The Island of Zanzibar

We finally decided to make a getaway to Zanzibar for the weekend.

We left early Friday morning at 0600 to catch the first bus out of Morogoro headed to Dar Es Salaam. At the bus station we managed to find a bus half full and only had to wait 15 or 20 minutes before leaving just after 0700.

In Dar we took a 20 minute cab ride to the harbour. There were so many cab drivers looking for customers. The starting price was 20,000Tsh! We were told no more than 10,000Tsh so we laughed and waited for a driver to come down to the fair price. We loaded the cab, with harassment and left the bus station. We arrived at the harbour at 0930.

At the harbour we had to buy our tickets for the ferry. There are many boats and everyone wants to sell to you. We went inside one ticket office and handed over our passports for the sales rep to copy our names. Before leaving, Jess and Linds told us that fares would be around 35-40,000Tsh. The price we given was 60,000Tsh. So we grabbed our passports and walked out of the office. Apparently, we needed residence permits to buy the tickets at the lower price. A few minutes later the same sales rep approaches us and tells us that his manager has found us a solution. We meet with his manager who apparently was able to "find" seats for us for 40,000Tsh and even "upgraded" us to first class for "free."

The ferry was double hulled like a "cat" and took about 2 hours to cross to Zanzibar. The ferry itself was in good shape and we had no problems crossing. We even meet 4 Norwegian girls spending 5 weeks working at the hospital in Zanzibar.

Once we reached the island we were required to show our passports again and fill in immigration paperwork. Although Zanzibar and Tanzania now make up the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar still acts as though it were separate. My passport now has one more stamp.

The buildings in Stonetown are old and they make up a labyrinth throughout the town. Getting to our Inn with the help of the Zanzi volunteers proved helpful. We definitely would have lost our way. After settling into our rooms we headed out to see the nightlife in Stonetown.

We made our way through the town and in and out of markets. It is a totally different feel than Morogoro, tourists everywhere. Be prepared to be offered all sorts of T-shirts and CDs. In a small street we found stands laden with fish and meat. All was ready to be grilled in front of you. There was even a man grilling pizzas. It was delicious.

We spent Saturday in Page, and hour by daladala, at a quiet beach enjoying the rolling surf and mesmerizing colours of the Indian Ocean. The water salty and warm.

That evening we were invited to a feast at the volunteers host family house. There were 14 of us in total and the food was amazing. There was Pilau (rice and potatoes with spices), sugar cane noodles, fresh vegetables, fresh bread and other amazing foods that I don't know the name to.

Sunday was one of the greatest days. We booked a trip with Safari Blue, a trip over the Indian Ocean. We took a taxi down to Fumba where the trip left from. We boarded into wooden sailboats known as Dhows. These were rigged with an outboard motor that would get us to the sandbar for the first leg of the trip. On the way to the sandbar we saw 5 dolphins.

After making it to the sandbar, we grabbed some fresh pineapple and our snorkeling gear before heading out to snorkel. Back on the boat, we travelled around an island to a wonderful reef with many fish. We geared up and jumped into the water snorkeling with all sorts of fish. It was a great experience.

Later we headed into a mangrove lagoon to relax and swim for a bit.

After the lagoon we went to a larger island where we were treated to traditional music and dance along with some amazing seafood; local fish, lobster, rice, coconut tomato sauce and a sample of local fruit.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating, exploring and swimming in the ocean.

When we were ready to leave we boarded our dhow, raised the sail, and skimmed our way back to mainland in the wind.

The day ended at a fantastic Italian restaurant with pasta and pizza.