Mystery snorer revealed

I am lying in bed in Marangu and it is solid as a rock. But it's a bed. Room-buddy is lying in her bed, reading Lonely Planet East Africa, laughing because on Zanzibar, there is a dive centre called Scuba Do. She has also found a cross African/Austrian restaurant, called the Salzberger Cafe, where waitresses wear faux leopard-skin vests with cheap Austrian bar decor on the walls, 2 definite musts.

We arrived here at 3ish, after spending this morning walking round a Maasai village, including jumpy-dancing and singing, and a visit to their school, clinic where they deal with lots of snakebites, etc. Very interesting. Also visited a touristy expensive art and local craft shop thing, where good sense got the better of me, and I bought some tanzanite jewellery. Such a beautiful colour stone, but I'm now officially poor for a while.

So, we're at a hotel for 3 nights (we chose to pay to upgrade from the tents, get washing done etc) and tomorrow is the option of a walk around Kilimanjaro. Apparently the walk isn't challenging (you only climb the foothills), so I am opting to spend the day doing sodall for the first time this holiday. I plan to pass my time walking round the gardens at the hotel, twitching, taking photos, then brunch by the pool, sunbathing, and maybe a stroll to the nearest village if I can drum up the energy. Cannot wait. No alarm set for the morning.

Neils (aka Trouble) ability to mimic Oliver (err, older, irish, lacking in dentures, enjoys the odd drink) is reaching epic proportions. He had his wife, Glamour-boy-Keith and I almost dying of laughter in the bar tonight, he is incredible and I'll try to get video. I filmed him, Steve and Keith jumping with the Maasai, which is going to be used for blackmail later. Again (I'm a simple girl who appreciates tradition), I happened to be drinking Tusker tonight - while breaking in my new Tusker t-shirt - and a lizard shimmied up the wall. Neil broke into an oirish rendition of 'in the gecko'. I understand this might not translate in blog format. I cried. In a good way.

BB is charging uber-slowly off Christines laptop right now, literally taking hours and hours and it's gone up one bar, any suggestions as to why so slow, geeks? Laptop is plugged into mains, and BB only charges when 'new usb device found' msg comes up, but if you press cancel it stops charging. Answers/suggestions on a postcard. Obviously there is no internet, and no drivers.

RB is snoring. Ha! HA HA! Who'da thought it?! All that blaming me was a ruse-filled deflection, the sneaky, sneaky woman. Tomorrow I am going to type a full and complete update on all travelling companions, when BB is super-charged and I'm not falling asleep on the job. Very good and happy day again, apart from sore neck due to Keith directing me in the art of head-tilting in photographs.... "Just lean your head to the left" turning a simple photo of me and beloved Tusker into something I couldn't show my mother, and me into a cripple. Anyway. Apart from pain-in-neck, holiday still going oh-so crackingly.

X

Ps: england v sa rugby. yar, boo, sucks to england, hooray, bokke-bokke-bokke etc.