Day 20

We were finally at a beautiful beachfront campsite after the rough drive through Tanzania. Unfortunately we didn’t have any time to enjoy the location because of our packed itinerary. Jojo scheduled us on a ferry to Zanzibar at 9:00 and he promised that our hotel would be even more beautiful then our current location.

I think we were all worried that it would take a long time to get to the ferry because of traffic but our guides had a trick up their sleeve. Just after sunrise, we drove down the road to a local ferry that would take us to city center. We said goodbye to Jojo who would be staying with the truck and headed off with Tobi and Nash. We piled on the ferry with the locals for the short ride to the other side. Our group then got into several waiting tuk-tuks that took us a short distance to the Zanzibar ferry. It felt like we were part of The Amazing Race TV show racing through foreign streets not knowing where we were headed!

Muslims are prevalent in Tanzania but the people of Zanzibar are almost all Islamic. During our visit, it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which means nobody eats or drinks (even water) during the day. I think it is for this reason that everybody seemed relaxed and laid back on the ferry ride instead of the normal hustle and bustle. We landed in Zanzibar, got our passport stamped and boarded another bus to our hotel. While on the bus, our new tour guide for the next three days from Sun Tours did an excellent job of totally confusing everybody about the itinerary. He started talking about the third day activities before jumping back to the first day. Sara and I wanted to go scuba diving and it felt like pulling teeth to get an answer of when we could go diving. He actually fell asleep a few minutes so we had a quiet ride the rest of the way to Amaan Bungalows.

The hotel was situated on the north end of Zanzibar island right on the beach. After all the confusion about activities in the bus, we decided to go snorkeling with Sam and Erin the next day and then go scuba diving the day after if there was time. Even though the locals were fasting for Ramadan, the resort restaurants still served food during the day. Once checked into the hotel, we had a quick lunch then I rushed to get my suit on and explore the beach. While I went swimming, Sam, Sara and Erin relaxed while getting their nails done.

I still had the snorkel gear we purchased in Australia for exactly this reason. I took my GoPro, snorkel gear and walked across the white sandy beach into the warm water of the Indian Ocean. It was mostly sand so there wasn’t too much to see but I did have to swim through a wall of jellyfish which felt like I was swimming in jello to get to a floating platform. Luckily, the jellyfish didn’t sting but it was still very freaky. I had never seen jellyfish form such a dense grouping before. Once at the platform, there were quite a few fish swimming around as well as a very curious clownfish that swam up to investigate me! The rest of the afternoon Sara and I just relaxed and used the surprisingly good internet to connect with home.

Day 21

I woke up early in the morning to what sounded like rain. I went outside to investigate and was greeted with a cloudy and windy morning. During breakfast, I kept looking at the clouds in hopes they would disperse for our snorkeling adventure. By the time we started to board the traditional sailing boat taking us to Mnembe Island, it had started raining. The crew was prepared and quickly put up tarps to keep us reasonably dry. We were all cold and wet after the hour journey but the ocean was warm and inviting. Under the water, it was as beautiful and calm so the stormy weather was soon forgotten. It was fun to swim around pointing out beautiful fish and coral to Sam and Erin. After a quick hour of snorkeling, we boarded the boat and headed to a different beach for a tasty lunch of grilled fish. On the way back to the hotel, the sun began to shine and we even put up the sail! That afternoon, Sara and I decided to skip scuba diving since the weather forecast was calling for even more rain.

In the evening, our entire group went out for dinner to celebrate Carolyn’s (from Amsterdam) birthday at a neighboring restaurant. The food was good but when the bill came it was totally illegible and the the price was inflated. Our guide, Nash, helped work out the issue, but we still felt like we were overcharged. After some back and forth, most people gave up and we all ended up throwing in a few more dollars to cover the difference. After the hassle for food, we found an excellent rooftop bar that we talked into giving us happy hour prices on drinks!

Day 22

In the morning, Sara and I were finally able to sleep in since we had nothing planned till after lunch! It was a nice to finally relax and do nothing for a little while. After lunch a bus picked up our group and took us south to the center of the island, Stone Town where we would stay one night at Zanzibar Oceanview Hotel. While in Stone Town, we partook in a walking tour of the town center. I didn’t realize just how independent Sara and I were until I hear the guide talk about the walking tour. He made it sound like it is impossible to get around the town by yourself and seemed surprised when I brought up the question. The tour was informative and I’m glad we participated even though it was rushed…like all tours. One thing I learned is that spikes on Indian doors are used to keep elephants and other wildlife away, but in Zanzibar are just for decoration since there are no elephants.

At one point on the tour, I saw a woman cooking pancakes and attempted to buy one from her. I forgot it was Ramadan and she was probably just cooking her family’s Iftar meal but she seemed happy to indulge my request. She spoke no English and I didn’t know how much money to give her. I pulled out a 1000 shilling note and she shook her head. I didn’t think it could cost less so I pulled out a 5000 shilling note. She shook her head again and I showed my wallet contents to her. She rustled through the bills and pulled out a 500 note. After taking the bill, she handed me not one but two pancakes! I was extremely surprised – two pancakes for the equivalent of 25 cents! It was about this time I realized it was Ramadan and I couldn’t enjoy my nice warm pancake for another hour – oh well.

As the tour ended, Sara, Erin, Melanie, and I decided to stay behind for shopping and to try some local food from a night market. After shopping for some souvenirs and gifts, we wandered down the street and came across a bar that was serving drinks. We enjoyed chatting and a couple drinks while watching the sunset. Soon we were hungry and headed back towards the night market for dinner. We were walking down a dark stretch of road that was under construction when all of a sudden a scooter pulled up alongside us and Erin started screaming. As the scooter took off, I realized what was happening and we took off running. The scooter disappeared into the night along with Erin’s wallet full of cash, credit cards and her phone. We couldn’t believe we were just robbed! Not wanting to support the locals anymore and feeling worked up after the robbery we walked the 3 kilometers back to the hotel. Back at the hotel, we briefed our guides who then went with us to file a police report so at least Erin could file an insurance claim.

The main police station seemed like a joke. First of all, no one was wearing uniforms. Then when we told them what happened they pulled out a huge book. The size of a large pizza box, this book was used to document all sorts of incidents The officer wrote Erin’s details at the bottom of the log. We couldn’t get an official police report that night because the boss was home for the night and he does not leave blank forms for the other officers to complete (seemed like there were some trust issues). They told us to come back in the morning before our scheduled ferry to get an official report.

It was really disappointing that Erin was violated during our trip to Zanzibar, especially because she was most excited about that portion of the trip. It was frustrating that she had to be inconvenienced by loosing her only credit cards and her phone. She spent several hours corresponding with her phone and credit companies over the ordeal. But overall, we were all glad no one was injured and almost everything was fixable. Sara and I also realized we needed to evaluate our own awareness and reestablish any security practices that had become lax.

Day 23

In the morning, Erin and Tabi left early to stop at the police station on their way to the ferry. We met them in the boarding lounge and they had everything Erin needed. The ferry took us back to Dar Es Salaam where we met up with Jojo and the truck, Jimi. We drove a short 80 kilometers to the last beachside campsite before heading inland towards the Serengeti!

Dar Es Salaam sunrise enroute to local ferry

Dar Es Salaam skyline view from ferry

View of Zanzibar as ferry approached

Beachside dining at Amaan Bungalows Resort

Girls getting their nails done

Playing African Rummy at sunset

Traditional sailing boat used for snorkeling excursion

Tarp protecting us from the rain as boat motored to reef

Underwater reef offshore of Mnembe Island

Sails up for the ride back

Sails up for the ride back

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