Reliving Zanzibar through writing

November 15th

I’m up early and get stuck into writing up my Zanzibar blogs. Not going to church today; there’s too much to do at the flat. Each day’s write up is like a small essay; even with notes I made during the trip it seems to take forever to explain all the things we saw and did. When you’re travelling you live life much more intensely than back at home, and when you’re writing for people who were not there with you it is even harder; you have to put everything in context and explain the background.

Tom was really ill last night; didn’t properly get off to sleep to 4 and not awake again till mid day, so it’s very much a “morning after the night before” scenario.

April comes round in the afternoon with our dishes which we left at her place yesterday. We chat about possibly going down to Bujumbura next week – she is at a loose end and if I can get all my final chores done I’ll have some days free. Failing that we might go up to Lake Burera which is one of the places I really regret not visiting yet in Rwanda.

I go to try to send some emails and post some blogs, but everywhere is closed – unusual because Sunday afternoon is usually a busy time for them.

At the muzungu meal there are only seven of us, yet it still takes the best part of two hours to get served. I really can’t understand why everything seems to take so long. I order goat stew (kumumdera); it turns out they don’t have that so I get a cow brochette instead with no explanation. We’re all fed up with the waiting. Next week Charlotte will have gone, then it’ll be my final weekend, so the numbers are dwindling fast.

Back to the flat and try to catch up on some more writing before bed. I’m also listening to some of the music from Helen’s iPod. Stuff which I should have listened to years ago but somehow never made the time – Portishead; Ben Harper and an outfit I’ve never heard of called Badila. Some I like, some I don’t, but I’m never going to get another chance to access to so much music.

Best thing about today – reliving our Zanzibar trip as I write it up. It’s like going there all over again.