Zanzibar

---

Once again united, the girls and I took the ferry to Zanzibar. They of course sat inside to enjoy the air conditioning while I stood on the back deck of the boat taking in the scene of the blue water of the Indian Ocean. It was a great two hour ride that landed us in Stone Town, the legendary trading center of Zanzibar. It did not take us long to find a suitable guest house (Annex Abdullah). The girls decided to rest a bit so I headed out to explore the narrow alleys and ancient buildings that makes up this exotic location. I decended upon the large outdoor market and found myself immersed in spice vendors and old ladies hawking fresh fruits.

After a few hours of strolling, I found myself on the west side of the island chatting with the local drug dealers who were enjoying the afternoon sun. They were very happy with their lives on the island although the economy is a bit slow, especially as it is the low-season now. I noticed I was very close to the Africa House which I was told was a great place to enjoy the sunset. I climb the stairs only to find Vicky and Charlotte already sitting and enjoying some drinks. I ordered a fruity Shisha for us to smoke and we enjoyed the setting sun as it plunged into the Indian Ocean.

I spent the next day wandering around and visiting some of the more official sites (house of wonders, old fort, fishing docks). In the evening, I had dinner at Forodhani Gardens which is an outdoor area where locals set up tables filled with seafood which they cook on open fires. Very tasty.

The following morning, the girls and I departed for Nungwi, a beach area on the north of the island of Zanzibar. Just a 1 hour ride, we found suitable accomdation at Jambo Brothers. I immediately signed up for a two tank dive and was soon underwater enjoying the abundant colorful fish of the area.

The following morning, I took an early swim which took me out to a moored catamaran about 200 yards off shore. The boat owner invited me up and I had coffee with him and his girlfriend. Later in the day I was able to swap music with the fellas at Cholios, the local outdoor bar.

The following morning I did another two tank dive off of Nemba island. It was outstanding with many turtles and colorful sealife. The second dive was outrageously turbulent as the entire group (about 8 divers in all) were quickly sucked away from the island and ended up 400 yards from our drop point.

I took off the following morning (leaving the girls to work on their tans) for Stone Town as I was looking to get a flight to Arusha to begin my Serengeti safari.

---

Photos

Dhow
A local fishing boat heads out to sea as our ferry arrives from Dar es Salaam.

Fixing a Boat
As I sat down to a late lunch at Mercury Bar (named for Freddy Mercury of the band Queen as he was born on Zanzibar), this guy was fixing a dhow(local boat).

Big Crane
Not sure why I did this but I thought it was a funny picture.

Flying Zanzibarian Kid
Some local kids were jumping off the pier and into the sea...so I got this shot of one of them during his leap.

Gate
This is the gate near the Old Fort of Zanzibar.

Stone Town
Looking down on Stone Town from atop the House of Wonders (called that because it was the first house on the island with electricity and it also had an elevator).

Smokin' the Shisha
I went to Africa House for sunset (a restaurant/bar with a good view of the ocean) and ordered the apple shisha which is smoked via the hookah pipe (also called a Hubbly Bubbly).

Boat at Sunset
A dhow sails by as I take in the sunset from the Africa House.

And the band played on
A local band plays music at the Africa House as the sunsets.

Low Tide
This is where the fish comes in..but the boats are all out as is the tide.

Forodhani Gardens
Stallholders set up their little cooking stands and dish up seafood delictables...fresh from the sea!

The young know it all
At Forodhini Gardens, I ate next to this young girl and her mother. The girl sayed: "the best place in the USA is Florida...because that is where Disney World is!"

Breakfast in Nungwi
Behind me is my hut (complete with my own bathroom for the first time in a while) at Jambo Brothers.

Breakfast
A very tropical breakfast...I am no Stephanie Klien when it comes to photographing food but I think I did alright.

View during breakfast
This is my view as I consume my free breakfast (for some reason, in Tanzania, all rooms come with free breakfast).

Kids in Nungwi
As I stroll through the small village, these kids stop for a photo.

Leaving on a jet plane
I joined the ground staff at Zanzibar airport as I waited for my flight to leave for Arusha. It was actually a turbo prop but I liked the headline.