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.