Chumbe Island

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Yesterday morning we took a taxi to the coast, where we caught a boat going to Chumbe Island - a small island 6 miles off the coast of Zanzibar. Like much of Zanzibar, Chumbe Island is composed of "coral rag forest" - basically fossilized coral beds covered by a thin layer of dirt that only certain types of trees can grow on. Chumbe is surrounded by protected coral reefs, and we spent yesterday afternoon snorkeling and hiking through the protected forests on the island. Last night we stayed at the eco-lodge on Chumbe. There are half a dozen or so bungalows, and each one is completely self-sufficient. The power is generated through solar panels on the roof, rain water is collected for showers, and there are "composting" toilets with scoops of dirt rather than flushes. The architecture was really unique - think Swiss Family Robinson meets the Sydney Opera House. This morning we took a boat back to mainland Zanzibar, and have a couple of hours at a hotel on the coast before we leave to catch our flight to Cairo! This leg of transportation for our trip has proven to be the most precarious... Ethiopian Airlines has changed our flight times several times. Hopefully we'll get there!

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