Time Travel

Ever dream of time travel?  Come to East Africa, for I've felt time shift as I elbowed my way through the narrow alleys and crowded markets of Mombasa's ancient port, and again when I caught my first glimpse of elephants, a small line of the seemingly prehistoric mammals working their way down a steep mountainside, through the forest mist, flashes of grey amongst impossibly huge baobabs, and today I felt it yet once again, slicing through the soft swells of the Indian Ocean in the oldest sail boat still afloat, hand built with construction techniques and rigging as have sailed these waters for centuries, in a fair fall breeze, streaming over the turquoise reefs of the East African coast, as fishermen tossed their nets from dug out canoes, and women mended nets on the sandy shores.

How could you not feel connected to a time forgotten?  Everything in view is as it's been for centuries, and probably more.  We headed down to the fish market this morning, and negotiated a fare on one of the many sail boats plying these waters, for transport from Mtwara's fish market to the Old Boma Fort in Mikindani.  I felt like Livingston himself while negotiating the price.  Everyone happy and smiling, we soon boarded and tattered sail raised, the wind carrying us off far faster than anyone would have imagined this old craft was capable of.  Some hand gestures and my poor Swahili had us stop over one area of reef, the anchor was thrown, and we donned our snorkelling gear and dropped over the side, and we drifted quietly amongst the huge heads of coral and exotic fish, almost overwhelmed by the beauty. 

Eventually we drifted lazily into Mikindani Bay, the winds having dropped, and we watched the Old Boma Fort creep ever closer, and wondered how many eyes in how many sailing ships have seen the same over the past few hundred years. 

Tomorrow morning I'm travelling, my six week tour complete, off to Dar es Salaam in the morning, a quick stop in Zanzibar, then Nairobi, and eventually, after hanging around many airports and over fifteen hours of travel, I'll arrive in Johannesburg, for a late night drive up into the Limpopo region of South Africa, to a hunting camp in the Waterberg.   I'm going on safari.