Tanzania

I like the way the local people pronounce their country name, not Tan Zan ia like I learned, but, Tan Zania. Sounds exotic, and it is.
Now, I am close to the Serengeti. Exciting. We camp outside of the Ngorongoro Crater. We are told not to leave the tent at night without a torch, if it shines into the eyes and they are red, it is a hyena and if yellow, it is a lion. What a dilema to pee in the night. This is for real now. Ngorongoro means the sound of the Maasi cow bell, the local saying is: the road is singing and we are dancing. The crater is 250 Square Kilometers. The animals are special in the crater, they cannot get out except the elephant, it can walk up the road. The Big Five are in this crater. Lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, zebra and hippo. Saw them all along the track.
Ah, the Serengeti of TV fame. OOOHH, now it is time to get up for the sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti. We get a ride to the site, watch the gas burners start to inflate the balloon. Our pilot gives up our place in the basket, it holds 16 and we load while it is on its side. Seems too big to lift. Then it is time to get in, lay down and pray. It starts to tip us vertical and slowly it rises, it is so quiet and gentle, I did not even know it was off the ground. We floated at different heights, sometimes at tree tops level and then higher. It was like on TV. I did not talk, was to in awe to do so. After we had a five star breakfast and were told how the name came to be for the pilot. He was a pioneer in the balloon experiment in France. When he finally made it work, champagne was called for, after all, it was France. His name was Mr. Pilot. Good one, eh?
This was a highlight of my trip.
On to Zanzibar, the most exotic name of the trip. We did go to a spice farm and learned so much about how they grow and some I never heard of before. I have tried to make the masala chai work that I got there, not the same. From Dar Es Salaam we went on a ferry to the island. What was I thinking staying out in the sun? I was wondering why my forehead felt sore, after all I had put sun screen on it early in the day. Forgetting that I was wiping it because I was hot. At least it kept me out of the sun on the island. Not much for a beach holiday. The main town of Stonetown was a big transit place for the slaves that poured out of Africa. Awful conditions that humans can impose on each other. Men were kept in a cell without water or food, then to a whipping post, mde from a Jojoba tree. Only the strong survived, that was the theory for the bad conditions. They were worth more money if they did not cry out. Zanzibar is 90% Muslim. Seemed odd. Glad to go.
South of Dar was another brush with danger. We were on a windy mountain road that was under construction. We had the green light, and then, here comes a big truck head on to us. Jase manourvered us off the road, into the dirt, we tipped at a precarious angle, then he righted us and back on the road. He was a policeman and had extra training, a blessing that day. When we were in the Serengeti, I was told that those big trucks could tip quite far as they were so heavy and the center of gravity was so low. I was thinking of that when I was looking down at the ground out the window and felt safe. Then we saw three trucks overturned. Bravo Jase.