Zanzibar!
Last Friday (Good Friday) my wonderful holiday to Zanzibar began! I successfully survived my first flight on my own to Zanzibar, where I would later meet Chris and Kendra. Everything went very smoothly. When I got off the plane I basically just walked into the airport, and then kept on walking…nobody bothered to even check my passport or yellow fever card. Not much security to say the least! From there, I met our guide from GAPAdventures who would be assisting us for the four days we would spend in Zanzibar. He escorted me to the Dhow Palace Hotel in Stone Town where we would spend two days. The hotel was fabulous! Compared to the conditions I have been living in for the past 3 ½ months, I definitely felt like I was living in luxury! I had my own bed, bathroom, and T.V (I don’t even have this at home!). I must admit that having a T.V was a pretty awesome addition! I haven’t watched T.V in over 3 months so I was pretty mesmerized…and there were over 60 channels!
Zanzibar Airport
Room #14 (My room at the Dhow)
Later in the evening we met up with some friends and had a delicious Indian meal! The service was incredible, like nothing I have ever encountered in Tanzania!
Chakula Kizuri
First night out!
Stone Town
On Saturday morning, our guide Salum picked us up from our hotel for a wonderful walking tour of Stone Town! Stone Town is the oldest living historic city in East Africa and the cultural heart of Zanzibar. Due to its heritage, Stone Town is also a major visitor attraction in Tanzania, and a large part of the economy depends on tourism – related activities. It is extremely difficult to navigate your way through the narrow maze-like streets, which are more like what we consider alleys than streets that even cars cannot pass through, but it is a very unique place. It is pretty much a given that you will, at some point, get lost wondering through Stone Town (or at least I know I would!) The good news is that Stone Town is very small so eventually you will find yourself at the ocean or one of the main roads. It was recently declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000! Some of the sites we visited included the house of wonders, fish market, and slave market. It was really eye opening to see the slave chamber where the slaves were kept, the conditions were absolutely treacherous!
Street in Stone Town
Walking through Stone Town
Slave Chamber
SLAVERY IN AFRICA
The height of slavery was in the mid 19th century; It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Africans per year were sold into slavery or were killed by the Swahili Arabs and dominant local tribes. Most were taken from Zambia and Malawi and taken to the shores of Lake Malawi and sold to wholesalers and then taken across the lake. They were then marched across Mozambique usually chained or tied and carrying elephant tusks for export. Any slaves too ill to make the journey were simply abandoned. Most died of dehydration or were killed by wild animals. At the coast they were loaded into dhows and shipped to Zanzibar. They would be packed tightly together with no food and water and lying in their own excrement. The bodies of those who perished were left lying amongst the living. Those who survived where auctioned in Zanzibar and then shipped to places such as Arabia or India.
The height of slavery was in the mid 19th century; It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Africans per year were sold into slavery or were killed by the Swahili Arabs and dominant local tribes. Most were taken from Zambia and Malawi and taken to the shores of Lake Malawi and sold to wholesalers and then taken across the lake. They were then marched across Mozambique usually chained or tied and carrying elephant tusks for export. Any slaves too ill to make the journey were simply abandoned. Most died of dehydration or were killed by wild animals. At the coast they were loaded into dhows and shipped to Zanzibar. They would be packed tightly together with no food and water and lying in their own excrement. The bodies of those who perished were left lying amongst the living. Those who survived where auctioned in Zanzibar and then shipped to places such as Arabia or India.
Chris by the Slave Statue
Stone Town has many tourist shops that I thoroughly enjoyed looking at! Especially the earrings…which I have a bit of a fetish for J
So many choices!
Me with all the Jewellery
Night Fish Market!
The night fish market was definitely a highlight in Stone Town! If you go to Zanzibar, you will quickly see that seafood is a pretty big deal. The fishing contributes to a large percentage of the whole Tanzanian GDP and the market for fish is especially enhanced with the tourism and tourists expecting seafood.
Stone Town has an amazing night food market every evening from 7:00pm until around 1:00am, that sells mainly seafood which is cooked right in front of you. I got to experiment with tasting many types of fish such as king fish, octopus, calamari, and lobster! They were all absolutely delicious, but Kendra , who has eaten these same kinds of fish before, said they taste nothing like this in Canada! Another specialty at the market is the famous Zanzibar Pizzas! I tried a dessert pizza which consisted of mango, banana, and nutella (kind of like a casadia) it was fabulous!
Feast your eyes!
Spice Tour
On Easter Sunday we made our way to Nungwi, which is located at the north tip of the island. On our way we stopped for a spice tour in a beautiful spice plantation filled with countless spice and fruit trees! Zanzibar is often referred to as the Spice Island because back in the day it was a major spice grower and exporter. Apparently, the sultans and emperors found the climate in Zanzibar to be perfect for growing almost anything. I learned so much about so many varieties of spices including turmeric, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa, vanilla, etc, etc, etc! We were told about the many medicinal properties of the spices such as turmeric being anti-cancerous, and cloves beneficial to chew on if you have a toothache! We also saw the trees where countless fruits such as bananas, papaya, passion, mango, avocado, custard apple, etc grow!
Following the tour we were provided with a scrumptious feast of all the fruits we had just learned about. It was the best tasting fruit I have ever had! Then we got to witness one of the men from the spice farm climb a coconut tree which was amazing! I have no idea how he did it! Chris and Kendra also gave it a try, and I’d say they gave an excellent effort!
the girls with our leaf "baskets" to collect our spices
Lovin the Passion Fruit
No idea how he does this??
Solid effort by Chris!
Nungwi Beach
Located on the northern tip of Zanzibar, is nothing less than spectacular. With sugar-fine, soft white sand and unbelievably clear turquoise waters, this beach must rank as one of the world’s best. It is the perfect place to jolt you away from reality and put you in a restful state of mind. There are countless activities to enjoy including swimming with the dolphins, parasailing, sunset cruises, snorkeling and lots more! Chris, Kendra, and I decided on the snorkeling which was absolutely amazing! We had the perfect day for it which made It that much more enjoyable! We were taken out on a boat filled with about 20 other tourists to Mnemba Island (about a 1.5 hour boat ride). Once we reached our destination, Kendra and I jumped off the top of the boat and I made my first plunge into the Indian Ocean. Words cannot even describe how awesome this was! Snorkeling was also a very cool experience, and I was surprised with how comfortable I felt in the middle of the Ocean! After snorkeling we headed to the island for a delicious freshly prepared lunch of king fish, rice, vegetables, watermelon, and bananas! I felt like I was in paradise, and the beach was just like something you would see on a postcard!
Nungwi Beach
"aaahhh"...Paradise
Chris and Kendra dive in!
Soakin up the sun ontop of the boat
We had such a wonderful time in Zanzibar; I just want to say Thank-you so much to Chris and Kendra for everything! They were awesome travelling companions and I will remember this vacation forever!
Back in Mwanza!
I left Arusha on Saturday and I am currently back in Mwanza for just over a week before I make the long trek back to Canada! Fortunately everything went very smoothly with my flight. I was very much over the luggage weight allowance, but I somehow worked some magic and was able to pay less than half that was required!
There was very little direction as to where I was supposed to go after I checked my bags, so I asked some “mzungus” if they were going to Mwanza. Luckily they were, and said I could wait with them in the lounge! They were a husband and wife from the U.K who are doctors volunteering in Sudan. They were engulfed in numerous newspapers about the Royal Wedding, so I was able to catch up on some much needed gossip! It was also great to talk to them a little bit about England, because on my way back to Canada I will stop there for a few days to visit my Aunt!
It’s nice to be back in Mwanza, the weather is much warmer than Arusha, which I obviously love! It is a dry heat so also much more tolerable than both Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
In a way it feels like I am back “home.” On Sunday morning I went out for a short stroll around town just to familiarize myself with my surroundings again. There is such a different vibe here in Mwanza compared to Arusha. It feels so much quieter, and I don’t receive near as much harassment. I think I only got one “mzungu” comment all day, which is a record! I definitely feel 100x more comfortable in Mwanza this time compared to when I first arrived in January!
On Sunday afternoon I was invited to Perpetua’s home! She is a Teacher from Mtoni Secondary school whom I became very close with when I was teaching about the health benefits of probiotic yoghurt a couple months ago. She just had a baby boy on April 12th so I was super excited to see her and her new son Inocent. We had a wonderful afternoon!
Interesting fact: In Tanzania, maternity leave is only 84 days
Me and baby Inocent
Me with Perpetua and her two kids!
This week I will spend my time catching up with the Mamas and seeing some old friends before I leave Mama Africa on May 9th!
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