The Spice Isle


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November 13th 2011
Published: November 27th 2011
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Freddie Mercury's supposed house
We arrived in Zanzibar after a short flight from Kigali and a couple of nights in Dar es Salaam. We didn't explore much of Dar, mainly because it was exceedingly hot and the white sands and crystal waters of Zanzibar were calling to us.

Our first few days on the Spice Isle were spent in Stone Town the old part of the capital Zanzibar Town. We got ourselves lost in the winding cobbled streets, being harangued by touts and hawkers and checking out a few local sites and museums, including the supposed childhood home of Freddie Mercury and the old slave market, the site of one of the last legal slave markets in the world.

One of our highlights was tucking into some delicious shark, lobster and shrimp kebabs washed down with sugarcane and ginger juice (even if we did get ripped off for the pleasure), whilst watching the sun go down and the local teenagers wildly jumping into the harbour fully clothed. This was followed by a traditional Zanzibar dance show. Although we weren't too sure how traditional it was when one of the large female dancers put a hat down on our table for tips as
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A cellar which was used to hold 50 slaves
she wiggled her generous rump in Jonny's scared looking face and then proceeded to drag him up on stage to further his embarrassment.

We took an obligatory spice plantation tour and learnt some interesting facts about the island's spices, including that vanilla and pepper grow as vines, pineapples grow out of the ground and quinine plants look remarkably like marijuana. We also drank fresh coconut juice after our guide strapped his feet together and shot up a very tall coconut tree to retrieve some for us.

Our first beach destination was Kendwa on the northwest coast. The beach and sea were as beautiful as promised, however, slightly ruined by the multitude of hotels and resorts encroaching onto the beach and the large number of loud Europeans and Aussies topping up their tans. Fortunately this didn't bother us too much as most of our time was either spent in the classroom or underwater as we were learning to SCUBA dive. We didn't quite realise how much reading was involved and had to spend one night diligently reading our textbooks and answering questions into the early hours. Cel was a bit annoyed when in turned out that Jonny was a
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Evening entertainment
bit of a natural, while she struggled to stay on the bottom and kept floating back up to the surface, especially as it had been her idea to try diving in the first place! However, in the end, and after some patient tuition we both passed our PADI Scuba Diver course and enjoyed our first few open water dives. We got to see many of the characters from Finding Nemo including some cute Anemonefish and many Moorish Idols.

Our next beach stop was Jambiani on the southeast coast of the island, a much quieter beach with fewer tourists and more of a simple charm. On the beach we saw the locals going about their daily life, including the fishermen bringing in their fresh catch of squid and stingrays, the local football team in training and a little boy who spent the whole morning captivated by our camera and sunglasses.

En route to our final beach stop, we visited Jozani Forest and it's cute families of red Colobus monkeys, a protected species unique to the island. We also encountered the shy Sykes monkeys who acrobatically jumped from tree to tree flying through the air to cross a road that
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Sunset in Stone Town
runs through the forest.

Our final night on the island was in Paje in a recommended hotel, which even served sushi to Cel's delight. We stayed in pretty wooden stilted accommodation and it was such an upgrade from our regular rooms with only a minimal strain on our budget that we thought about extending our stay. However, during the early hours of our first night we were woken by the telltale sound of buzzing in our ears. After a few unsuccessful attempts to swat the mosquito in the dark we turned on our torches to discover our net filled with mosquitoes who had been feasting on us all night. We felt there was no option but to vacate our room and at 5am headed to the beach to watch the sunrise. After the trauma of the night we decided to stick to our original plan and leave the island that day, checking out as quickly as we could.

On our way back to Stone Town we stopped off in Makunduchi to visit the hospital where Chris will be working from January. The reality of the basic conditions that he will be working in really hit home when they
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A seafood feast!
showed us the ITU which had a lot less equipment than a normal ward at home.

We spent a further night in Dar, which was even hotter than when we had first arrived, and prepared for a long bus trip to Mombasa to meet Cel's parents.


Additional photos below
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Enjoying the show...
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Nutmeg
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Lipstick fruit
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We didn't realise pineapples grew on a bush
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Climbing a coconut tree
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Jambiani beach
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Cool dude
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The local football team training practice
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A Red Colobus Monkey only found in Zanzibar
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Supermonkey
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Paje beach
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Sunrise after our mosquito nightmare!
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Makunduchi hospital where Chris will work
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Dalla dalla


27th November 2011

Hi both, Hope your both keeping well and healthy. Its been so nice reading your adventurous updates. It reminds me of when I backpacked with my cousin. I have learnt something new about how pineapples grow! I have been meaning to send you both pics from your grandads 85th birthday do at your place and also most recent Austins 1st birthday...I promise i will get round to it. We will be putting up xmas decor soon. Where will you be this xmas? Guess it will be strange having a hot and sunny xmas than one in your winter woolies :) I am trying to start my xmas shopping online this week end as i dont fancy going into town on a last minute. I best get on and will mail back soon with pics. Take care both and stay safe x x x
30th November 2011

Hi Bina, Thanks for your message, we are both fine and getting into the swing of India now. It was a definite culture shock at first! Can't believe you guys are getting ready for Christmas, it feels about as far from Christmas here as possible. We'll be spending Christmas in Goa with Grandma's family, which we are looking forward to. Weren't you guys there this time last year? Would be great if you could send us some pictures, really missing all of the family, especially when it comes to birthdays and parties. Enjoy your Christmas preparations, keep in touch. Love from Celina & Jonny xx

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