We arrived early in the morning after a 7am ferry, and took a tour on foot of Stone Town. We visited the slave chambers and heard about the sad history of Zanzibar as a key port in the slave trade for many years. Arab slave traders used to bribe Tribal Chiefs throughout Africa who would tell their people there was well-paying work available on Arab farms. Whole families would pack up their lives and join the procession only to be faced with guns and torture as they were walked across Africa to Zanzibar. There they were held captive in squalid conditions till they were sold. They used to whip them to test their pain thresholds and determine their worth. It was very sad. An English adventurer, Livingston, stumbled accross their plight and spent his days thereafter tirelessly campaigning for their freedom which he eventually achieved. He is a hero in much of Africa and many places are named after him.
Zanzibar's rich culture is not only it's history but also it's distinctive architecture and thriving spice industry. Everywhere you go in Stone Town you see the historic doors, some 800 years old and made from Ebony. They are intricately carved and casually line all the inimate alleyways in Stone Town. It's is a lovely place to just walk the streets as there is so much to to see. We saw the house where Freddy Mercury was born - and were suprised how little fuss was made over something so historic. Then we realised he was openly gay and this is a primarily Muslim country so they perhaps weren't as proud of him as some other countries would be.
We took a Spice Tour which ended up in hilarity as a contagious fit of giggles spread through our now close-knit group of 6. I believe it started as we were being shown the first plant and about 10 people whipped out fancy cameras to take photos of the leaves. After that we were taking the most ridiculous photos of the most ridiculous things and over dramatising every spice we smelt. I think we were a bit frustrated cos we'd finally arrived at the coast after 3 weeks in hot, dusty Moshi, and all we really wanted to do was go to the beach. After the gruelling tour was over, and I waved goodbye to a little friend I'd made who fell asleep on my chest for ages, it was success at last - we were off to the beach! Of course it lived up to our expectations and we had a blast swimming and sunning for the next few hours. My nose got horrendously burnt and I spent the rest of the holiday looking like Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer!
We hit the night food market for dinner and it was amazing. About 100 stalls are set up selling mostly exotic seafood. I had 2 crab claws, octopus and a fish skewer, finished off with a Nutella pancake. Delish! The next night we ate in a little indian restaurant after watching the sunset at beautiful Africa House. We's smoked Apple flavoured Shish, sang karaoke, and were off to bed early in preparation for our morning drive to the north for 2 days in a beach bungalow.
The Sunset Bungalows up north were nothing fancy but they were definitely fun. We lazed on the beach, chatted to new found friends, and generally enjoyed not having to do anything after a month of hard work and schedules. I get some gorgeous henna done by a woman ironically named Tatu, and had a wonderful massage. Our friend Jenna, who we affectionately call Special after a guide on our Waterfalls tour coined the endearing moniker, unfortunately smudged her (already badly drawn) henna - not good since she was returning to work in England and it lasts 2 weeks. She looked a little sad until we put a rescue plan into action and had another lady touch it up beautifully. She even put the Swahili word for Special "Maalum" on her new design and Jenna walked away with the best henna of the lot in the end!
Our other friends carried nicknames for the following reasons:
Katie - "Disney". Katie was the epitome of a Disney princess - beautiful, fiesty, adventurous, articulate... she is a sweetheart and was my teaching buddy. I'm going to miss her heaps as there isn't a bad bone in her body. Every day she emerges looking like Aerial, or Jasmine, or Belle and we'd inevitably break out in the appropriate song of course. Oh how many times we wished for your Magic Carpet ride to come and get us!
Ryan - "Lion". For obvious reasons... but he is like a big gentle cat in so may ways. We'd all sing "Ryan, like a Lion, In Zion..." I also called him the "Kid Whisperer" cos you've never seen someone so good with children in your life. Lion's awesome and epitomises the way Africa can change you. He returns home a mellow, relaxed guy fully adjusted to Africa Time. There is a great saying here "Westerners have the watches but Africa has the time" and it's so true. After you've waited an hour and a half for toast you realise how crazy it is to be so manic at home.
Ally - "Wild Cat". A true Aussie girl from a farm, she is wild! Always the first in the water, or rolling around
in the mud or sand. She didn't wear shoes the whole time in Zanzibar and you'd pass her on the footpath at midnight as she was heading out for a swim. Flying the flag with pride!!
Daniel - "Mexican". You have never met someone so patriotic for their country, proud of their friends and family, or passionate in your life. His accent amused us no end and he was my buddy towards the end of this trip. While we joked about it, his "peace and love" philosophy is one we should all heed as a life without conflict is one to be proud of. Daniel was a star at negotiating prices and we suspected this was beauce they weren't really sure if he was a Mzungu or not. Notably he also scaled Kilimajaro with ease - the first one up the mountain of those that departed the day he did, even beating his guide.
My favourite Mexican story is when he was teaching his class in Moshi. To assist the kids to understand him he'd sometimes use the Swahili word for what he was teaching and have the kids repeat it. This one day he got the Swahili translation a bit muddled and had all the students chanting "Cuma Tano" at the top of their lungs. The teacher ran in and stopped him, only to explain that the kids had all just been yelling "Five Vaginas"!!!! Too funny!
On the last day we comandeered a jet boat for about $10 AUD each to take us on a 2 hour sunset snorkelling ride. It was a magical way to end our Zanzibar adventure. We saw a giant seahorse, a huge bright blue starfish, and swarms of fish in the coral all lit up by the orange fading light. It will be a great memory for a long time. We also called ourselved the "Bomb Squad" as we'd taken to bombing each other's, and occassionally other people's, photos. It was very funny seeing someone sneakily dive in at the last second to ruin a perfect shot.
Anyway Zanzibar was amazing and all the pics can be found on my Facebook.
Give a big bum scratch to my Harvey Bear. I kiss a photo of him every night!
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment
Love to hear from you, please send me a comment!