Local Village Tours

One of the most memorable experiences of this trip to Tanzania has been seeing the local villages and how the indigenous people live here.  While we only got a small taste of this, I expect it will have a lasting impact on us.  We found it educational, upsetting and also eye-opening.  After speaking with some other (more prosperous) locals, it was explained to us that while these people live in poverty, it is not acute poverty - that you see more inland.  By living in coastal regions, these people always can rely on the sea and will not starve unlike their counterparts inland who have to rely on crops and cattle.  We were also told that more often than not, the villagers do not want the government's help and chose to live this difficult but yet very simple lifestyle.

There were two villages that we visited.  Actually we all went to one village, Pangani, but then it was just myself and Liam that went to the one that was just down the beach from our lodge.  On our first attempt to visit Pangani, our jeep broke down less than a mile from our lodge.  I'm thankful that it was there and not somewhere in the middle - not only was it about 90 degrees out, but I really have no interest in being stranded in the middle of no where in a third world country.  The kids were especially excited to ride back in the back of the jeep that came to "rescue" us from the break down.

Harvesting coconuts - the rind is often used for cooking and the milk is used for both the juice and cooking oils that are sold all over the world

Hitching a ride back to the lodge, old school style

We tried again the next day and success!!  Pangani was not that far away from where we were staying, about 14km or so, but driving on the dirt roads, it still took about 40 minutes to get there.  Because of the issues with the jeep, the managers had hired a local taxi driver to take us to the ferry that would enable us to cross the river into Pangani.  As expected, the small village where the taxi was dropping us off was extremely downtrodden.  The driver went to park the car as he was going to cross the river with us to meet our guide.

Sisal and a Christmas tree

Sisal plantation

Sisal plantation

And let's be honest, we were literally the only white people there.  We were now alone.  And it was uncomfortable.  It felt like everyone was staring at us.  I'm used to being around a mix of people of all different races and to be the only ones, it just felt incredibly strange.  I didn't necessarily feel unsafe but had concerns, not because of race, but because we stood out as being much more affluent than these people - and we're in a third world country... and could someone actually attempt to kidnap us?  It sounds ridiculous in hindsight but at that moment, I just know how uncomfortable I was.  But since the managers insisted that the taxi driver cross the river with us (which was not very wide - it literally took 2 minutes to cross), to me that meant we had reason to be concerned.

Pangani from the other side of the river

This gate is the only thing keeping us from the ferry - as you can see, we can easily walk around it

Fishing boats across the river

At this point, Aidan started to cry.  He kept saying he couldn't do "this".  "This" being a tour of such a poverty stricken area that he was not just scared, but very uncomfortable.  It was heartbreaking to see how upset he was.  I can't say I blame him as I felt the same but as a parent, this is the moment of truth - do you let them go back because they aren't comfortable or do you insist they move forward because it's a teaching moment and you feel that this is an important life lesson?  Yup, we went with the latter.  I think he hated us for a few moments, but my hope is that someday he'll get it and understand why we pushed.

No livestock today!  Just people, cars and bicycles...

The ferry... the back of it basically scrapes along the dock and people just walk off as the ferry is still moving... no hazards there!

The village we just came from before crossing the river

Closer up

We met our tour guide in front of the post office.  It was interesting that an area that is so obviously poverty stricken had so much signage in English.  It's not the official language of Tanzania - it's a secondary language.  So to see it in an area where there is so much poverty gives hope towards improvements in the importance of education.  Don't take this to mean I think that "everyone must speak English". I don't believe in that.  But the fact that they are trying to learn a universal language said something to me.

By village standards, Pangani is considered to be big with about 5000 residents in the Pangani proper area.  Some even have cars which is more than we have seen so far in our few days in Tanzania.  But where there is "prosperity", there is also poverty with many homes not having indoor plumbing or electricity.

Where to go for fresh milk

Vodafone is truly all over the world!

Our ferry going back across the river

Fishing boats

There is actually a German battleship that is sunk out by that stick looking object - there is no diving allowed near this battleship as they are unsure if there are any active bombs still onboard.

German currency from when they ruled this region

Local restaurant

Local mosque - there are many Muslims in this region, likely as a result of Arabic rule from many years ago.

Walking along the water before heading into town

Local fishing boat

The port authority

The tour was only just over an hour but with the oppressive heat, it felt like much longer.  But our guide was incredibly informative and imparted so much knowledge about Pangani's history to us.  They had been conquered by Arabs, the German and finally the British before gaining freedom in the early 1960s.  During the Arab times, this area was known for being a slave trading hub.  We even saw the area where the slave markets were held.

Field where much of the slave trade took place

Home where the head Arabic guy lived, overlooking the slave trading area

Other side of the field

I couldn't decide if things were getting better or worse here as we walked.  There were small bits of technological improvements that we could see - internet cafes, the vodafone "shop" and things like that. Our guide told us that much of the technology they get is second hand as they are able to buy those things much cheaper and much of it comes from China.

Our tour guide and the spot where they celebrated becoming independent of the British (after the Arabic and German rule)

Internet cafe

Small store

So we would see these small steps towards improving their conditions and I'm not sure that technology necessarily would be considered an improvement - I personally would say indoor plumbing and electricity should come first.  But regardless, you see these small improvements but then you see the living conditions with homes that in most places would be condemned and you have to wonder how it is that people can live like this.  In addition, there is a blatant disregard for taking care of mother nature - trash everywhere which I can only imagine adds to contamination issues.  I asked about this and the guide said that the government is trying to teach the locals about taking care of the environment but that not all are on board or understand the consequences to this kind of behavior.  It's a shame to see because it's only going to make things worse for them before it ever gets better.

One of many homes that looked like they should be condemned but obviously were not

A paved road - we haven't seen one of those in a long time and it says to us that this is a significant village for trading, etc if they have any paved roads

This tree is used for many medicinal purposes

New home - obviously someone with some money - and it has electricity too

We saw how the locals lived.  Beyond seeing their homes (though we did not see the inside of any), we were able to see things like the outdoor kitchens that are shared between neighbors and their markets.

Most homes do not have kitchens and given the year round heat, it is possible to do any cooking outside.  There are kitchens like this that are used by many people on that street with very few having their own personal kitchen.

A little color in an otherwise very drab place

I assume that this is for water run off.  This one isn't bad, but many that we saw were filled with trash.

We also went to the market area.  Stalls upon stalls of Chinese goods to buy.  It reminded me of the euro store or dollar stores but much more compact.  Some stalls had various foods as well - fruits and vegetables.

Liam at the market

See that white van?  That's the bus station.... yup, it is.

And those motorcycles?  They are taxis called boda-boda.  

Well look at that - Tom Brady made it all the way to Tanzania?  As I mentioned before, a lot of used or donated goods are sold at the markets here. 

The indoor market.  I wasn't sure what to make of it.  I have to wonder what the extreme heat does to the produce and the meats but then the roof at least shields from some of the heat. 

By the time we were nearing an end, we were about toasty done.  The information was fascinating but the sun, being so close to the equator, was even more oppressive at this point in the day and we were all dragging.  Liam's face was a shade of red that could not be defined as healthy and even with sunblock and a hat during the trip, he still ended up with sun blisters.  So we finished up our walk as we headed towards the government offices.  

Half past done...

Mom look how sweaty I am!

Government building

Our guide told us that these sloping railings were actually made to be laid upon for during breaks.  Liam took full advantage!

The next day, I went down the beach to the local village.  By contrast, the local village was very different than Pangani.  First off, it was much smaller.  It had a much more close knit feel, though everyone did seem to know each other in Pangani. But Pangani village itself had about 5000 people living there - this one had maybe a few hundred - a big difference.

One of the workers at the lodge actually lived in the village and offered to take me to visit and walk through with me.  Aidan opted out of this tour and since I made him do the big one, I acquiesced and Josh stayed behind with him.  Since the village is just down the beach, I would often see the locals in the morning when I was up taking pictures of the sunrise.  Being a fishing community, you would see people out fishing very early or heading to jobs that sometimes would be outside of the village like at the lodges nearby.

Village down the beach from where we were staying

Fishing boats

Fishermen

As the sand is fairly compact near the water and many people would ride their bicycles with supplies or goods to trade

Fire for cooking

Many of the local boats, the fisherman would stand and paddle.  I can't imagine the balance and strong core that it takes to be able to do this.

Sometimes the locals would also walk along the beach trying to sell their wares.  As there weren't many people on the beach, I can't imagine this is very prosperous for them.  But then, tourists are suckers and I suspect that the villagers know that they can take advantage.  When you live a life like this, you learn to survive in any way you can.  And yes, I was one of those suckers.  I made the mistake of looking up from my book while sitting on a chair a little too close to the beach and there were local women with necklaces.  They were simple beaded necklaces and really not my style but I thought, what the heck, I'll buy something and hopefully it will help them even just a little bit.  I went inside to get some money and that's when the issues started.  Her prices kept changing and suddenly she had other things and I liked this bowl that I thought would be nice for our babysitter.  I knew I was being overcharged and all I had was euros, not dollars but euros are worth more and I tried to explain that.  Finally she ran to get someone from the lodge (who ended up being my tour guide of the village a different day) and he worked with us both to get the price correct.  I still overpaid for my two things - a necklace and a small bowl.  And after that I learned to keep my head down (though I only saw them one other time in our 7 days there).

Back to the tour... As my tour guide explained to me, fishing is the way that many of the people in this village make money.  The other way is business.  While you wouldn't expect it, there were a few little stores set up in huts selling general store type of goods and another that had cell phones believe it or not.

Fishermen heading out

Local boats

Cool tree with painted signatures from visitors and locals

The village stretches along the beach, not a bad back yard...

I had been told there was a painter in the village named "Leonardo da Vinci".  Yes, you've probably heard of him ;)  Anyways, he sells a variety of goods along the beach and so that was our first stop before officially entering the village.  This was perfect since I wanted to pick up a few things to bring back with us.  I suspected a few things might not have been made right there (like the scarves) and I feel he way overcharged me (also asking if I was paying in USD or shillings) but my thought process was that if I could help out even just a little bit by overpaying than so be it.  What's an extra $10 out of my pocket if that can help feed his family or give them some little luxury that they might otherwise not have?  That doesn't mean I didn't feel a little bit manipulated because I did, just like with the women before.

"Leonardo's" shop

Liam and I outside the shop

Compared to Pangani, the village felt more organized and by far much cleaner.  These homes were situated within feet of the beach.  There wasn't trash on every corner.  While properties were very small, they looked clean and decently maintained, making the most of the natural resources they have at hand.  While they don't have much, there was a definite pride in what little they did have.  As my guide wasn't an official tour guide, he didn't have much to say as far as the history of the village or anything like that but he was able to give me some insight into the local life and how the people here make their livings, where the children go to school, etc etc and it gave me a very different perspective on village life.  This is a very difficult life, but it is also a much simpler life than what we are used to.

The homes built with palm fronds are temporary homes, usually for visiting fishermen who will go back to their families after a few months of making money here.

Building a home

Lots of chickens around

A temporary home

Community cooking area

As you can see, some homes are cinderblock as well

But many are made from mud, limestone and water

Literally the port area

A fishing boat being made

There was even a library filled with books from different countries.  My guide explained that the man who runs this library does it on his own free will as there is an actual library not far from there - but in this library, he also teaches the village children.  There is a school about 30 minutes by foot but he feels that the children need more - and so when he sees them out playing, he will often call them over to encourage them to read and learn and the children are very receptive to him.  This man is trying to make a difference in the lives of these kids and it was so heartwarming to see.  He is trying to teach them some English, yet he did not seem to speak much himself.  There seems to be a desire to improve upon their lifestyle and give these kids opportunity, though not all the villagers necessarily follow this notion.  But it was nice to see someone was trying to give them a chance to do better in life.

The library - the room was maybe 6' x 6' inside

Some other tourists chatting with the local kids

Speaking of kids, they all seemed genuinely happy.  They were unspoiled.  They listened well.  They worked when told to work.  I think all our kids could use a little bit of this hard knock life these days. Liam didn't seem to know what to make of things and kind of hung out in the background.

Like any city, town or village in the world, there were obvious differences between who had money here and who did not.  Some had electricity, often the business owners, and many did not.  Some homes had what appeared to be concrete foundations, many did not.  And so on and so on...

This is where you go for fresh water - the well.... drop your bucket down and that's how you get your water.  Think of how many times per day you drink water or use water - how often would you need to go here?

Area for animals

Liam in his world

This little boy was so sweet and tried to give Liam a coin of 200 shillings - I made Liam give it back since while incredibly generous, I know this boy has very little and I couldn't bear to take it from him.  It turns out he is also deaf and mute but seemed to be a very happy, outgoing child.

This little area is owned by one of the more prosperous families and they rent out the little bungalows to vacationers.

The experience of visiting both of these villages has been eye opening for all of us, especially Josh and myself.  You read about the poverty in Africa and you see it on tv, but there is nothing like seeing it first hand.  These people seemed kind and friendly and were always giving us a little wave of hello or saying hello when we came across them during walks on the beach.  They did not seem saddened or disheartened by their lives - at least as far as things appeared.  And as I mentioned before, these two particular villages are considered to be in poverty but not acute poverty which means as far as the government is concerned, they aren't doing so badly and people aren't dying left and right.  I don't feel like I have enough knowledge to judge the government or the villages to know who is doing what and for whom or enough insight to know if this lifestyle is truly a choice or their lot in life - a few hours spent is not experience enough to truly establish that kind of opinion but I can say that based on what I saw, I am beyond thankful for all that we have and the opportunities that both Josh and myself as well as our children will have based on the country in which we were born and raised.  So tonight when you ring in the New Year, give some thought as to how lucky we all are to have the wonderful things that we have including a roof over our heads, electricity, indoor plumbing and more... not everyone in this world is so blessed.

Liam talking into his shell that was given as a gift for our donation of crayons, markers and other items for the kids.  Back to reality now...

Besos,
Julie

From Safaris to the Beach

The original plan for this trip was a warm weather destination where we could go to the beach.  When planning it, we kept finding ourselves having to go further and further south in order to find somewhere that had beach weather.  We added on the safaris after planning the beach portion of our trip as kind of an aside...but the beach, that's where we wanted to go!

After our final safari with Tent with a View, we made the 2 hour trek on dirt, pothole filled roads (without dirt it was probably less than an hour) to The Tides Lodge (www.thetideslodge.com) in the Pangani / Tanga region.  It was a bumpy ride for sure, but with an open sided jeep, at least we didn't have to worry if anyone felt ill (thankfully we managed to make this a puke free trip up until the almost the end).  It made you appreciate our nicely paved roads in Europe and the US and the fact that to get anywhere in this area takes time, significant time.  Trying to look at it with a glass half full though, it also gave us an opportunity to view some of the life outside of the wildlife reserve.

Ready to head to the Tides

This was some odd road block area - when I asked the driver what it was, I didn't really understand the answer but literally could have driven right under or even through it and no one could have stopped us as the guard didn't have any vehicle.

Locals

While we saw local villages when we were in Saadani, it was still hard to see them as we drove by. The people smiled and waved and seemed friendly but to see people live in these conditions, even if by choice, is hard to see.  Aidan was constantly trying to get me to put away the camera but once again I assured him that I was looking to photograph only the area, the homes and things like that and I would not take pictures of the locals unless it was from the distance (like above) or indirectly when aiming at something else.  It really upset him to see people living like this - he's never seen anything like this (I don't even think he's seen it on tv) and it was so upsetting to him and one of the reasons he was ambivalent about this trip.  I can't say that I blame him but at the same time, I think it was an important educational experience for him (and Liam) to see that not everyone is as fortunate as they are in this life.

The drive was longer than we anticipated.  We originally thought it was only going to be an hour but was double that time.  I thought we would never get there.  But then I think the excitement about the next part in this journey was what also made the trip feel like it was taking forever!

As we drove, we came upon fields of these weird looking small cactus / palm tree like things.  It turns out they were sisal plantations.  Sisal is used to make thread and rope sold all over the world.  And as you can expect of a plantation, there was a big house and then lots of little houses around.  The little ones were slightly better than what we had seen up til now, but still not by much.  It looked like perhaps they had electricity at least so it was a definitely improvement on quality of life compared to villagers not far away.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the homes near the big houses based on the angle and speed we were driving.

Sisal fields

We kept driving and it turns out we weren't all that far from the Tides at this point.  We kept getting glimpses of the ocean (we had to drive a little inland even though we were going from a coastal area to a coastal area, there were no other roads that would connect us there) and while these people have very little, they have the most spectacular, unspoiled views right in their backyards.

Getting closer, we came upon some cattle.  What we noticed is that a lot of younger children, maybe around Aidan's age, were in charge of many of these cattle we've seen over the last few days.  They would be the ones sitting under the tree with the cattle roaming about.  They were also the ones that were herding the cattle to different locations.  When I think of how mature and responsible they have to be at such a young age, it makes me realize even more how coddled our first world children are these days.  On the flip side, these kids are also getting a substandard education, if any education at all and so to learn these life skills at an early age is also teaching them about survival.

The cattle was coming right down the road towards us - we had no choice but to sit and wait for them to pass and go around us.

If you look close you can see the crude branding on the cows.

These pretty red trees are actually called Christmas trees because they bloom at Christmas time.

We're so close!

We finally arrived at the Tides!  While there was not much around us, there was more than we had at Tent with a View.  Down the road from the lodge was a small local village.  There was also another lodge a little further down the way.  Regardless, compared to anything else we've seen on any trip we've ever taken, this was still incredibly isolated and quiet.  Like Tent with a View there were only about a dozen or so bungalows and at this time of year there were very few other people there (though we weren't the only guests this time).  The managers were very welcoming and incredibly helpful in organizing trips for us and arranging transportation, etc.  Once again, absolutely first class all the way - just first class with a rustic twist (like electrical outages every day, ants in our bungalow, etc) which was to be expected given our locale.

We've made it!

We were welcomed with fresh coconut milk.

Liam is not 100% sold on the coconut milk but he's giving it a go

Unlike the Tent with a View, this lodge is not built up on stilts... but it does have amazing views and is only steps from the ocean.

As we arrived just after mid day we were hungry for lunch so we headed to our bungalow to fix ourselves up (they delivered the luggage right to our bungalow for us just like at Tent with a View) before heading to the lodge for lunch.  Similar to Tent with a View, we would not have much choice when it came to our meals, though slightly more than we did over there.  Lunch we would have 3 or 4 choices, often times it would be something with fish.  I'm not a fish eater.  I ate a lot of fish on this trip. My stomach rebelled in the only way it could... and it wasn't pretty.  And it lasted through Christmas day :(  Dinner was basically whatever was shown on the board that day - one choice and one choice only.  We could sub chicken or fish for the kids if we thought they wouldn't like what was on the board which was a relief as even though they are great eaters, I still didn't think they would do the curry and coconut milk fish with rice!

Anyways, we made our way to our bungalow before heading back to the lodge for lunch.  And we were just in awe the entire time that we were in such a spectacularly beautiful place.  Truly paradise like we never could have imagined.  We'd read online that this beach was one of the top best secret beaches in the world and I can see why!

Walking to our bungalow

The back of our bungalow

View in front of our bungalow

Our veranda

Walk way from our veranda which leads to more beach chairs and umbrellas that are just for our bungalow

Josh and I agreed, we could never ever be bored of these views.  However, living here would be something entirely different.  You'd need a lot of patience and you would really need to change your frame of mind on how to deal with it taking longer to get things done - driving hours to get to a decent sized town (Tanga is about 2 hours drive away) where you can purchase products not sourced through villages (which was basically fish and some very meager basics), having electricity outages that often last the better part of the day - fine when you are on vacation, but if you were a business owner, that would be very difficult to deal with when you want to get things done and just can't.

The front of our bungalow

Happy in the pool

Liam has been looking forward to this the entire trip

Giving his brother a shoulder ride

Our little beach umbrellas.  The loungers actually looked like they were bed frames which they probably were at one point.

Very tall ceiling in our bungalow

Our main room

Which included a huge window type seat

Our bedroom

Kids' room

The beach - hugely packed as you can see ;)

Local man trying to sell his goods which were handmade baskets

Liam on the beach

Aidan took to writing in the sand a lot

Totally relaxed

After the last few days of very early mornings and long days of safari, we decided to keep our first 2 days very low key with just the beach, the pool and total relaxation, but we were there to do some exploring too, so we planned a few outings - a trip to visit two local villages, reef fishing for the boys and snorkeling (Josh unfortunately couldn't do any diving with his knee still in recovery mode).  We still left plenty of time to just relax and enjoy this gorgeous place.  Don't worry, the safaris might be over but more adventure awaits!

Besos,
Julie