Jambo is Swahili for Hello.

Despite the long journey and an unforgettably tough week, it only felt real about an hour ago. I was, and still am sat on a small turquoise painted table at Mr Kahawa, under a homemade wooden slatted roof and next to a handsome young man asleep in a hammock in the breezy broken shade, looking out to a simply breathtaking view of Paje.
When I say breathtaking, I mean, when I walked to this spot and looked up, I mouthed wow and it truly took my breath away. I have around 307 photos of the same thing to prove it. The sand is white, it’s not golden, yellow or dusty, it is white. You have to give your eyes half a second to adjust and they only settle down for the specs of black seaweed from where the tide sits and moves everyday. The sea is such a bright shade of turquoise green that if I wore it as a dress, I don’t think you’d like it. There is a kite on the beach ready to be flown when the wind picks up and there are beautiful African women everywhere carrying fruit, towels and stacks of bricks on their heads (yep, stacks…).
It is 12.30pm and I have been in Paje, Zanzibar for 3 hours. Suddenly, reality has hit, that I’m here. I’m here for a long time.
Whats crazy is this view is going to become my normal, it’s going to be my Monday morning blues, my hangover and my lazy Sunday afternoon. I will inevitably begin to take it for granted.

For the time being, I’m lapping it up and getting all thoughtful while I do. I was thinking of my goodbyes this week, some more poignant and painful than others. I’m on this trip for selfish reasons and I want to spend time alone as much as I do with new friends (particularly handsome hammock man). But the connections without words— holding my Nana’s hand, sitting with my girls and just a very long, tight hug with Mum at the airport — they made me get all deep again (jump the next paragraph to avoid the deep and meaningful).
When I arrived and was taken to the kite reception, a Danish girl Line was on the desk, she looked up, put her pen down and smiled. That reaction turned every bit of anxiety, fear or nerves into excitement and I beamed a great big smile back. She and Senna are taking me out tonight.
Isn’t it amazing that we exist as humans and other people form opinions of us without a choice — just how we walk into a room or past a window can have a huge effect on another person? I always think of how others make me feel like Line did but turn that around for a second. What do you do when someone walks into your territory — do we look them in the eye? smile? or none of the above and if it is one of the above, is it genuine? I love meeting strangers and I hope the smile I give is recognised to them as genuine. Be the kind of person who smiles at people even if they don’t smile back. There are probably people around that need the smile as much as you do.
I’m eating smashed avocado and feta on toast with an iced coffee and my Love Island water bottle. It’s so Bristol. Ok, I cheated for my first meal I agree, but I promise it was a moment of weakness after very cultural tour of Paje in an attempt to find an ATM. I found it eventually but I was red faced, had a broken shoe and was drenched in a nervous sweat — I had walked a mile in the wrong direction, walked full face into a large cow and learnt that Jambo is Swahili for Hello. Did I mention I’ve been here for 3 hours already……
Current location: Zanzibar, Tanzania | Next stop: Arusha, Tanzania (22.09.18)
