05 Feb Zanzibar: the richness of poverty
Africa, destination Zanzibar (Tanzania).
Here I am, finally starting to write my first logbook from "travel blogger", so that I could put my emotions down on paper.
With the cold of Bergamo still in my bones, you open the airplane door and the first impact is "my god, it's hot!" Immediately my brain rages, not only from the temperature outside but from the scents of spices in the air, the inhabitants who greet you with a smile as if they are all waiting for you...palm trees everywhere and the color of the crystal clear water reflecting all over the island. I look around still in disbelief and say to myself "yes, I have really arrived, in AFRICA".... KARIBU SANA ("welcome" in Swahili language)!
My "journey" begins here....
My host is Federica, a special girl I met a couple of years earlier during a "surfing trip" to Portugal. It is thanks to her that as soon as I arrive I immediately feel at home and begin to see places where tourism does not arrive.
Let's go for a walk, she says... I seize the moment and don't waste a minute to go and discover this new land.
Do you like exploring new places? Or do you prefer the lizard life lounging in the sun? Remember that there is only one life-get as many experiences as you can!
Strong lessons in mindfulness begin immediately, one of which comes after visiting a village of Pwani Mchangani really poor...
"to have everything you must have nothing"
without electricity, running water and all the amenities we are used to.
Within what I believe to be poverty there is infinite wealth.
Food is scarce, you can get water from wells (assuming there is any left), in compensation nature provides you with food (fruits) from plants and spices (both for healing and cooking)... in short there is everything to live on, nothing less, nothing more.
Still stunned, I realize that the magic has already begun...confirmation of this is the smile of the children with their eyes full of joy that simply tell you JAMBO (hello)!
6 o'clock, it's a new day and I'm already ready for the excursion to meet the animals that live in Zanzibar. First the swim in the open ocean with a group of dolphins a Kizimkazi (I struggled to hold back tears at their meeting), then the meeting with the Red Monkey in the Tropical Forest Jozani Chwaka Bay and to finish the friendship with a giant tortoise (very old and wise traveler) in the island of Prison Island which reminds me of Have patience, even when you want to go faster.
It's time to say goodbye to my new animal friends... that we take the boat back and in the middle of the ocean we set course toward the island of Nakupenda.
My eyes cannot believe that mirage-a tongue of sand in the middle of nowhere!
You know like in the movies, on a desert island? So.
Crystal-clear water, crazy heat, and plenty of desire to snorkel the reef. Landing for over 3 hours, complete with a seafood lunch cooked right on the beach. In paradise-that's where I ended up!
It's getting late and we're heading back to the mainland, direction Stone Town (old part of the capital of Zanzibar).
Did you know that Freddie Mercury was born in this city?
Here the encounter with history and slavery is really strong. Chaos reigns supreme, among local markets and makeshift vendors chasing tourists with which they now make a living even for pennies on the dollar.
Do you think the magic of such a journey could have ended without a twist?
Of course not, because as is always the case "the good comes at the end" but more importantly "nothing happens by chance" (I will never get tired of repeating this)... and so, on my way back from Zanzibar to Milan, after a series of nice adventures in the airport (I saw things you humans... ha ha) I find myself sharing the 6-hour flight with a holistic curator, a yoga practitioner for over 40 years who has traveled halfway around the world and was there to tell me his story.
One fundamental thing this trip has given me is the magic of the word HAKUNA MATATA, which literally means. "there is no problem".
HERE'S WHAT I LEARNED:
- you can live despite having nothing
- in nature there is already everything what we need
- man and the environment are one
- do not judge apparently
- every place has an answer to your questions
- you are exactly always in the right place at the right time
- when you travel alone you are never really alone
- water is the only resource That keeps us alive (let's not waste it)
- the smile is the best communication tool in the world
- eating with your hands sitting in the dirt, but happy
- a few words in the language Swahili
- freedom is priceless
- happiness is a choice.
Wherever you go in life, you won't have time to worry,
Because you will think only of living in the present
With an extra smile in his heart.
Ahsante ("thank you" in Swahili language)
