Out from Africa

OUT FROM AFRICA

Shouldn't THAT read "Out Of Africa"?

YES!  But there might be copyright issues.

     Isn't that the title of one of the favourite movies of all time?  Set in Kenya, just north of Tanzania? And based on the book by Karen Blixen (or Isak Dinesen) of the same title?  An inspiring read, quoted in Dr. Dillon's book.

     

In fact, heard a number of times on our excursion through Tanzania:

"This sunset is almost perfect.  Only thing lacking is Robert Redford striding out of the shadows towards us!"

This was the kind of sunset we viewed each evening:

Trees and colours of African Sunset

      But there are other colours in Africa - colours created by people.  Take a look at these scenes, snapped as they happened, by me, definitely not a"great" photographer!

 

Every piece if clothing is of a different pattern.

They told us they were "going to a wedding."

 

 In a village market

 

Even the flag of Tanzania is colourful: 

Our guides explained the meaning of their flag:

     Green for the vegetation of Tanzania

     Yellow for the rich mineral deposits

         

Both the above came from the flag of Tanganyika

     Blue for the Indian Ocean

     Yellow for the Island's wealth in spices

Both the above came from the flag of Zanzibar

Uniting these two into one country are the people of Tanzania, represented by the black diagonal

     No wonder, then, that tourists buy paintings and other articles that capture the colours of these sights.  The following was brought home by the granddaughter of a friend who lives in Shoreham, Kent:

     A cousin brought home to New Zealand a pair of magnificent book ends, bought in a souvenir shop in Arusha.  Another bought a mat made from dyed rushes, purchased at a market.  I went for the wooden objects, and brought home a small statue for my son:

[Photo credit:  Cameraman Brennen Cross]

    

     I was given this tee-shirt by our tour manager, in recognition of my efforts to learn some Swahili.  The figures and English words lead to the translation in Swahili.

     All words now forgotten, but it was fun at the time!

     I still wear the tee-shirt, and treasure the memory!






And should I have taken a better camera, with massive zoom lenses?  I saw people with serious ambitions, having spent too much on magnifying camera lenses, and currently spending too much time focusing, screwing lenses on and off, aiming for the perfect shot, swearing when it didn't work out.

 "There's a good one" one would say.  "Where?  Quick!  Which way?" would be the response.

They didn't seem to watch and look - no time!  Gotta get the good one for showing back home.  But - better they shot with cameras than with guns!

     The book on Dr. W. E. Dillon has pictures on almost every page.  It is jammed full with them!  They capture what we saw

and what he would have seen in his time.

Thank you for reading along.  Now Finland has a viewer, too.  Welcome!

And next time - 

I will show you what we saw in Tanzania that told us Dr. David Livingstone had travelled our trail, too.