After several abortive tries to send out emails to various friends (power cuts in the internet shops here are quite frequent and usually happen when I'm about to hit the send button), I have decided this is the easiest way to let everyone know how I'm doing and hopefully post some pictures, too.
I've been here in Zanzibar for more than a week now and I'm having a great time. My quest for information progresses very nicely and I find that I have ample time besides work to explore the island. Last weekend I actually went snorkeling. Yes, me, the person who thinks Titanic is a horror movie because it involves a ship, lots of water and no land. I got into a little boat, drove out into the ocean and jumped into said ocean with no land in view, to swim among the fish and other strange inhabitants of the sea. Okay, I admit at first I was holding on to a live-saver, but later I got brave enough to abandon it and I am proud to say that i did not panic (well, maybe a little bit when I came up and the boat was nowhere in sight). I also found out that I can get seasick on an anchored boat. Seriously, as long as we were driving along I was fine, but as soon as we were anchored in place and there were some waves to rock the boat, here I am hanging over the railing offering my breakfast to the sea gods. I had no idea...
I've been here in Zanzibar for more than a week now and I'm having a great time. My quest for information progresses very nicely and I find that I have ample time besides work to explore the island. Last weekend I actually went snorkeling. Yes, me, the person who thinks Titanic is a horror movie because it involves a ship, lots of water and no land. I got into a little boat, drove out into the ocean and jumped into said ocean with no land in view, to swim among the fish and other strange inhabitants of the sea. Okay, I admit at first I was holding on to a live-saver, but later I got brave enough to abandon it and I am proud to say that i did not panic (well, maybe a little bit when I came up and the boat was nowhere in sight). I also found out that I can get seasick on an anchored boat. Seriously, as long as we were driving along I was fine, but as soon as we were anchored in place and there were some waves to rock the boat, here I am hanging over the railing offering my breakfast to the sea gods. I had no idea...
(Incidentally, is driving the right word in connection with boats? I mean if it has a sail you obviously go sailing, but what if it only has a motor, what do you do then?)
Now to the piece of antiquarian knowledge for the day:
The striped pattern of a Zebra supposedly confuses the visual system of the tse-tse fly, so Zebras do not get bitten by them as much. This led the Colonial British Troops in Africa during World War One to paint their horses with black and white stripes to protect them from the tsetse fly.
