Halloween Kampala style :)

Just because I’m in Uganda where halloween isn’t such a big deal doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it! The day of the halloween parties that we where going to check out my sister and I went on a mission through downtown Kampala looking for anything that could be used for a costume. We went straight for the street where lots and lots of beautiful fabrics are sold. Here we came across some red and white stripped fabric which we got really cheap. We headed home and ripped it into our simple pirate halloween costumes :) Here’s the result:

             

 

We had a great night out and I was impressed by some of the costumes people had managed to put together here! Hope you all had a fun halloween celebration :)

2010 Peace Expo in Soroti Town

 

A few weekends ago my sister had to travel, in relation to her work, a bit up north in Uganda to a town called Soroti, and I was so lucky that I could join her. On the agenda was the 2010 Peace Expo; women celebrating 10 years of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. This was such a great opportunity for me to see some of the work that Sarah does. She’s very dedicated to her job in UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), and I really enjoyed seeing her in action!

 

 

Sarah making her greeting speech from UNIFEM :)

 

 

 

The Expo started with a peace march through Soroti. We joined in and literally marched through the entire town, and with our bright green t-shirts that everyone was wearing one couldnt help but to notice the march :) The day continued with many different speaches from various organizations and politicians. Breaks with some traditional dance and music was also scheduled for. In addition, many stands of women organizations where set up where one could learn more about who they are and what they are working for.

          

 

 

On our about five hour drive to Soroti we stopped and got some traditional street food which included chicken on a stick and fried banana :)

 

Stone Town - Zanzibar

After four nights on Matemwe beach we headed to Stone Town where we spent two nights and got to experience more of the cultural and historical aspects of Zanzibar.

                       

Zanzibar was a vital trading point where Africa, India and Arabia meet. It was also a port of the notorious slave trade. We actually went to visit the old slave market although there is not much left there today except some holding cells and a monument. The holding cells are where the slaves were kept before being sold at the market. The island became known for supplying slaves, gold, ivory and wood to many distant places. In return, the island imported a lot of spices and textiles. In 1832 the first sultan of Zanzibar moved his court from Oman to Zanzibar and this is when Stone Town really came into being. He built up an empire of spice plantations and palaces. Zanzibar became independent on December 10th 1963 and within a month after independence the island became part of Tanzania mainland forming the United Republic of Tanzania.

 

     

      Holding cell & slave monument

      

 

An excerpt from David Livingstone’s writings on the slave trade: “The strangest disease I have seen in this country seems really to be broken heartedness, and it attacks free men who have been captured and made slaves."

 

   Cat inside the Anglican Cathedral :)                          The Old Fort

While we were there we stayed at the beautiful Dhow Palace Hotel. Stone Town is located on the west coast of Zanzibar and also has some white sandy beaches surrounding it. The city has many small streets with lots of shops. If we hadn’t had a guided tour of the city once we got there I think it would have been really easy to get lost! I loved all the little shops which were filled with lots of beautiful bags, clothes, jewelry, textiles, spices and paintings. I bought a new bag, scarf, shorts and a beautiful painting. I also managed to find some great presents :)

                       

 

While we were there my sister and I decided to get a henna tattoo. Sarah got one on her foot and I got one on my hand. It lasts for about 2-3 weeks and it only cost us 3 dollars each!

 

 

   Sippin on a Mojito while watching the beautiful sunset :)

 

 

 

I’m ending this blog with a quote from Lonely Planet describing the atmosphere of Zanzibar: “a place where life’s rhythms are set by the monsoon winds and the cycles of the moon” :)

                       

Spice Tour - Zanzibar

While visiting Zanzibar we went on a spice-tour where I learned a lot about many different types of spices :)

Some of the spices and foods which we saw through our spice tour were banana, mango, pineapple, star fruit, papaya, jack fruit, lemon, lime, avocado, tapioca plants, palm oil trees, indian almond tree, cocoa trees, coffee plants, cardemon plants, black pepper, ginger, nutmeg, turmeric, vanilla, cinnamon. cloves and lemongrass. In addition we saw the ylang ylang tree, which makes perfume, and the lipstick tree.

 

         Coffee beans                                                 Nutmeg

 

             Limes                                                      Jack fruit

Some of these are actually also used for other purposes than what we would commonly use them for and therefore go beyond just being a spice. Our guide explained how black pepper is used to increase the milk production of new mothers, especially if it’s mixed in with octopus or stingray soup. Turmeric can be used as an antibiotic or antiseptic when it’s mixed with water. This can clean wounds and also be drunken if one has an upset stomach. The tomatoe weed plant is said to be good for those who have asthma if one mixes the tomatoe together with some honey. The leaves of the plant are also used for stopping heavy nose bleeding.

                     

           Pineapple                                                   Cocoa

Our guide told us that, unfortunately due to not having the right equipment and factories not being maintained, many of these spices and products that Zanzibar offers are not being taken advantage of and processed. For instance, their many rubber trees are being exported because they don’t have a factory there to process them themselves. Also, the sugar factory there has been closed for 16 years already, but our guide told us it’s being invested in now so hopefully it will soon be up and running again. They do grow their own coffee, but not enough so they also import it from the mainland. Due to no good irrigation system they do not grow their own rice. They actually import most of their rice from Thailand – which sadly is cheaper than importing it from mainland Tanzania or Uganda!

 

             Cloves                                           Our basket of samples

Their main export are actually cloves – which originated from Indonesia and introduced to Zanzibar by the Arabs. Unfortunately, however, as the government decides the price of the cloves, which is set to rather low, many people don’t bother too much for picking them. It was so great to experience all of these different types of spices on our tour, but sad to learn that most of them are either not being processed on the island itself or not being used at all.

                                Different types of spices

Throughout our tour the guides’ local assistant gave us samples of many of the different spices and also made jewelry out og leaves for my sister and I. For my dad he made him a hat and tie. Check out the pictures :)

                      

After the tour we had a local lunch consisting of pilau rice which is spiced rice, coconut sauce, banana stew and smoked fish. It was very good, I actually had seconds!

                                           At lunch :) 

 

Ending this blog with a picture of the many beautiful palm trees on Zanzibar:

Matemwe Beach - Zanzibar

When we first arrived on Zanzibar, after our travels on mainland Tanzania was over, we hit the beach for some relaxation time! We stayed at the small Zanzibar Retreat Hotel which is actually owned by two Scandinavians. The hotel only consist of eight rooms so it was rather quiet and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves – which was amazing! On Matemwe Beach there are only a few hotels so it’s very remote and one doesn’t get caught up in the middle of hundreds of other tourists :) It’s a long streched beach with beautiful white sand, lots of palm trees and some of the most stunning ocean colours of blue and turquoise that I have ever seen.

 

                                   View from the airplane

 

    Jambo! (= hello)                                         View from our room

                      

             Cheers!                                          Zanzibar Retreat Hotel

 

                    A little neighbouring hotel where we had lunch a few times

The water temperature on Matemwe beach was around 26 degrees! Needless to say I spent a lot of time in the water :) One day my sister and I went on a boat trip for her to go scuba-diving and for me to go snorkelling. I saw an uncountable number of colourful fish and swimming amongst them was as always – incredible! I was also so lucky to see an octopus for the first time! They are very difficult to spot as their colour adapts to their environment. Everytime the octopus swam from one spot to another it’s colour changed. If it wasn’t for the snorkelling guide I would have never spotted the octopus myself. I also saw several sea cucumber snakes! And I was so lucky to see a bluespotted stingray which are a light green colour and have blue spots on them. My favourite fish that I saw, however, was a purple, blue and green parrotfish. I think their colours are absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I don’t have an underwater camera, but I hope the photos from the beach make up for it ;)

 

 

 

 

                            

                    Sending my love to all my family & friends – miss you all!