Tanzania: Zanzibar

“When you play the flute in Zanzibar, all Africa dances.”

~Zanzibar Proverb

Our four-day visit to this island was a wonderful end to my vacation. It takes about two hours by ferry to get to Zanzibar. We arrived in Stone Town and immediately went on a spice tour and city walking tour. We visited an area where they grow spices and teas, and tasted spices right off the tree/bush. Then we returned to town and learned about the history of Zanzibar. It was the center of the slave trade in Eastern Africa for many years. Slaves were brought over from Africa's mainland to Zanzibar, where they were sold and shipped off mostly to the Middle East. We were told that the reason you don't see many black people in the Middle East today, who would be the descendants of these slaves, is because they were castrated immediately upon arrival. I found this tour very interesting, because  East African slave trade is not something I remember being taught in school. We learned that about 99% of Zanzibaris are Muslim. Most all the women wear the traditional black robe and many men wear a kofia, a white, tall hat. We also discovered that because of the Muslim predominance on Zanzibar, most of the restaurants do not serve  alcoholic beverages.

The next morning we left for the town of Nungwi along the beautiful north shore of Zanzibar. The hotel we stayed at was beautiful! There was air conditioning in the rooms, a big pool, two restaurants, small shops, and the view of the ocean was amazing. It was a nice break from tent-camping. On our first night in Nungwi we went cruising along the shore and watched the sunset over the Indian Ocean. The next day there was an unexpectedly long snorkeling trip.  It took over an hour to reach our destination off the coast of a private island near Zanzibar. Afterwards, we returned to the shore of Zanzibar and left the boat to enjoy our delicious lunch on the beach. We had to stay longer than expected, because a wind storm came through, pelting us with sand and making it difficult for the boat to leave for the hotel. Despite this inconvenience, the beach provided an unbelievable view and scenery. There is not a prettier place on Earth where I would rather be stranded for an hour. Unfortunately, all the time on the boat and beach left most of us with pretty horrible sunburns once we got back to the hotel! We spent our last night hanging out together and enjoying a big group dinner.

We caught the ferry from Stone Town to Dar es Salaam the next day. I have been on my fair share of ferries, but this was the WORST ferry ride of my life. It was one of those high speed catamaran-style ferries. Going back to Dar es Salaam from Zanzibar you are traveling against the current and the water is very choppy. At about a half hour into the trip a few of the cabin crew came out and handed everyone a couple of black plastic bags. At first this seemed very odd. Only about five minutes later I realized why, because everyone started vomiting into their bags! I have a very hard time seeing people get sick without joining them. Sitting there listening to  a whole crowd of people throwing up had me turning green.... an absolutely agonizing experience. Looking back on it now, though, I can laugh. It was kind of hilarious, especially remembering one man in the back who was SO loud that everyone on the whole boat could hear him, like "BlaaAAA!!!!" every time. EW! It was such a relief to finally reach the shore. Haha.

I spent my last night on the tour (and my last night in Africa) in Dar es Salaam, and flew to Dubai the next day. The tour continued on, ultimately going all the way to Cape Town and picking up and dropping off people along the way. I hated leaving my new travel friends. Looking back on our time together, it feels almost unbelievable that we got to see the things we saw and do the things we did. It was the trip of a lifetime and a perfect ending to my Peace Corps service. Although it was hard to say "goodbye" after living there for over two years, there is still so much more to experience in Africa. I know in my heart that I'll be back.