Mtwara, Tanzania

I visited Mtwara this week and was pleased to discover this part of Tanzania.
Mtwara is in the South of Tanzania and it is far more developed than I imagined it would be.

If you have followed news on Tanzania recently, you may have seen that cashew nuts was in the news a lot. The nuts are mostly produced between Mtwara and Lindi. As we drove here, there were cashew trees all over. There are big cashew farms. Surprisingly, all the Tanzanians I was travelling with had never eaten cashew, only the nuts. Tanzania is one of the biggest producers of cashew nuts in Africa and it adds a percentage to their foreign exchange.

Perception, Expectation and Reality

I recently had a conversation with a friend about perception, expectation and reality. It seems like people tend to be influenced strongly by other people's perception of them and this leads them to behave in certain ways.

The fact that sometimes people perceives you in a certain way does not mean that you are necessarily that way. On the other hand, one person's perception of you could influence other people's perception of you even before they have the chance to ever know you or meet you.
I am an advocate for creating impressions for yourself. A person's feelings or experiences do not have to be mine so I prefer to form that for myself.

Dijon, France

When most people think about visiting France, the first thought is usually Paris. Why not?
Beyond Paris, it's worth noting that there are many other places to see in France.

I visited Dijon for the first time and found it to be a charming place. La porte Guillaume is a historic monument leading to into old Dijon/the city centre. The arc has a significance of freedom for the city and it is from as far back as the 18th century.

 Once you walk past the arc, this is the view.

Strasbourg, France

I visited Strasbourg in 2014 and was excited to go back this year. The last time I visited, I hardly documented my trip. We were so excited and all over the place. We woke up tired each day but kept moving. This time, I knew to take it easy as I was not going to have time to rest on my return.

I arrived on my birthday and my friend (Vivian) and her husband being the amazing people that they are, had their friends over to make my day.

13.10.2018

Vivian knew my arrival time so she, her husband and their baby were at the train station to collect me. When her husband swooped me into a big hug saying happy birthday, I knew I was going to have a great day. She was so excited that her husband beat her to wishing me a happy birthday.

As we got home, seeing my photos on the door and the effort they had put into welcoming me warmed my heart.

As we walked in, the smell of food was everywhere, she was cooking up a storm while he gladly ran all the errands.

Not all Nigerians fit the stereotype

I visited the Nigerian High Commission in Dar es Salaam today to get a letter of introduction for the Tanzanian authorities for work. Going by stories I had heard of how bad Nigerian Embassy/HC staff could be, I went there with no expectations. 

At the front desk someone was chatting so loudly across with a guard in Swahili, so they were both obviously Tanzanian. When a Nigerian staff came to attend to me in the waiting area which was in the same room/hall, I could barely hear him as these people were yelling. I looked up in shock wondering whether I was in a market place or an office. I told him I could not hear him and looked towards the front desk as if to say, ask him to keep his voice down but he made light of the situation by saying he is like a Nigerian now. I know we could be loud but in an office, this was not acceptable. And for someone who was sent from Nigeria to represent his country in another country to accept this, it shocked me a bit. I wondered if that was what he was taught from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!

My first Safari in Kenya

Sometime in 2013, I went to Kenya for the first time. It was an exciting trip. The plan was to go on Safaris then end up on the coast.
I watched a film called 'The Ghost and the Darkness' recently and a flash of the Tsavo eaters story came back. I remembered that this was mentioned by Amani, our tour guide, at one of the parks but I don't know if I paid much attention to that story. This was a reminder that I hadn't written about my 2013 Kenya trip.

On the day we were to fly out of Abuja, we were sitting at the airport waiting for our flight when we saw the news of the West gate mall attack break. As frightening as it was, we were not going to change plans.

When we got to Nairobi, I stayed with my uncle and his family for 2 days in before leaving on Safaris.

It's been 5 years, my cousins are all grown up now

Beaches and snorkeling in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Please read my previous post on how the trip started 😊

While I was looking for a hotel, one of the things that caught my attention was the fact that the owner has a private boat and the reviews I saw talked of how much it was a delight to have a private boat which would provide the flexibility the guests needed.
I mentioned this to the other ladies and everyone was happy with it + there was a variety of options of things to do. Snorkeling was top on the list, then an evening boat ride to watch the sun set.

This watch tower was in between our hotel and the turtle aquarium

Our amazing guides