LIBBY GREENHALGH

There has been a significant amount of alarm setting and motivation digging to lever, peel, roll, extract myself to get out to make the most  of my time and perhaps sometimes missing out on just stopping......sayings like you can sleep when you're dead spring to mind..... But I just think you'll be dead. You won't appreciate the sleep, sleep is good it heals the body and mind and Icould probably be classed a professional sleeper until recently. Time to tour the island bearing in mind we can only swing around the bottom third, I think it was the small 132 lighthouse steep steps that broke us. Only half the group made the top understably, there was either 8 or 10 steps per flight. I think depending on how much I was puffing affected my ability to count. As long as you didn't look up to see that the top was seeeeemingly miles away each flight went by and the view was worth it My hut is the one in the bottom right hand corner of the photo. Then came ...

It has taken me three attempts to write this blog......so you lucky people it's going to be a two part-er. I know I am seriously spoiling you, just getting you addicted before I brutally cut you off. So with zero sleep, I had to take control of the calculator to work out my hotel bill before I lost my 💩 and missed my transfer. So long Ananda in Paje. I am back weaving, bumping, squeezing my way along in an un air conditioned taxi with hot sandy air blasting in my face only to come to an abrupt halt due to road closure. The taxi driver pops his seatbelt on as we approach the policemen to ask what's going on and then promptly takes it off🤷. We are off on a diversion and turning onto the equivalent of driving on the South downs! Unusually so for me , I hadn't skrimped on time for this trip and so all was not lost and I squeaked in at my departure spot 5 mins before the boat left. From one beautiful beach to a lonely little island called Chumbe.....tha...

Bye bye Chumbe hello my last day of holiday and once we were dropped back on the mainland shore I decided to investigate the this drop off -pick up location as there was much more to it. The hotel is nestled and within and captures some of the Mbweni Ruins. These ruins date were a Universities Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) base and settlement for former slaves in the 19th century. The ruins of St Mary’s School for Girls, built by missionaries for girls freed from slave ships, orphaned girls boarded and those with families would come during the day and the surrounding land provided the families with a place tomlive and cultivate with up to 250 families living around it next up I was taking myself to a rooftop bar in Stone Town for lunch and a view before my tour. It's amazing how sometimes one person can throw your mojo off. Transportation on my final day has not been my friend.... Taxi not turning up.....then not knowing where he was going so I had to get...

Probably not for bedtime reading to kids....editing required! I sat at breakfast and a wave of almost uncontrolable tears began streaming down my face. I am no fool, I didn't think this would solve or fix whatever it is that makes me so intrisically sad in and on life, but I thought just maybe it would help.....woah is me sitting in paradise.....albeit a stormy one. However, it's not long before fridge door man is back walking along the beach and he always makes me smile  and luckily the one thing about my love of weather is, it doesn't overly annoy me when it doesn't play ball on the holiday.....more when I am at work!!! So I have moved rooms in my hotel and despite the toilet flooding, the room is about a million degrees cooler, so much so I had to turn the air conditioning off. Either 23deg is colder than I remember or I have adapted to the climate, probably helped by my extreme heat training yesterday cooking in close proximity to 5 coal fire...