Julia's Travels: Zanzibarrrrrrrrrrrr!

After staying up into the wee hours of the morning watching a World Cup game in person at Soccer City in Johannesburg, Chris and I woke up at an ungodly hour the next morning to catch a flight to Zanzibar. Zanzibar had been high on our list of places to see in Africa, and we’d heard nothing but positive reviews from other travelers since arriving in Africa. Zanzibar definitely lived up to our expectations.

Before becoming a semi-autonomous state within Tanzania, the island was controlled by the Sultan of Oman and was used as a trading outpost for spices and goods traveling between Africa and the Middle East. As a result, the island has its own unique fusion of Arab, Swahili and African cultures. The island’s largest city, Stone Town, is a rambling maze of narrow passageways wedged between 500-year-old buildings. It’s pretty spectacular.

Chris and I spent a couple of days wandering through Stone Town, enjoying delicious local fare at the night market and just soaking up the ambiance. Chris also started his PADI open water course here (after the failed attempt to coordinate with the dive centers in Ile Ste. Marie, Madagascar, this was the next place on our itinerary where Chris could do the course). I did some snorkeling on the reefs 1-2 km offshore from Stone Town, and I have to say that, aside from being attacked by a jellyfish (OUCH!), I had a great time and was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the reefs and the diversity of tropical fish so close to an urban settlement.

We also did a spice plantation tour just outside of Stone Town. Zanzibar is famous for exporting spices all over the world, and it was really interesting to visit a community-run spice plantation and learn about how spices go from plants to those little jars of powder that you buy in the supermarket. One of my favorite parts of the tour was trying to guess each spice by smelling each plant’s leaves. I got almost all of them right and was pretty pleased with myselfJ.

After several days in Stone Town, we moved up the coast to a quite beachside getaway called Matemwe. There, we stayed in a simple, low-key bungalow, and Chris finished his PADI course. I also did a couple of dives, and Chris and I had the chance to dive together at the Mnemba Atoll, which was beautiful. I have to say that Chris took to diving about as quickly as he took to skiing (which is to say, like a total natural who was born with a tank on his back).

After Matemwe, we continued farther up the coast to the northernmost tip of the island, called Kendwa beach. We’d heard better reports on Matemwe than Kendwa, though I have to say that we both preferred Kendwa. The beach was BEAUTIFUL, we could go snorkeling right off the beach in front of our hotel, and the place had a livelier backpacker atmosphere. We enjoyed couple of days in Kendwa until our cash ran out (the only ATMs in Zanzibar are in Stone Town), and we had to go back to Stone Town.

Zanzibar was also our introduction to Tanzania. Unlike the other places we’d visited on this trip, Tanzania is WAY more touristic, and this comes with some benefits and drawbacks. The benefits include meeting lots of cool travelers and enjoying a well developed travel infrastructure that makes it easy to get around. One of the major drawbacks is that a lot of people are trying to make a buck off travelers, so you have to be on your guard against scammers and con artists. I think that we were both a little taken aback by the aggressive touts in the street trying to sell you something:

Tout (approaching me randomly on the street): Where are you going? Need a hotel room?

Me: No. I’ve already got a place to stay, thanks.

Tout: How about some local handicrafts?

Me: I already bought some, thank you.

Tout: Hmmmm…what about bus ticket?

Me: Nope, we’re staying here.

Tout: Want to change money?

Me: Not with you.

Seriously, these guys are desperate to sell you ANYTHING, and there were occasions when I had little flashbacks to Vietnam, where I felt like I was a walking around with a dollar sign painted on my back. I guess that’s just part of traveling to a place that’s on the gringo trail, and I have to say that it was a small price to pay for spending time in an amazing location like Zanzibar.

-Julia