Zanzibar - An island paradise
Hello from Africa....
Well it has been a while since I last wrote in my blog due to being so busy cruising through beautiful Africa.
After leaving Malawi we arrived (via Dar es Salaam) at Zanzibar. An island just off Tanzania that I knew nothing about but everyone from out tour group have been raving about for ages so I was really looking forward to getting there. (Especially as we have spent the best part of the last 3 days in a truck and I think everyone has had enough of my lame jokes!) To get to Zanzibar we took the ferry from Dar (an hour late like most transport in Africa) which is 3 hours on the Sprinter. Pulling into the port at Zanzibar, the first thing I noticed was the heat - it was so nice to have the African sun back as we've had some wet days in Africa. (who says it never rains in Africa!) After getting our gear we were driven to our hostel for the night which was in the capital Stonetown. Just to give you a brief background, Zanzibar was known as the spice and slave gateway to Africa and is steeped in history with the arabic and english influence before indepedence in 1964. The main language in Zanzibar is Arabic and Swahili and the arabic influence is shown by the architecture, dress and the main religion (Islamic) in Zanzibar.
After arriving in the late afternoon a few of us had a look around Stonetown before going to the local bar for a beverage or two. After a few cheeky afternoon drinks we went down to the seafood market, which is on the wharf in Stonetown. All seafood you can ever imagine, caught fresh that day and cook in front of you and yeah its very cheap - even for a Mzungo!! But be warned drugs have infiltrated Zanzibar and there are a few homeless people down there that can give you a hard time (Especially one bloke with a knife!! - but hey its all part of the experience) After dinner we went back to the local bar for a few more drinks which ended up to me being on the dance floor dancing to the Lion King song by myself.. but hey I did get a large round of applause from everyone that was there.. maybe they were just keen to have me off the dancefloor. A local guy that was dancing (and was amazing!) invited me up on the dancefloor . The other guys said I held my own with the best dance in Zanzibar (that was his title) but I couldnt move my hips like he could. Anyway, it was the end of another terrific day. The next day a few of us hired mopeds (scooters) to cruise around the island (it is around 80kms long by 40 kms wide) We decided to head north as we were told the beaches were just amazing and after an interesting journey. The drivers in Zanzibar are crazy but you learn very fast. The north didnt disappoint it was just postcard perfect, white sandy beaches aqua coloured waters and yeah its hot here!! Got to love a winter tan!! :) The water is super warm as well, so here we are having a few bevvies watching the sun go down in the water.. about as good as like can get. Apparently, this is a real gold mine for investors - might have to save my cash so I can buy a block of apartments here! The next day a couple of us cruised down the east coast of Zanzibar on our mopeds.. wow this was an experienc! The roads going to the north were average at best well the roads on the east side were horrific and sometimes just stopped for no apparent reason! We were crusing down a sandy pathway when it didnt go anywhere so a local told us to take it on the beach which we thought was illegal but hey should give it a go.. well that was fun until we were pulled over by another local that told us that its a $150 USD fine if you get caught cruising down the beach on your moped, thankfully he took us back to where the track was.. After stopping for lunch and mangos.. Zanzibar has the most fertile land, the grow practically everrything and anything. The mangos are just amazing, I think I polished off about 10 along the way as they are so cheap! We arrived back at our hotel in Stonetown around 5 which finished a 7 hour day on our moped on the bumpiest roads ever seen! I think I will send them my chiro bill!
The next day we did our spice tour, which involved a tour of Stonetown. Their most famous (or was I should say) was Freddie Mercury and his name is everywhere. We then did a tour of the spice farms which grows everything from cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vanilla, lemon grass etc. etc. just go through your spice rack and it is grown in Zanzibar. Oh yeah, I had my first ever coconut which tasted divine, the milk is so cold and refreshing.
We left the spice tour to board the ferry back to Dar before we head to the Serengetti and Crater. Something that I have been looking forward to for years!!
Signiing off
Troy
Well it has been a while since I last wrote in my blog due to being so busy cruising through beautiful Africa.
After leaving Malawi we arrived (via Dar es Salaam) at Zanzibar. An island just off Tanzania that I knew nothing about but everyone from out tour group have been raving about for ages so I was really looking forward to getting there. (Especially as we have spent the best part of the last 3 days in a truck and I think everyone has had enough of my lame jokes!) To get to Zanzibar we took the ferry from Dar (an hour late like most transport in Africa) which is 3 hours on the Sprinter. Pulling into the port at Zanzibar, the first thing I noticed was the heat - it was so nice to have the African sun back as we've had some wet days in Africa. (who says it never rains in Africa!) After getting our gear we were driven to our hostel for the night which was in the capital Stonetown. Just to give you a brief background, Zanzibar was known as the spice and slave gateway to Africa and is steeped in history with the arabic and english influence before indepedence in 1964. The main language in Zanzibar is Arabic and Swahili and the arabic influence is shown by the architecture, dress and the main religion (Islamic) in Zanzibar.
After arriving in the late afternoon a few of us had a look around Stonetown before going to the local bar for a beverage or two. After a few cheeky afternoon drinks we went down to the seafood market, which is on the wharf in Stonetown. All seafood you can ever imagine, caught fresh that day and cook in front of you and yeah its very cheap - even for a Mzungo!! But be warned drugs have infiltrated Zanzibar and there are a few homeless people down there that can give you a hard time (Especially one bloke with a knife!! - but hey its all part of the experience) After dinner we went back to the local bar for a few more drinks which ended up to me being on the dance floor dancing to the Lion King song by myself.. but hey I did get a large round of applause from everyone that was there.. maybe they were just keen to have me off the dancefloor. A local guy that was dancing (and was amazing!) invited me up on the dancefloor . The other guys said I held my own with the best dance in Zanzibar (that was his title) but I couldnt move my hips like he could. Anyway, it was the end of another terrific day. The next day a few of us hired mopeds (scooters) to cruise around the island (it is around 80kms long by 40 kms wide) We decided to head north as we were told the beaches were just amazing and after an interesting journey. The drivers in Zanzibar are crazy but you learn very fast. The north didnt disappoint it was just postcard perfect, white sandy beaches aqua coloured waters and yeah its hot here!! Got to love a winter tan!! :) The water is super warm as well, so here we are having a few bevvies watching the sun go down in the water.. about as good as like can get. Apparently, this is a real gold mine for investors - might have to save my cash so I can buy a block of apartments here! The next day a couple of us cruised down the east coast of Zanzibar on our mopeds.. wow this was an experienc! The roads going to the north were average at best well the roads on the east side were horrific and sometimes just stopped for no apparent reason! We were crusing down a sandy pathway when it didnt go anywhere so a local told us to take it on the beach which we thought was illegal but hey should give it a go.. well that was fun until we were pulled over by another local that told us that its a $150 USD fine if you get caught cruising down the beach on your moped, thankfully he took us back to where the track was.. After stopping for lunch and mangos.. Zanzibar has the most fertile land, the grow practically everrything and anything. The mangos are just amazing, I think I polished off about 10 along the way as they are so cheap! We arrived back at our hotel in Stonetown around 5 which finished a 7 hour day on our moped on the bumpiest roads ever seen! I think I will send them my chiro bill!
The next day we did our spice tour, which involved a tour of Stonetown. Their most famous (or was I should say) was Freddie Mercury and his name is everywhere. We then did a tour of the spice farms which grows everything from cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vanilla, lemon grass etc. etc. just go through your spice rack and it is grown in Zanzibar. Oh yeah, I had my first ever coconut which tasted divine, the milk is so cold and refreshing.
We left the spice tour to board the ferry back to Dar before we head to the Serengetti and Crater. Something that I have been looking forward to for years!!
Signiing off
Troy
posted by Troy Aitken | 3:04 AM
1 Comments:
sorry mate to correct your grammer but the relgion is islam and the people are islamic
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