do it like arthur dent, don`t panic, thumbs up!

the hitchhikers guide through africa, rule number one: don`t panic!

that is what i learned during the last week. and how do you learn best? by endless repetition. but let me put the events in an order. i took a plane to zanzibar last friday to spend one week holiday on this tropical island. and there it all began. i forgot my yellowfevercard (the yellow booklet) at kids and was not allowed to board. after some talking to different airportofficers i finally got into the plane. i was scared that i would have to pay fines at every boarder that i`ll cross. but, don`t panic, thumbs up, nobody asked me for the yellow booklet again.

kilimanjaro out of the plane (yes, propelerplane)

in zanzibar i met caroline and we rented a vespa to cruise around the island. the third day we went snorkling around Mnemba atol. two local fishermans took as on a handmade sailingboat out to the little island and we spent some hours chasing fishs, seastars and seaurchins between the corals. Mnemba it self is more or less just a white beach surounded by turquoise water.

mnemba

we returned to early, so the tide was to low and we couldn`t get over the rif in front of zanzibars shore. together with the fishermans i tried to push the boat over the rif but we couldn`t manage. so we took a two hours walk through wadable water along the rocky shore passing thousands of crabs and little, smelly hotwatersprings. the first thought i had was: "fuck", (as i stood on some seaurchins and bashed my feets on stones) but a second later our no-longer-fisherman-now-i`m-your-guide fellow made me feel like: don`t panic, thumbs up!

boat

the week turned to its end and i took the ferry to Dar es Salaam to look for a bus which could take me back to uganda. while i was searching for the scandinavian express office (why the hell is a buscompany in eastafrica called scandinavian express) i found out that the company made a smashup and did no longer operate. knowing rule number one of THTA i said my self: don`t panic, thumbs up! and asked the first person i could find (it took me maybe half a second) how i could get to kampala. five minutes later i found myself in a little office in the back of a restaurant where a former skyguide from Frankfurt had his little touristic bureau. and another 10 minutes later i had my ticket to kampala, cheaper then anywhere else, for the next morning.

one of the very few pics with me... actualy the tanzanian group wanted to take pictures with the muzungus, we didn`t know them at all :-)

after a night at YMCA in Dar i boarded the bus at 5am at the busstation (considered to be one of the most dangerous places in town, but: don`t panic, thumbs up! it really was no problem as the station is filled with friendly and helpful people) and my around-30-hours-to-4-days-trip began. it all went perfectly until we arrived at the border to kenya and found our bus with a flate tyre but no spare one. but: don`t panic, thumbs up! five hours later somebody found a tyre that fits and the trip continued. as we arrived in nairobi (some call it nairobbery) latenight the bus to kampala allready left. so i spent the night in the buscompanys waiting room and i really didn`t have any idea what was going on or where i was. but, a little boy, waiting with his mum for the bus to kampala aswell, saw the "pissed-off" in my face and made a sign to me: don`t panic, thumbs up!

next morning a luxusbus (or something like that) had a seat for me and took me hasslefree to kampala where i spent one night in the backpackers hostel before i went back to kids-of-africa friday morning, exactly one week after leaving it.

kilimanjaro out of the bus

at the end of the day it was the best trip of my life so far, thumbs up!