Hello everybody, we are now in Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, where we are about to board the Lindblad ship called the National Geographic Explorer. We are traveling in the Indian Ocean, where we will visit the fabled islands of Mozambique, Zanzibar, the Comoros, and the Seychelles.
One of the things we got to do a lot of on this trip was snorkeling. Some of the reefs here don't have the amazing colors like the coral in some other places around the world, like Australia, because a few years ago they had a lot of coral bleaching. This was caused by a combination of global warming (the sea temperature getting warmer) and the tsunami from four years ago. The fish are amazing though and they have some of the coolest colors I've ever seen. We saw tons of tropical fish.
One of the things we got to do a lot of on this trip was snorkeling. Some of the reefs here don't have the amazing colors like the coral in some other places around the world, like Australia, because a few years ago they had a lot of coral bleaching. This was caused by a combination of global warming (the sea temperature getting warmer) and the tsunami from four years ago. The fish are amazing though and they have some of the coolest colors I've ever seen. We saw tons of tropical fish.
But fish are not the only creatures in the water here. There are also lots of sea turtles, which we were very excited to see. In fact, we were on a beach when a baby turtle hatched and we got to hold it and watch it crawl into the sea.
Another amazing thing about the Indian Ocean are the beaches that are all around the islands. They are made of beautiful white sand. The sand is actually made from parrot fish poop that is washed ashore by the waves over a long period of time. The parrot fish eat the coral and it comes out as a fine white sand.
Although we spent a lot of time on islands, we also had a lot of time on the Explorer at Sea. So, here's what life on a ship was like: there were two other kids on the ship named Jacques and Gigi, who live in France, so we spent quite a lot of time running around the ship with them. The ship was a great place to play hide and seek since there were lounges, a library, a gym, a shop and lots of other places to go. Being on a ship was quite the unique experience and we had an amazing time.
We were on the ship for two weeks and during the second part of the trip, we were in the islands of the Seychelles. One of the first things we did when we got there was go to see their giant tortoises.
I had seen them before in the Galapagos, and this is one of the only another places in the world where they live. You can see two types of tortoises there, the Aldabra and the Seychelle tortoise. The Aldabra tortoise has a round shell and the Seychelle tortoise has a flatter shell with ridges on it.
The Seychelles are famous for a strange type of coconut called coco de mer and it looks like the inside of a giant walnut but smoother. They can weigh up to 70 pounds, making them the heaviest seed in the world. The other really strange thing about these trees are that there are male and female trees, but only the female trees have the giant fruit nuts.
Now we leave the Seychelles and the continent of Africa, where we've been for almost three months. Our next stop is Paris where we'll be spending time in Europe.
That's all for this blog!
Another amazing thing about the Indian Ocean are the beaches that are all around the islands. They are made of beautiful white sand. The sand is actually made from parrot fish poop that is washed ashore by the waves over a long period of time. The parrot fish eat the coral and it comes out as a fine white sand.
Although we spent a lot of time on islands, we also had a lot of time on the Explorer at Sea. So, here's what life on a ship was like: there were two other kids on the ship named Jacques and Gigi, who live in France, so we spent quite a lot of time running around the ship with them. The ship was a great place to play hide and seek since there were lounges, a library, a gym, a shop and lots of other places to go. Being on a ship was quite the unique experience and we had an amazing time.We were on the ship for two weeks and during the second part of the trip, we were in the islands of the Seychelles. One of the first things we did when we got there was go to see their giant tortoises.
I had seen them before in the Galapagos, and this is one of the only another places in the world where they live. You can see two types of tortoises there, the Aldabra and the Seychelle tortoise. The Aldabra tortoise has a round shell and the Seychelle tortoise has a flatter shell with ridges on it.
The Seychelles are famous for a strange type of coconut called coco de mer and it looks like the inside of a giant walnut but smoother. They can weigh up to 70 pounds, making them the heaviest seed in the world. The other really strange thing about these trees are that there are male and female trees, but only the female trees have the giant fruit nuts.
Now we leave the Seychelles and the continent of Africa, where we've been for almost three months. Our next stop is Paris where we'll be spending time in Europe.That's all for this blog!
I would love to go to Tanzania!