Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 4

After our adventures in Serengeti and Ngorongoro and a few days in Arusha we continued to Moshi at the base of Kilimanjaro. We had no intention to climb this huge mountain, especially because of the cold winter weather so we just enjoyed the city with maybe the best coffee of this whole region. We visited a small coffee farm on the Kilimanjaro slope and even after all our coffee trips in other parts of the world learned some new things and got to pick the coffee berries ourselves. After taking off the skins, washing, roasting and grinding the coffee beans we enjoyed a very nice cup. In Moshi we also got reunited with Gabriela who we had met months before in Mozambique. With her we had drinks and dinners and we visited a cool social enterprise ... read more

One could foresee that our journey was coming to its conclusion. On our last day in Nungwi, at Makofi's, I actually shaved. I had not shaved since mid November, a week or so before we embarked. Oh I had trimmed my beard once every couple of weeks, but standing outside the shower area, ankle deep in white sand with the temperature hovering in the mid to high thirties, I pulled out my trusty Mac 3 and proceeded to prepare myself for a return to... what? I do not want to call it 'civilization' as Africa has its own form of civilization that, in just as many ways that we perceive it as behind us, it has also leapt far ahead of us as well. It was simply a sign that change was in the offing.... we ... read more

On the first of February, we packed up and left Diani beach, taking a short cab ride down the coast. Thirteen km. south and the topography had changed dramatically. The modern paved road had degenerated into a pot holed trail of dirt and dust. Every few minutes we would pass a gated entry to some large resort, but the hustle and bustle of Diani beach had disappeared into a quiet remoteness. We pulled into our resort, the Kinondo Poa, and were greeted by a manager in pressed black pants and a formal, buttoned white shirt. The resort consisted of seven structures - a bar/restaurant sitting beside the pool, a cookhouse, a large mansion like building where the owner lived and the manager had his office, and four guest houses. Each guest house was split - like ... read more

Our next stop was Zanzibar, the spice island. After clearing customs and immigration once again we started our visit with a tour of stone town. Stone town is laced with so much history - old forts, ancient buildings and even a slave market. I was surprised by how much history was remaining, especially compared to many other places we've been where the history is lost to modernization. Stone town is also a predominantly Muslim area, dating back to the days of trade with Arab traders. This means the city is bathed with the call to prayer, a sound I quite enjoy hearing. This does also mean that tourists should cover up out of respect, which some clearly had no consideration for! The tour ended with some shopping in the local craft shops, followed by sunset cocktails ... read more

The next day was spent mainly on the bus with a long drive to the Tanzanian boarder. We kept ourselves entertained with games such as charades and singing along to music on mass. We even managed to watch some of the new game of thrones! Once at the border we got our visas and headed to camp. We got to camp really late and the light had already gone as we pitched the tents and cooked dinner. We would be up early the next day so we were keen to get dinner and go to bed. In a tired stupor I sat down on a bench next to a few of the guys with my food and as I did the whole bench collapsed onto us!! I ended up with spaghetti bolognese all in my lap ... read more