Paradise Isle!

On our arrival into Dar es Salaam, were again ambushed by taxi drivers, but keen to get the cheapest deal between 7 of us (the medics were heading our way), we haggled hard! Eventually setting on an truck with no sides or roof we headed into the bright lights of the big city. We had phoned ahead to the YMCA and booked a double room (lonely planet told us it took women too). I’m not quite sure what we were expecting, but we were both a little bemused and disappointed when we arrived and there were no red Indians, cowboys or traffic cops dancing out to meet us!

We woke early the following day, keen to leave for Zanzibar as soon as possible (we’d heard reports of muggings and thieves!) so headed for the 7am ferry. The weather was glorious and the sea was calm, so with the sunnies out and factor 15 on we were set for a relaxing few days on the paradise Isle!

Arriving in the port of Stone Town, we made first for our hostel where we downed our luggage and headed out to explore. The town itself was magical, with twisting alleys, and shops and markets that you could quite literally get lost in. The seafront was dazzling with white sand and turquoise sea, it felt almost Caribbean but with Arabic twist! The population of Zanzibar is 90%Muslim, so we were careful not to eat or drink in public, as they are currently fasting for Ramadan, to avoid scowls from the locals (many tourists didn’t seem to realise why the people were occasionally hostile). We were grumpy enough after a couple of hours without food in that heat so I don’t blame them!

Katie got over excited and bought elephants spoons, giraffe spoons and a couple of local paintings – the kind of purchases that when considered in hindsight seem totally absurd! Ewan took a more laidback approach and bartered fiercely for a giraffe painting and some baby elephants, and made some bargain buys.

Exhausted and hungry we headed that evening to the fish market at Forodhani Gardens on the seafront. It was mesmerizing, with row upon row of tables laiden with all sorts of sea creatures, lit by lanterns in the trees. After a feast we retired to get some rest before heading north the following day to the beach!