Zanzibar, Nairobi, Dad

Greetings all!

I'm sorry I've been out of touch for a few days, traveling has taken a toll on my budget and sleep schedule. I'm currently in Nairobi at an internet cafe across the street from the Nairobi Hilton. Access is 1.5 cents a minute here, and 33 cents a minute there. Anyway, I'd like to give a quick summary of the past few days as best as I can before explaining where I am now.

Zanzibar ended up great. After all the complications with immigration, the Island ended up being a very positive experience. Stone town is a large neighborhood of tiny cobblestone streets and alleys winding around and among innumerable mis-matched stone buildings. They are tall enough and they alleys are narrow enough to completely block out the sun, and when it rains the streets run several inches deep with water. The doors are elevated several feet above the street level for this reason, and are almost exclusively hand-carved wooden masterpieces with fabulous detail and heavy brass bolts and hinges. Wandering the maze of pathways and staircases could entertain you for days, and the cafes, souvenir shops, and and artists workshops provide innumerable diversions. Although tourism is clearly the major source of income for this part of the island, the hawkers and taxi drivers are much more subdued, and the experience of wandering the streets isn't nearly so wearisome as it is in other touristy sections of East Africa. The beaches area also tremendously nice, although I spent very little time in the water.

All of this conceals the fact that poverty is still a very real issue for the majority of the island's inhabitants, even despite the fact that the economy is largely fueled by the export of Cloves, Tumeric, Cashews, and Cinnamon, all of which are farmed i abundance on the island and which fetch a hefty price in the international markets.

As an interesting side note, HIV prevalence on the island is at a very low 0.6%, largely due to the island's isolation and low population (of whom 98% are Muslim and thus less likely to engage in high-risk- behaviors.)

After a few peaceful days on the island, (a destination I will highly recommend to other travelers), Carrington and I took a an early morning flight back to Nairobi (passing very near the beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro -Africa's highest peak- along the way). Back in Kenya, we parted ways with Carringon heading back to Nakuru and me settling back into life in Nairobi. I spent the afternoon walking around the city with Blair in an attempt to familiarize myself with the popular destinations and places to eat. In the evening we returned to her neighborhood to meet with Micha and Hadare for dinner, and then back to their place for tea and conversation. We stayed up late into the night discussing their work and my own, and at 8:30 this morning I sleepily made my way to the Airport to meet my father, who arrived for 10 days of volunteering and travel.

Because he is volunteering with a group of Optometrists from Indiana who have made this trip before, he allowed them to make our travel arrangements along with their own. Lo and behold, we now find ourselves staying at the plush Nairobi Hilton in a room that probably costs more per night than my entire week-long expedition. I had considered myself lucky to find running water in some of the places I had stayed, and now I find myself in a room with a mini-bar that sells drinks for more than a night's lodging in Mombasa. The rest of the VOSH crew comes into night, and I look forward to meeting them and getting a sense for what this week is going to be all about. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry to be hasty with the post, but I'd like to get back to my father ASAP. I'm sure you understand.

Take care!