Zanzibar

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Hi all,

I had a really great time in Zanzibar. Got the bus at 7am on Friday, feeling very tierd and slightly hungover from the night before. Arrived at Dar es Saalam at 3.30pm, the last ferry to Zanzibar left at 4pm so it was a mad rush to get in a taxi and then buy the ferry tickets. I managed to get there with 10 minutes to spare, and thew up on the 2hr crossing! Eventually made it to Kendwa rocks (a beach resort at the north of the island) by 8pm. I met a South African guy there, Warren who is an interior designer for all the Zain stores (telecom company) in Africa. Woke up Saturday and headed down to the beach and wow! never seen a beach like it, the whitest sand, and crystal clear water, amazing. Spent the whole day at the beach chilling out. Kendwa rocks is such a nice resort, an awsome bar on the beach, volleyball court, and they run snorkeling and diving trips. Me and Warren played a few games of volleyball in the afternoon and met a fun bunch of med students from Leiseter, who were in Tanzania volunteering. We spent a few hours practicing, and then played the locals....and lost....25-1. I met up with Warren and the med students for dinner, which was followed by an african dancing/gymnastic show at the bar (including a fire limbo) and a disco. Sunday was spent snorkeling, homing our volleyball skills, chilling out at the bar and eating seafood...good times.
I spent 3 nights in Kendwa rocks, but could have stayed there for a lot longer it really was the perfect beach resort and can't reccomend it enough. On Monday I headed down to Stonetown, got a hostel and spent the whole afternoon sightseeing. It's such a strange place, tiny winding allyways, a fusion of Tanzanian, Arabic and Indian cultures. I had a guide show me round, got to see the Hamisi baths, Omani Fort, house of wonders, the food market (split into chicken, meat, fish, vegetables and spice sections) and the former slave market. It was the last slave market in Africa and wasn't a pretty sight, 2 small rooms (of about 20 square meters) which each housed around 70 slaves before auction. Went to a nice Indian restaurant for dinner and hit the hay early, my ferry was at 7am the next day.



Ben.

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