Hello, hello, hello! I currently sit at the top of a terrace at the Clove Hotel in Zanzibar. We finished up in Mang’ula and left the monitoring center Sunday morning to get to Dar by Sunday night. We only spent 2 nights in Dar. The first was after travelling and the second was after a day of market shopping! The market was amazing. So many interesting little shops filled with painting, carvings and jewelry. Most of the stuff is pretty much the same from shop to shop. But finding a nice vendor willing to bargain is the hard part. We all made out really well. We didn’t stay in Dar long – leaving on the 7am ferry on Tuesday for Zanzibar.
Zanzibar is so interesting! It is an island off the coast of the mainland. We are staying in Stone Town – it is an old neighborhood filled with stone buildings, tons of history and lots of culture. The entire island is very culturally based. About half the population is Muslim and hearing mosque services is common. We have to dress moderately and public displays of affection are not allowed so we have to adjust our behavior a bit. But I wish everyone could see this place. The buildings are so amazing. Streets are woven all around in every which way and the clear blue ocean is located just a few alleys away. As I type this on the rooftop terrace I can look over to another hotel and see the billowing, lit, canopy tops to other buildings. The whole set up seems like something you could see in Europe – in Greece or Italy. Markets, amazing restaurants and historical sites are right around our hotel. I love it!
The people in Zanzibar are a bit overwhelming. Being white tourists, we easily stick out; and sticking out means getting hassled all the time to buy this or that. One local told us last night, people don’t see us as people – they see us as American dollars. It can get a bit too much at times.
Despite the tourist hungry business, we have all been having a great time. Yesterday we went snorkeling and swimming off a little island called Prison Island. We hired some locals in a little fishing boat to take us out there. I had so much fun! The water is crystal clear and the weather was perfect. Snorkeling along the reef gave us an awesome view of some bright and colorful fish. Snorkeling was followed by drinks and dinner along the beach and then some dessert shopping in the fish/food market. Chocolate banana pizza and chocolate mango pizza – so good!
Today has also been action packed. We left at 9 am for a spice tour. Zanzibar used to be a huge spice trade center. We got to see the spice market, a spice farm, old sultans’ passion baths, slave caves and the beach all in a tour. The spice farm was so nice. We got to eat fresh fruit, taste and smell all the spices straight from the trees. The cinnamon tree was definitely one of my favorites. The leaves smell like amazing cinnamon, the bark tastes like Red Hots and the roots smell like Vicks vapor rub. The air smelled like spices and we had people walking along with us making woven grass hats, ties, necklaces and bags for us to wear. It was fun. The slave cave was pretty disturbing. It was a cave used to hide slaves for the slave trade after slavery had been abolished on the island. I cannot understand how people could treat other humans that way. And it continued for so long, generations after generation just letting it happen. Seeing that sight, even just a simple cave really disturbed me. It makes me wonder what our generation is overlooking. In a hundred year what will the future think of us?
Despite the somber moments in the slave cave, the tour was a blast. Afterwards we returned to our hotel, showered and headed out to do a bit more shopping and watch the USA soccer match at a bar. The game had a great ending (GO USA!) and the bar actually was full of other Americans. It is so weird seeing all these other wazungus (the Swahili word for white-person). I’m so used to our group being the only white group around. We constantly catch ourselves storing at other tourists – curious to see and hear what they are up to. Being in Tanzania for the last 5 weeks has changed us all so much. It has been easy to see with the trip here to Zanzibar and the stop in Dar. Before I didn’t think too much of Dar. Now I can see how big and luxurious it is. We were all so amazed to see what Dar had to offer. Being in Zanzibar has been the same. Seeing other tourists all over the place and getting treated and approached as a money bag is so different to us now. I can’t imagine how the USA will feel. At least we have Dar and Zanzibar to ease us into things.
Anyways I’m gonna go enjoy one of our last nights with the rest of the group. Sorry for the delay in entries – we haven’t had internet for quite a while. But hopefully I can update before we leave. And you will definitely see a few posts once I get home! Until next time!
Location: Stone Town, Zanzibar