Haraka - Swahili for opposite of Pole

On our last day at Pemba, we took out the kayaks to explore the beautiful ocean. The water was crystal clear and the winds were calm. As soon as we paddled out, the trade winds started to pick up and we were getting blown out to sea! The boys wanted to jump in and swim in the Indian Ocean for the first time. Paul and I struggled to manage the kayaks so they wouldn't blow and the kids jumped in! The water was warm and nice! We had to hurry though because the tide was changing and the wind was pushing us out to sea. 

As Nash was walking along the beach, a small jellyfish stung his foot. He started crying and saying "it burns it burns". I calmed him down and we walked back to the hotel. Once we got back, we found our kind waiter who said "ah, yes, jellyfish. Let me get some aloe for you". He went with his knife and cut down a big piece of aloe and put it on Nash's sting (top of his foot). Within a few minutes, Nash was jumping up running around yelling "I can run again I can run again"! The aloe vera plants are very different than the ones found in the USA. On Pemba Island they became HUGE and are more like water than slime. 

After that we had to pack our bags and head to the airport. Turns out Pemba's Pole Pole (Slowly Slowly) mantra does not extend to 1.5hr return trip to the airport, even when all of the school age children are commuting home on foot, on the road. The rule of the Pemba road is the larger the vehicle, the more right of way you command. Apparently taxis from Musungu resorts trump all other modes of transportation. Our amazingly kind, skilled and Jason Bourne esque driver nearly took out 1/10th of the Pemba population. The good news was that the boys napped for the majority of the death defying journey. The better news was that the children, pedestrians, bicyclists, motor bikers, tuk tukers, dolla dollas, police, 1 broken down ambulance and flat bed trucks, all survived our ride to the airport. 
Once we made it to the largest town of Chaka Chaka (population I think I recall of 20k of the 500k on the island) we hit an ATM and then a school supply store to pick up supplies to send back to the furtherest village for their kindergarten class.  

We were then off to our next stop, Chapter 3 as Finn calls it;  Arusha. From Arusha, you can see the mountain Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro. The airplane was small, but bigger than the previous flight. It had 2 propellers and around 30 seats. Thankfully only 10 people were on the plane and we had a lot of space to enjoy the hour long flight. As we approached Arusha, the boys recognized the Maasai villages from documentaries that they had watched. The villages are built in a circle with thorns surrounding the perimeter for protection. In an hour flight, the land below went from lush tropical islands to dry desert landscape. Once we landed, we noticed the difference in the humidity and the lack of sweat dripping down our butt cracks. We only have one night in Arusha before we head to the Northern Serengeti, so we asked our driver if there was anything in Arusha to check out before we settle in at the lodge for the night. He suggested the Cultural Center.  The most amazing art work and Tanzanite jewelry we have ever seen.  Of course the boys loved looking at the Maasai warrior spearks, knifes and other weapons. I wish we could have taken pictures but they were not allowed.