Zanzibar. - Stone Town, Tanzania
Stone Town, Tanzania
ZANZIBAR Well if we wernt relaxed before, we certainly are now! Zanzibar was absolutely luxury, compaired to doing chores, travelling on the big truck & doing all that stressful camping stuff. Haha After we headed from the Serengeti & the main area of Tanzania we headed for the coast, it was a big couple of days traveling and by the time we arrived in Dar Es Salaam there was some numb bums. I think one day we woke at about 4:30 & got there around 5. So there is a few big days but its all part of it. Dar Es Salaam is the main city on the coast, where you catch the ferry over to Zanzibar island. As all of the major cities are, it was kaos, people everywhere & have to keep an eye on ur bags bcos of dodgy boys. Our first night was an hr or so around the coast out of the city on the beach, it was a trendy busy little spot, bar was nice, cold showers but best of all we had a view of the beach & it was beautiful blue so we swam & relaxed with everyone and had a beer to celebrate getting to the coast. For us it was nice to see the beach again- it had been a while! That was it for the first day cos we arrived so late. Nothing quite like another early start for the next morning ready to board the ferry over to Zanzibar, it was an express ferry so it took only 1hr. It was pretty flash to, and for $30 we all upgraded to business class None of the group got sick and nor did anyone around us.. Fewwf. We pulled up on dock in Stone town, city of Zanzibar. Hussle & bustle as everyone was pushing and shoving wanting to get off first, no such thing as que equite in africa. Every man for themselves and they always push in. For the boat stone town was exactly what I though it would be, busy beachside streets with little wooden boats ashore, with the old rustic white buildings in the background. After all the rush we got off and met with a tour leader, our guide came along a swell but on the island you can't bring in your own guide, it has to be a local. Surely it is just to keep jobs local. So anyway, leader took us down the alley way, side streets... Tight roads though the maze of all these white buildings. It's kind of like something you would see in Greece I recon, very narrow roads with doorways and ally's everywhere, it was cute. Our hotel was tucked away somewhere amongst the streets, nothing to rave about.. It has cold water and a bed that was hard as a rock, but only for one ngt so that was ok. That afternoon was free for us to do whatever we wanted, there was a guided walk of the town w museums and so on but we declined & decided to do our own walk bcos we only wanted to see the Slave market & history.. So our afternoon was spent there & also buying lots of goodies and prezzies at the local boutiques, really trendy shops here! One of the girls got a pedicure, im dieing for a good one, but decided against it & instead i brought some nice earrings from a boutique. however, i didnt get away from the beauty salon for free- they braided down the side of my head. Thanks to dale saying "ohh cool, u do braiding" but it was funny, the ladies are so good at doing their hair. The group met at 6pm for sunset drinks at a fancy hotel so that was nice, then most people split up and did their own thing for dinner. Majority was Indian, as u know mr isn't such a fan so we went to mercurys. Dale said it was the worst steak he has ever had!!! we went for a walk through town along the foreshore after dark on our way to the restaurant, every night they have local food markets, there was some nice looking BBQ skewers & fresh juices but we wernt game to try the seafood "just incase" ! That was interesting tho to have a look around.it is on every ngt so locals surely don't go without. After dinner we had adventureof walking back to the hotel through those hidden alleys and streets, but to our suprise it was quite easy, we found our way!! The next morning we were making our way to the north of the island to a village called Kendwa,it's pretty touristy but still remote at the same time. well known for its long stretch of tropical white sandy beaches & full moon parties. On the way north, our tour included a spice tour. So we walked through spice plantations with loads of different stuff; lemon grass, cinnamon, chillys, pineapples, fruits, mint, and the list goes on.... At the end of the tour we got to taste different teas made with the local ingredients, yum. So good we had to buy some! And some spice mix too so reg can cook us this particular curry, one even dale loved.. So that was a bonus. His taste buds are finally opened to new tastes. Haha but then we sat down with a local family for lunch & he was not keen on that, although nor was I .. I stuck to the tomatoe salad. Overall it was a fun experience and the kids as normal were cute, but didnt want their picture taken. Someone told me apparently they don't like picutres because it destroys the soul? How true that is I don't know. One last hr in the truck and we arrived at our tropical paradise home for the next few days... It was gorgeous, the rooms were fresh & clean. The beach on the banana lounges was our spot for that afternoon, and we got through a few piña coladas & beers too :) and just because we r piggys we got a pizza for a snack too. hawaii, fresh ham & pineapple. foods good. but just like in Bali there's people walking along the beach selling stuff like jewelry, sarongs, souvenirs ect. Dale and I had fun bargaining with them for a few more goodies. Our tan is coming along slowly, and it was time to get out of the sun for the day, the whole group ate together this night at the restaurant; the pizza at lunch was so good, I had to have another one. And dale, suprise had a chicken burger. our group is very tame & all went to bed by 10pm. Dale had a dive booked for the next morning so perhaps a big ngt wouldn't have been such a good idea. After sleeping in and sleeping like logs we got up & went down to breakfast, breakfast wasn't amazing. It was ok, but i think we r just being greedy now. It was nice to sit there at brekky and not rush for the truck tho, so we sat for a while with the view.. We had a bit of time to kill before dales boat left so we went for a walk down the beach, watched a local fishing boat come in, should have seen them all run down the beach to get fish, even the kids. It was an eye opener to watch them gut & fillet their fish. Iv never seen kids as young as say 8-10 get in their and gut their own fish, but they were bloody good at it too. While dale spend the morning out diving,I just relaxed and soaked in some sunshine. He got back about 2, said the dive was good, there were fish he had never seen before but also noted there was a bit of depletion of fish, but we came to conclusion that because there is no marine sanctuaries the local people fish anywhere & take what they want, doesn't matter about sizes ect.. But overall he said it was worth it, so that was good. Spent that afternoon on those banana lounges again.. I got a bit to much sun! Whoops. And those beach ladies selling genie pants got the better of me, after seriously an hr of negotiating I got a few more pairs.. But I had to come up to her price, I think u know ur getting a good bargain when she won't take any lower. It was funny, she walked away & then 5 mins later walked back and sat on the sand in front of us, obviously she wanted to sell them but was so stubborn. There was a sunset cruise going out but we decided not to go,but to walk along the beach & stop for happy hour at all the different resorts, enjoying piña coladas is what we did. Our last day in Zanzibar, woke up early so we could make the most of it. Went down to resturant had a quick bite of the basic breakfast, coffeee & walked the opposite direction on the beach.dale jumped in for a swim, The water is aqua blue and so warm, it's almost not refreshing. Definitely not cold that's for sure... Oh yeh & Of course we stopped at all the little beach shacks and brought more niknaks, having to get rid of our last lot of shillings as we cross the boarder in 2 days time, well least that was our excuse anyway.. And just so u know it was dales influence not mine, haha. As relaxing and beautiful it was, the time had come for us to head back to reality & catch the ferry back to the original camp site in Dar Es salaam, ready for 2 big days in the truck (10-12 hrs) as we head further south towards Malawi. It was only an hrs mini bus ride from Kendwa back to stone town, with a hr to kill before the ferry so dale & i went into an Internet cafe and had yet another pizza & iced coffee/choclate. The ferry ride this time was in cattle class, mixed with all sorts. The ferry was a bit rough coming back, nothing like i imagined but it was enough for ppl to get sick.. A lady across from us filled a few sick bags & so did a poor lady with 2 kids in front of us too, first her kids went & that must of set her off.. Dale missed all the excitement, he was snoozing. Docked back into the city & into that rush again..and we had to all cross the main road and jump into taxis. The taxi ride had to drop us just a few kms up hill to the next ferry terminal, this ferry takes us across the bay over to where we first camped, we could drive but it took about an hour.. So this was way quicker... Despite the huge traffic block and the traffic was bumper to bumper. A few back streets & lots of hooting of the horn we made it around the city centre and up to the next ferry in time. While we were in the terminal waiting amongst the huge crowd, there was a young guy probly like 18ish begging. It was really sad he had ripped clothes, and big growths on his ears and face, clearly he had some sort mental illness or something but he was NQR. He just walked around touching everyone begging, he knew the vulnerable ones to target too. One guy didnt put up with it and gave him a shove.. It was grose he has snot and tears. When he came up to us we just ignored him.poor thing. I mean we've seen alot of poverty and it was sad, but there was something about this kid. Anyway we pushed and shoved and all made it onto the ferry just in time, amongst cars and bikes, humans and chickens.. crazy! cos it don't wait for anyone or anything, hoots its horn & it's off. Finally made it back "home" to the truck & camp site, quickly set up the tent had a shower, organized our gear rearranged our lockers to put all the new stuff we've accumulated. And it was dinner time!! Starvvvving as we always seem to be, and early night cos it was a 5am leaving time. Back into reality of the trip hey. So now here we are on the bus, 2nd big day of traveling 10+hrs and ready to go mad, our bums are numb, there's only so much candy crush u can play & we have another few hrs to go until we get to Malawi. Travelled through the Rift Valley, up though mountain ranges, everything seems to be very dry and dusty out here, with the sun being 33 deg averaged.its boiling! Looking forward to Malawi, it is the 3rd largest lake in Africa. The population struggles from HIV/AIDs. An average life span of 45yrs & majority of the population is under 15yrs. Have heard they are very lovely & kids totally adorable. Stopping at a camp for 2 full days which will b nice, and maybe do a horse riding tour. Only about 13 more sleeps to go & were back home to our baby. Can't wait, starting to really miss cobbsy. Hope he remembers us, after he's been on holidays and been SPOILET rotten too. Don't get us wrong, enjoying it so much but it's been a while, will be nice to get back to Normality! Until we meet again, keep smiling Love us. X