Mnemba Island

Ok - I think the Zicam is finally working. Sinus'are a bit clearer this morning and a good thing because we are going snorkeling. Had breakfast early with Susan & John - gathered our gear and we walked down the bumpy road to the dive center. Since we weren't exactly sure which hotel this Emma person we were to meet was in, we stopped into all of them. Fourth one was the one. We were told that the cost was going to be $65pp. Nobody was happy with that but we all said what the hell. Since the tide was way out, we had to take a van to the other side to their other dive center in the village. Our boat wasn't there yet so we had to wait some more. That's when John noticed the sign that said the trip cost $40 - WTF??!! Asked the woman who headed up that dive center and we were told that since we booked it from a 4 star resort, we get much better food. REALLY? She said all they get is some rice and fruit. OK, we'll see how great this food actually is. We hadn't paid anything yet anyway. For some reason we were told to pay when we returned.

The boat finally showed up with 8 other people. Four from Paris, two from Finland, one from South Africa, and her friend from England. All very nice and we had a great time talking with all of them. It took us 2 hours to get to the island and the reef - mainly because of the low tide. On route, the captain caught a Dorado (mahi mahi) which I was convinced was going to be prepared somehow for our beach barbeque. Beautiful looking fish. Arrived at the reef and we all went splashing in. Well, frankly, we have seen much better. G & I were a bit disappointed because we had heard that this was special. Not so much. We all started to get cold and then the little stingy things came along. Hightailed it back to the boat. Lunch was announced - little time containers were passed around. Opened it up and guess what? RICE!! Susan & I looked at each other and cracked up. So much for our beach barbeque. Stopped at another reef after lunch. This was a bit better and G got a good shot of the blue starfish - my favorite. There were so many sea urchins and some were huge. When we had our fill, we were back on board and headed for shore. Watermelon and fresh coconut juice, directly from the coconuts, were passed around. Getting back was shorter since the tide was up.

On the way back, we started asking the other folks what they paid for this tour. We got $38 & $35 responses. The four of us agreed there was no way we would pay $65. We were dropped off first. Emma was nowhere in sight. John asked the guy that was there how much the trip was. $40 he said. Fine. We paid up and walked back to our hotel. We have no idea how this operation is run. Communication is not their strong suit. TIA (this is Africa)

Karen & Tom greeted us as we got back and told us that there was a Maasai show tonight before dinner. Not sure what that is about since we saw the real deal. In fact, the "guard" here is a Maasai - maybe it's his tribe coming to perform. Hope dinner isn't too late. The rice just didn't cut it for lunch. Really glad we didn't have to spend the whole $130 though - now I have no guilt getting that massage I've wanted to get.

Next time...Out of Toothpaste!!