We need a holidaa-ayyyyy ...

This week is ... well, WAS ... our mid-term break from teaching, and Jessica, Liza and I were all pretty eager to get out of Arusha for a change of pace. We got lucky enough to stay at our friend Tom's place in Pangani, a town on the coast of Tanzania, about six hours' drive south of Arusha. It was wonderfully relaxing and amazing to get to see this part of the country. The Indian Ocean is warm, bright and inviting ... the beaches of Pangani are almost unbelievably quiet and remote-feeling (compared to pretty much everything I've experienced). Some of the views make you feel as if you are dreaming. And people say it isn't nearly the prettiest coast in East Africa. Well, WHATever, I loved it.

After several hours' drive, we reached the coast, and took a quick ferry across the water to continue our trip. With us is Tom's stepdaughter, Irene:


Tom's place was a quiet, simple hut-shaped structure with a simple kitchen, a few beds, running water (but no electricity), and a fantastic porch on which we could all sit and read, drink tea, and stare at the ocean:




On our second way, we hired these guys to take us out on a somewhat dubious-looking boat, to a marine park where you can swim, snorkel, etc. It rained during our trip out to the marine park, and the boat pitched back and forth in a way that made me really nervous ... the trip was longer than I would've liked, but eventually we made it. I didn't take my camera, but it was like paradise! It was just a tiny dot of sand that got bigger and bigger as the tide went out. And I got to go snorkeling, which, as a Pisces and a former aspiring marine biologist, is something of a life-dream. All around this little island were small coral reefs full of beautiful tropical fish. I got a wicked sunburn while I was floating on my stomach down in fish-land, but it was worth it. Basically. On the way back, two of our party were fishing off the back of the boat ... and they caught a GIANT barracuda! I mean, I guess barracuda are pretty big. When it leapt thrashing from the water, we all gasped and yelled. It was huge, and had pointy teeth. The ancient, slow-moving African guy who appeared to be the captain of our ship (but also appeared really stoned) came over to the barracuda, seized it by the gills, and squeezed the life out of it. Its jaws still snapped a few times, too close for comfort. Once we landed back on shore, I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and captured both the boat and the beast for posterity:




Now there's just seven weeks of teaching before I return home for Christmas, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the days. I'm doing fine here, but absolutely can't wait to be home. With lots of love,

Ellen