December 22nd to 27th - Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Well, it's a good thing I decided to combine a few days because things would have been very boring otherwise.  They may only be slightly boring now.

Everyday the sun is up about 7 a.m. and by 8 a.m. it is too hot and humid to do much other than stay in the shade and relax.  Luckily I don't have anything else on my agenda so that works really well for me.

The 22nd was spent doing not much of anything except eating, reading, relaxing, internet, etc.  We did try out the one restaurant next door for lunch just for a change of pace so that was exciting.  Randy went for many walks and swims.  I did not.  The blister on my leg did leak a lot last night, which I think is good, but there is quite a large blister still there so I'm still avoiding the water and the sand although the latter is virtually impossible.  I actually paid to rent a good lounge chair for the day and that was actually a treat.  The beach is fantastic but too hot for me so I have to stay in the shade.  Unlike other hotels, this one does not have any lounge chairs for its guests, which I find really stranage.

The 23rd was pretty uneventful.  I think it was another day of reading, relaxing, doing computer work and of course eating.  Randy as usual went for several more walks and swims and then had a scuba refresher and practice dive this afternoon so he's ready for his adventure tomorrow.  I wonder what my great adventure will be for tomorrow?  Oh, we did go book our Christmas dinner at another hotel down the way.  It is expensive but at least it's turkey and we get to eat casually as we sit out on the sand.

The 24th was pretty similar to the other days for me.  I did do some laundry at one point though and I did go for a couple of short walks along the beach.  At one point on the walk about 6 p.m. there were hundreds of children in the water learning to swim.  It was fun watching them.  Many had white plastic jugs to help them float more easily.  I finished one book in the morning and started another in the afternoon. Randy was out diving from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and said it was great.  I really wasn't very hungry at lunch so went to the nearby store and bought some cheese and crackers, a passion fruit drink, and an ice cream bar which I had to eat first so it wouldn't melt.  I sat on our patio and ate lunch and thought it was a pretty good lunch although I was hungry again by 6.  We skipped the special dinner at our hotel tonight because it was too expensive.  Instead we went next door and ate for half the price.  I had king fish again and it was very tasty.  The mashed potatoes and actual hot crunchy vegetables were delicious.  Then we went for a walk along the beach and only got bothered by one person who was a tour guide but not very pushy, and one guy wanting money to support his family although I'm thinking it was more likely to support his habit as he seemed a bit out of it.  That was a very unusual request that you don't get often here.  When we said no he then wanted my water and I actually thought he was going to grab it at one point.  However, he went away as we entered into our hotel area.  Oh yes, our hotel had acrobats for its big dinner.  We got to watch them from the restaurant next door so we didn't miss too much.  By 10 p.m. I was done for the day.

Merry Christmas!  Christmas Day was like any other day here - hot and sunny and beautiful.  And like every other day here I didn't do much of interest.  I had breakfast early and did some computer work until the internet totally died.  Then I found a spot in the shade and read until lunch time.  After lunch I went down to the beach to take pictures of Randy having his Christmas sail.  It was actually a harder task than I had envisioned.  Not only was it hot out in the sun at 2 and 3 p.m. as he started and finished, but it was also so bright that I really couldn't see anything in the camera screen so I had to just shoot and hope.  I think I got at least a couple decent pictures for him.  For the rest of the afternoon I did more reading and relaxing in the shade, then about 5:30 when the sun wasn't quite so hot I went for a walk along the beach.  After that we got ready for dinner and had some munchies while we waited.  

Our Christmas dinner was at 7:30 at the next hotel over.  We sat out on the beach with our toes in the sand and staring at the water.  The temperature was just right - probably 28-30 degrees with a light breeze blowing.  The full moon came up over the hotel building part way through the meal so the setting was perfect.  As soon as we arrived we received a flute of champagne to enjoy, and we had fancy, colourful crackers on our table.  Inside we had paper hats, which we did not wear, jokes that weren't all that funny and a gift.  Mine was a tiny 1" cookie cutter in the shape of a Christmas tree and Randy's was a little triangle 5 cm ruler/straight edge.  We left everything behind when we left but the thought was nice.  

Our first course was a very tiny dish with lobster in a sauce.  I forget what fancy name it had attached to it.  Next came a seafood chowder that was delicious.  Then a crab cake and salad, which was good but not excellent.  Then we had some delicious passion fruit sorbet to cleanse our pallets before the main course which was turkey (two generous pieces: one dark meat and one white), a light gravy, two thin spears of asparagus, and a puree de marron, which seemed very sweet and we were guessing at what it was.  Even the person who came around near the end and asked how everything was, did not know exactly what the puree de marron was.  We later did an internet search and discovered it was a sweetened chestnut paste.  It definitely wasn't the same as mashed potatoes but it was an interesting change.  Dessert was fruit cake and a chocolate sponge cake on one plate with some pineapple/mango chutney and a dab of sweet whip cream.  Randy liked the fruit cake so I gave him mine.  I liked the chocolate, even though it was not very chocolaty, but he did not share his with me.  Hmmm!  We also had a bottom of wine with the meal, most of which he drank as I just wasn't into wine after the champagne, and we had a large bottle of water.  The total bill was just under $100 US so expensive by our standards but not bad given how fancy the meal had been.

Part way through the meal a band started playing.  Well, they called it a band but technically it was just four drum / percussion instruments.  They were good and then the noise level got a bit louder and suddenly there were four dancers singing/shouting as they danced to the rhythm of the drums.  I assume it was local music but it was hard to tell.  The dancers were dressed in a black and white squared material which made them look like court jesters, but it was fun to see and hear none the less.  They only played for about an hour before they left.  We thought they might be coming back later but when we went for a walk down the beach after dinner, we thought it was the same group playing and dancing at another establishment down the beach.

On the 26th we had a lazy day again and I didn't do anything noteworthy except go for a couple of walks on the beach.  Otherwise it was the usual eat, sit, relax, read, do computer work, etc.  As it was Saturday the beach was a bit busier with some locals as well as the tourist.  We also had a whole herd of cattle on the beach for most of the day.  They are brahmas and I don't know if that means they are totally different than our cattle but these guys stayed in the hot sun for hours and hours.  There is nothing on the beach except sand so they had nothing to eat and they certainly weren't drinking the salt water.  They were just standing or laying in the sand like all the tourists, except the tourists were on towels or blankets while the cattle didn't seem to care.  Then when they did decide to leave the beach some of them again tried walking through the restaurant which always creates a bit of a stir as the staff try to steer them away (pardon the pun).

Sunday the 27th was only slightly different than all the other days in that Randy went out scuba diving again.  He had a great time but commented on the really rough seas.  I'm glad I wasn't with him as rough seas and I do not get along.  I guess I'm not the only one though as he said one of the divers today got seasick and couldn't do her second dive.  We went further down the beach for dinner tonight and the food was delicious.  The food at our place is starting to all taste the same and it takes a long timeto come.  Every meal ends up being at least 2 hours in length even though we are only having one course or item..  Very strange.

Well, I think that's enough for one blog.  I'll get back to you in about a week to update you on what exciting things have happened.  Please don't expect much!

Monday, December 21st - Nungwi, Zanzibar Island, Tanzania

I had a slow morning after an almost sleepless night.  Sometimes I really feel old and last night was one of those times.  I was fine all day and then after dinner I got up and I was really stiff and my right hip hurt.  Before I went to bed I did some stretching hoping that would help and once I got in bed I sat for a while doing blogs and that was fine.  However, once I tried to stretch out, no position was comfortable.  It was like a big bruise even though there was no bruise involved.  It almost seemed like the bone itself was hurting. As a result I did a lot of tossing and turning and very little sleeping. 

I tried to sleep in a bit longer this morning to make up for the lack of sleep during the night but since my hip still hurt that didn't help much.  I did a lot more stretching trying to work it (whatever it is) out but to no avail.  So at 7:30 I got up, put on my bathing suit and went over to breakfast.  I sat at the table for a couple of hours enjoying the view but getting up regularly to get tea and other things from the serving table.  I could move but it was a still painful.  So who knows what is wrong this time?  Maybe it's arthritis.  I know I have that in my knees so maybe it has spread to my hip.  And maybe this much more humid weather is getting to it and that's why it's bothering me now and not before when I was in drier climates.  Then again, maybe I've just been sitting too long and it's getting stiff.  I don't buy that theory since I had two walks along the beach yesterday, both about an hour, so that's not exactly doing nothing all day.  Perhaps its from walking on the sloped beach.  That sounds like a good theory.  Maybe I'll go with that and just skip the walks to see if that helps.  Yes, I know.  I'm being lazy again.

After breakfast I moved to a lounge chair in the shade and prepared to spend most of the day there reading and relaxing since I had to pay for the chair.  I'm determined to finish the book I've been reading, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden.  It's not a great book but has its moments and it does keep me wondering what's going to happen next.

I did move from the chair occasionally to go to the bathroom and to go to the restaurant and eat.  Those are important things in any day.  I also had to get up severl times and move my chair so it was still in the shade.  The sun is very hot here so shade is essential.  I did a lot of reading and finished the book, and I slept a little (or at least tried to).  Other than that I enjoyed the scenery and the breeze and had a very relaxing day.

Lunch and dinner are not fast and always take a couple of hours so eating takes up a big part of our day.  Staring at the  beach is another big part.  Yesterday the excitement was that the dive centre right next door had a missing diver.  That created a fair bit of panic but eventually the diver was found and he was healthy so everything turned out okay.  It seems strange that they could lose a diver but I guess if someone didn't count heads before and after it would be easy to do.  I guess the moral of that story is to ensure someone else knows you are on board and will look out for you and make sure you are on board on the way back.

So what this blog has made me realize is that it is really silly to try and write something every day when you really aren't doing anything of importance.  As a result, I will probably only write every few days from now on, unless something exciting happens - and I hope the excitement doesn't mean any more missing divers or snorkelers or swimmers, especially if it's me!

Sunday, December 20th - Nungwi Beach, Zanzibar, Tanzania

I was up early today so I could go for ah hour-long walk along the beach before it got to hot.  That was between 7 and 8 a.m. and by the time I finished it was getting hot.  However, there was a beautiful breeze blowing so it cools you off.  The sand is lovely but there are a lot of newly broken shells by the edge of the water and some of them

 are sharp on the feet.  I had to keep changing paths as I walked along but that wasn't too hard a chore.  If I really wanted to do a faster run for some better exercise I might want to put some shoes on but I'll worry about that later if the mood for exercise, versus a casual walk, hits me.

As I walked along today I had to go through a herd of cattle who were just sort of lounging in the sand.  That meant I also had to dodge some cow patties but they were easy to see against the white sand.  There were some stray dogs wondering around but they didn't seem too dangerous.  And other than a few tourist walking or jogging there were very few people about.  It was a very nice walk but I have to say that I was very hot and sweaty when I got back.

Once back we had breakfast.  It comes with the room and was very nice with lots of fruit (banana, orange, watermelon and pineapple), eggs, toast, jam, tea and coffee.  We enjoyed that and then just sat watching the action on the beach for quite a while.

There was a group of boys at the beach.  They dragged palm branches down with them and used them to sit on and as shade.  It must have been some school group.  Their attire said they were Muslim so perhaps they get Fridays off as their holy day and Saturdays, and then have to go to school on Sundays - just a guess on my part.

Another group of men came down and they had palm leaves too.  They also had drums and other instruments so we were expecting to be serenaded or something.  As it turned out they were there to help move a boat out of the water.  So the question is, how many men does it take to move a diving boat out of the water and up on to the beach?  Well, the answer is a lot.  There must have been over 100 of them and others, including some white tourists, joined in to try and help them.   The palm leaves were to put down on the sand for the boat to slide over.  They had ropes coming out both sides from the back with 50 people pulling on each side, people pushing from the back and once on the sand another group pushing up on the boat directly.  It took them a long time as they only moved inches at times.  There is quite a bank up from the water then the sand levels out.  Once they got up the hump they did much better from then on.  After they made a bit of progress it was time for some drums and dancing but then, generally once the palm branches had been moved from the back to the front of the boat, they went back to their coordinated pulling and pushing.  One guy in a yellow shirt was the leader and he was telling them when to pull and trying to keep them motivated.  It was fun to watch but seemed like so much work.  However, labour is cheap here, and in this case we're guessing free, so it probably was a very cheap way to do it.

There are a lot of boats out in the water.  The dhows are most popular and they seem to be coming and going from early morning until evening.  A lot of the tours are done on them and I think the locals also use them for fishing.  We are planning on going out on one of them one evening for the sunset cruise although the sunset couldn't be any better than from our beach.  Randy, being a sailor, really wants to get on a dhow.  There are lots of tour packages available from here, some of which we've already done liek the spice tour and the Jozani Forest.  I don't think there are many others that I want to do which is good since they are expensive.  I am happy just relaxing.

And indeed I did a lot of sitting around and relaxing today - some at the restaurant, some on our patio, and some on the beach.  I gave up on computer work and switched to a book, which was very relaxing.  

There are some vendors on the beach and some of the art work and scarves and wraps are very nice.  No one is really pushy but they can be annoying when you are just trying to have a walk and they are following you everywhere.  The beach is covered with other hotels, restaurants and little stores.  We certainly shouldn't have any trouble finding places to eat while we are here.  I think our beach is as good as any I've seen.  Some of the hotels are up on coral cliffs and the y have very little beach at all.  Ours is quite wide and so lovely.

About 5 p.m. i decided to go for another walk on the beach.  I started off with my water shoes which made it easier to walk as far as avoiding sharp shells was concerned.  However, the sand in the shoes was not all that comfortable either so they eventually came off.  When I got back to the hotel Randy was waiting for his drink in the restaurant so I went and showered and changed and joined him for a drink and dinner. 

Tonight's drink was a banana daiquiri, which also wasn't quite what I expected but it was good.  Both it and the pina colada last night came with a section of banana on the side of the glass - not your typical adornment but very tropical.  Dinner was grilled king fish.  It was good and had some nice seasoning on it but was overcooked so it was a bit dry to eat.

After dinner we sat for a while and tried to do some computer work but the internet is virtually impossible to use.  Eventually I called it quits and moved to the room to get ready for bed.  We left the windows open all day today instead of relying on the air conditioner.  It didn't feel too bad inside the room so hopefully it will be good for sleeping.

Saturday, December 19th - Zanzibar City to Nungwi, Tanzania

After breakfast this morning my first chore was to call, well skype, the TD Visa folks to see why my visa card has been blocked.  Luckily Randy has skype on his computer.  The first time I called I was only on hold for a couple of minutes before someone answered.  However, she was obviously not interested in doing a call by skype with intermittent wifi service.  It was pretty bad at that stage and probably cutting out more than in so I can understand her frustration but I needed help and she shouldn't have just ended the call.  The second time I was on hold for almost 20 minutes but then Richard was great and had the situation under control very quickly.  They had blocked the card for a small charge under $30 to javago.  They are the ones we booked the Gondar hotel with and it got screwed up.  While it was annoying having  couple of declined charges last night, it is good to know that someone is checking on things.

Once Richard told me my vis was okay and the hotel charge could now go through, I e-mailed the hotel to tell them to try again and I cancelled the second booking I had tried in order to fix it.  Hopefully it all works from now on.  I then had to rush and finish packing as our taxi was waiting to take us up to the north of the island.

About 15 minutes out of town as we were heading north along the edge of the water we turned inland and went to the spice area of the island.  There were dozens of spice farms that were open for tours and we went to the Butterfly Spice Farm.  We were greeted by a nice young man who walked us around the area and pointed out the different spices and products, whether they were vine or tree or shrub, what the fruit or spice looked like and when it was ripe, what it was used for, how it was prepared and how you could start a new plant.  He was actually very good and did a great job so we thought we'd give him a 10,000 shilling tip or about $5.  That was before the end of the tour where he announced that we each had to pay a $10 entrance fee.  I said that if it was an entrance fee we should have ben told about it right at the start when we entered and I gave him 10,000 only.  Randy gave him 20,000 but agreed that we should have been told at the beginning.  In other words I guess we each paid a $5 entrance fee and then he got his $5 tip.

Everything was in one forest area and was easy to grow from seeds or stems.  He crushed leaves and gave them to us to smell but we didn't do very well at guessing what each of them was.  Some of the things we saw included:

- pepper - black, white, red & green - vine on tree

- hot chili peppers - bush

- ginger - root

- turmeric - large root very yellow on inside  - small plant to support it

- cardamon - berries at bottom on ground around a leafy plant

- lemon grass - clumps of grass

- cinnamon - bark of the tree for cooking - roots medicinal and smelled like vicks

- nutmeg - tree - seed pod - red around seed itself also used

- cloves - off a big tree - man standing at the top on a rope tied between branches harvesting the cloves

- vanilla - no pods at this point

- coffee tree - nothing on them right now

- lipstick tree - get red colour from inside of seed and it is red and doesn't come out/off easily

- mangos - really big tree

- lychee - no fruit right now

- star fruit and another similar one - tree and vine

- lime tree

- avocado tree

- jack fruit - really big fruit about 2 feet long and heavy looking  - tree

Then we had a snack of:

- coconuts - ate and drank

- custard apple - ate - tasted almost like custard - different texture for fruit

- cucumber - ate - tasted like ours but very different size, shape and colour

- pineapple - ate - very sweet and juicy

- teas - lemon grass and also a mix of spices - no tea in either one, just spices and both very good

They also had lemon grass soap and perfume that was supposed to keep the bugs away so of course I bought some - anything to keep from getting more bites!!!

After another half hour of driving  we finally reached Nungwi Beach and our hotel.  It definitely wasn't where the map had   indicated but it looks pretty good any way so we're happy with it.  There are only about 14 units in total so it's a small place when compared to others on the beach.  The sand is beautiful fine white powder and it is all over the property.  Shoes may never get worn around here as the sand is so nice.  Well, I later found out that there are a lot of little shells closer to the water and some of them are quite sharp on the feet so not as comfortaable.

Our first duty after checking in was to have lunch.  The restaurant is open air and right at the beach so very nice.  I had a beef fajita and, although it wasn't at all what I was expecting, it was very good.  We went back for happy hour later on and dinner.  I had a pina colada, which was similar to but certainly not like the ones in Mexico.  It was very thick but not with ice and not very cold.  instead it had a lot of pulp in it - coconut? pineapple?  who knows?  I had king prawns for dinner - just four of them in a sweet spicy sauce - and then a lovely thin pancake or crepe folded over and filled with fruit (mangos, pineapple, banana, etc.) - and drizzled with a chocolate sauce.  It was very nice indeed.

In between lunch and dinner we sat and did nothing except stare at the sand and water and watch the people and boats go by.  I also did some laundry since part of my fajita had flown off my plate and on to my top and pants.  And of course we were both clearing e-mails and trying to see if the Internet worked here.  It does but not reliably.  It seems to be hit and miss when you use it.so the experience is about the same as last week.  I guess I won't be posting or uploading many pictures for the next two weeks.

After dinner we sat for a while.  The weather is hot and humid during the day but the evenings are quite nice, or at least this first evening was quite nice - warm but with a nice light breeze to cool you off.  Then I went back to the room to have a shower while Randy went for another walk along the beach.  Oh, he went for a swim this afternoon too and said the water was great.  I am giving the sun, sand and water a miss for the next few days, or at least for today, because I have so many oozing bites on my feet that I just couldn't imagine getting sand and salt on and in them.  

And that was it for another day as we settle into our spot for the next two weeks. I think I'll be quite content not doing anything much except for walking along the beach and sitting and reading and relaxing.  That sounds like a terrific two weeks to me. 

Friday, December 18th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

This morning we were up, had breakfast and ready to go to the forest.  The tax was there at 9:30 and we started our half hour drive to the forest.  We were on a main road and going through many small villages that looked very busy.  Their buildings are cement block so quite different than Ethiopian buildings, and they were larger.  They look wealthier but there really is no industry around so I'm nog sure where the wealth would come from.  Most would be farmers and probably not growing much more than what they themselves needed.  Tourism would play a role in some places but not all.

The landscape was very green and as we approached the forest we were driving down a road with big trees on either side and their branches met in the middle so it was a complete canopy for miles.  It was really nice but I could not get a picture as we drove along.  Just before we reached the entrance to the forest we saw signs for monkey crossings and we even saw a monkey bridge.  It was just a rope ladder but they had it installed so the monkeys could get safely across the road.

The Jozani Forest is 50 sq km of protected forest and actually I'm now finding that it is officially called the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park, the only national park on Zanzibar.  There were three parts to our tour: a boardwalk through the mangrove trees, a walk through the forest itself, and a visit to see the red colobus monkeys.  We were joined by a family and we went to see the monkeys first as they were supposedly nearby sleeping.  Well, indeed they were.  The trees were full of them and they weren't exactly going anywhere.  They were simply sprawled over limbs with their arms, legs and tails hanging down or sitting on branches and leaning up against tree trunks and they were definitely asleep.  I think there were times when pictures were being taken from less than six feet away from them.  The only ones who seemed to be slightly awake were the mothers and babies and there were quite a few of them.  They certainly weren't afraid of us but the mothers were a bit wary if we got too close, and of course the babies were moving about so the mothers had to keep switching positions to hang on to them.  They were really cute to see and the family who was with said it was the first time they had seen them up close and they had been to the park couple of times over the years.

The next part was the walk through the mangroves, which were like just about any group of mangrove trees.  However, our guide was very good at explaining things to the children so we learned a bit too.  He left the boardwalk and went down into the swamp to pick up seeds for them.  I probably had heard it before but had forgotten that the seeds are long and pointed and weighted at the one end so that when they fall from the tree they stick in the ground and stay upright.  The bottom pointed end quickly grows roots and the top part starts to grow leaves so the mangroves are continually renewed.  It was an interesting walk.  We saw some crabs and some fish along the way but I don't remember much else.  The mangroves were in an area of tidal salt water which was also interesting because we didn't think we were anywhere near the coast of the island.

The whole forest or park is built on a reef limestone marine terrace.  I take that to mean that it was once an under water reef but I'm guessing all of Zanzibar was at one time.  Our walk through the forest was about 40 minutes long.  The guide was again good at pointing things out to us.  For example he spotted a lizard on a tree and it wasn't more than three feet away from me and it took me a long time to see even though he was pointing right at it.  It was a chameleon and blended perfectly with the tree trunk.  He was also good at spotting teeny tiny little frogs or toads.  Again I could barely find them but he kept pointing them out.  They were no larger than my little finger nail and they jumped quickly if you got too close so pictures were virtually impossible.  We heard some birds but never did find or identify them.  There were also some butterflies but they fluttered by quickly.  We did see a couple of squirrels but none of the other animals let themselves be seen.  Of course some of them, like the leopards, have not been seen for over 10 years and some people think they are just a legend so who knows.

The people in the area did not get along well with the animals, especially the monkeys. The monkeys eat the leaves of the trees and kill the trees, and they eat the unripe fruit so the locals didn't have any for themselves.  There were huge dead trees in the area so it was understandable that the villagers were not impressed and tried to kill the monkeys.   In order to do this the government and other agencies had to relocate some people from the area of the park and teach them not to kill the monkeys.  Things seem to be going better now and the monkeys are thriving with more than 1,000 in the park.

After our tour we decided to have lunch in the restaurant.  Well, that was probably the wrong decision because they really didn't seem prepared for people to actually eat there and it took over an hour to get any food.  I can't remember what I had but I do remember that the french fries that came with it were absolutely cold like they had been cooked the day before.  I remember now.  It was chicken and chips and the chicken was fine.

Eventually we finished our meal and were ready for the ride home.  Our taxi driver had been waiting patiently for us but on the way home he seemed a bit impatient and I think we probably made it in record time.  He was a good driver but he definitely liked to pass any vehicle that got in front of him and he would be right behind them before he pulled out to pass and there was almost always something else coming in the other direction so it was a bit nerve racking to watch so I decided to look at the scenery instead.  And I have to say that other drivers didn't seem to mind his driving and they all seemed to drive the same so I guess it is the usual for Zanzibar.  And if there are two cars coming at you as you drive down the road you just pull off to the side and let them go by.  Road rage just doesn't seem to exist, which I guess is a good thing.  I didn't seen any accidents either so that's also good.

Once back at the hotel I showered and got cleaned up and started to sort through my junk to get ready to move on tomorrow.  I also did some computer work even though the internet was its usual slow self.  Eventually Randy, who had gone for another walk, came back with dinner.  He had some pizza buns and dessert buns from the Korean bakery across the street.  Along with some macadamia nuts and cheese and chocolate that was our dinner in the sitting room of the hotel.  

Shortly after dinner I went to my room to do some more packing.  My room really was a mess as it had been so hot and humid I was going through a lot of clothes.  I did some more computer work and then it was time for bed - our last night in Stone Town.

Thursday, December 17th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Today we were supposed to be getting an earlier start so we could have the cooler morning and calm seas for our trip to Prison Island.   Well, I don't think that actually happened.  We might have had breakfast a bit earlier but it still took us just as long to get going and it was probably 10 a.m. before we left the hotel and caught the local bus into town.

Once in town we walked down toward the water and actually came out right at the park where we seem to spend a lot of time.  We just had to go back down a bit to find the beach and someone who would take us over to Prison Island for just $10 each.  Earlier discussions had been as much as $25 each so this was quite the bargain.  We later found out business was really slow so perhaps that was the real reason for the discount.

The boat ride took about 30 minutes.  There were four of us in our boat.  Two female students from the US were in Tanzania for four months doing wildlife management studies and loving it.  They were biologists and spent some time in university while over here but also some time out with the animals.  One was studying the elephants and the other was studying lions and they were both loving their experience.  

Once we arrived on the island we paid our fees and went to see the huge tortoises.  There were two smaller ones from Tanzania but most of them were Aldabra tortoises from the Seychelles.  Two or four of them had been given to the government of Tanzania many years ago and they had obviously reproduced well as there were a lot fo them now.  Many of them were well over 100 years old   Their age was written on their shells and they really were big.  They are big eaters and we each had a branch of fresh leaves to feed one of them.  They just chomped down on those leaves and suddenly they were gone.  And there were cabbage leaves everywhere in the compound so they were not going hungry by any means.  The compound was really large and they had hills and ravines and water and dry land to roam around in.  Some of them when the walked were up to knee height on me.  There were several signs saying not to sit on the tortoises.  It was hard to imagine that anyone had to be told that but I guess they do have some pretty stupid visitors.

From there we went to the old prison itself.  The island was once a prison for rebellious slaves in the 1860's.  In 1873 and actual prison was built but never actually used as a prison.  By the time it was finished it was taken over as a quarantine station to house the crews of ships that were sailing in the area and carrying yellow fever and needed to be quarantined.  Now it has been rebuilt in its original form but is used as a hotel and tourist area.  As a result, as a prison it didn't look too bad.  In fact, even when it was known as Quarantine Island that only occupied about four months of the year - December to March when the trade winds were blowing the right way.  During the rest of the year it was used as a resort for Europeans and the local people.

The island is actually Changuu Island and it is about 800 metres by 200 metres in size with a forested are on the main part and lovely sand beaches around, at least when the tide is low.  There is also a reef around the island and that is where we went next to do some snorkelling.  I didn't last long in that regard.  The wind was strong and there were lots of waves and I'm a much better calm water snorkeler.  I saw some little fish and a star fish but that was about it before I gave up.  Randy was out for quite a while and he took my camera, which is waterproof, and took some great pictures.  The girls loved all the animals, as you might expect, and they snorkelled for a really long time.  Eventually thought we had to head back to town and the end of our tour.

Once back on shore we went back to our usual snack bar in the park and right on the waterfront.  We had lunch (grilled chicken for me) and sat for several hours while enjoying the scenery and relaxing.  Then we tried to retrace our steps from the morning so we could go back to an ATM and get some money.  That didn't go too well for a couple of reasons.  One, we got lost in the narrow windy streets and did not end up where we thought we should have been so it took a lot longer to get there.  We actually ended up quite a ways from where we wanted to be but a nice taxi driver who had just agreed to be our chauffeur on Friday and Saturday, took us to where we wanted to be.  Two, once we finally got to the bank the ATM was not working so we couldn't get any money anyway.  So we tried to walk back to the park on the waterfront and made it with just a few slight detours along the way.  

We then went for happy hour and dinner near the beach.  We sat on a small patio right above the beach and watched some local guys playing soccer (football to them) ont he sand.  When the game started the restaurant very quickly put up a protective net so if the ball came in our direction we and our drinks would be safe.  It was a good thing they did because shortly thereafter a ball came flying in our direction and the net and a nearby pole saved us.  Both the drinks and the meal were a bit more expensive than our usual but the setting was quite nice and we enjoyed it.  And yet again, the sunset was nothing spectacular.

Then we had to walk back through the streets again to get to the bus stop.  I don't remember whether we did that trip well or whether we got lost again but I do know that we made it past the bank and it was working so we got some more money.  Then we continued on to the bus stop and made our way home.  We were worried for a bit because there were no buses around at all but eventually they appeared and all was well because it was a different seat configuration in the van and we both got seats and there were not many people standing.  It was still a tight squeeze though and a lot of shuffling as different people got off the bus.

Once back at the hotel it was time for a shower as I was so hot and sweaty and salty after the day's activities.  I don't think I even turned my computer on that night.  I was just too tired and we had another trip planned for the next day so I think I just collapsed into bed.

Wednesday, December 16th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

I slept in again and had a late start and an 8 a.m. breakfast.  We were planning to go to Prison Island but by the time we were ready it seemed too late to start such an adventure so we had a change of plans.  We decided to walk over to the Mbweni ruins and Protea hotel where we could see the ruins and spend some time on the beach.  Supposedly it was only a short walk away so off we went.  Well, it didn't take long for us to realize that we were lost.  It seems that what appeared as streets on google maps was nothing more than a pathway and we were obviously missing our turns or taking the wrong ones.  I think Randy estimated the distance at 1.5 km so less than a half hour walk. Well we walked a lot further than that and didn't see any ruins, hotel or beach.  Eventually we did pass a police station and Randy went in to ask for directions.  A nice young policeman came out and decided to walk us to our destination, which was still a long way away on a route too complicated to explain to us.  it was just after noon when we finally arrived at our location so we had about 1.5 hour walk instead of the planned .5 hours.

We decided to look at the ruins first.  there was not a lot but it was okay   Back in 1870. a wealthy businessman built a home here and the ruins were of the various buildings including a chapel.  Apparently when the hotel bough the property one of the stipulations was that they should keep the ruins open to the public.  The setting was very nice and all around the ruins there were trees and flowers and many of them were labelled.  There was also a very tempting spa in the one area but I passed it by.

After the ruins we went to the beach and found a couple of comfortable chairs in the shade.  We asked if we could have lunch on the beach and they said yes so we ordered and then quickly jumped in the pool just above us to cool off.  It was low tide so the water was a long way out!  I have no idea what I had for lunch but it was good and after assessing the situation we decided to stay for the afternoon and have dinner there as well.  I was reading and relaxing and the afternoon passed quite quickly.  Randy went for a walk along the beach and he went for a swim.  His description of the rocks and grasses below the water didn't exactly excite me but I did decide to go in after the tide came in.  Well I think I made it to about knee level before giving up and going back to the pool.  I just don't do well with rocks under my bare feet.

There was a long wooden pier out over the water.  It seemed quite high and strange at first but as the tide came in it was obvious that it was needed.  There were mangrove trees along the edge of the water when we arrived but they were completely surrounded by water by high tide.  The locals were climbing the branches and jumping into the water.  The white folks stayed more on the pier and some swam from the end of it.  The hotel itself was above the beach and pool area, and to the one side there were stairs going up to a lounge and a restaurant on a raised platform.  That's where we ha dinner.  There were only about four tables of people and one of them was back inside the restaurant.  The rest of us were sitting out on the patio area and it was very nice being out there with a gentle breeze blowing.  Unfortunately, since we hadn't planned to stay so long, we didn't have bug spray with us but we survived.

When we were ready to head home we made our way to the office to ask them to call for a taxi.  A British man sitting there was also waiting for one and had been for some time.  He said we could share his ride.   They called again and the taxi said 10 minutes.  He couldn't quite believe that since he had already been waiting so long.  It turned out that he was the general manager of the hotel and was heading into Stone Town.  The taxi arrived and we were dropped at our hotel and din't pay a cent as the other guy said he was looking after it - even though we knew we had taken him out of his way a few kilometres.

Once back at the hotel I called it a night, although I probably tried to do some computer work before going to sleep.

Tuesday, December 15th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Well I was really late getting up today.  It was cloudy and raining and just a really good morning for sleeping in.  I did get up and go have breakfast though, probably about 9 a.m.  Even Randy had slept in a bit so it was a restful morning all round.  And the rain just kept coming so it became a totally restful day.

I actually went back to bed because that was the most comfortable place to be and tried to do some blogging and pictures.  However, my camera is doing it's old trick of not moving my pictures from the camera to the iPad so it's very frustrating.  I may not be posting much if that problem persists.  

I probably didn't come out of my air conditioned room until early afternoon.  Then, because it was still raining, I just sat in the one sitting area and worked on booking something for early January.  It did stop raining at some point and Randy went out for some quick walks in the neighbourhood.  I stayed inside trying to get caught up on a lot of blogs and bookings and other things.  He came back with some goodies that carried us through an afternoon snack and dinner since there is no restaurant on site.  

The power went out in the early evening so we lost the internet.  Then they turned the generator on and it was not constant power so the internet was also not very reliable.  By 8 or 9 the power came back on and we were back in business again but by then I was ready to take another anti-histamine and go back to bed.  All of my bites are swelled up and itching and burning again so it's not a comfortable feeling.

Shortly after 9 I was ready to turn in and call it a day.  It was a short day as far as activities were concerned and for that you get a short blog.

Monday, December 14th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

I slept in again and didn't make it to breakfast until about 8 a.m.  I'm really liking my dark room.  After breakfast we were heading into town to try and get some money since the banks would finally be open.  Just as we were getting ready to go the internet started working so we had to take a break to do some internet work before we left, finally about 10:30.

The local bus stops close to Barclay's Bank and that's where we were told we could get some US money and larger amounts of shillings.  However, that was not at this particular branch but at the local head office, which is in a new parat of the city.  we got directions and took off to see a new part of the city.  It was about a half hour walk but we found it.  Inside there were maybe a dozen people lined up for the windows and someone very quickly asked us what we needed and then gave us the forms to fill out.  Well, the wait was really long and we were probably there for two hours.  But in the end we each had $800 US which would certainly help with our bill payments.  Not being able to pay by credit card is a real pain, especially in countries where the currency is so low that you'd have to carry millions around to cover what credit cards normally would. We could have stood in line again and filled out a different form to get more shillings but we decide not to do that.  Barclays charges 4% on everything so that adds up.  Other banks don't have such a charge so we'll try elsewhere at another time.

From the bank we walked back into Old Stone Town and back down to the harbour.  We tried a couple of ATMs along the way but had no luck because either they didn't like our cards or they just weren't working.  We finally hit one that worked and didn't charge any extra fees so we each got another 400,000 shillings.  We figure another such withdrawal before we head up island and we should be okay, although we will be ccarryng around a lot more cash than normal.

We continued our walk along the harbour front and decided to have lunch at the Freddy Mercury restaurant overlooking the harbour.  The food was good but it was definitely more expensive than our normal places.  Apparently Freddy (or whatever his name was at the time, was born in Zanzibar City, crawled on the white sand along the beaches and took his first steps in the park where we spent so much time yesterday just sitting.  Who knew?  For that matter, who cared?  I actually didn't have a clue who he was but after reading the write up at the front of the menu I decided I probably should have known.  "We are the Champions" and "We Will, We Will Rock You" were actually songs I recognized - not from anything Queen ever sang but from hockey games.  I also knew Bohemian Rhapsody, which I always thought was a stupid song so that just proves my cultural literacy didn't really include Freddy Mercury.

As we continued our walk after lunch we came to the Old Customs House, which is a large three storey square building with a centre courtyard.  We went in and had a look around.  The top floor is now a music school and we discovered there was a free concert at 4 p.m. so decided to add that to our agenda.  in the meantime we wandered around some more and then decided it was time for ice cream as we waited for concert time.

Vitali Maembe was the name of the singer and guitar player.  He was pretty good but he was also a political activist who had been arrested by the government and had obviously had several run-ins with the political powers..  The more he talked, and he talked a lot, the more we wondered if we should even be there.   Hoever, nothing happened so I guess it was okay.   At the end he was joined by some friends playiing guitars and drums and doing vocals).  It was all good music but there was just too much talk to make it really enjoyable. 

The same place also had an 8 p.m. concert (every Monday and Thursday) that featured old instruments and more cultural songs.  We went to that too.  There were six players and two soloists but the players sang too at times.  If I remember correctly there were two violins and sometimes three, one (or none) older stringed instrument, one older guitar-like instrument, one drum, one electric harp that was played on the musician's lap and where the strings were plucked while doing lots of tuning of strings/  The songs were very old and traditional.  The person doing the announcing had a very heavy accent so I really couldn't understand much of what he said about the songs.  I just remember thinking that a lot of them were very repetitive and long and could have been cut in half.  The soloists  parts were really too long in my opinion.  However, the whole concert was only about an hour so I guess I really shouldn't complain.

After the concert we walked to the bus station.  We had planned to take a taxi but they just didn't seem to be working at that hour - at least not where we were walking.  The bus was absolutely packed again.  It was full when we left the downtown area but we kept picking people up.  At one point we had 22 people in the van.  Well, actually they weren't all exactly in because the side door had to stay open as some of them were kind of hanging out - and hanging on.  It's all an experience and no one else seems to mind how crowded it is so why should we.

I got back to the hotel and said good night.  I was just about in tears because my feet hurt so much and my butt hurt.  I obviously don't deal well with mosquitos and other biting insects and the heat and humidity.  The bites on my feet get really irritated in my running shoes while I'm walking around all day so I end up with big red patches that blister up.  Now, probably because of the heat and all the sweating I am doing, I've got swollen red welts that are bites or boils or blisters on my butt as well.  It is a very uncomfortable feeling like you have little fires in various parts of your body and you can't put them out.  I decided to try an antihistamine to see if it would help.  It might not have a big affect on the problem but it was sure to put me to sleep for a while.

After a shower and rinsing out some clothes I crawled under my mosquito net and did some computer work until I got sleeping and then I called it a night.  I was surprised to see that it was almost midnight by the time the lights went out.  That's late for me.

Sunday, December 13th - Zanzibar City, Tanzania

I didn't get moving very early this morning.  My room was nice and dark and I was enjoying my sleep so didn't get over for breakfast until about 8 a.m.  Randy had already eaten about an hour before.  The sun doesn't seem to rise as early here as in Ethiopia and it sets later so I'm totally in favour of sleeping in a bit each day to match their time.  It is another hot humid day in Zanzibar and I guess I'd better just get used to it as this may be it for the next three weeks.  

We took the bus into old Stone Town and just started walking through the streets.  The city is a mix of various cultures: Indian, Arabian, European and it makes for some interesting contrasts as you walk the narrow winding streets.  Everything from the look of the buildings to the names on the stores to the food along the way seems varied.  Some of the wooden balconies were particularly fascinating  

The first tourist site we came across was the Former Slave Market.  Now the site of the  Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, this was the world's last open slave market.  It was stopped by the Sultan in 1873 after an appeal by Dr. Stanley Livingstone to the people of England.  The current church was built in 1874 and the high altar marks the location of the old whipping post.  Apparently the slaves all had to be whipped at the auction so the buyers could tell who was strong enough to be a good slave.  Those who suffered the whipping silently were considered the strongest and most valued.  Those who cried out when whipped were considered weak and sold cheaply or disposed of.    Outside the church there is a memorial to the slaves with five of them in a pit chained together with neck chains.

The church has just been renovated (2013 with money from EU and US) so it looks very new on the outside.  Only the top of the tower shows the old original building.  On the inside it is a very light coloured church with one centre aisle and side pillars.  There are dark woods at the front of the church and in the pews, and there are upside down pillars at the back of the church.  Apparently the man in charge of the building process was away the day they were installed and they went in upside down and couldn't be changed.   I'm sure not many people would notice.  I certainly would not have if the guide hadn't pointed it out.  

One of the high stained glass windows is in memory of Livingtone and others who helped to abolish slavery, and there is a separate cross in memory of Livingstone.  Apparently, although he is buried in England, his heard is still in Africa which was his wish.  There is also a memorial (perhaps a tombstone) to Edward Steere who bought many slaves and freed them.  He was a Bishop in the Anglican Church during the last years of slavery and the one who decided to build a church on the site when it closed.

The place where the slaves were held for several days prior to the weekly auction was less than six feet high when you were walking in the three foot trench through the middle of the concrete room.  The rest of the area is where the slaves were kept and it was only three to four feet high in places.  The whole room was cement and there were two small slits for windows at each end, the only ventilation in the place.  The trench was the only "toilet" for the slaves and it would fill up with sea water at high tide and then be cleaned out.  If a slave died in the room he was simply dumped in the trench and his body was washed out with the tide.  The men were on one side and the women and children on the other and they were all crammed in tightly - hundreds of them in such a small space.  They received no food or water while in holding.  Those who survived were considered the strongest of the lot and thus would make the best slaves, assuming they passed the test at the whipping post.

We eventually made it down to the shoreline and decided to have a break.  It started out with the thought of a coffee or something to drink and turned into lunch of kingfish which was delicious.  We sat right on the shore about six feet above the beach and watched the dhows (?) and ferries come and go.  The water is a beautiful blue and looks reasonably clean.  The sand is very light and looks nice but we never did go down.  There were a couple of fishermen in the area - one in the water fishing and one fishing from some rocks.  There is a floating restaurant just off shore in front of us and several people got in the boat to ferry them across to the restaurant.  Once there, some people went swimming.  

We didn't rush from there but instead took the time to linger over our meal and enjoy the scenery.  Besides, it was quite comfortable sitting in the shade enjoying the ocean breeze.  Eventually we went off exploring again, still following the shore line.    A bit further down the shore line. This section still had some old parts but it also had some new - mainly big fancy hotels (quite different from where we are staying).  From the shoreline we could now see the port so we knew we were getting close to the end of the walking and to some more sites.  The cannons at the water front were the first indication that we might be near the fort.  But first we went to the big white building with the high clock tower.  It turned out to be the National Museum but it was not open because apparently a part of it collapsed as it is in a really old building.  I think it was originally a palace or something similar and it is a huge building.

Then we went next door to the fort.  It is a brown stone which over the years has turned quite dark.  There are high walls all around and round watch towers in the corners and looks very much like a fort should look from the outside.  Unfortunately, not much has been preserved on the inside and its basically just small stores and shops.  The fort was built in 1699 by the Arabs from Oman after they expelled the Portuguese.  It was a garrison for years then a prison and then a railway terminal. It now seems to serve many purposes and it has an outdoor amphitheatre for special events.

At that point we decided we needed to sit again so we had a snack and a drink again down by the water, and watched the people come and go.  Young people, probably in secondary school, come up and talk to us because they have to practice their English.  It must be an assignment because some of them even take notes of what you say.  The younger children don't pay much attention to you.  Sometimes they stare at you as a if you're a strange beast but they don't speak to you and seem quite shy if you speak to them.  The boys who are a bit older like to shout out things like hello and how are you but they don't really know what to say if you respond to them  - except to smile or giggle with each other.

We probably sat at our little table in the shade by the edge of the promenade for at least two hours, maybe three.  It was quite relaxing and the people in charge of the cafe certainly didn't seem to mind.  In fact, if anyone came to bother us trying to sell something or just talk, the staff would come and move them on their way.  This was certainly appreciated at times but I think it made a couple of the Islamic High School girls in their burkas feel a bit embarrassed and that was too bad.  They were just practicing their English so I was okay talking to the one and Randy was talking to the other.  I don't know if they would have asked for something more in the end but obviously the staff thought they were bothering us so suddenly they were gone.

We finally decided to get up and do a bit more walking.  We continued down the waterfront and found the Palace Museum.  It closed at 6 and it was now 5 so we only had an hour before it closed but they said that should be enough time and indeed it was.  The palace belonged to the Sultan.  Zanzibar was once part of Oman and thus the Sultan was the head of state.  The Sultan decided Zanzibar was so important for trade that he made it his capital and built a palace here.

The palace had three floors that we were allowed to visit.  We only saw a bit of what was on each floor as much of it was closed.  It wasn't as grand as you might expect a Sultan's palace to be but it was still pretty nice.  The main floor was mainly exhibits, paintings and pictures telling the history of the place.  Emperor Franz Josef and his wife Sisi of the Hapsburgs Empire had presented the Sultan with very large framed pictures off each of them - how thoughtful - and they were on display.  The country at that time had many trade agreements with European countries.  There was even a large official picture of Queen Elizabeth II in one of the rooms - another gift but no picture of Prince Philip to go along with it. The second floor had a lot of large meeting rooms and a huge patio overlooking the water.  He definitely had a great view of the harbour.   The upper floor was mainly the living quarters for the Sultan and his family.  

The living room on the upper level was interesting.  You entered at the middle.  The left side was displayed as if decorated by the Sultan's first wife who preferred traditional decorations.  It was black whicker with red cushions to match the floor and black tables and stands. I quite liked that side.  The right side was decorated by the second wife who preferred more modern styles and had big cushioned couches and chairs in more of a pastel pink shade.  It might have been more comfortable to sit in but it looked pretty blasé compared to the other side.  

The dining room was just for the family so only had a table for eight   The kitchen was hidden away somewhere we couldn't see it.  There were two bedrooms.  One had a really large bed - more than king size so perhaps sultan size? - plus two separate seating areas that looked very comfortable.  The other bedroom was smaller but still had a big bed and lots of space for sitting and for storing .  The receiving room was long and large and had red plush cushions on the chairs and a fancier chair for the sultan

On the first floor was a bedroom of one of the sisters.  She was quite a character and ran off with a German man and seldom came back to see her family who kind of disowned her.   She wrote a book or two and seemed very well know

The centre has a high vaulted ceiling that goes from the ground floor to the third floor and beyond.  The interior was white wth columns and detailed lattice work on the banisters.  The door frames are a beautiful dark wood with graceful arches and fine details.  The whole place looked very nice.

We went to have happy hour and dinner at a floating restaurant.  It was going to be expensive by our usual standards of eating but it was right out over the water, gave us a good view of the shoreline in both directions and the boats in the harbour, and was a good vantage point for the sunset.  Well, it clouded over and we didn't even see the sun set, except to notice that it got a bit darker, and happy hour turned out only to be for cocktails so the wine and cider didn't count.  However, the meal was good.  We had calamari tempura for an appetizer and the catch of the day - marlin - for the main course.  It ended up costing us about $15 US each, which still wasn't too bad.

The entertainment at dinner time was also interesting.  All along the shoreline there is a cement breakwater and walkway.  During the late afternoon we suddenly saw young boys jumping into the water from the walkway.  They were always in groups and seemed to be having a really good time.  I, on the other hand, was always waiting for one of them to slip on the cement or trip on the low railing as they ran to the edge and up on to the railing and over the side.  When the first ones went over the edge we were both very surprised because we didn't think the water was deep enough but obviously it was.  Well, by 6 p.m. when we were going into the restaurant, the shoreline was packed with people and there were hundreds of them jumping into the water.  Now I had to worry about one of them jumping on to another one.  Sometimes they went in single file and sometimes whole groups of them seemed to jump at once.  Or once in a while people just got pushed in.  At other times there was someone directing traffic to ensure the people below were out of the way before the next runner took off and jumped.  To get out of the water there were a few sets of steps but most of them were just climbing up the breakwater wall.  How they managed to keep from hitting each other is beyond me but they seemed to be doing just fine.  It was actually fun to watch. A few of them would actually do front or back flips or twists in the air but many of them were more like belly flops.  I don't think we'll see any of them at the olympics any time soon.

After we left the restaurant and had to find our way back to the bus stop on the main road and that involved making our way through the narrow winding roads of Stone Town.  I have no idea whether Randy actually followed the path he had in mind or if he just kept going regardless of where he was but we did make it, the trip didn't take too long and we didn't have to do any backtracking.  Some of the streets or alleys were not very well lit but the pathway was pretty even so it was reasonably easy walking.  We passed a lot of people sitting outside small stores or the entrance to their homes and I'm sure they figured we were just two lost tourists as I don't think we were following the usual tourist route.  However, I did feel safe most of the time so that was good.  Only once did I wonder about the person following me but he went by quite quickly on the first opportunity he had to do so.  

Once back on the main road we walked back down to the market area we had been in last night, which was also the bus stop area, and we caught the 505 bus back to the hotel.  We had the name of the stop with us tonight and it was right outside our hotel.  It was easy for us and the bus driver but it certainly wasn't as much fun as the ride last night with everyone trying to help find our stop.  The bus driver might not have appreciated that trip but the rest of us were having fun.

We arrived back at the hotel, spent a few minutes talking to the security guard, got our keys and some cold water and went to our rooms to shower.  I cannot believe how wet I am all day long.  Even tonight on the bus ride home I was wet from head to toe.  Anyway, the shower is not great because there is very little pressure.  I have a tap about three feet high as well and it's easier to do most of the shower using that tap.  The shower head I have to hold as the holder for it is broken and the trickle of water that comes out is pretty pathetic.  I was going to wash my hair and it really needs it but decided I just couldn't do it under those circumstances.  I may have to find a salon somewhere to do it for me.

Anyway, by the time I got into the shower I was thinking the fan in my room might be acting up because it was making weird noises.  Then I figured out it wasn't the fan at all but rather a wind and rain storm outside.  It absolutely poured rain so we only beat it by about 15 minutes.  We would have been drenched immediately if we had been out in it.  It's supposed to rain almost every day so no doubt we will get caught at some point.  And maybe being wet from the rain would actually be better than being weat from sweating.  It would have to be cooler and more refreshing, that's for sure.

I did a bit of blogging as we still don't have any internet.  It says it's there but nothing works - very frustrating!  Hopefully it comes back soon because I really do have to book some flights and accommodation for January 2-9, and I have to book my flights to South Africa  sometime soon as well.  But for now all I can do is blog until I fall to sleep.  Probably reading some of these blogs puts others to sleep too!

Saturday, December 12th - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Zanzibar City, Zanzibar

I was up at 6 a.m. to get ready, finish packing and be down to breakfast at 7 a.m.  Our taxi arrived at 7:30 and after farewells to Raz and Aster we were on our way to the airport.  The timing was pretty good.  We cleared the entrance security, checked in, went through customs and immigration, cleared the second security check and arrived at the gate 15 minutes before boarding was to start.  Of course we didn't board on time but we were close.  We left a few minutes late but we made up the time  in Kilamanjaro, our only stop - 1 hour, not getting off plane - before continuing on to Zanzibar City.

As soon as we stepped off the plane in Zanzibar we were hit with a wall of humidity.  It was an instant change and so different from Ethiopia's dry weather.  We filled out the visa forms and went through immigration.  We tried to get some money from the ladies at the Visa / MasterCard window but all they were doing was taking payment for the visas so that didn't work.  We had a good laugh about that.  Our luggage was there waiting when we finished with customs and our taxi driver was waiting when we exited the airport building so all was well.

The hotel is quite close to the airport, which is good, but it's quite a ways from Stone Town, which is not so good.  There are only six rooms so it is very quiet.  It wasn't quite what I was expecting form the pictures on their website but it will certainly do.  And Maryam (reservations) and Mariam (reception) seem very nice.  

Zanzibar is going to be a very different place to visit and we are here for three weeks.  The businesses take Tanzanian shillings or they take US dollars but they do not take credit cards.  That means we need enough cash to cover the whole three weeks and we have very little US money left.  It sounds like the Malawi story all over again because with an exchange rate of 2100 shillings to $1 US, we may need a couple million shillings to make this work. 

The hotel folks told us there was an ATM just about 10 minutes down the street and downtown was only about 30 minutes away so we decided to walk into town, get some money from an ATM and do some touring.   Well we found the ATM that was just down the road.  It was a bit further than they said but you definitely couldn't miss it.  However, it wouldn't take any of our cards.  They had to be specific cards for that bank.  So we continued on into town and 1.5 hours later we made it.  I was not a happy camper as it was over 30 degrees and very humid so the last thing I wanted was a long walk just to get to where I wanted to start touring.  The good news is that we found a bank machine and it did work so we each got to take out 400,000 shillings which is the maximum withdrawal.  Just like I learned in Malawi the machines only spit out 40 bills per transaction but here you get 10,000 shilling notes here instead of the $1,000 notes in Malawi, which is much more useful.

We walked around the market area for a short while and then decided we needed a rest and something to eat and drink.  We went into a corner restaurant and it was buffet style with very few choices that they served from.  I had chicken, rice, beans and peas.  it was only slightly warm and very tasteless but it was food and I was sitting down which was good.  And, as a bonus, it was very inexpensive.

I can't think of anything else we did so I guess we just came home.  Somehow we knew what bus to take.   probably the ladies at the hotel told us the number.  However we didn't know our closest stop so we had great fun trying to figure out where to get off.  Some ladies in the back were trying to help us and we were all having a great laugh.  I'm not sure the driver was enjoying all the stops and starts until we found the place but he didn't complain.  And as far as "bus" is concerned, it's really just a van and they cram as many people in as possible and just stop wherever needed.  Tonight there were only about 15 of us at the max so crowded but at least still comfortable.

I was hot and tired when we got back so just went to my room, turned on the air conditioner, rinsed out some clothes, took a shower and went to bed.  This humid weather is going to be tough on me.  I'm such a wimp.