March 31, 2011
3/31/11 - 4/1/11
83 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
08:30
Archived in Tanzania
March 30, 2011
3/30/11 - 3/31/11
83 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
07:12
Archived in Tanzania
March 29, 2011
3/29/11 - 3/30/11
85 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
06:53
Archived in Tanzania
March 28, 2011
3/28/11 - 3/29/11
93 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
06:41
Archived in Tanzania
March 27, 2011
3/27/11 - 3/28/11
92 °F
Little Miss Sunshine was up bright and early today—while Tony hid under the covers. Tony was still sleeping until Ruby woke him up saying “get up, our bus is waiting” for the spice tour! (We’ll try to use that as an excuse for the appearance of his hair!) We ran out the door and joined the others. The spice tour is a MUST in Zanzibar and we were really excited to do this with a local company. The tour is run by Mr. Mitu and it was amazing (barring the fact that Ruby got hit by a killer coconut we’ll explain later). We drove north of Stone Town through the jungle until we arrived at a rickety old sign saying ‘spice tour this way”. All we can say is WOW! Our guide Fuad was amazing and gave us the full rundown on spices and fruits grown on the island. In addition we actually got to see them growing in nature, smell them, touch them and best of all taste them! We got to see everything from turmeric (a root), cocoa plant, vanilla beans (which grow on vines), and lemongrass (which actually is a grass). Tony HATED the jackfruit—it’s kind of like pineapple combined with durian fruit (Hong and Tony need to try it). Near the end, one of the guys climbed up a tall coconut tree and threw us down each a coconut so that we could have the juice and meat---everything was great until a football sized one bounced off a tree stump and came hurtling through the air at Ruby’s face! Luckily she’s got reflexes like a cat and put her hand up in front of her face just in time!
Then they took us to a little hut where we all shared a delicious lunch of vegetable curry, pilau and spinach while sitting on the floor on traditional Tanzanian palm mats. If that wasn’t enough, they took us to Mangapani Beach on the northwest side of island—there were gorgeous cliffs, caves, and turquoise water—pure paradise as far as we were concerned. The only downside is that in our haste in the morning we forgot to bring bathing suits!
When we finally got home late in the afternoon we were ready to relax in the air-conditioned room (did we mention how HOT Zanzibar is)!!! We talked to a local and he told us that one of the best places to eat is a small chicken stand just across the road from our hotel called Healtho’s. Let us tell you that this guy knows what he’s talking about when it comes to chicken! That was some of the best chicken and chips EVER. It was served with a spicy sauce and mango chutney YUM! We will definitely be coming back tomorrow.





























Posted by Tony.Ruby
06:35
Archived in Tanzania
March 26, 2011
3/26/11 - 3/27/11
95 °F
Well, we finally arrived into Tanzania and wouldn’t you know it? The credit card machine is “not working”. They told us that we could use one of the two ATMs in the airport but they were both out of service too! This was our welcome to the real Africa! Funny thing about the credit card machine. . . when we came back without cash it started working?
We walked out and grabbed a cab going to our hotel in Dar. After a short and very hot nap (no A/C room) we walked out and said “wait, are we back in India”? It’s a little confusing because of the crazy conversion rate USD vs. Tanzanian Shillings (1,500 = $1) but you do feel really cool taking out 150,000 from an ATM. We decided not to hangout in Dar and just take the ferry over to Zanzibar today ($25 each). It was a little hard to get motivated but we took a cab over to the docks and got totally bombarded by touts, ticket agents, and a few dozen other people we didn’t understand! We once again felt like newbie travelers as we chased the guys who grabbed our bags and carried them onto the ferry (for a hefty tip of course). They then told us that “they” moved us into the VIP section and that is an upgrade requiring another tip---all we had to do was show them the VIP printed on our tickets and they left us alone
After about 3 hours the water started a beautiful turquoise color as we approached Stone Town on the west side of Zanzibar. When the boat stopped we started our way to the door but what we didn’t know is that the ferry exit is only one 3 foot doorway with all 2000 people trying their hardest to be the next ones out! They also take fridges, TVs, and farm animals out this same door and let’s just say that some Tanzanians aren’t as hygienic as we are! The touts and ticket agents at the dock in Zanzibar weren’t much better than in Dar but this time we had a plan. We walked up the road (trying our best to ignore everyone around) and into a hotel we found in a Jonas and Hans’s travel book on the ferry. Stone Town’s markets spin with bicycles and brilliant colors. Our noses were teased with cardamom, wreathes of cloves, star anise, and fresh coriander and then assaulted by the salty stink of the fish market nearby. Narrow winding alleys lead to mosques and chic shops in between elaborate doorways. We met up again with the two crazy Germans from the ferry at Livingstone, a beachside bar for some drinks on at sunset. It was a great way to forget all the crazy stuff that happened today. We had a few drinks and watched kids doing acrobatics and jumping into the water until dark. We decided to try the food at the Forodhani night market, the lobster was pretty good. . the corn was not! It was maize and was like what we feed the cattle in the U.S.!? The four of us walked over to Mercury’s (named after Freddy Mercury who was born in Zanzibar) for a live band, drinks and the electric slide ‘til late! 










Posted by Tony.Ruby
06:01
Archived in Tanzania
March 25, 2011
3/25/11 - 3/26/11
94 °F
Tony says that when the alarm clock rang at 3am Ruby turned around and tried to crawl so deep under the covers so that Tony couldn’t see her and continue to bother her. YIKES! Not a good way to start the day. Regardless, we were out of the house by 330am but not before waking up poor Ian (Sven’s dad) on accident. No one else should ever have to get up that early! We were so lucky to have met them. Off we went to Cape Town to catch our 6am flight, which by the way happens to be the cheapest time to fly!
We had a little fiasco with Avis rental car trying to charge us double but as you all know by now—Ruby knows how to handle that sort of thing. We quickly checked in and both fell asleep before the plane even took off. In Johannesburg we were burning up because we were wearing our Cape Town cold-ish weather clothes. Of course we also made the mistake of skipping the A/C in our rental car for the day (saved US $5) and totally regretted it! Between dodging street vendors on every corner coming up to our open windows and worrying about getting car-jacked in Joburg it was not easy! We picked up our camera today yay! However, it’s not fixed because they didn’t have the right parts and we paid $25 to have them tell us what was wrong with it (which we told them when we dropped it off). We did a little bit of shopping and Tony finally gets to get rid of his HIDEOUS, hole-ridden, smelly, dusty sneakers that he’s been wearing like a homeless bum for the last 2-3 months. Someone please, send him another pair of shoes for his birthday!
These ones may not last long. . they only cost $7 USD. Now we find ourselves at another airport getting ready to head to Tanzania. Luckily we found a power outlet so we can work on the laptop for a bit and get caught up
BTW, if you ever come to South Africa, remember to save ALL your shopping receipts because they’ll refund the 14% VAT you pay on all goods purchased here. . of course all the wine we bought doesn’t count because we drank it all already!!
Just be sure that you’ve spent a large amount, otherwise it’s not worth your time.
Posted by Tony.Ruby
07:18
Archived in South Africa
March 24, 2011
3/24/11 - 3/25/11
70 °F
This morning we decided that we would go to the southernmost point in Africa, and it is not Cape Point as some would have you believe. Of course we couldn’t resist driving to Cape Agulhas since we had visited Cape Horn earlier this year. . . we wish Carey, Gerald, Mike and Loz could have joined us at this Cape as well! Tony is what we would call an “eager beaver”; this means if we plan on leaving the house at 7am, he’s ready at 6:45 with daypack in hand at the door driving Ruby crazy!! Tony finally managed to get Ruby out of the house and in trued Froude road-trip style drove directly there without stopping. Luckily it’s only about two hours away; the landscape in this area of the world is a lot like what you would think: dry, wind-blown and desolate. We had the opportunity to see and feel where the cold Atlantic and warm Indian ocean currents meet. After a picnic near the lighthouse overlooking the cape we started our drive back, before long Ruby had Tony stop and turn back to take pictures of: a red flower, bales of hay, and a windmill. We hope you enjoy the photos, maybe you’ll even see Tony revving the car in the background! On the drive back we headed to Stellenbosch to find a skatepark. . . let’s just say it’s a lot easier to find the end of the African continent than it is to find a skatepark in Africa! We had a map, verbal directions, and several stops to ask people. Apparently it’s “behind a church just down the road” no matter which direction you’re going to or coming from! Hahaha we spent at least an hour driving around churches hunting down this skatepark. . . in the end, we never found it! Ruby says we should have gone wine tasting instead! It’s a lot easier to find WiFi in South America than it is in South Africa so it took us a while to get in touch with Sven and Anka. Luckily we were happy to meet them for a delicious pizza at Col’Cacchio back at Stellenbosch. . . along with a bunch of pro mountain bikers in town for the big EPIC race coming up. Go team Anka and Tracey! We originally planned on getting our food to go but with the good company it was hard to leave. Afterwards we rushed home because like usual we were trying to enjoy every last minute and putting off some important things like packing and planning. We’re all packed, checked-in and ready for bed, its 1am. .unfortunately now we only have 2 hours to sleep.

















Posted by Tony.Ruby
04:48
Archived in South Africa
March 23rd, 2011
3/23/11 - 3/24/11
82 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
04:35
Archived in South Africa
March 22nd, 2011
3/22/11 - 3/23/11
78 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
04:24
Archived in South Africa
March 21st, 2011
3/21/11 - 3/22/11
83 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
03:39
Archived in South Africa
March 20th, 2011
3/20/11 - 3/21/11
83 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
05:30
Archived in South Africa
March 19th, 2011
3/19/11 - 3/20/11
90 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
04:51
Archived in South Africa
March 18th, 2011
3/18/11 - 3/19/11
85 °F
It’s before dawn and Tony and I are still heading southwest on the N1. We took a nap for about 4 hours—either this rental car is super comfortable or we’ve just become accustomed to sleeping in vehicles of all sorts!? We are surprised by how minimally populated much of South Africa is. On this drive we’ve had stretches of 100km (60 miles) where we haven’t seen any people or houses! It reminds us a bit of the drive in middle America minus the farmers. At 1pm we are soon approaching Worcester which is one of the main points of South African wine country and we can’t wait to pour a nice chilled glass of white after this long drive!
Soon after arriving we decided on a small hotel called DA Rooms in the middle of town (with the help of the local tourist office). The room only had a bathtub....who takes baths anyway? What’s the point? Ruby needs a shower after taking a bath and unfortunately there wasn’t one in our room
We drove just out of town to a winery called Balance. We had a few glasses and even picked up a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc. We’re looking forward to trying Pinotages which are one of South Africa’s specialty wines. We didn’t have much time until the wineries would be closing so we got in the car and booked it over to a couple more wineries and by then we needed to eat! We passed out quickly after a good dinner and all that wine. . .
Posted by Tony.Ruby
03:37
Archived in South Africa
March 17, 2011
3/17/11 - 3/18/11
92 °F
Posted by Tony.Ruby
04:07
Archived in South Africa
(Entries 1 - 15 of 23)
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