o princípio e o fim

Este livro fala de uma África que não é. Ou melhor, de uma África que é, mas que não está, que está, mas que não existe. Não sou um especialista em estudos africanos nem em etnologia. Também não sou antropólogo. Pouco viajei por África e apenas conheço a África Subsariana.

(...)

No Teseo de André Gide, Édipo explica bem que desejava rebentar não tanto os seus olhos, mas sim a teia, “essa decoração entre a qual me afanava, essa mentira em que tinha deixado de acreditar, para alcançar, por fim, a realidade”.
Porque o Édipo de Gide compreendeu por fim que o olhar se tinha confundido com aquele que é olhado. Por isso, cego, conclui, sem dúvida iluminado: “Oh, escuridão, minha luz!”

We set off in a open cart drawn by four whip-scarred little oxen and pilled high with equipment and provisions. No medieval knight could have been more closely armoured than were Tilly and I, against the rays of the sun. A mushroom-brimmed hat, built of two thickness of heavy felt and lined with red flannel, protected her creamy complexion, a long-sleeved white blouse clasped her by the neck, and a heavy skirt of khaki drill fell to her booted ankles.

(...)

I made a face at Tilly. She saw the pawpaw, and frowned; we were trapped, the train had no corridor. She did no hesitate; smiling with all her charm, she asked the red-faced gentleman to help her stow our soda-water bottles on the rack, and in five minutes he was out of her hand. I looked through the open window at the undulating purple ridge-back of the Ngong hill, a haunt of lions and buffaloes, and was glad that I had kissed the four walls of the grass hut at Thika, and was bound to return.

I knew where I was going. The hill station of Wamaba, the place where this journey began, lies on the western edge of the deserts of North Kenya. To the north the mountains slant down to a strange lake. I had been to Wamba once before. The circumstances are unimportant except that towards the end of a long tour, conducted by friends in the Game Department and arranged, thoughtfully, for comfort. I became so fed up with looking at spectacular scenery through the dusty windscreen of a Land-Rover that I got out and climb a chunk of ancient rock called Lolokwi, largely to stretch my legs.

(...)

I saw Rudolf once more from a height of forty thousand feet. The time, near midnight, the Comet laden with dozing passengers traveling at hundreds of miles an hour. On the flight deck the navigator assured me we were almost directly above the Turkan shore, but in the light of a quarter-moon I could see almost nothing below. The pilot flicked over the switch of one of a bank of dials ant the precise outline of Rudolf appeared eerily green in the center of the radar screen "Looks a grim place", he said and switched it off.
I went back to my seat and we flew on towards Khartoum. The journey was over.

Few areas of the continent captivate the imagination as does Tanzania. From Mt. Kilimanjaro's snow-capped summit to the Serengeti's wildlife-filled expanses, the country embodies what is for many quintessential Africa. It’s a melting pot of traditions, a crossroads of cultures and a supremely diverse and satisfying destination to explore. Moss-covered ruins of ancient Swahili city-states overlook fine white-sand beaches; cool, forested hillsides rise dramatically from the plains; and 100-plus ethnic groups amicably rub shoulders. Minarets are silhouetted against the skyline while nearby Christian churches resound with singing; wizened Makonde elders with facial etchings share seats with workers in Western dress: Dar es Salaam's gleaming modern face gazes across the waters at the cobbled streets of Zanzibar's old Stone Town.

(...)

Water:
Unless your intestines are well accustomed to Tanzania, don’t drink tap water that wasn’t been boiled, filtered or chemically disinfected (such as with iodine tablets). Also avoid drinking from streams, rivers and lakes unless you've purified the water first. The same goes for drinking from pumps and wells - some do bring pure water to the surface, but the presence of animals can still contaminate supplies.