I'm back

I was away for exactly a month and the place looks completely different – all green and luxuriant everywhere. The maize which wasn't even planted when I left is now as tall as me.

And the mozzies are biting. They seem unconcerned by the “Deet”iest repellent, though I managed to remove a patch of varnish from my dressing table by putting the bottle down on the surface. They even bite through clothes, one layer anyway, so you have the choice of chemically dissolving your own skin or wrapping up well and drowning in your own sweat. Lovely. A quick word on the rest of my trip. Addis Ababa was a bit of an odd few days. I was adopted by a born-again Christian family when I mistakenly climbed into their family minibus thinking it was the local airport transport. It turned out that they had lived in Tanzania for 7 years. Jan 7th is Ethiopian Christmas (because they use a version of the Julian calendar) so I had Christmas dinner with them. Injera of course, followed by panettone, courtesy of Mussolini. Thence to Nairobi which I thought was a really nice friendly, lively city, nothing like I expected from its dodgy reputation. Being a regular user of Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum, I had to go on a pilgrimage to its original location (they're on their third tree) in the cafe of the New Stanley Hotel. And asante sana to Katie Donaldson for looking after me so well. Now it's back to the middle of nowhere for the next few months at least.

Out of Africa

Purists, stop reading now. Elaine's not in Dodoma. School broke up for the holidays on December 8th and starts again on January 9th. There was some uncertainty about the dates until the week before and in the end I had a few days to spare before my flight to London from Dar es Salaam. Friends suggested a trip to Zanzibar but I didn't think I would be able to relax with 60km of sea between me and the airport. So I went to Bagamoyo, historically the port for Zanzibar, terminus of the slave routes to the interior, starting point for Livingstone, Stanley etc and, with its dhow port and decaying Arab merchant houses,

arguably a small-scale, quieter, scruffier version of Zanzibar. A very enjoyable couple of days, nosing round the sites and swimming in the startlingly warm Indian Ocean. Then home to London for a slightly early Christmas. Now I'm making my slow way back. Currently sitting by the Red Sea between Nuweiba and Taba at the camp of my old friend Yasser. As usual I'm the only guest, possibly the only one from Nuweiba to Taba. I've forsaken my favourite old Housha (Beach hut) for Yasser's new Bent House.

(Egyptians always have trouble with p's and b's. It took me ages to realise why his black and white dog was called Banda). It's been great checking out some old haunts. Egypt is such a fabulous destination; the picture-book scenes of peasant farming by the Nile, the weird desert moonscapes, and the bustling towns with cars, donkey carts, boys on bicycles with impossible loads of bread on their heads, and men in galibiyas running about shouting. Moustaches range from Hitler to Handlebar and Hercule Poirot would not look out of the ordinary if he decided to take another Nile cruise now. The Winter weather is very pleasant although it gets cold when the sun goes down. I've been catching up on sleep; going to bed early and not getting up till the sun has had a chance to warm things up. Exactly the opposite to Bagamoyo, which was stinking hot. I had to drag myself out early to do my sight-seeing before the midday heat. London was just freezing all the time; perfect for sitting indoors in cosy Christmassy rooms, quaffing, scoffing and opening prezzies, thanks to my lovely family and friends. Next stop: Addis Ababa, hoping to celebrate Leddet (Orthodox Christmas), followed by Nairobi - a very old haunt - I was last there in April 1962.