All posts by Zawadi

One Week In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. July 2013, Part I

Grand Hyatt Kilimanjaro hotel
@Grand Hyatt Kilimanjaro hotel with Jessie and Sasha

 

Jamani nyumbani ni nyumbani kwa kweli, kila mara nikijikuta napanda ndege ya kuelekea Dar nakua na furaha ya ajabu. Nashukuru sana kukutana na rafiki yangu Jessie pamoja na mrembo wake Sasha ambao nao walikua Bongo kwa ajili ya holiday pia kukutana na mrembo wangu mwingine Thanya, nilifurahije sasa :)

Bila kusahau wadogo zangu Scola, Christina na Flora asanteni sana kwa kunitafuta ingawa muda niliokua nao ulikua ni mdogo sana lakini nilifurahi sana. Nawapenda sana wadogo zangu, xoxo. Scola karibu sana Maisafari lol!

Everglades Air Boat @ Fort Lauderdale Florida USA Dec 11. 2012

Evergreen Air boat
@Everglades Airboat..Fort Lauderdale

 

We arrived safely at Fort Lauderdale, Florida after our 10 night Caribbean cruise. We really had a wonderful time and had the chance to visit an amazing places. It felt really good to explore the new things – the feeling is indescribable. After disembarking we took a city tour followed by an air boat tour in the Everglades wetlands. We were fortunate to have the chance to see some wild alligators! We didn’t have a lot of free time to stay because of our flights, but we plan to come back again one day!

What a vacation – we loved it! :))

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Our last night @ MSC Poesia Cruise Ship, Dec 10. 2012

@Our cabin
In our cabin

 

Okay here we go after 9 nights and 8 days in the cruise, this is our 10th night and unfortunately it is the last one. Our 10 night cruise ends all too soon and tomorrow we will be arriving at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the morning we will disembark and then take a city tour followed by an Air boat tour in the Everglades. And we hope to see some wild alligators too!

After snorkelling in Bonaire, a city tour in Aruba, the Mud Volcano El Totumo in Colombia, visiting Native Indian village and Panama Canal in Colon Panama, getting a kiss from dolphin in Jamaica and all the yummy food on the cruise ship, this is what you can see in my face :))) Happy, happy me, loving it!

Back to MSC Poesia Cruise Ship after a long day in Jamaica. Dec 10, 2012

Jaccuzzi time after long day
Jacuzzi time after a long day in Jamaica

 

After spending all day at Dolphin Cove we headed back to the ship – tired but very happy. It was lovely to be back on board though and before getting dark we had just enough time to enjoy the Jacuzzi. It felt soooo good! :-)

@Dolphin Cove Jamaica. MSC Poesia Cruise Ship Day 8. Dec, 10.2012

@Dolphine Cave Jamaica
@Dolphin Cove Jamaica

 

After kissing a dolphin then watching a show of feeding the sharks Amani & Malaika enjoyed walking around the Dolphin Cove to see different species. They really enjoyed holding parrots and macaws and even an iguana!

Kiss from a Dolphin @ Dolphin Cove In Jamaica, Dec 10. 2012

Kiss from a Dolphin

 

We spent the most of the time ashore at Dolphin Cove, what a lovely time the kids had at Dolphin Cove especially kissing the dolphin :)

Arriving In Falmouth, Jamaica @ MSC Poesia Cruise Ship, Day 8. Dec, 10.2012

Sunrise in Jamaica
Sunrise near Jamaica

 

The final port of call on the cruise was Falmouth, Jamaica. Jamaica is such a nice country and I just love the way they talk. Their accent and expressions really make you smile. I was last there in 2004 and am looking forward to being there again.

We are going to spend the most of the time ashore at Dolphin Cove where we hope to be kissed by a Dolphin! :)

Casual Night @ MSC Poesia Cruise Ship Day 8, Dec 8. 2012

@MSC Cruise Ship
@MSC Cruise Ship Foyer

What a beuatiful day. After dropping the children off at the Kids Club, Hubby and I had a “date night” with no kids!. After dinner we had a leisurely stroll around the ship and took some pics. Inside the MSC Poesia was quite beautiful. And the theme tonight was casual, so most everyone wore smart casual. I loved the Xmas decorations around the ship. It made everything look beautiful… including people like me! hahahaa…… Just a lovely relaxing and romantic evening at sea :)

Trip To Mud Volcano In Colombia, South America, Dec 06.2012

Colombia 2
Cartagena Colombia

 

After docking in Cartagena, we organized a taxi and set off on our adventure to experience the mud volcano – El Totumo, Colombia. It’s about one hour’s drive to the place, mostly through the countryside. It was a little bit scary because of the reputation of this country, where sometimes people have disappeared. Fortunately for us we didn’t have any trouble at all and came back to the ship safe. Glad we did go there.

The mud in the volcano is about one mile deep! But it’s so thick it’s impossible to sink, even if you “stand” with your toes down. There are frequent “burps” of Hydrogen Sulphide gas bubbling up from deep-down somewhere. This gas is commonly known as Rotten Egg gas, so it did get a bit smelly at times. They claim soaking in the mud is good for your health and they even sell bottles of it. I don’t know if it really is or not, but as you can see we had much fun! :)

City Tour Aruba Part II…MSC Poesia Cruise Ship Day 4, Dec 5. 2012

Oranjestad city in Aruba waiting to sail
Oranjestad city in Aruba waiting to sail

 

After the butterfly farm we continued with our city tour. We visited an Aloe Vera factory, a ocean natural stone bridge that had unfortunately collapsed recently, the lighthouse, wealthy Aruba resident’s homes and several of the many hotels along the coast. The island has many beautiful beaches and it was impressive to hear that all beaches on the island are public – no private beaches, even at the big hotels. If you want to swim you just go, put down your beach towel and swim! I wish TZ can have the same rules so Tanzanians can have a chance to enjoy all their country :))

One of my favourite sights in Aruba was the tour buses. There were so many and each had their own character and paint scheme – it really spices up the city. Oranjestad city in Aruba is small but what amazed me was how alive it is. Lots of things to do, especially for those who like to party or shop. You can find a lot of different designer shops.

It was lovely when we started sailing to see people in the city and on yatchs and small boats waving to the people on the ship. Somehow it reminded me long time ago… on my very small screen tv watching the movie Titanic. That’s the first time I started to dream that one day I will be on one of these big ships :))