Yesterday was our first full day in Tanzania at White Sands Resort. We woke up and ate breakfast outside looking at the beautiful beach. Since the tide was out we were able to walk out pretty far. We saw sea anemones, crabs, and many other little creatures. Since the weather was cloudy and overcast we had planned on staying at White Sands and hearing a guest lecture from Professor Ian Bryceson. Luckily around noon the clouds cleared up and we were able to take Prof. Bryceson's friend's boat over to Mbudya Island. Prof. Bryceson told us how he met his friend when he was 17 years old and they are practically like brothers. It was great getting to meet his friend; he was very kind and friendly.
That afternoon we took the boat over to Mbudya Island and as we neared the island we could see men out in their boats catching us fish for lunch. I was so excited for the fresh fish!! Once we got to the island we listened to Prof. Bryceson talk about how different sand can be on different islands and also he gave us a brief history of Tanzania. It was so interesting! After his lecture it was time to eat our lunch because they insist on eating the fish right when it is finished cooking. It was the best fish I had ever had! I'm not sure what kind of fish mine was but some people got parrot fish. We didn't have utensils so we ate with our hands, which is normal here. It was a little difficult but I got used to it. They had this amazing tomato based chilli sauce that went with the fish; it was delicious too.
After lunch we went out and swam in the ocean. Some of the guys snorkeled but the water was a little foggy so there wasn't much to see. We swam for a bit and then walked over to the cliffs which were coral reefs before the island was pushed up above the sea water. We were able to see fossils from fish, coral, and seashells in the cliffs. My favorite thing on the island was the baobab tree. It was huge!! I have some pictures of it, but unfortunately I'll have to wait until I'm home to post those. After we finished up swimming and exploring the island we headed back to White Sands and relaxed for the rest of the day before dinner.
I feel like there is so much I want to say about this trip so far, but we're about to leave to head to the airport to catch our plane to Zanzibar. Hopefully I can post some more after we get settled in over there. Asante (thank you) for reading!
Below is a panoramic picture of the beach at the hotel we stayed at the first two nights in Tanzania.
We look forward to reading more of your posts as you are able to post them.
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