back to our friends' room to make a plan. We feel asleep but when they all came back to go to bed we were kicked out. We hired a taxi back for 10 bucks and then when we arrived Nathan realized that he forgot the key. I was so pissed. The hostel didn't have a backup key and we had no way of getting back there. It was 3 k's the way the crow flly's but probably 7 k's on the road. I was so angry that I just went to the beach and layed down. I got bitten by 100 mosquitos. Nathan went walking (in his drunkenness) rtying to right his mistake. I'm not sure what happened but he rreturned with blood on his legs. By 6 the sun was starting to come up (that gave me about 1 hour of mosquito bitten sleep) and then it was enough. Nathan said that he was sober enough to ride the moped over (on a 4wd road) to get the key. It took about an hour and a half but finally he arrived, like don quixote, with the key. I was filthy, mosquitos had feasted on me from head to toe, and I just crashed on my bed. I woke up at 11 and it was time to get out of there. I was in such a bad mood.

We went and grabbed a bite to eat but not before Nathan's moped broke down. We had to walk it about 1k in pouring rain. We were completely soaked. I'm not sure what happened while he went to retreive the key but whatever it was, his bike was never the same. We had to take it to a mechanic and wait for him to fix it. We ate lunch at a restaurant, getting attention from everyone since we were soaked and looked pathetic (once again I was wearing the same outfit for 4 days). The mechanic fixed the bike and we were off. After driving about 2 k's we were stopped by one of the many roadblocks. Only this time, the cop found some superficial flaw with my license, an "offense" and was threatening to write a ticket. Then he mentioned bribe. We offered 5,000 (about 5 bucks) and he said to just act like we dropped itin case someone was watching. I was so pissed at this S.O.B. He was an insult to the human race.

We were off but shortly after my bike ran out of gas. There aren't gages so we had no idea how much was leftt. I had to sit at the side of the road while nathan fetched some gas. It was about 30 minutes or so.

After that we were off again and once again we ran into a roadblock. This cop was even more of a prick. Another superficial problem with the bikes and he took the keys and our licenses. He told us that he was an honest man and that he doesn't take bribes, but... if we were willing to give him some money he would pay the ticket. What a nice guy, huh? It's not a bribe it's a payment. We offered 5,000 and he laughs, not nearly enough. It is all we have. After about 30 minutes of interrogation, and mind you that this guy is uneducated, can't talk straight, think straight, or even speak english, he lets us go for 5,000. 20 minutes later the clutch on my moped broke. My bike went down like a ship in sight of land. Just 1 k from our hostel. I walked it the rest of the way.

I can't explain how frustrating this trip to zanzibar was. It had so much potential and it was all wasted. What's worse, it was by far the most expensive leg of the trip. By far. This blog is too long and i am getting upset just remembering these things. Hopefully I cheer up by tomorrow.