She snags seashells from the Seychelles

 Chugging along here in my new home. My apartment is lovely; I adore the fact I have a little yard and a wonderful patio. The landscaping – not my doing – is gorgeous and since it’s warm, there are beautiful flowers. Today I absconded with some lavender. I’ve tried to root some, but that hasn’t worked. Nor have the seeds I planted a but ago, but that doesn’t really surprise me. My thumb is not green, although I love to garden. The weather is changing, though, and the rains are coming so I may try again. I really would like a couple rosemary plants, which are year-round outdoor plants here.

 

My walks home continue. Today I had a gaggle of kids who wanted to walk and talk. I amuse them because my French is so, so bad. I tried to tell them where I lived (“over there”) but they didn’t understand, so who knows what I communicated. I feel bad because they really wanted the attention of the Tall White Redheaded Stranger, but I didn’t really want to slow down so they could chat, especially since I absolutely couldn’t communicate. Our office closes at 4:30, and if I am not on the road by 4:35 (I usually change shirts and shoes), the last leg is in dusk, and that’s a super crowded part where I’d rather be visible to all cars. So I tend to walk at a fast clip, lookiloos be damned.

 

It seems like forever since I’ve walked home, though, because the past couple weeks I’ve been trying to burn some leave. I spent one long weekend in the Seychelles and then most of Thanksgiving week in Tanzania/Zanzibar. Lovely! Of course, beaches usually are.

 

I find that I do very little, if any, vacation planning anymore and as a result, usually wind up in a less populated area with nothing much to do outside reading. And you know what? It’s fantastic! I wound up randomly taking the bus in Seychelles. I asked my AirBnB host for directions and then went to catch one, but I got SQUIRREL! distracted and didn’t remember if she’d told me to cross the street and catch it or get the one on my side of the street. I took a chance and made the wrong choice, but that’s subjective. I didn’t do what I set out to do, but I did plenty! I hit the city – Victoria – and wandered around taking pictures, which is my favorite thing to do. Later, I went to the beach and found some beautiful seashells.

 

Travel to the Seychelles was fairly easy. There’s a nonstop on a plane that continues to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It’s only about two and a half hours, and the giant flight has very few passengers, like maybe 40-50. Apparently people get on at Seychelles and do that leg, but both directions there was no one sitting near me.

 

Tanzania, or at least Zanzibar, is about the same distance but the travel there is horrid because there’s no direct flight. Instead of another two-and-a-half-hour flight, it’s quadruple that. My flight left at 3:20 a.m. – the hour for fish, not people! – and I arrived in the afternoon to Dar es Salam but not to where I could catch the 2 p.m. ferry to Zanzibar; I had to wait on the 4:30 one. Then, there was a mix-up with my pre-paid driver (refund received) and, once I solidified a driver, a traffic jam. Essentially I got to the lovely lodging around 7-8 p.m. The following day, I was stupid tired. I woke up and went looking for breakfast, groceries and a snorkeling trip but once I went 2-for-3 on that, I essentially went back to my lodging and hung out by the pool. No regrets.

 

Eventually, I did book a snorkeling trip and did the thing where you chase dolphins (I have mixed feelings about this) and the snorkel and swim. I really needed the break, but I am paying for it now because the backs of my legs are peeling and itch.

 

The visa for Tanzania had been pretty challenging and I really didn’t know until I arrived that it went through. It did and it appears it’s good until November 2025. If that really is the case, I would absolutely go again. I just need to forget how brutal the travel was.

 

This is a hard place to get out of. I’m looking now for a trip in January or February, and a couple of places are two flights but still the journey is 20+ hours because of an 11-hour layover here or a 14-hour one there. We’re limited on the nonstops and I’m trying to save those for when I desperately need out.

 

In the meantime, though, I’m still enjoying it.