8-19am
(I started this blog at 8-19am, but only got access to the internet at 4-40pm!)
Sunday in Zanzibar is sort of like every other day. This is a long weekend for Tanzania as it is the time of the fast, which ends tomorrow, so they made Monday and Tuesday a holiday.
Nothing changes at the resort though. The days just blend together. Yesterday, there were two things of significance. Firstly, I skipped lunch. I felt I had entirely over-eaten no small amount of carbs, so I fasted through lunch and after a bit of fruit late afternoon, ate dinner at 8pm. By then I was hungry!
The second thing is that we got in a bit of exercise. We walked about 8.75km. I put my Map My Fitness App on and after about 7 minutes, it found us, so we’d walked about ¾ of a kilometre more than it recorded…
One of the significant features of Zanzibar is the structure of many of the rooves of the houses, specially around the resorts….they have very high pitches, made with poles from local trees. The framework is a network of rectangles on the outside and ship-like masts on the inside….
On our walk we passed a number of buildings in progress…
The finished product is amazingly cool inside and with the steep pitch allows for easy run off of the rain. They are thatched, not with the long thatch grass that we are familiar with in South Africa, but rather short pallets premade out of the plentiful supply of coconut palm leaves. The result is quite spectacular…
Our walk also took us past many teak trees. Lavishly big leaves, red flowers and abundant throughout the island, apart from wonderful shade, they ensure a plentiful supply of solid wood for the years ahead. Apparently, they need 20 years to mature before being useful as building timber…
We passed some men sitting on the side of the road weaving stripped coconut leaves. Something that caught my eye on our way back was their entertainment…on the opposite side of the road, secured to a tree was a TV…
Hey, when you’re a soccer fan, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do!
This is ‘winter’ in Zanzibar….the island’s coolest month. This morning, we had a taste of how hot it may get. The sky was cloudless and the heat of the sun, was fierce, yet it was only 8am. I felt myself burning. But now, a few hours later, clouds have gathered and a gentle breeze is blowing, making a huge difference. This is the view of our room (top right) from the far side of the swimming pool…
The Boma (the owners call it the Pontilla) remains a favourite spot for us to hang out…here is the view at high tide….
Quite a little piece of peaceful paradise.
We leave here on Tuesday and I have already just about written the blog for early that morning (if the internet connection obliges). The blog summarises the pros, which are many, and the cons, which are unavoidable, of where we are staying. It also gives the price, so if anyone is thinking of coming, they know roughly what they are in for. I’ll put that up early on Tuesday. We leave Ngalawa Beach Village at 10am, to arrive at Zanzibar airport about 11am for a gruelling 2 hour wait for our flight back to Joburg at 1pm! We return to Cape Town Tuesday night. Right now, I’m writing these words, but simultaneously, I’m putting them all at the back of my mind, choosing, instead to lap up the present and enjoy an amazing part of the world, to which I may never return.
I feel blessed. In fact, I feel like an ‘object of mercy’. I read that in yesterday’s Bible reading. Paul writes in Romans 9:23
“What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory.”
That’s me. Jesus has made the riches of His glory known to me, whom He prepared in advance for glory. This verse is laden with undercurrents of God’s love and compassion towards us. Paul’s question, ‘what if….” is a veiled way of saying, “In actual fact, He did.” I am an object of God’s mercy and so are you!
Not only that – it wasn’t a sudden last minute thing – God planned it all along. He has prepared me in advance for glory. This life – I am only passing through – the real deal comes when I breathe my last breath.
In the meantime, I look at His creation – the beauty He has made for us to enjoy here on earth, and I praise Him. I glorify Him. I acknowledge Him. I appreciate Him.
Yes!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂