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Published: July 17th 2008
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Ah, Zanzibar was fantastic. Highlights included snorkelling, fresh seafood markets, and drinking beers in a bar that overlooked the ocean with the sunset illuminating the dhows that were sailing by. But I wouldn't want to make you jealous, so here is just one story which I will cherish for a long time.
We were staying on the north end of the island and Dulal, a Bangladeshi guy with a thick British accent and an enormous beard, had rented a small motorbike for the day. He invited me to jump on the back for a trip to a small and apparently beautiful beach on the East side of the island. We took off as the day was drawing to a close, and finding that no locals along the way could speak English gave up on asking for directions before too long. We had no idea where it was, and there were no signs at all, so we just turned down a dirt track that looked like it would lead to a beach, figuring we could enjoy the sunset anywhere really.
We pulled in to a delightful village with a beautiful beach, and drew a big crowd of villagers who were
excited and curious to find strangers on their doorstep (and on a motorbike no less). None of them could speak English either, so we motioned whether it was alright to stay on their beach for a while and maybe get some food. They were happy to have us, although we struggled to communicate without a common language. I played a little bit of soccer with some kids which was great fun, and they kept chanting 'Goldenbootsi' whenever I touched the ball (whatever that means).
Then, with that magnificent African sun setting in the background, I learnt to ride the motorbike on the beach and sailed up and down the sand, faster and faster. It took me a while to figure out the clutch and the gears, much to the delight of some local kids who ran away every time I came near (they were a little scared to see a whitey, and probably more scared of being run over). I couldn't really imagine a more beautiful place to learn to ride.
Meanwhile, someone had run off and got the only man in the village who could speak English, and he came to talk to us for a while
Inside the House
This was the main room of our friend's house. Notice the big pan full of Ugali, which is eaten with the hands. and to tell us about the place. We asked him if we could get some food, and he took us in to the village's restaurant (a tiny, tiny place with no electricity) and the ladies cooking were delighted that we weren't African - yet we wanted chapatis, a sort of pancake crossed with bread (which i have developed quite a taste for). We had the meal with some delicious cinnamon sweet tea, then were invited back to the man's house to meet his family.
His home was really unlike any house i've ever been in. No electricity, no roof even in some places, and about the size of a bedroom. A family of 6 lived there and they insisted we share some food with them, which we did, even though they didn't have much. They were having 'ugali' - quite a tasteless maize based staple food, but with some lovely sauce on the side. It was amazing that a family with so little was so welcoming towards us, complete strangers from the other side of the world. Before long we jumped back on the bike, moving on into the pitch-black night and back to the north again. We left
the man with a bit of money for his troubles as a thanks for his hopsitality and complete friendliness.
On the way back, we decided to stop off on the side of the road (well actually the main tank ran out of fuel) and while we were changing to the reserve tank we realized we were completely surrounded by fireflies, lighting up the whole area in an unbelievable glow. There were no city lights for miles either, and so it seemed as if the stars shone more brilliantly than I'd ever seen before. There wasn't a sound in the air, except the gentle murmer of a light breeze, delicately passing through some nearby grass. With the bike ready to go, we jumped back on and headed home. I decided then and there that if I hadn't had my arms wrapped around a 28-year-old bearded muslim, it would have been the most romantic setting I've ever been in.
Oh well, a nearly perfect day is completely fine by me.
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Tom
non-member comment
Sounds fantastic, love the fireflies bit. How was the serenity???