Leaving on a (Propeller) Plane

Today I left the blue water of Zanzibar and flew to the green of Arusha. It was the smallest plane I have ever ridden in by a long margin (only 21 seats including the two pilots, but 5 of them were empty). The ride started off surprisingly smooth, but when we went through the clouds it was a bit rough. In the end I survived and made it to Arusha.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to start an 9-day tour including 4 national parks, 3 different UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a lot of driving around. I won't be able to post for over a week, but hopefully when I do return I will have a lot of nice pictures to share.

Here are some of the flight (including the plane and the pilot reading a newspaper):

"Where exactly are you going?"

As my departure time nears I'm at the point where I can count down in hours (26) or minutes (1570) until I leave. Before I go though, I thought I'd share my actual travel plans. A few months ago, I had booked my major flights and that was it. Now I have a day-by-day itinerary of where I plan to be (though, due to unforseen events, it may have to change). My accomodations are booked as well as most of my travelling. So if you're wondering where and when I'm going, this is my plan:

Sunday September 27th: Depart Toronto for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (with a brief stopover in Amsterdam). Arrive 21 hours later, on Monday night.

I will have a brief orientation and training session here.

Wednesday September 30th: Take a bus to Morogoro. For the next 7 and a half weeks, this is where I will be living and working. Exact details for this time are not yet set (at least to my knowledge. For an idea of what I'll be doing, see my previous post.

Monday November 23rd: Volunteering Ends

Tuesday November 24th: Take the ferry to Zanzibar. Relaxing and sightseeing.

Friday November 27th: Fly from Zanzibar to Arusha. I will spend a couple of nights at a hostel sandwiched by an 8-day tour which includes animal watching in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater as well as a visit to Ancient Rock Paintings.

Monday December 7th: Fly from Kilimanjaro (near Arusha) to Kigali, Rwanda. Sightseeing and relaxing.

Thursday December 10th: Take a bus to Kampala, Uganda. Sightseeing. Nearby Lake Victoria has a Chimpanzee Sanctuary on an island. It's a possibility.

Sunday December 13th: Take a bus to Jinja, Uganda. This is where the Nile River starts from Lake Victoria. Apparently you can go white water rafting here. We'll see. There are also places to volunteer here for one day at a time.

Wednesday December 16th: Take a bus to Nairobi, Kenya. Sightseeing and relaxing. Perhaps taking a slum tour, seeing a giraffe reserve.

Saturday December 19th: Fly from Nairobi to Paris. Arrive the next day. Sightseeing - my two full days here should be very very busy.

Wednesday December 23rd: Fly from Paris to Toronto. Back Home.

I don't completely know what I'll be doing at each of my destinations, because things could easily change. As they occur I will share as much as I can on here. I am bringing a camera and a video camera so hopefully I can post pictures (the videos will probably have to wait until I return though) of everything. Most of the places I'm going have nearby internet, except for the 8-day tour. Expect a total blackout then.

So that's that. Tomorrow I will write one last time before heading off and then it will be time to actually start doing things instead of just talking about and getting ready for them.

The Flights are Booked. 비행기로 아프리카에 갈 거예요.

As my departure date approaches (September 27th at 5:45pm), I am getting busier and busier. Not only am I leaving for Africa, but I will also be leaving Korea soon. Last week, I spent a very stressful couple of days trying to figure out all of my travel arrangements. In the end, I finally booked all of my flights for the remainder of the year. It will be a lot of travelling, but I think I can handle it. So this is my itinerary as far as I know right now:

Monday August 31st
Depart Seoul for Tokyo (Asiana Airlines). Switch planes and depart for Toronto (Air Canada).

Sunday September 27th
Depart Toronto for Amsterdam. Switch planes and depart for Dar Es Salaam with a stopover at Kilimanjaro (KLM)

Tuesday November 23rd
Finish volunteering in Tanzania, depart Dar Es Salaam and travel throughout East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya - exact itinerary to be determined later).

Saturday December 19th
Depart Nairobi for Paris (Kenya Airways).

Sunday December 20th
Arrive in Paris.

Wednesday December 23rd
Depart Paris for Toronto (Air France)

I have a busy few months ahead of me, but now that the flights are booked, it's starting to seem a bit more real - especially the part about paying for everything. As a side note, for my fundraising, I have used the cost of a flight to and from Dar Es Salaam without the Nairobi/Paris stopovers in calculating how much I need for the trip.

Anyway, now that I'm getting close to meeting all of my deadlines, the next big challenge is to learn to speak Swahili...