Zanzibar is beautiful! (Kikoy, anyone?)

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We left my parents in Entebbe to fly out the next day (which they did, and, after several days of sleeping, are now fully recovered!), and flew via Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, then on to Zanzibar town. The most exciting part of the journey was when we went to the Java House in Nairobi airport and got delicious iced lattes! You see, there aren't Starbucks on every corner here, so we have been espresso-deprived. Of course, Andy remedied this by bringing a stove-top espresso maker for us, which Suzy's friend Jess bought for us! (THANK YOU! Since our return, we have been much less grumpy!)

We spent four lovely nights in Zanzibar. Two at Pongwe beach at a hippie-ish bungalo place, and two in Stone Town (Zanzibar's old town). It was spectacular. The first couple days we just swam in the Indian Ocean and ate good food. The third day we went on a spice tour, and the fourth, snorkeling and souvenir shopping (including my purchase of approximately 15 kikoys - wrap-sarong things, which are beautiful). I'll add photos - the spice tour was amazing - we walked around a spice plantation with Abdul, our guide, showing and letting us taste spices growing there... from cinammon bark to ginger root to cardamon pods to ylang ylang! It was really interesting. (I'll try to sort out my photos and upload some!)

The tour also included a stop at the "slave cave", which was where slaves were held after the slave trade through Stone Town had officially ended in the late 1800s. This cave was used until 1907! Isn't it remarkable? It was eerie being down there. I can't even imagine. They would drop one or two slaves down at a time through a small opening. You would be far from home and with many others who also had been captured. But the slave traders were smart, because they would only have one or two from each tribe, so that all the captured people couldn't communicate with each other or plan anything. Tribal conflict and animosity would add to the language barrier to ensure that the slaves remained in their cave, until a ship was brought to the coast and the slaves brought out through a tunnel, under the cover of darkness. Can you even imagine?

After this experience, we lightened up by swimming in the sea and shooting our own beer commercial (see photos). Other activities in Stone Town included sampling the street food, from prawns to beef to baracuda, and eating lots of delicious food.

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Photos

All of us!
Here's all of us (well, not me): Belinda, Stina, Suzy, and Andy!

The shore
A boat like this took us out snorkeling!

parrot bird?
One of the many animals at the Uganda Wildlife Educaiton Center in Entebbe.

ready for my closeup
...said rupert the rhino

our cousins for sure
This chimp was swinging, just like kids do - just like I do.

beautiful doors
So many beautiful doors in Zanzibar town!

mommies
aawww, cute black-faced vervet monkeys at the zoo! (not in an exhibit, just there)

Comments

[Larry]

beer commercial?
Are there other photos accessible? If so, how do you get to them? I've been loving the ones that accompany your blog. We miss you-- hurry home safely, Larry