Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 16

I. "No Shoes, No News"! I have never really been a beach vacation-type of traveler. I’ve generally focused on historical and cultural explorations and/or outdoorsy endeavors of a physical nature (trekking, particularly). Just hanging out at the beach, especially with tons of other people around, has never appealed to me. But Zanzibar might have made me a convert – at least Matemwe Beach has. For some, Zanzibar is all about the beach; tourists coming from safari in the Serengeti beeline it directly to one of the seaside hotels, sometimes bypassing fascinating, beguiling Stone Town altogether. Several acquaintances back in Sudan actually thought it was odd that I was planning to spend most of my time in town, rather than relaxing under a palm tree. (Of course, these are the individuals who might find it odd that ... read more

Day 76, “Domingo”, May 15th, thankfully our LAM flight was on schedule to fly to Tanzania. We arrived in Dar es Salam just in time to catch a small plane and arrive in Zanzibar at sunset. We got settled at the Africa House Hotel on the beachfront in historic Stone town. We loved the charm of the hotel that was restored from ruins in an eclectic African and Arabic style that reflects the diversity of Zanzibar. We enjoyed an intimate dinner in the hotel bar before turning in. Day 77, Monday, May 16th, we came to understand why May is low season in Zanzibar. It poured rain most of the day. We dodged the downpour as we explored the narrow streets and museums giving into being soaked but kept warm by the tropical humidity. Zanzibar has ... read more

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 ... read more

Hello again…. Finally (after a 2 hour boat ride) arrived in Zanzibar. It was incredibly hot, but in yet another muslim country I had to cover up…not impressed - but as they say here...Hakuna Matata! We immediately met out new group members and much to Danny’s disappointment they were all girls and one 50 year old guy from Canada….oh well! I know travelling is meant to broaden the mind, but when danny refers to wanting better conversation – he really means he wants a guy to chat about sport to! And who says find out about brad and angelina isn’t interesting…………. Anyway, straight off the boat we headed straight to our hotel - it was lovely – a big 4 poster bed with flowing white mosquito nets –and not inside a tent! Loved it! We then ... read more

The island of Zanzibar hosts many exhausted climbers fresh from the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Well known for its spices, in particular: cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. Zanzibar lies 16 miles from the coast of Tanzania, the group of islands were claimed as a colony or protectorate of the Brits for almost a 100 years until 1964, where it became a republic of Tanzania. The capital of Zanzibar is Stonetown which is a World Heritage site. We grabbed a quick flight from the mainland on a twin engine plane that took us briefly over the Indian Ocean. Our midnight arrival into Stonetown gave us few options and we ended up in a humble hostel down an alley. Availability among some of the better hotels on the island was tight but we did find the Dhow Palace which ... read more