A couple weekends ago, Sarah from England, Anna from Australia and I (from Canada) jetted off to Zanzibar for a long relaxing weekend. Only about a 45 minute flight away, it is the perfect weekend trip when you're feeling like a break from Moshi. It was an awesome weekend and we only encountered a few minor glitches. First of which was when we touched down and we were all asked to show our yellow fever vaccination cards. Coming from a country without a yellow fever outbreak does not require one to even have the shot but because we were flying from Tanzania mainland to Zanzibar, the rules were a little different, or so the Zanzibar airport officials claimed. Zanzibar used to be a separate country from mainland "Tanganyika" until 1964 and in some respects they still think they are. So when we arrived, because we had been in Tanzania where there is a yellow fever pandemic, we were "required" to have the shot. Having never crossed our minds because we were on a domestic flight, Anna and I didn't bring out booklets. The man told us that because we didn't have it, we would have to be sent back to Moshi on the next flight. After calmly, then not so calmly, explaining to him that we had indeed had our shots and would gladly have them again if we could (you're only allowed one every ten years), he still refused to let us in. Finally after an hour of pleading with him, he decided he'd had enough of a power trip and let us sign some forms and let us through. Such a relief we thought as we went to collect our bags...which were not there! At first we were convinced the evil man from customs had hidden them but upon further investigation it turned out they had just not been put on the flight and were still in Moshi but they assured us we would have them by tomorrow around noon.
Finally after an exhausting evening, we made our way to the hotel, which turned out to be gorgeous and perfect: air conditioned, king sized beds with fluffy pillows and duvets, etc. Our stomachs were growling so we set out in search of some dinner and wandered down an alley and out onto the street where we came across a lantern market on the boardwalk. Probably fifty barbecues with tables of fresh seafood, chicken and beef piled high beside them were beautifully lit and gave off mouth-watering smells You could just walk around and choose different skewers and they'd grill them to perfection as you waited. After we'd eaten our fill we trooped back to the hotel and had the best sleep I've had since I've been here.
The next morning, after washing our underwear in the sink (still no suitcases), we met up with our tour guide for a trip around Stone Town. We saw the House of Wonders, built by the second Sultan of Zanzibar in 1883, which was the first building in Zanzibar to have electricity and the first building in East Africa to have an elevator. We also saw Tippu Tip's house and grave site. Tippu Tip was a very brutal slave trader, and as such, his house is not a museum but has been turned into a run down apartment, and his grave is almost buried under branches and litter in a small alleyway. We went to Christ Church, an Anglican cathedral, that was built where the largest slave market in Zanzibar used to be as a celebration of the end of slavery. We also travelled to the Spice Market, a very crowded, noisy, and smelly place downtown where everyone brings there spices, vegetables, seafood, meat, etc to sell. Zanzibar is over 97% Muslim and it is definitely apparent in Stone Town. The architecture in Stone Town is so different from Moshi. A lot of the buildings are made of coral stone and the doors are very intricate and are carved to indicate either Indian or Arab styles. The streets are all narrow and winding and I would've definitely gotten lost without our guide. The style of dress is also totally different from the mainland, with lots of women wearing veils and men wearing kaftans.
After we'd seen (and sweated) our way through Stone Town, we picked up our luggage and headed up the coast to the north and beach country! As soon as we arrived we put on our bathing suits and ran down to the ocean to cool off. The Indian Ocean is the most magnificent shades of blue, green and turquoise and the beaches are pure white sand, I easily could've stayed a week. We did a snorkelling trip the next day and sailed to our spot on a typical Zanzibarian sail boat (with a little motor power help as well) and saw tons of fish, ate a fresh fish and octopus lunch on the beach and just relaxed. By the end of the day, after six hours in the sun, we were all burnt to a crisp but couldn't be more content. Beach country is a lot more liberal and western than Stone Town. There were a ton Europeans, many of whom wearing bikinis (most of whom should not have been) and no one batted an eye. It was definitely nice to be able to walk around in shorts and a tank top, especially because it is way hotter than Moshi. The next day was spent reading on the beach, in the shade, and then off to the airport to catch a 5pm flight. We were all sad to leave and head back to landlocked Moshi... I'm already trying to figure out if I can squeeze in another trip before I leave!
