A hot walk for forgetfulness!

Of course now that I am back at work the clouds disappear and the sun comes out. Mind you the air con was very welcome too today. It always takes me a while to get used to the heat and the humidity especially when wearing work clothes. Our workshop was scheduled to start at 9:30 so I had a nice slow start to the day. Breakfast of toast, fresh fruit and the little donut thing of course. I was then able to pack my things together at a leisurely pace which is probably why I forgot to take my electrical plug adapter with me. It is better to rush through these activities and in the frenzy everything gets thought about. Anyway I didn't realise until later what I had forgotten.

My first arrivals at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) have always been a little abrupt. The security guard is fierce and a little disbelieving that I have a valid reason for wanting to get onto the premises. This morning was no different except that when I told her I was there for a meeting she ordered me to go into one of the downstairs offices. I meekly did as I was told and found one of the participants from mainland Tanzania in the room having been told the same thing. So we just laughed about it and introduced ourselves since we had not previously met. Narriman, the Tanzanian focal point for the project, eventually joined us and wanted to know why I had not come up to her office. She thought I had not arrived! So I told her that I was ordered into the room so I just obeyed (for a change). She was highly amused by this and said it was the norm for that guard.
The Institute of Marine Sciences
The entrance

It was at this stage that I realised I had forgotten the plug adapter in my hotel room and decided that I could not leave at that time to fetch it. I had enough battery power to last until lunch time so it could wait.

Slowly but surely the whole group assembled and we went through the introductions and Narriman told them that if they worked really hard and finished the work by Thursday afternoon, they could have Friday off. Well you should have seen how quickly they got stuck in! I don't mind at all as long as the work is done and it is done well, they can make these decisions. It will also give me some time to finish off some other work so it is all good.

One of the reasons I like coming to Zanzibar is for the local food. At the workshops we eat only local food so I get to experience what everyone else eats. This can be good but it can also be really bad. The snacks for morning tea were some of my favourites: chapatis, samosas and a sort of shortbread biscuit. Lunch, however, was a complete let down. I had some fried chicken which equated to one seriously over-cooked chicken wing. It was completely dried out, tasteless and unappetizing. Tomorrow I will have to select my food far more carefully I think.

Just before lunch I walked back to my hotel to fetch the adapter. By this time it was a stinking hot 33 degrees Celsius! It is not far to the hotel but by the time I returned I was drenched with sweat and decidedly uncomfortable! At least I could plug my laptop in though. That will teach me to think more clearly in the mornings before going to IMS!

We finished work just before 17:00 and I could not wait to get back to the hotel for a cool shower. On the way back I was greeted as per usual by all the hang-abouts but one I found particularly amusing. After saying "Jambo" he told me that the museum I was passing at the time was only TSh400 to visit and when I said "No thank you" he replied "How do you know my nickname?" It was hard not to double over with laughter and I chuckled all the way home.

I have not taken any photos today but here are some that I took yesterday.
 I grand entrance-way
 Just some pretty flowers on the side of the road
 These giraffes were in what looked like an amusement park - one of the workers there took umbrage at my taking the photo and I had to explain why. Of course I avoided the truth that they were the weirdest giraffes I had ever seen!
 The tops of most buildings in Stonetown look pretty much like this one.
 Wet, muddy, narrow passageways!
 The canons "guarding" Stonetown
 The museum that apparently costs TSh400 to visit
A sunset to end

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