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After quitting our jobs, moving out of our apartment and sending our belongings off to storage for a year, we finally began a new chapter of our lives here in Africa.
Our first flight from Hong Kong was to Tanzania and our journey commenced on the tropical island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a small island of 800,000 people, approx 90 % of which are Muslim. Our first few nights were spent at a beach town called Bwejuu located on the east coast of Zanzibar. The east coast is quiet and most of the beaches are untouched, maintaining their natural beauty. Our timing wasn’t perfect as it was the beginning of the low/rainy season and it rained most days. We made the most of our days staying at the Twisted Palm Lodge, had beach walks, hired a Vespa to get around and visit other places on the island. One day out on the bike we got caught in a massive rainstorm and dashed to the nearest shelter we could find which happened to be a hotel on the beautiful beaches of the town, Jambiani. In our drenched clothes, we sat smiling watching the torrential rain, sipped hot coffee and played draughts
until the rain subsided.
Only a week into the trip I have already realised that Benn has an ulterior motive for our year around the world – to go fishing in as many places as possible! One day in Zanzibar we arranged with a local fisherman for him to take us out on his boat, which turned out to be a dug-out canoe which could barely float! I spent the course of the next couple of hours bailing water out of the boat to ensure that we did not sink and although we caught no fish and were forced to go back to shore by heavy rain and wind, it was a nice experience.
Our final few days in Zanzibar were spent in the capital, Stone Town which with its myriad of alleyways and winding streets is old, rustic and beautiful. Stone town retains its Arabian/Middle Eastern influences and its people a real mixture of African, Indian and Arabian. History tells us that this tiny island was once the slave-trade capital of Africa, with the Zanzibar main port being used to transport African slaves to the rest of the world.
We love Zanzabarian food, it is
delicious. The use of local spices in every dish made them delightful, especially the amazing curries and spicy rice dishes.
Zanzibar became our first taste of the beautiful red African sunset and we look forward to many more over the next eight weeks….
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Maisondubonheur
Pierre-Alexandre
Cool entry!
So, Benn, one more guy leaving Zurich, good move! Nice entry, 8 weeks in Africa, where next? I'm in DRC and SA in May. Peter