Spice Island

The Spice Island of Zanzibar was our most recent destination and we found the place like no other. Like Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar is mostly muslim, in fact I think we heard that Stone Town, the main town on the Island, has 43 Mosques and 3 Churches. Historically it is known for its spices and slaves, and more currently the beaches and the maze-like narrow streets of Stone Town.

Departing from the 3 hour ferry ride, we arrived to a large crowd of obnoxious touts and taxi drivers. We wanted to get away form their obnoxious behavior, so we picked out a taxi and paid 2000 shillings for a taxi ride of about 10 blocks. The guesthouse was nothing special, but sufficed for our 2 nights. We spent the better part of the next two days navigating the narrow passage ways and taking in the tourist sites. These included the old slave market, restored bathhouse, the old fort, and the palace. The streets are simply fascinating, it really is quite like being in a maze. Quaint shops and idle men line the streets and you can hear the children in school echoing down the paths. We don't have any pictures that really capture the streets......


And the doors were amazing. (We were told that the brass, knobby looking things were originally put on these types of doors to ward off the elephants as they are very sharp. Not sure if we believe it, but a good story....the problem is, there aren't any elephants on Zanzibar!)

Next we headed for the beaches on the northern most part of the island. We found a nice guesthouse, right on the beach, and settled in for 3 nights. It rained everday, so we ploughed through a book or two and played cards. The sun was out enough for several swims and long walks as well as one dive. The dive was not spectacular, but it was nice to get under again after 6 months of no diving. I was proud of both of us as we made the dive with no complications and were able to enjoy ourselves. Often the first dive after a break is focused more on remembering basic skills that seeing anything.

This is how we spent much of the time on the beach.


Watching the sunset!

And thar she goes...


This northern part of the island is also where a large portion of the area's wooden dhows are built. We saw several new boats in different phases of contruction and watched the fisherman going out and coming daily.


On one bummer note, we had 3 set of shoes stolen from outside our room on our last night there. After 6 months in SE Asia, with no problems, I guess we were a little too trusting. For some reason we took this first encounter with theft quite hard. Not sure if it was the principle, the fact that it happened in broad daylight, the fact that we were stupid enough to leave them out in plain view for three days straight, or the fact that they were damn good shoes, and hard to replace. We couldn't take it out on the owner as he was a kind man, and visibly distressed himself. He did what he could, and we did all we could by swallowing our pride and offering to buy back our shoes if the culprit came forward or if anyone happened to 'find' them. They didn't turn up and as we padded sullen and barefoot in a thundering rainstorm through (worm-infested?) puddles into our minivan we couldn't help but look at every person's feet in hopes of spotting our beloved Chacos (have I painted a pathetic enough picture yet?). We bought some really crap flip flops in Stone Town and had blisters by the time we got to our hotel here in Dar still bemoaning our loss (but a little less so).

The ride back to Dar was on a 'speed boat'. So instead of three hours it took two and instead of costing $20, it cost $35. The slow boat went at 10:00 PM and we weren't excited about wandering through the streets of Dar at 2:00 AM. It was a fast boat, and the sea was a bit choppy....an expensive amusement park ride is about what it felt like.....puking customers and all (no, not us, but another journey with the infamous passing out of the plastic bags).

Back in Dar we finally are not staying a place with 'Jambo' in the title (Jambo means hello here, and we've stayed at Jambo Inn, Jambo Guesthouse, and Jambo Brothers). Tonight it is Safari Inn. Can't say too much great about Dar. A big city that is good for shoe shopping, ATM's and lots of stares...some friendly, some not so friendly. Found some better shoes. Keith was able to get a pair at a legitimate store, where Emily could only find a pair that fit from a street vendor....which likely means she is wearing a fellow traveler's stolen footwear! They look new, so we're hoping not.

Tomorrow we are heading south and inland via an overnight train to Mbeya. After a night there we will cross into Malawi.