Zanzibar

I've reached beautiful Zanzibar, known as the spice island, with turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. While still in Tanzania, it feels as though I am miles away from the hustle and bustle of Africa. I'll be diving tomorrow along a reef wall near Tumbatu Island known to attract whale sharks and teems of fish. Should be fun.

So I'm coming up on the halfway point in my 77-day tour through Africa and figured this would be a great time and location to reflect back on my time here. Although I suppose anytime you find yourself chilling out on an exotic beach is a good time to do some reflecting.

I've been through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, all beautiful and interesting countries with their own unique charms and highlights. I'll admit that I was rather ignorant in all aspects of Africa before I came, thinking the continent would be pretty similar from just south of the Sahara all the way to South Africa. How wrong I was. It is diverse in so many ways, from language and culture to geography and topography. Yes, there are similarities that run through them all, and Swahili is the predominant language (at least within the countries I've been to), but they are all so very different and present their own benefits and challenges. 

Africa is definitely not for the feint of heart. It is rugged and primitive in so many ways, and will kick your ass at every turn. And the minute you think you're getting the hang of it, it will sock you in your nose just to let you know who's boss. 

My tour has been tough on me, I'm not going to lie. And I've struggled. Giving up all the creature comforts we come to expect in life can be a rude awakening: flushing toilets, a decent bed, warm water... toilet paper. Things get real here, and they get real... real fast! You must learn to adapt and modify your expectations, or you will sink and drown. Africa will swallow you up. 

I continue to joke that I feel like I'm on an episode (or season) of Survivor. With each day posing a new challenge that needs to be overcome. Some days I just want to crawl up into a ball and disappear. But there is so much to see and do. So I crawl out of my sleeping bag, break down my tent, and climb up the steep ladder back onto the truck. 

It's 5 am and there's a game drive to do, or a village to visit, or a campsite to get to... Yes, somewhere out there in that big African continent is a destination... and it's calling my name.