Lost luggage that was eventually found, spending more time than we anticipated in South Africa, taking our Kruger Park Safari later than planned and three weary travelers all contributed to our rearranged travel plans. Instead of Botswana, we boarded a plane and flew to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. South Africa Airways accommodated our change of plans without any change fees since they finally realized how they mishandled the recovery of Jennifer's luggage.
We spent a night in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and then hopped in a taxi the next morning to purchase our ferry tickets to Zanzibar. Even though we read about the "street touts" who swarm around you while trying to sell you worthless ferry tickets or hotel rooms that don't exist, it did not prepare us for the onslaught as we pulled into the ferry ticket area. The heat and humidity contributed to me sweating profusely as I left Jennifer and Noah in the taxi and waded my way through the "salesmen". To try to and win me over, the touts kept calling me "Obama!" After thinking I had everything arranged, I realized that Jennifer had the money so I had to make my way back and forth to the taxi again. It was quite an experience. The 10:30 am ferry left at 12:30 pm for the 90 minute ferry that took 150 minutes. TIA (This is Africa).
When we finally landed on Zanzibar, we were once again greeted warmly by more touts. Being much better prepared this time, I chose an older, less aggressive gentleman who took us to our hotel. The Tembo Hotel was quite a bit more than what we were used to spending, but it was right on the water. The hotel has a Persian/Indian/Arabia feel to it. The Indian Ocean is beautiful. We could have spent the three days just hanging out on the beach, watching the Dhow sailboats float by.
Other than hanging out by the ocean, we set out to see why Zanzibar is referred to as the Spice Island. We hired a taxi driver who took us to the government building to pay a tax to leave the city, and then took us to the "Spiceman" who gave us a tour of the spice farm. The use of the term farm created an expectation that it was a farm in the sense of rows of crops like we would see in the Midwestern part of the United States. In reality, it is a forest where these plants grow naturally. The rich red soil and the climate allows the plants to grow freely without the use of irrigation or fertilizers. Everything is harvested by hand. No John Deere tractors here. We saw where cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, cardamom, turmeric, ginger, pepper, tarragon, cloves, and a bunch of other spices that we don't remember come from. I apologize for the lack of details on the spices, but a half day of continuous spice and fruit identification left us a bit overwhelmed. The only thing we identified correctly were the oranges and bananas.
One of the main lures of Zanzibar is the surrounding Indian Ocean. The water is warm, the views are incredible and there are plenty of shallow waters to view fish and coral reefs while diving or snorkeling. We chose the snorkeling route, visiting 2 different locations. The coral is almost as interesting as all the fish that you see. Lunch was served on a soft white sand bar that is accessible at low tide. After dealing with the city for awhile, a relaxing snorkel and sand island was just what we needed.
We also spent time wandering around Old Stone Town, an area of Zanzibar that was built up during the reign of the Omani Arabs. The narrow streets are filled with vendors hawking their wares and mopeds, taxis, and people fighting for room on the road. On the surface the city looks run down, but if you look closely and dream a little, you can see the Sultan of Oman coming out of his palace with his entourage. We did visit the Sultan's palace, which is now a museum. We stopped at Obama Park in the middle of town where they were still rallying for Obama almost a week after the election. We didn't make it to the 5 pm rally at the old fort.
To view our Zanzibar slide show, click on the following link ==> Zanzibar, Tanzania Slide Show.
3 comments:
These pics were really fun to see, having been to Zanzibar 2 years ago! We went on the Sea Star, also. We left at 7:00 a.m., however. You saw different things than we did, so it was fun to see your experiences. Gorgeous- and hot. that I remember. Linda
Those are some of the most breathtaking photos you have taken. The colors were spectacular. I could almost imagine the heat and the smells from your descriptions. I want to go there! Loved the "preview" photo of Kilimanjaro!
Noah! You have grown so tall! Great to see you in all the pics. No mention on the lack of snow on Kilimanjaro; considerbly less than 20 or 30 years ago?
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