Slowing down in Zanzibar

Amy: I once read that the key to longer term travel is to move slowly. You save money by limiting transport and get to know an area and the culture better. Up until safari, we were not moving slowly. We were on the go. This was basically due to wanting to get on safari before the rainy season commenced. We had our flights for Europe and Africa booked before we left Colorado, but after we landed in Africa everything was open-ended.

Testing our flexibility with finding safari after getting to Africa was good for both of us. After safari, we realized that we could go anywhere and do anything (within our budget). We also needed to gear down a bit. We discussed heading to Zambia or South Africa or Spain or right to Southeast Asia. Then we came back to discussing Zanzibar. A number of people had recommended the island of Zanzibar for the turquoise waters and white sand beaches. Others had warned us away due to potential religious and political tensions. This was particularly heightened during the Tanzania elections. Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania and is semi-autonomous. It seems there have been varied viewpoints on seeking their independence from the mainland. After doing a bit more research, we decided to go for it. The flight was only an hour and pretty affordable. We headed out for the largest island called Unguja.

We booked a room at the Zanzibar House that was a bit of a splurge on our traveler’s budget, but we were given a discount due to the lower number of tourists visiting. We scheduled transport through the hotel and got to the airport and waited and waited. It was uncomfortable. There were hordes of taxi and shuttle drivers in the tiny, hot, airport exit just looking at us and asking if we wanted their service as we waited for a sign with our name. After I figured out how to make an expensive call to the hotel, the driver finally arrived. He was very apologetic and so we brushed off our bad mood and sweaty brows and headed to the hotel. It was worth the wait.

Zanzibar House was built by an Italian man for his family and seven children. He decided to open up seven rooms to guests and let them enjoy. On the beach in a quieter area called Matemwe, the house felt homey and luxurious all at once. The view, the pool, the flowers, and the sparkling ocean were a treat. Another major treat was the food. Breakfast and dinner were both included with the reasonable room rate. Each evening we were treated to a four-course meal that lasted about two hours. Every night we had an Italian pasta or soup and some type of fresh fish followed by a light desert. Yum. The only challenge was we were not accustomed to eating dinner that late and by 10:30pm we were so ready for bed.

We enjoyed our stay so much we extended our two night visit to five nights and were even given a sea view room. We mostly relaxed, updated the blog, played the Italian version of Scrabble, walked or biked on the beach, and waded in the Indian Ocean.

We also met some other kind travelers. A retired teacher from Canada named Corrine organized a visit to see a women’s business cooperative where local women come together to cook Zanzibar specialties and make soaps to sell in the markets. Corrine, a couple of women from the Nederlands, and I helped a bit and figured out communication, although we spoke different languages. I loved listening to the women discuss their work in Swahili and could tell they were discussing the election as well. The visit was very interesting and also continued to reiterate the privilege that Jon and I have.

We also befriended a couple from France and some honeymooners from Turkey. We loved the conversation with new friends and learning more about their hometowns, politics, travels, occupations, and everyday life.

We had initially planned to go to Stone Town, the largest city on the island, but opted to head up north to Nungwi instead due to the election. We stayed at a cute hotel called Smiles (“I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.” Write in the comments if you get this reference!). I was hoping to do a school visit in the town, but schools were also closed. Oh well, we used our time to visit a turtle sanctuary, walk through the market, watch the sunset, organize our many safari pictures, and work on the next leg of our trip. Our plans to go to South Africa next were bolstered by a lively conversation with Andrea, the hotel manager, who was from Cape Town.

We hit the road with two hotel staff to drive and provide security as there were some road blocks and military checkpoints along the way. The elections results were still pending, so we departed at a good time. We made it to the airport safely and boarded the plane to Johannesburg for our next adventure.

(Dates: October 19-27, 2015)