I am ill! Watching football and a beautiful Island trip
on Kev in Tanzania (Tanzania), 15/Apr/2009 09:54, 34 days ago
Wednesday 1st AprilStill feeling a bit rubbish, had a lovely omelette for breakfast but then was sick and had a fever…Spent most of the day lying down feeling a little sorry myself as Liz was at work.We had planned to go to Chake Chake but I did not go and told Liz to go anyway coz we would not see Sandra for a while. I missed out on a nice dinner but did not feel like food.I lay in bed feeling terrible and this is what I wrote down on a pad“I am ill, my head feels like it’s in a vice. I have stomach cramps. I am lying in bed at 8.30pm, listening to the fan and squeeking. Is it rats or bats? I can hear voices outside getting rather animated. I feel vulnerable but I know Liz will come home soon. My phone is not sending texts Ifeel isolated…”Reading that now, I remember feeling low but then Liz came home and we watched‘the Big Lebowski’ a nice comedy that took my mind off being ill.Thursday 2nd AprilStill ill in the morning and was getting up in the night. Took some meds for stomach cramp that Liz gave me (her parents are both Docs so I figure I was in safe hands!)Liz worked until 11am and in the evening we went to the police mess with Liz, Anne, John and Mickey. I decided that I would eat and drink as the stomach cramps were going and I was feeling hungry. The chipsi mayai and cold Safari were just what I needed!Anne was staying with us as she came from Chake and could not get a dala back past 8pm. When we got in we played scrabble and I kicked butt winning!Friday 3rd AprilIn the morning Anne went back to Chake and Liz went to work. For lunch we had a takeaway chipsi mayai and I was starting to feel better now.Lost a game of scrabble to Liz who enjoying getting revenge for last night, then Liz went for a walk in the afternoon as she does but I did not go as not quite up for 2 hour walks in the heat just yet…In the evening we went to Mickeys with John for dinner. Mickey cooked some lovely fish and rice (the Filipinos love their cooking)After the food we planned to play scrabble but Liz forgot the letters so we played cards instead– it is great fun winding John up when we play cards and I think he enjoys having a moan too.Got home and watched some Scrubs but Liz fell asleep (for a change– it is usually me!) so we went to bed.Saturday 4th AprilToday we were going to a nice guest house by Mokwani called Jondani (I think)We had to catch 2 dala dalas, the first was to Chake to pick up Anne. This dala was busy and to Liz’s delight I spent most of the trip with my around John. We stopped at Chake to try and get a new gas tank for Liz’s cooker and then popped into to seeAnne for a soda.Then we caught the dala from Chake to Mokwani, this one was crowded too and I had a toddler dumped on my lamp– he looked a little scared at first but then feel asleep in my arms. I was worried coz at one point I thought his mum had got off and left him with me!The Jondani guest house is up on a hill with great views and a lovely decked area. We watched the sunset and had a lovely seafood platter consisting of squid, kingfish and some shellfish. Very filling!We taught Mickey how to play‘hearts’ and ‘Sh*t head’ which John did not like very much. A peace corp guy called Mike came and visited us, he told us he has converted to Islam – I guess he has spent too long on Pemba (though there are rumours he has done it for a girl…)At John and Mickey left at around 10.30pm, Mickey was going to take John on the back of his piki (bike) while Liz and I decided to stay the night and travel back the next day.Sunday 5th AprilWe had a nice breakfast at Jondani and enjoyed the views and hammocks out on the deck. The ride back to Chake was long though (it should have taken 1 hour) the driver was going so slow it took over 2 hours!At around 3pm we had a late lunch at Chake some Pilau with a view of Chake. It was nice and all the other places were shut or had run out of food! We met Anne at the dala and were going to try and watch a football match at the Gordani stadium. The guys at the dala stand did not think a game was on and were laughing at us…But the game was on! It only cost tsh500 (less than 30p!!). There were some great moments: There was a crazy keeper who did roly polys after catching the ball. There were stretcher girls who kept running onto the pitch to help the players, carrying them off the pitch then tipping them off the stretcher. We were sat in the‘VIP’ section. There was a giant Ref. The ground had empty floodlights stands. There were very hard tackles, nothing like the Prem these days. There was a red card and a penalty. And finally the trip back to Wete was in the dala with management of the home team! And the home team won 2-1!After the game we went down to the Police mess for celebratory beers and chipsi mayai!Monday 6th AprilI woke up today with a sniffly cold, Pemba is slowly destroying me… But I like the island it has a unique charm.As I wondered down to the town I noticed a giant coke bottle– it is funny how you can miles and miles from anywhere or on an island like Pemba and yet the coke reps will have already been there and tarnished the place…Met Liz after work at a duka and Anne came over from Chake as we were all going over Mickey’s for dinner again. He cooked Squid Odobu – it was gorgeous, Odobu sauce is soy sauce and vinegar and works really well with the squid.This time Liz remembered the scrabble letters and we had 2 big games (along with lots of disputes over words!) I managed to win 1 and came second!I was tired and fell asleep outside much to the amusement of the others but I blame being ill– though I have not been doing much to be tired!Tuesday 7th AprilToday we went on a boat trip to Kokota Island. It was fun getting from the port to the boat and on the trip out to the island we saw 2 dolphins!We stopped off at a reef to do some snorkelling– I have never swam in coral waters before and I was beautiful I really enjoyed the experience there were so many different types of fish and coral. The views were amazing, I wish I had an underwater camera!We stopped off a Kokota Island for lunch, which we bought with us. It was very hot so we sheltered in the shade. There were some people who lived on the island, it may seem like paradise but it is 1 hour and 30 minutes boat ride from Wete, very isolated!On the beach I found a sand dollar which I wanted to bring home for Mum but Liz told me off and gave me an environmental lecture and taking shells– Take on pictures and leave only footprints… I ignored her but the shell broke as I climbed onboard the boat – Karma anybody?On the journey back we saw more dolphins and flying fish which was an extra bonus. The crew put the sail down and we use wind for part of the journey back but there was not much so we switched back to the engine.In the evening we were treated to yet more cooking at Mickey’s, this time John cooked a tasty veggie curry. Pemba is good for volunteers cooking!