The resort was right next to a school, which meant that something was being shouted over a megaphone across the schoolyard all day long—in the afternoon for children, in the evening perhaps for adults? It seemed as if they were doing a lot of gymnastics, driven by a loud teacher. In any case, I was bombarded with a fair amount of noise. When this started again at 7:00 this morning, it was clear that I couldn’t stay. So I did some research. The other lodge next door didn’t have individual bungalows, which is what I wanted, according to the satellite image, so I’m taking the lodge that the taxi driver recommended yesterday. They are on the other side of the river, so I have to go to the ferry and will be picked up. I pack, check out, and the employee takes me to the road in an electric buggy, groaning under my luggage. At the road, I ask him if I can see the ferry I now have to walk to, and he replies indignantly: “You can’t walk, it’s too far.” I look, 500 meters, I can do that, he says: “No, you can’t, it’s terribly far away.” How far? “Very far.” Just as there was no real personal measurement of time in Zanzibar, because everyone went by the tides, there seems to be no reference to distance here, because (almost) everyone rides a scooter anyway. (?, steep thesis …) In any case, I managed 500 meters.
Transferred for 3.2 cents and picked up directly from the hotel staff, on two scooters, one for luggage, the other for me, with a helmet!
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The journey alone was amazing, along a narrow road (it was immediately clear why cars can’t drive here, as nothing else would be able to pass), along the canals, into increasingly remote areas, through dense greenery. We turned off again and again and rolled over countless bridges. (Sigrid, it reminded me of our wonderful trip through the Dominican Republic …)
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The lodge is great, I have a bungalow, there is no noise in the neighborhood, just peace and quiet and roosters. Of course, I went straight to the terrace to have a coffee, which is right next to a canal. I had barely sat down when… THERE!!! A small boat with a woman and vegetables and fruit sailed by, stopped at the jetty opposite, 5 meters away, and sold her goods, which she had probably bought where I was yesterday morning. It was EXACTLY what I wanted! PUI!.
Loan from the lodge explained to me that several boats like this pass by during the day, often with fruit that is picked on one side. It is star apple season, and they sail by fully loaded. I just have to sit there and wait.
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I was so inspired that I immediately ran around with my camera. The people are incredibly nice, open, friendly, and content. And they let me take their pictures.
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Both the scooter driver above, who sells shoes and socks, and the women with vegetables on their boat played a jingle, or, as I hear it from the street at this moment, a short text that draws attention to their wares. Very practical, I will hear my photo motifs in advance. (It remains to be seen how things will progress from here, but that’s the next step.)
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Now I’m sitting in front of my cabin, feeling happy, drinking fantastic coffee, and writing about my good fortune. Tomorrow, I’ll start putting it all into practice.
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