If someone had told me one year ago that I would be going to Zanzibar for Easter 2007 I would not have believed them. Funny how one year in a person’s life changes everything- from what you see, what you do, how you view your world, and of course the amazing people you meet along the way.
I traveled to Zanzibar with my friend and coworker, Sandra. I had booked this trip back in March when I thought Emily would be leaving on the same day to head back to Vancouver- so in many ways it was my trip to “deal” with Emily’s departure. However, as many of you know she extended her ticket and is now leaving April 23 and since Emily had already gone to Zanzibar she decided to pass on trip #2 and instead spend the time in good ole’ Nairobi.
The plan of attack for Zanzibar was largely guided by Emily’s previous trip- she wrote down great places to go and places to eat. We arrived in Stone Town on Thursday evening and even though the sun had gone down it was BLAZING hot. (side note: if you are a ‘Coolidge’ you will most definitely develop the ‘Coolidge sweat’- inside family joke). I can deal with heat but there is totally a difference between humid and dry heat, no matter how many people disagree it is true- this was like walking into a steam room. But, no complaints- thankfully our cute little inn on the ocean had air conditioning. That evening we settled into a late supper and ordered the largest prawns I have ever seen- the size of lobster- they were huge and delicious!
The next morning we made our way to Stone Town where we spent the day shopping, stopping for much needed water breaks, basking in the sun on patios, touring the many cultural sights and eating in only the air conditioned restaurants. Stone Town is incredible- such a mix of Arab/African cultures, great food, friendly faces, and a beautiful back drop of crystal blue water. Thanks to my Swahili lessons I was able to minimally converse with shop keepers and waiters who were pleased that I was able to speak the bare minimum of their language. That evening we settled down at the Africa House Hotel, where along with a number of tourists, we watched the sun set- it was beautiful and really your “fairy tale” romantic setting. Surprisingly there were more large groups of people vs. the couple-y-tourists so Sandra and I did not feel out of place. We then headed off for supper at a nice restaurant and after ordering what we thought was going to be a huge lobster, much to our dismay because of increased fishing- they were tiny. So after that we trotted off to the Fordhani Gardens, an outdoor seafood market where I had the best calamari I have ever had- so wonderful and fresh.
The next morning we went on a spice tour. Emily seemed to love the spice tour but I had the unfortunate experience of not only being sweltering hot, but also annoyed with our tour guide who made us guess every single plant we passed by before we could move on. For those that know- I am not an avid cook nor am I an avid gardener, therefore I was pathetic at the game of “guess-that-spice”. An hour later we were buying spices and heading back to the hotel to catch our ride to the North Coast, Nungwi- where we were to stay for the next two nights.
Nungwi is a tropical paradise. Honestly the sea and beach is nothing like I have ever seen before. I felt like I was looking out at a National Geographic picture each time I looked out at the view… it was so pristine and untouched. As a resort town Nungwi is also incredibly untouched. In fact it is so untouched that there is not an ATM machine (big mistake), as Sandra and I were counting change by the end of trip and had to put ourselves on a bit of a budget. Thankfully, somehow, Sandra bartered down our hotel cost and ride back to the airport while I was on my dives. Yes, I did get to go scuba diving!! It was fabulous- the visibility was amazing! The only things that I saw that were different from the Kenyan coast were sea horses and a variety of star fish. It was really a great way to spend a holiday morning- diving off the coast of Zanzibar.
Overall the trip was priceless- it was relaxing, cultural, beautiful, and shared with a good friend. Definitely a spot that is a must see!
