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  • Ladyandtramp

Tanzania and Zanzibar

A 50th Anniversary Trip with Pat and Gail Okumaya devam et
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  • LadyandtrampTanzania and ZanzibarLadyandtramp

    Touring Istanbul - Day 2

    31 Ekim, Türkiye ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The four of us took a taci into the old city for a free Guru walk starting at 10:00 a.m. It was 3 hours long and we had a great walk in that old and beautiful part of the city. The guide was wonderful.

    This is how the blurb described the tour:

    Discover the Roman Hippodrome, see the famous Blue Mosque, Haseki Hürrem Baths and the iconic Hagia Sophia from outside and awaken your senses at the Egyptian Bazaar. Get suprised by the hidden gems, columns and cisterns. Learn the culture and customs and see Istanbul from a local's eye.

    The route;

    - The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
    - Hippodrome area
    - Obelisk of Theodosius
    - Snaked Column
    - The Walled Obelisk
    - German Fountain
    - Blue Mosque
    - Haseki Hurrem Baths
    - Hagia Sophia
    - Basilica Cistern
    - Soğukçeşme Street
    - Gulhane Park (the garden of Topkapı Palece)
    - The street of Historical Restaurants of Hocapasa
    - Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Market) - inner visit
    - The New Mosque
    - Eminönü District with views of Suleymaniye Mosque and Galata Tower.

    So that’s how we spent the morning. The guide recommended a little hole in the wall restaurant with traditional Turkish foods and we enjoyed a little rest here. Of course, there were cats peering in at us. Cats are everywhere here.

    There are over a million stray cats in Istanbul. Many Turkish citizens view street animals as communally owned pets rather than traditional strays, and the country has a blanket no-kill, no-capture policy. The little cats are friendly and not afraid of people. You see them everywhere. I probably could easily do a whole blog with photos of the cats in unusual places.

    The afternoon was lovely so we went for a public boat tour on the Bosphorus Sea. The 1 1/2 hour tour cost about $3.00 each and we saw both the European and Asian halves of Istanbul, as well as views of many picturesque mosques and palaces on the shoreline.

    Dinner was at the same place we were in the night before but with Pat and Gail.

    We were pretty tired by the end of the day but Chris and I woke up at 3 a.m. to watch the Jays win Game 6 of the World Series.    Okumaya devam et

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  • LadyandtrampTanzania and ZanzibarLadyandtramp
    1

    Our Free Hotel in Istanbul

    30 Eki–1 Kas, Türkiye ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Here are some photos of the Movenpick Marmara Hotel. The elevators and the light switches were a challenge to figure out as everything was so modern.

    The breakfast buffet was huge!

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  • LadyandtrampTanzania and ZanzibarLadyandtramp
    The view from our room
    DinnerAppetizersChicken dinner

    First Stop Istanbul - Day 1

    30 Ekim, Türkiye ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    When looking for flights to Kilimanjaro from Toronto, I really only had two choices of airlines - Ethiopian or Turkish Airways. Turkish Airways offered a deal that included two nights of free accommodation during a layover in Istanbul so we jumped on that. So did Pat and Gail. It would break up our long flight and we would have a short holiday in Istanbul before heading to Tanzania.

    As planned, we took Red Car to the airport. What was unexpected was that the other couple in the car were old friends of ours. Our daughters went to school together. We had 1 1/2 hours to get caught up on news. It made the trip go fast.

    Our 10 hour flight left at nine and we were able to see the beginning of the 5th game. An important game as the Dodgers and the Jays so far have each won 2 games. Of course we couldn’t watch the game while we were in the air but the Jays started out great with two home runs in the first three pitches! Towards the end of our flight someone on the plane learned that the Jays had won! Exciting!

    Turkish Air was a bit of a disappointment for us. So hot when we got on the plane, the touch screens on the TV monitors didn’t work, some of the seats didn’t recline and the food was not very tasty and served cold. But we did look forward to staying in Istanbul for free for 2 nights.

    Our plan to leave our bags at the airport and take the metro didn’t pan out. The bags cost $12/day each to leave at the airport. The metro was cheap but we were tired. So we found an orange metered taxi that cost $50 U.S. to take us and our bags right to the hotel.

    The hotel was something else - the Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul Marmara Sea. We were on the 8th floor and had a wonderful view of the city and the Marmara Sea. Everything was new and so modern and the service was outstanding.

    We walked to the nearby Fişekhane center where we ate our first delicious Turkish meal before meeting and having a Turkish beer in our hotel with Pat and Gail who arrived at around 9.    Okumaya devam et

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  • LadyandtrampTanzania and ZanzibarLadyandtramp

    Getting Ready

    15 Eylül, Kanada ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today is September 15th, a month and a half before we leave Belwood Lake and head to Northern Tanzania. The weather here is similar to what we expect to have in Africa. Warm weather and a little rain.

    Mon 23°/12° Tue 23°/11° Wed 24°/12°. Thurs 26°/16°. Fri 21°/9°. Sat 18°/12°. Sun 27°/18°

    Over the summer, plans were made. At first we wanted to rent our own truck as we did in in Namibia, but after reading about misfortunes that people had, getting lost, and problems with the vehicles, etc., we decided to go with a local Arusha tour operator who would help us come up with an itinerary that would suit the four of us. Our guide would drive, cook, organize good places to stay, get park entry fees, arrange for a flight to Zanzibar and in general, take good care of us.

    There are hundreds of tour companies and a lot of research had to be done to find out who to go with. A lot of the tours are luxury and very expensive and that’s not what we wanted. We finally decided on a company called Colours of Africa Tours and Safaris. After working on 13 itineraries with Pius, we came up with one that ticked off all of our boxes. Lucky number 14.

    Our itinerary includes Arusha, Lake Duluti, Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Masai Culture, Lake Manyara National Park,Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro crater, Lake Eyasi, Lake Natron, Materuni Waterfalls, Chemka Hotsprings and Zanzibar Island. We will begin on Sunday November 2 and end on Sunday November 30, just in time to prepare for Christmas.

    Flights were booked through Turkish Airlines. We have a two night layover in Istanbul and Turkish Airlines will put us up (complimentary) in the Movenpick Marmara Sea Hotel for those two nights. We will meet Pat and Gail there before heading to the Kilimanjaro airport.

    Today, we are headed to the Travel and Immunization clinic in Guelph to get prescriptions for Malaria and anything else that we may need.

    We have tried to get our $50 Visas for Tanzania but are having trouble with their program so we will get it on arrival as well as the mandatory health insurance.    Okumaya devam et

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  • LadyandtrampTanzania and ZanzibarLadyandtramp

    June 12, 1976

    12 Haziran, Kanada ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Fifty years of marital bliss. Haha. But I must say, we have had a wonderful marriage!

    On a warm and sunny summer day, June 12, 1976, Chris and I tied the knot in the tiny town of Kirkfield, Ontario after a 4 year courtship. Almost fifty years later, we find it hard to believe that we are still the best of friends and for the most part, get along famously. We have two married daughters, their husbands and three wonderful grandkids - Audrey (13), Cal (12) and Nathan (8).

    Almost fifty years ago, our favourite travelling friends, Pat and Gail MacDonald (who we met in Zamora, Mexico in 2000), also got married. They live in Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.

    Well, for years we talked about taking a special trip together to celebrate our 50th anniversaries. A trip that we would save our pennies for (although there aren’t any pennies in Canada anymore) and have a bit of a ‘splash-out’. It had to be a warm place with the possibility for some adventure. Birds, animals, nature and some culture would be great.

    We got together in June and tried to come up with a plan. There were some yeses and some nos and boating and biking ideas and finally we all agreed to going to Tanzania in November!

    So, in celebration of our 100 years of marriage, we are organizing a one month trip to Tanzania.
    A little early but it doesn’t really matter. Wish us luck as we plan and amazing trip!    Okumaya devam et

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    29 Ekim 2025
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