So after a whirlwind December, we headed to Zanzibar for a week of relaxing. Zanzibar is interesting because even if you have no idea where it is or why it's famous, you've surely heard of it (I just hope the first time you heard of it was not in a Jack Black/Tenacious D song...) Everybody's heard of it. Everybody wants to see it. We were excited to find out what all of the hullabaloo was about.
We were lucky enough to be meeting Kason and Leslie in Stone Town, Zanzibar, to share our New Years with some friends from Canada. Having them around made our time walking through the twisting streets and lapping up all of the sun we could all the more enjoyable.
We left Kampala bright and early to catch our flight to Zanzibar. We hadn’t done any research into Zanzibar and all we knew was that the island of the cost of mainland Tanzania was renowned for its spices and that there were great beaches in the north. We hoped to enjoy both.
We landed at the tiny little airport and were instantly in for a shock. Even though Zanzibar was a very short flight away, it has a distinctively different feel from Kampala. It clearly lives on island time and has an island vibe, but Zanzibar is also 95% Muslim, 4% Christian and 1% Hindu, a drastic difference from the predominantly Christian Uganda. Most women are covered in burqas and Hijabs, and there is a clear division between men and women. However, the women were clearly very empowered and proudly walked around at night with some of the most beautiful garments and jewelry. It was a far cry from the stereotypical oppressive Islamic society.
The first day in Stone Town, we walked aimlessly through the winding narrow streets. The city is a beautiful relic of its former self with beautiful terraced buildings and immaculate Arabian architecture. The city shows of its history as a hub for the slave trade and a former Portuguese and British colony. Although the city offers much of the same tourist kitch as most other African destinations, it is also very easy to see how every day residents live.
On the second day, we decided to take a short trip to Prison Island to check out some giant tortoises and to snorkel. Prison Island was formerly used to hold bad behaving slaves and then to quarantine sick patients. It has since been renovated into an overpriced and empty hotel. The main attraction on Prison Island is the 120 Giant Tortoises which have been there for over 100 years. They were brought as a gift from the Seychelles and are now trapped on the Island (ironic isn’t it!). Some of them are over 150 years old and stand over 1 metre tall. They wander around and love to be pet and fed by the tourists. It is quite a sight. The snorkeling in the area wasn't fantastic but we get to see numerous types of tropical fish on the reef. One of the most interesting features of Stone Town was Forodhani Gardens, a night market area serving up fresh seafood grilled in front of you. We ate here every night!!! The street food should really be used as an example for other cities to emulate. The area is clean and obviously very organized and regulated. Even though there are many tourists here, we are clearly outnumbered by the locals. The men are parading around in new jeans and western t-shirts advertising Prada, Echo and Sean Jean, while the women gather with the children in elaborate and beautiful garb. It was such an interesting sight to watch.
After a nice stay in Stone Town, it was time to head up north to the beaches. On the way, we stopped by a spice farm to learn about all of the different spices grown. It was very interesting seeing the spices in the wild. It was hard to associate most of the wild spices with the end product on the table. Peppercorn grows on a vine, cardamom is a root, nutmeg is a beautiful pit, cloves are red, green and juicy. Deborah loved this part and made sure we left with some locally grown spices.
As soon as we reached the beach, we understood Zanzibar’s reputation. The beach was lined with palm trees, while the turquoise ocean was dotted with dhow boats. Everywhere you looked was a postcard. And then the sun began to set. It was absolutely spectacular! We knew the next five days here were going to be perfect. Our relaxing was only interrupted by several SCUBA diving trips, indulging in amazing fresh seafood and sunset cruises in a dhow boat. It was all we could have asked for.
We also did some great SCUBA dives. The water was crystal clear and an amazing 28 degrees!!! It was actually hot in our shorties. We decided to dive at Mnemba Atoll which is a protected marine park and it was so worth it. There was lots of fish life and beautiful coral. After two long dives we were exhausted and ready for our nice cruise back in our motorized dhow. The dhows are truly amazing boats. They have been sailing in the Indian Ocean for hundreds of years. It is believed that the boats traveled to Polynesia more than 400 years ago and returned with spice and fruits currently found on the island. Today the boats have hardly changed from the centuries old design. Everyday, the fisherman leave around 3 or 4pm as the tide is going out and travel hundreds of kilometers before returning around 6am to sell their daily catch. All travel is using the tides and odd shaped sail. After a sunset boat trip on board one, I can only imagine how difficult it must be. Every tack and jibe requires the manual moving of the boom, adjusting the sail, and retying of all knots. It is an amazing skill that has been passed on.The best part was being able to celebrate a new year (decade!) on the Zanzibar beach as the warm Indian Ocean lapped up to tickle our toes. The beach parties were great and we made full use of the night by walking up and down the beach to various bars & parties. The best part was watching New Years Eve turn into New Years Day with the optimistic feeling of another wonderful year ahead of us.
To view more of our pictures from Zanzibar, follow this link:
