xmas yn zanzibar (xyz)
sorry for not updating more!

i've been busy, so let's do a "nutshell" (tis the season, you can pretend to be "nutcracker") post.

i left niger on time, on december 12. i spent the morning wandering around ouagadogou, burkina faso (because they wouldn't let me check in to my next flight when i arrived there). from burkina i flew to abijan, cote d'ivoire, and was fortunate enough to make a very kind and generous friend at the airport, who later helped me a TON.

once in abijan, i was unable to make my connecting flight to nairobi. this, as some may know, is my worst nightmare--i die a little bit inside every time i miss a flight. so, i did what any good white female-bodied pirate would do... i started to cry. i also was able to run around the airport frantically for a bit, before catching a shuttle (and getting conned into buying a worthless phone card) to the hotel my aforementioned friend said he was staying at.

so, i can think about my time in abijan two ways--a big, annoying layover in an expensive hotel, or an interesting two days in a city i'd never dreamed of visiting... it is a little bit of both. through the wonders of the internet and cell phone technology, i was able to get a message to margot, so she wouldn't be disappointed to not see me at the airport the following morning. i managed to find kenya airways' office in abijan (with the help of some very kind strangers who tolerated my intolerable french) and get the ticket reissued for the next available flight, which was friday (monday, wed, and friday flights are all they've got to nairobi).

the hotel had a pool. it was nice. the ivory coast is a quickly developing country, that three or four years ago was considered so dangerous that they didn't even bother to put useful information in my africa guide book about it. now it is fairly safe, for a big economic hub in west africa, and pretty expensive compared to niger and even burkina faso. in retrospect, i am glad i ended up there, even though it cost me some extra money, because i made a friend who i have a feeling will be an excellent contact person later in my life.

once finally in nairobi, margot and i hauled through the city and packed for the coast. we took the night bus to mombasa, and quickly jumped onto the morning bus to lamu, an island just off the central coast of kenya. we spent 4 days on the beach, lazing about, usually without another human being in sight (there were a few camels and donkeys). it is definitely one of the most perfect beaches i've visited in the world, for swimming and sunning. i got a sunburn with spf 50 all over my body.

from lamu we boated and bussed back to mombasa, and spent two nights at margot's "uncle's" house (he is actually a cousin of her host father in kisumu, kenya). they were very kind and generous, and drove us into town three days in a row so that we could discover mombasa. it is a beautiful old city with islamic influences in architecture and culture, which merges with the swahili culture of the region. major highlight: we visited an old swahili musician in his weirdly familiar apartment (dirty, minimal furniture, lots of ashtrays and used coffee cups and soda bottles, and dudes hanging out who just woke up at 3 in the afternoon). it was surreal, listening to his cd's (we bought some) and watching a dvd of some performances that had been filmed on zanzibar island. he was a very cool guy.

our friends who'd been traveling with us up until this point then embarked for nairobi, while margot and i stayed on an extra day to catch the morning bus to dar es salaam, tanzania. it was about a 9 hour trip, but the roads were MUCH better than the road from nairobi to mombasa (we also had better seats on the bus). it cost $100 usd to get into tanzania, so we promised each other we'd make the most of it. we were picked up at the bus terminal by a friend of a friend of an acquaintence of our former travel partner (who'd headed back to nairobi). he owns a guest house, but since it was xmas eve (we're up to yesterday, now), he put us up in the guest wing of his house, fed us xmas eve dinner with his new inlaws whom he'd never met before, as well as breakfast this morning. it was all at once fun, incredibly awkward, and an insight-providing experience. being the second time we've stayed in someone's home so far in east africa, i'm learning the "cultural norms"... which include some absence of eating utinsels, and a great deal of what seem to me awkward silences, but what margot assures me is "normal".

this morning, (xmas morning!) we were incredibly happy to wake up to fresh mangoes, bananas, and watermelon with white bread, margarine and instant coffee. if i put some honey in the instant coffee, i can choke it down just fine. mr. goba drove us into central dar es salaam where we booked dec 30, 31 and jan 1 at the YWCA... the most highly recommended hostel in dar by my (so far pretty unreliable) lonely planet guide. the woman who was in charge was having breakfast, and she was pleasant enough, for xmas morning at work.

we took the noon ferry (sadly, the fast tourist ferry, not the fun slow one i'd hoped we would be on) to zanzibar today, where we found a sweet guest house with a kitchen where we can cook, and breakfast included for 12500 T-shillings per night. that's a little less than $12 USD. (thanks jamie for your help with the currency exchange rates... and i'm sorry again for waking you up).

so, all in all, it's been a pretty crappy xmas. i mean awesome. i hope everyone's holidays are as salty and sandy as mine. we had coconut vegetables for dinner tonight. and if you're wondering, we are living 9 hours ahead of central standard time in the US, that's why my xmas is almost over while you all are just starting to eat three kinds of meat and yams with little marshmallows.