Zanzibar = Paradise

After out safari, we spent another night at the Springlands Lodge before heading to the airport to begin the relaxation phase of our vacation. We boarded a 20-seater plane and took off for the coast. After landing in Zanzibar, we gathered our luggage and located our transportation to our hotel in Jambiani. Jambiani Beach is located on the southwest coast of Zanzibar, about an hours drive from the airport. We could not get there fast enough. Our hotel and the beach lived up to everything we were hoping for - beautiful grounds, nice rooms, white sand, and turquoise blue water. It truly was paradise.

Views from our hotel - The Blue Oyster

On our first morning at the hotel we went snorkeling. We sailed out to the reef on a dhow (wooden sail boat with outriggers). The water looked even more amazing as we got farther from shore.

While the reefs, for the most part, were small, there were many of them and the fish and other seas creatures were more varied than what I encountered when I snorkeled in Kenya.

These guys were really photogenic. Whenever we would dive down to take their picture, they would back into the sea anemone and look out at us.

After a relaxing two nights on the beach, we headed to Stone Town. It was hard to leave the beach, but we were excited about exploring the labyrinthine streets of the old town. We checked into our hotel, the Hotel Kiponda. Hotel Kiponda is owned by a former EIS Officer currently working for CDC in Dar es Salaam. It was a simple, but really nice place (very clean plus free Wifi). It also had the best water pressure I've experienced in Africa.

Outside our hotel

After getting settled and checking email (only the second time the whole trip!), we wandered the streets a bit and hung out enjoying the sea breeze in Forodhani Park until it was time to get ready for dinner.

Greg hanging out in Forodhani Park.

We got dressed up and splurged for dinner. We took a taxi to the Mtoni Marine center, a fancy hotel with what Lonely Planet claims is the best restaurant on Zanzibar. It was pretty spectacular. We dined by candlelight on the beach with live entertainment only steps away. We ordered seafood, lots of seafood. It was amazing!

The next morning, we set off on a spice plantation. It was really cool to see how most of the spices in my cabinet start out. We were also able to taste some of the tropical fruits we encountered as well as buy some spices to bring back with us along the way.

Nutmeg and mace

Turmeric

Lemongrass

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Jack fruit

Banana trees

Chilies

Cloves

Star fruit

Can't remember...

Pepper corns

Lychee fruit

Coffee

Cocoa
Bread fruit

My spice watch - what time is it? It's spice time :-)

The maker of my spice watch. He goes by James Bond.

After our spice plantation tour also included a tour of an historic home (?, the problem of me waiting so long to write this).

We ended the day with an hour at the beach. We didn't know that this was a part of the tour and came unprepared for time in the sun (no sunscreen) and swimming (no swimsuits). We spent our time sitting in the shade and taking photos on the beach.

The streets and doors of Stone Town. It is a really cool little city. We spent the rest of our day wandering the streets with my camera.

Our last night on Zanzibar was spent in Forodhani Park. A feast magically appears each evening, so we dined on seafood again while shooing away stray cats looking to share our dinner and mosquitoes looking to feast on us.

We spent our last morning in Zanzibar shopping for last minute souvenirs and having brunch. We intentionally chose a restaurant on the beach and witnessed the below scene unfold while we ate. One cargo ship was unloading propane tanks (I assume full since they were unloading and not loading them), while another was unloading vehicles. This white car spun its wheels and fishtailed its way through the sand. Greg and I were seriously concerned that it would suddenly find its traction and careen into the propane tanks. Luckily, no explosion ensued.

We returned to Moshi and The Springlands Lodge that afternoon and spent the evening organizing our luggage. The next day we headed into Moshi Town to wander the streets there for a bit and have lunch. It was fun walking through the market. We also stopped for a lunch of chomo and chips (chicken and french fries) at a local establishment. We were the only tourists in there so we attracted a lot of attention and were kept company throughout our meal by the locals who spoke English. After lunch we headed back to the hotel where we wasted time until it was time to head to the airport and begin our long journey home.