Paradise

Smile, U R in Zanzibar

The warm greeting from the shrubbery at Zanzibar's airport sums up our weekend in Tanzania's island paradise. Zanzibar is lush, exotic, warm, relaxing, inviting, tranquil, breath-taking, historical and righ in culture. And I've only seen a few miles of the island! A few of my fellow volunteer friends and I arrived early on Friday morning, and fell in love with our resort immediatley. Mbweni Ruins resort has a beach which is perfect to swim in during the high tide, and explore tidepools with coral, seashells and mangrove trees during the low tide, a pool, open-air restaurant and bar overlooking the ocean which is home to a few arabic cats, comfortable rooms including ocean view patios and turn down bed-service, and a auyverdic spa. Oh, and did I mention the ruins? Built by rich arabic landowners in the 17-18th century from coral and lime (traditional Zanzibar building materials), the house and neighboring buildings were used as a home and school for freed slave girls in the 19th century, for both academic and industrial studies. Today, the ruins are home to a few big lizards
The difference between the high and low tide is tremendous. The water goes out hundreds of feet and leaves shells, coral, anemonies, sea cucumbers, oysters, crabs and other wonderous sea life on the shore. Locals venture out and collect oysters as the day's fresh catch. Their brightly colored kangas (traditional fabric) spice up the blue horizon, speckeled with sailboats.
Laying on the beach and listening to the sounds of Zanzibar is so peaceful. The tide lapping on the sand, birds chirping and cawing in the distance, the sea breeze rustling through the palm leaves, water pouring through the pools fountian, and light music playing from the restaurant above create a tranquil melody which is impossible to resist.
We spend our firt day soaking up the sun, swimming, eating and drinking overlooking the ocean, and relaxing at the spa. During the morning hours there were mini rainbursts every half hour, delightfully refreshing under the hot equatorial sun. Everyone here is happy, smiley, and talkative, interested in where all of Zanzibars inhabitants and visitors have come from. The locals smiled at my feeble attempt to speak Swahili, kidogo kiswahili (little), but i can chat a bit, and it must be nice to meet some tourists who actually speak their language.
The next day, my friend and I ventured into Stone Town. Today, Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, but these islands have had huge influences from many other cultures. The city's history dates back to 1 AD as a fishing village. Sometime since then, as the Indian Ocean trading routes developed, influences from the arabic and the orientent made their way to Zanzibar. The majority of trade was in spices and African slaves. But, those who settled here mixed in with the locals, bringing their culture and religion. Today, Z's primary religion is Islam, and you hear the calls to prayer daily. The arabic influence gives such a unique character to the culture here, in their architecture, music, clothing, language and food. It's really beautiful!
The British colonized Z from the 19th century through the mid 20th century. Stone Town is home to the shortest war in history - 45 minutes. Bascially, the sultan was kept as a figurehead after the British colonized, and in 1876 (i think ...) one of the sultans, under German inspiration, decided to declare himself as acting sultan and kick out the British. What ensued was a beach-front attack, ruining many beautiful building and ending his rule days after his coup. Silly boy
After the independence revolution, the government nationalized health and social care and the ownership of buildings. This put a big strain on society, split the wealth and ran down many of their beautiful buildings. This is evident all around Stone Town, where many buildings are crumbling or dirty. Today there is a movement to preserve the historic architecture and brin the city back to its original splendo. Hence my new cause: Save Stone Town! It's an incredibly ornate city, with a long powerful history in a tropical paradise, and I hope this movement rejuvinates the city.
Our day in Stone Town was spent perusing the tiny alley streets, exploring the local market, eating seafood on the beachfront and bargaining with the local store owners for souvineres. Once we returned to the resort, we jumped into the ocean for a refreshing swim. The day was so hot, and the water is warm, refreshing and clear. You can see your toes through, whilst treading water. It's so salty, which cleanses your skin and leaves you feeling smooth and delicious Also, the water makes us so bouyant, we just floated on top, as if we were laying on blow-up mattresses. Gazing upon the skies, imagining shapes develop from the clouds, and listening to the sounds of the sea. A delicious meal, cocktails and wonderful company ended our perfect day.
The last day we spend relaxing on the beach. I write now, under the shade of a palm tree, and the water is calling my name ...

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