Zanzibar

I finally get the comic joke of the man at the airport gate, saying "A bus! But I thought I paid for an airplane ticket!"

In Johannesburg, you wait in the airport terminal at your gate. When the boarding announcement is made, you show your boarding pass and passport then walk out the gate and onto a bus. Yup, that's right, a bus. This bus then drives you to the plane, which is parked out on the tarmac somewhere. Better that than a whole bunch of people wandering around all over, trying to find the plane. It was neat.

I had a flight connection in Dar Es Salaam, where I had a 2 hour wait. While waiting for my Tanzania passport to be processed, I met Pete, a nice Auzzie on holiday. He kept me company and bought me a water in the cafe while waiting for my flight. He had his Tanzania holiday the opposite to mine. He was heading to Arusha the next day to start his safari, where I did after a couple days in Zanzibar. We exchanged emails with hopes to bump into each other again. Sure was nice to chat with someone during the wait. Airports are so boring.

I checked into Haven Guesthouse in Stone Town. It was a simple budget hotel, but comfortable. The owner was very nice and could arrange any tour or activity for a great price. I planned for a city tour for the morning and then relaxed before heading off to bed.

In the morning, my guide picked me up and we started our walk through the labyrinth of the old Swahili town. There were many shops, mosques, markets and homes. Clothes hanging out the building windows, children chasing eachother laughing, men pulling carts of goods, motorcycles speeding around every turn while honking their horn, and the electronic amplifiers blasting the mosques islamic call to prayer multiple times a day. Lots of activity.

For the life of me, I couldn't orientate myself. My guide would say, "do you know where you are now?" and I didn't. He'd just laugh. It's actually a small town, but with the buildings looking the same on the outside and no street signs, I couldn't find landmarks to get my bearings. I would've been lost without him.

We stopped by the Anglican Church where the former slave market site was. It's a hotel now, but they still had the slave rooms in the basement for people to see. What an awful place. Small, dark, cold stone with posts and chains that imprisoned the people. The chains in here were copies of the origanals to demonstrate how the slaves had a chain around their neck, feet and hands. Then, they'd be brought out in the yard for trading or selling. So sad. You can see the origanal chain on the sculpture beside the church.

There's also a school there now. The children loved to have their picture taken, hold my hand, play with me and laugh at my funny accent when I tried to speak Swahili. Adorable kids.

After that, we strolled through the bustling market of spices (many, many spices. It is why the land has the name Spice Island. Lots of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, saffron, etc.), produce, meat/fish, t-shirts, mobile phones, baskets, scarves, kangas, shoes and other clothes. Along our way, we stopped at a little booth where my guide paid for more electricity by receiving a receipt number and continued to the House of Wonder museum. It had the history of the town, including the sultans, how they made their homes, got their food and how they cope with tourism today. I thought the way they make their homes were neat. They would use mangrove wood for support beams and coral they pick up along the shores. After burning the coral down to a powder, they could mix it with water to make a plaster or cement for building.

After, he took me to a camera store so I could buy a new underwater camera to replace my old one. Yay, glad it was cheaper here. By about CAD$100.

After he dropped me back at my hotel, I went for a walk along the beach. Such nice clear, warm, tropical water. But it only takes a few minutes before you're approached by someone trying to sell you something. Someone always has a boat, or is a tour guide, or has merchandise that they'll sell you at a "good price." Occasionally, you have someone who just wants to make friends with you and practice their english. That I don't mind, I like learning about their family and lives. They're such happy people that have so much love to share. Family is very important to them, and their neighbors are considered family as well. They really take care of one another. I see people giving money to their friends or neighbors if they asked. Their response would be, "they need it more than I do today, and I know they'd do it for me when I need it." I really liked that. Good community. I wish at home we were closer to our neighbors. It's fun to see all the laughing, sharing, the hugs, playfighting and hand holding. Men hold each others hands, as well as the woman. Homosexuality is forbidden here, so as a result, physical contact amongst the sexes are common. Like siblings, as there's no fear of misinterpretation.

While I was drying my wet sandy feet, a man named Steve from Kelowna, Canada introduced himself. We hit it off, went for a couple beers, had dinner and arranged to go snorkling together the next day.

A boat took Steve and I to Prison Island where we snorkled for about an hour. Saw many little tropical fish (including a huge pufferfish) and jellyfish. Nice to have jellies that aren't deadly. Just a tiny sting that lasts only a second or two.

The draw to the island are the tortoises. A little sanctuary with some pretty big turtles! We happened to be there at feeding time so they were quite active. Well... as active as a tortoise could be I imagine ;)

Their lifespan averages from 65 to 90 years, but they can live longer. This is why they're believed to be the longest lived of the animals. The males are bigger than the females and can weigh up to 250 kgs. Females up to 160 kgs. No wonder they move slow!

Once back from the island, we shared a taxi up the west side of the island to a beach in Kendwa. We had dinner on the beach, then swam in the warm sea. Spent about 3 hours there before taking our taxi back to Stone town. We didn't want to leave. It was so peaceful.

We checked out the Forodhani Gardens in the evening. This park becomes a night market. So many food venders with the catch of the day on skewers, lovely bbq meat, deep fried potatoes and freshly sqeezed fruit juice. Very busy place in the evening. Seems like half the town hangs out here for the night.

After that, Steve and I said our goodbyes, and now I'm off to bed to be refreshed for my flight to Kilimanjaro airport tomorrow morning.