He likes to ski, she likes to surf. He likes to hang-slide, she likes to
heli-ski. He likes to drink beer, she likes to backpack.
A lateen-sailed dhow
|
I've got a bunch of friends whose vacation discussions make Felix and Oscar
look like a harmonious pair. Dan and I, on the other hand, are blessedly
compatible. With matching backpacks and hiking boots, we've rarely had much
trouble picking a place to go.
But last year, when we spent five months in Africa, things got a little
interesting.
Dan, a history professor, wanted to explore archaeological ruins along the
Tanzanian and Kenyan coasts. That meant that every crumbling coral rock
wall and every vine-strangled ancient mosque was on his itinerary, even if
getting there meant chartering a plane, riding a donkey, wading through
swamps or hiring a dhow.
I, on the other hand, wanted to go scuba diving.
Fortunately, there were places to do both, like Zanzibar, which had enough
sites, both diving and historic, to keep us busy for a couple of months.
But it was on lesser-known Mafia Island near Dar es Salaam that we learned
that even the most seemingly incompatible interests could come together in
surprising new ways.
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Article copyright © Karen Berger and Dan Smith.
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