Tanzania Here I Come!

There is nothing excites me more than heading to the airport for destinations unknown. Having Tabuche to take me there makes it even better. I have come to enjoy having him treat me like a lady. When I come back to Canada I am not sure if I will ever be able to carry my own suitcase in and out of an airport….
The only thing that I will say about my trip through security is that I have another bra that has made it on to the no-fly list! I swear that this one must have been made with titanium as it sent the scanner into overdrive. After a visit to a room along with a female security guard and a wand they were finally assured that I wasn’t packing metal other than what was in my bra.
Sitting in the departure lounge I watched as one of the largest beetles I think I have ever since ambled its way across the floor and right underneath the suitcase of a man sitting in the row of seats across from me. I was thankful that both my cloth African purse and pack were safely on the seat next to me. I also have to say that the purchase of these two items were the smartest I made early on in my stay. The purse is perfect for carrying my wallet and other items close to my body as you wear it across your shoulder and chest. The backpack is perfect for carrying around my laptop so that no one knows that I have it on me. I have finally found the perfect combination of carry-ons for travelling with!
This time going through Joburg (Johannesburg) airport I was fresh as a daisy with time to kill waiting for my connecting flight to Dar Es Salaam. When I had come through Joburg on my 48 hour sojourn to Botswana, I was not in any shape to explore and enjoy the incredible shops in the Joburg airport. This time I wasted no time headed to the concourse and African shops. It was gratifying to know that even though I had last traversed this airport after 48 hours of non-stop travelling, yet I easily knew exactly where to go and how to get ahead of the crowds for passport control and security.
After converting some pula into South African Rands, I was set to explore the shops called out of Africa. They are a treasure trove of delights from all of the Southern African countries and beyond. In fact, I was able to buy a new set of blue Moroccan earrings. My first pair are now about 25 years old and were purchased in the Marrakesh souk and are still one of my favorite pair of earrings to wear. My other purchase in Out of Africa were silver charms for my Mother and I. We will need to fight over who gets the hippo and who gets the giraffe. These charms will go on our silver charm bracelets which I started the Christmas that we spent in Polperro (Cornwall England) in 2001. Each time we travel to the UK or Europe a new meaningful charm is added to our bracelets. Now we have African animals to hang next to our Eiffel towers, Welsh lovespoons and Celtic crosses. Talk about an eclectic mix but at least I also have hedgehog and ladybug charms too, so the hippo or giraffe won’t be lonely.
Luckily I stopped shopping there! After wandering through the duty free store and admiring the Tanzanite jewellery, I came across a stunning pair of South African diamond earrings. They were 1 caret square cut stones that sparkled like I have never seen before. After a quick conversion of Rands to Canadian dollars I was able to move on without purchasing the $3100 earrings. Thankfully, I was just as happy with the 55 Rand Moroccan earrings instead. But a girl can dream can’t she????