To Zanzibar by Motorcar!

Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah! For me, it all happened in Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. Sarah and I joined fellow Doris Duker Jess (next to me in the above picture) from Uganda and her colleague Beth for 6 days of intense R&R mixed with white sand beaches, ridiculous snorkeling, and craft shopping extravaganzas. Mostly, it was paradise, but Sarah and I found ourselves in a strange land of mosquito nets, suffocating humidity, no air conditioning , and daily power outages. Unfortunately, during an evening power outage, while we were all in town having a decadent dinner, our rental house was robbed, which definitely put a damper in the trip and set us back a few cameras, ipods, and a laptop. But no one was hurt, and a nearby lodge owner graciously made space for us in his rooms for our last couple nights. The following day on our tour de police stations, we learned that not all law enforcement is created equal, and that when canvassing a crime scene late at night, officers prefer to drink peach liquor.

I'm proud to say we rallied like rockstars, and even though we lost some badass underwater videos of me becoming one with a family of blowfish, we still managed to enjoy our last couple days. First we went on the popular "Safari Blue" day trip, or so we thought. When we disembarked on the first island and saw 12 similar ships approaching toting unfamiliar flags and t-shirts saying "Safari Blue", we turned to our guide, who was splitting coconuts and handing out fins under an unmarked tent off to the side of the others, and asked, "If that's Safari Blue, what tour are we on?" The only answer we got was laughter and a coconut.

Even though our snorkeling guide led us in the water wearing only loose-fitting leopard-print boxer briefs and one fin, we still had a fantastic day full of dolphins, colorful fish, island beaches, and lagoons. Beth also insisted we retake our stolen Christmas beach pictures in Santa hats (but as far as we're concerned, they were taken on Christmas). Then our crazy tour guides wanted to do the same while jumping off every cliff and boat they could find. They also asked each nationality on the boat to sing a song from their homeland, and so the four American girls naturally chose, "I Like Big Butts".Our final day was spent in Stone Town, the capital of retail therapy! We bargained like champs for dresses, jewelry, paintings, spices, soaps, and much more. My wardrobe has been revamped!
On the trip back, Sarah and I spent 12 hrs in Dar es Salaam, where Fogarty Scholar (and Dartmouth classmate) Alexandra Coria took us out for some savory Mishkaki. She then showed us her "posher palace" in Dar, which is only missing a giant diamond chandelier. It was great to see her stomping ground and to see her so happy!

Then, I was overwhelmed when my former Tanzanian host family met me at the airport for a few minutes of hugs! I was so excited to see Irene and her almost 3-yr-old daughter Lakisha. The three of us were great friends for a month in Mwanza last year, and I could not stop smiling after Lakisha remembered that I was her "Aunti".

Stay tuned for a recounting of the epic adventures of "Mom-fari!!