Blogs from Zanzibar, Tanzania, Africa - page 18

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Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Nungwi December 25th 2010

Volendo essere precisi, i primi visitatori che si stabilirono su quest' isola non furono degli arabi, bensi' persiani, provenienti dalla lontana citta' di Shiraz; questo avveniva attorno al XII secolo, molto prima che i veri arabi, questa volta provenienti dall' Oman, si sostituissero ai dominatori dell' epoca, i portoghesi, che, sulla rotta verso Goa, stabilirono qui uno dei loro numerosi insediamenti commerciali. Dopo di loro arrivarono gli inglesi, che abolirono il fiorente commercio degli schiavi, sottomisero il sultano e trasferirono qui migliaia di lavoratori dall' India. Quando anche il colonialismo venne abolito, l' isola di Zanzibar ritorno' nelle mani del sultano, ma solo per pochi anni, fino alla rivoluzione del 1964 che ne porto' all' unione con il Tanganyka, a formare l' odierna Tanzania. Di piu' non ne so, dato che il Museo Nazionele di Dar ... read more
Il mio hotel a Stone Town
La spiaggia di Nungwi
Il miglior posto per un buon caffe'!

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City December 25th 2010

We booked tickets from Arusha to Zanzibar online on an airline named Fly540.com. We'd never heard of this airline before, but the online comments seemed positive. It certainly beat travelling for ten hours on a rough road. The flight was at 13:30 and we were told to be there 2 hours earlier which made it 11:30 and the taxi driver said it takes an hour to drive to the airport, so we left the Outpost Lodge at 10:30. The driver asked if we were heading to the Arusha airport and N.. confirmed that we were going to the Kili airport which is an hour away. There is an Arusha airport just outside of town, and is for small prop planes that fly small groups to the Safari parks. We had passed this airport on our way ... read more
E.. and W.. at Arusha airport tarmac
Pilot on Flight deck
Zanzibar aerial view

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City October 29th 2010

EXOTIC ZANZIBAR Zanzibar is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean close to the coast of mainland Tanzania. It has endless silver sand beaches, calm blue seas, historic architecture, friendly people, a past associated with wealth, greed and cruelty and many tales of Sultans, princes and princesses. Island of Sultans, forts and palaces: Zanzibar has been influenced by African, Persian, Portuguese, Arabic, Indian and British cultures. It has been inhabited for around 2,000 years. The Persians who were the first outsiders to visit the islands had built Zoroastrian fire temples here. The Portuguese had built the fort and ruled from Zanzibar from around 1498. The fort is an open air art gallery today and holds the Zanzibar Film Festival. Wh... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar October 24th 2010

Today was supposed to be a pool day at Mtoni Marine, my resort on Zanzibar’s west coast. But because it keeps raining on and off, I am instead sitting in the open-air sports bar called Mcheza Bar, watching soccer, listening to a mixture of Coolio rap songs and bad disco music, and watching an orange cat (one of several inhabiting the resort) wonder around looking for food. Every once in a while a mule will walk by on the beach a few steps down. I just had a pineapple and avocado pizza, which was delicious, along with a coke. I’m not sure why, but there is a shortage of Coke Light (diet Coke), so I have been drinking the real thing. I arrived Friday evening, after a 20-minute ride in a 12-seater plane. I had the ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Nungwi October 20th 2010

Hi all/few, It’s been a while that I have been unable to update the blog. We left Rwanda and rolled onto Tanzania. We followed the southern shore of lake Victoria to the Serengeti/Ngorongo parks where we saw some incredible scenery and wildlife before stopping over in Arusha on the foot of Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro (sadly there were clouds so we did not get to see anything at all) change truck. I had decided at that point to stay extra days in Zanzibar and wait for the next truck coming down this way. I will look forward meeting a new group and do the next leg of the journey and meet extra people even if I feel sad having waved goodbye to some great characters. So I am now on my own in Nungwi on the ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City October 14th 2010

What a different crossing a border makes, from the moment I crossed from into Tanzania from Malawi I seemed to get hassled, I had a few really bad days and just wanted to get on the first flight home. I will not bore everyone with the details except to say that a white person is seen as a meal ticket and everyone seemed to want to rip me off. I traveled to Mbeya, then on to Dar es Salaam I disliked both places, so headed to Zanzibar as quickly as I could, I had heard positive things about it and it was one place I had always wanted to visit. The very name of Zanzibar puts the imagination into overdrive. It is also know as the spice islands, and was once the center of the slave ... read more
Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Nungwi September 23rd 2010

This morning we went on a walkabout in the old quarter of Stone Town, with photography of the famous doors on Kayla's agenda. Emily joined us. There are some 500 mahogany doors with large brass studs, each a different hand carved design, all of Indian origin. The studs were originally to keep elephants from rubbing against the door. Interesting to note that there have never been elephants on Zanzibar. However that doesn't take away from the beauty of the doors. Although she didn't get photos of all 500, Kayla did take shots of many interesting designs. Stone Town is on the ocean, which provided other sights of interest, including a secondary school for Muslim youth, and a very high end hotel opened by the Aga Khan, with room rates starting at $450 US. We luxuriated on ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City September 23rd 2010

Our shack on the beach at Dar Es Salaam was across the harbor from the ferry docks so we had to cross on a short shuttle ferry then catch the fast ferry to Zanzibar. Fortunately it was Sunday morning so the shuttle was not handling work travelers. The fast ferry was fast and smooth and comfortable but very full. Zanzibar is two hours away across open ocean. Kayla and Richard stayed inside and watched Rowan Atkinson in The thin Blue Line on TV so the time passed. We arrived in Stonetown and were met by Hamim our guide. He had a waiting Mini bus to get to our hotel. Then we all agreed to take the "Spice Tour" for $25 each. This started with lunch at a local diner. It had good tasty hot food. Richard ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City August 20th 2010

Hello hello! DENTIST TRIP: Well we are on the island of Zanzibar currently and I am recovering from lasts nights emergency dental work. As it turns out my last filling somehow came loose when eating some caramels. I had managed to eat an astonishing 12 of them at the same time but I lost my filling in the mean time. Additionally I had another cavity near the first infected tooth, so at 9pm (after the dentist ate his evening meal as it is Ramadan now and everyone here is fasting all day long) we arrived to a rural dental clinic on Zanzibar. The dentist, speaking only a little English, sat me down and I opened my mouth. In about 5 seconds with no anesthetic he started drilling out my tooth. I was like WHOA and convinced ... read more

Africa » Tanzania » Zanzibar » Zanzibar City August 19th 2010

Been on the road nine months now and been moving faster then ever, attempting to see as much of east Africa as possible. Malawi flew by with highlights, truly enjoyed it, their experiencing many great people so friendly and generous. With a wonderful lake, fertile land and the stunning Mt. Mulanje. Justin and I were fortunate enough to be accompanied by some students from the USA that have been living their for a few months showing us an insider perspective. Introducing us to many of the local people and taking us through the village they our working in. A nice change of pace from the current touristy trail. From Malawi we took a 35 hour bus ride to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where we met Justin's friend Stephanie that will be traveling with us for a ... read more
garden in village
Local building
Village




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