Tanzania - Zanzibar

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After A left late at night, I slept in a bit and left around 6am, with the guy, Pascal, who had picked me up when I first arrived. Throughout the trip, I had loved seeing the beautiful purple jacaranda trees, but never got a good picture. He stopped a couple of times so I could try again; pictures really do not do them justice. Maybe next time....

Airport check-in was fairly easy and we were loaded onto a very small plane with entrance at the back end. After we arrived in Zanzibar, the plane continued to Dar es Salaam. It was called "Precision Air" which had me a bit nervous, but it seemed to be a well run operation! Flying over Zanzibar I was a bit blown away with the condition of the buildings - I was struck by the poverty. I think I just did not expect it, knowing how popular a tourist destination it was. My driver arrived late, was not carrying a sign, so I was a bit confused where to go. I finally tracked him down and had a silent 40 minute drive to my hotel on the east beach in Paje. Of course it was raining, the road conditions were terrible, and the poverty continued on. I started to feel a bit guilty, expecting an island paradise to unwind, but instead I was going to see such a huge gap between rich and poor.

The Mahali hotel itself was super nice - it was not ostentatious, but was right on the beach with a private pool and a large room with a balcony overlooking the turquoise waters of the ocean. Very friendly staff as well, though I was mostly in the mood for quiet time and I sometime did feel like I got it. I always had to go out to get food, mainly at the restaurant right at the beach where I could charge directly to my room. The food was decent and the staff very nice, but it was not overly relaxing. The last night was great though, when they had a live band who were pretty good! Mostly, each time I tried to swim in the turquoise waters of the ocean, I was approached repeatedly by people trying to sell me something, usually dressed as Masai warriors - whether they actually were, no idea, I just ignored them.

Unfortunately it rained pretty much the whole entire time! I mean there were periods of sunshine of course, but each morning it rained for about 2 to 3 hours. This meant that the narrow roads through the town were just completely flooded and I was not about to walk in that water in my exposed feet. So, I was generally confined to the hotel, which was not the worst thing. I read a lot and caught up on some of my photo editing. The power went out frequently, which was not always convenient, but also made me embrace where I was too, so I did not mind it so much.

The only adventure I wound up doing was to go snorkeling at the "blue lagoon" a bit to the north. I scheduled a driver at 9:30 am and of course it was raining and had been raining since about 8. The owner caught up with me and we laughed a bit about the rain - I am going to be wet anyway and I prefer less crowds too. As she pointed out, the only drawback was to not get the gorgeous colors of the water and the fish - it just would not be as vibrant. Not to mention, the water would be murky with all the silt floating around. The usual driver took me and I met a guide who would take me out on his basic motor boat, and I was pelted with rain and a little chilly. He and I jumped in and he led me in a circle around the reef where I was to snorkel. There was only one other couple there, so I basically had it all to myself! There were many fish, but really blew me away were the beautiful giant clams! They were so cool, with various striking colors. I did not really notice on our first loop around but it was clear when I was on my own as they would shut as I passed overhead. Just amazing. There were also a couple of aggressive little fish that would come right at me - I guess they were protecting something!

So, that was pretty much my time in Zanzibar. I know some people absolutely love it here. And I would have liked to see Stone Town in better weather. However, I was not overly impressed with the poverty (it made me feel sad), pushy people, and crowd. It was not my favorite place - this is purely me and my opinion. It is definitely worth a visit though.

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Comments

[Amber]

Sad
I’m so sad at the poverty versus resort area. It always floors me how some of the big resort areas around the world are surrounded by abhorrently poor living conditions. But I’m glad it gave you time to unwind after the rest of our trip.

[D MJ Binkley]

Zanzibar
You are hitting some great locations. Your blog makes me want to blow some bubbles.

[Ake Och Emma]

Hotel in Zanzibar
When we were in Zanzibar we stayed in an awesome hotel. It was on a tidal island. So half the day we could walk from the hotel to the town but half the day we had to take a boat. /Ake