Zanzibar, Tanzania was our port of call for today as well as tomorrow. Located 22 ½ miles off of the coast of Tanzania, the archipelago of Zanzibar consists of 50 islands. A total of 1.9 million people live on these islands, the largest being Zanzibar. This island is located 6 degrees below the Equator making it warm and tropical year round. Originally occupied by explorers, traders, and settlers from Persia, Arabia, and Europeans, this island has a mixed population. Included in the mix are the descendants from the slaves that worked the plantations. It also coincided with the notorious slave trade.
Here's a snippet of info on Tanzania. The capital is Dodoma and the population is a total of 52.5 million people. The official language is Swahili and English. This country is home to major sites like the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Mt. Kilimanjaro and most impressive amounts of wildlife. Tanzania is THE land of safaris to see the plains animals which include the wildebeests, zebra, hippos, elephants, and lions. There are crocodiles, chimpanzees and monkeys. Hordes of people from all over the world come here to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to boast the thrill of standing at the top of Africa. Oddly enough, overland safaris have not been offered here on a regular world cruise. Perhaps they are available on the Grand Africa cruise which just happened last fall.
Their food consists of "ugali", which is a maize (corn) mixed with cassava flour and used to coat much of their fried foods. There is a varied cuisine of African, Indian, and Chinese food.
We happen to be visiting during their low season (March through May) where it tends to rain a lot, keeping the landscapes very green. Actually, checking the original itinerary, we should have been in Muscat, Oman today. In the desert.
So the morning began with a "no show" from the pilot, according to Captain Friso. So he came into the harbor area by himself, and dropped anchor off shore. Eventually, the pilot arrived. The weather was not looking good and the waters were choppy with some swell going on. It was heavily overcast at 6:30am with temperatures in the low 80's, but very high humidity. By 8:30am, we watched as shower after shower dumped rain on the entire island. All of us regulars at breakfast asked, "Why are we here"?
When a tender landing spot was decided for us, the tours went off first. At one point, the Captain suspended the tendering due to difficulty boarding the guests into the small boats. It did not last long, but we still decided to wait until 10:30am to leave the ship. By then open tenders were announced, which really doesn't matter to us as we can get off any time we wish with no tender tickets. We are seldom the first ones off. The tenders were bouncing around pretty good, but with lots of helping hands, everyone made it safely.
Arriving at the more protected ferry landing, we walked to the terminal and did find a small tourist info spot. Going inside, we found a very nice local lady who gave us a map and pointed out the main sites to see. Most folks did not see this glass enclosure and never got the useful map. Outside on the street, we found the waiting shuttles that would take us to the upscale Serena Hotel, a 10 minute drive from the terminal. Good thing these buses were there, because we faced the same situation we had in Colombo Sri Lanka. The taxi and tuk-tuk drivers chased everyone trying to sell tours for cheap. Jumping in the shuttle ended that. At least until the last stop.
The narrow streets were loaded with motor scooters, small cars, and vans. This part of town is called Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. There are about 1000 coral stone buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are also 200 wooden-carved doors. Many of the buildings have been converted to souvenir and jewelry shops, where you can find a deal on tanzanite stones and jewelry. We had passed some of the historical spots on the way to the Serena Hotel such as the Old Dispensary, Customs House, Palace museum, the Old Fort, St. Joseph's Cathedral, and the gardens along the waterfront.
At the end of the shuttle ride, we encountered a repeat of the tour guides that we had at the terminal. All of us filed out of the bus and into the lobby of the Serena Hotel just to escape them. Once again, saying "no thanks" was not enough. We guess it is just a way of life for these locals. Now we wonder how many folks will actually hire some of them. Like 50% perhaps? Many of the people we know will not book an expensive ship excursion, and go with whoever looks reliable. We are not so trusting getting into a stranger's car going somewhere or anywhere in some of these countries.
Walking to the patio of the Serena hotel, we did run into one of the ship's tour groups enjoying a beverage at the end of their tour. Too bad it was raining as the view of the beach and ocean was nice from here. From here, we back-tracked the way the shuttle had come. We had passed by many important structures that we wanted to photograph. On the way to the main street, we passed the Park Hyatt Hotel and the Tempo House….also nice properties. On the seawall, we saw the Cape Town Fish Market, which turned out to be a high end restaurant.
We came upon Fodorhari Gardens, a small park where a night time street food market is set up. Among the lawns, fountains, and tables, there were at least one dozen happy lazy cats. The coastline was full of small boats that looked like covered wagons from the Old West in the USA. Maybe they were water taxis. Traditional dhows sailed back and forth as well. By now, we realized we had almost walked back to the ferry terminal. It was time for lunch, so we turned around and went back to the hotels where the shuttle had left us off.
Doing some homework, we had found that the Beach House, a Hyatt property, served among other things - all types of pizza. We found it a little further past the Serena Hotel, and were welcomed inside across the wood boardwalk to the restaurant. We happened to be the first guests of the day for lunch. The only problem was that it was still raining, and we did want to sit outside on the patio. Our waitress found a table for two that was dry, so we took it. The view overlooking the ocean was nice, however we know that if the sun was out, the view would be stunning. Without the sun, there was little color to the water. All of the blues and azure shades turn to grey with the heavy clouds.
We ordered the local beer Kilimanjaro, but they were out, so we substituted Safari beer, which was good and cold too. Our choice of pizza was the Margherita with chicken (hold the chili flakes). When it arrived we noticed the chicken was tinted yellow, and decided it had to be the turmeric. It was quite good and we ate every single bite. We even added a shared dessert of Nutella cheesecake with a scoop of mocha ice cream. When the bill arrived, it came to a whopping 68,000 Tanzania shillings. Sounded bad, but it wasn't. Turned out it was equal to $26.39. Now that's a deal especially with the two pint bottles of beer as well as a very large size pizza. Eventually, the tables around us filled up, and it was time to move on. By the way, they did take all credit cards here as well as US cash we suspect.
Before we joined a shuttle, we stopped at a nearby row of souvenir shops near the Beach House. We bargained for a pair of beaded leather flip-flops at one shop and a beaded African necklace at another one. It just happened to match a set of earrings we bought last year in Banjul, Gambia. Then we walked back to the shuttle stop and took a different way back. One of the places we passed was the Freddie Mercury Museum, a singer and composer from not long ago. We never did follow his music, but do remember some of the famous songs he wrote. His story is portrayed in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.
Then we must have joined a major artery around the perimeter of Stone Town. We passed by some gardens and a few schools and that[s when we noticed the sign for the Darajani Souk and Market. It was about then that the traffic came to a stop. This area was jammed with every car and motor scooter on the island it seemed. We had figured this was a place to save for tomorrow, but after seeing hordes of local shoppers and the traffic jam, we might reconsider. Now this might be the place where Kimberly had warned people to be cautious and not wear flashy jewelry, watches, or big handbags. She suggested putting backpacks around your front, so they don't get slashed. She suggested people from the ship, especially single women, should travel in groups. What a fun place to visit….maybe not?
Eventually we reached the end of the melee, and arrived back at the ferry terminal. It was still a zoo there with locals working the dock and more guys offering tours. We glanced at the tables of treasures as we went back through the terminal and to the waiting tender boat. The rain had stopped briefly, but the waves were still giving folks a rough ride. We were back to our room before 3pm. At least the rains had kept the temperature down a lot and we drank only two sodas and not four. We kept busy with photos and report writing until dinnertime arrived.
Sitting outside, we heard the call for prayer at 3:45pm. We read there are 50 mosques in the Stone Town alone and all were chanting from the minarets. The sound traveled all the way to the ship. Tomorrow ends the Ramadan fasting period, so we suspect there will be a big celebration.
Dinner had one of the best appetizers with smoked chicken on a bed of coleslaw and bleached raisins. So good. Salads were next followed with mains of the alternate chicken dinner and a vegetarian plate of parmesan-coated eggplant with spaghetti and marinara sauce. That's the first time I tried it, and it was rally good…meatless for a change. A special dessert called Zanzibar "donut" (forgot the actual name) was good dipped in a chocolate sauce. We shared just one.
There was a local group called Tanzanian Boys Circus in the World Stage this evening. They came from the streets of Dar es Salaam and attended a school to learn a dazzling display of daring skill and strength, speed and balance to the rhythm and beat of African music. Sounds like a gymnastic show. We were so beat, we had eaten our dinner and were finished well before 9pm.
Time to rest up for another day of exploration. And if we are lucky, it will not rain.
Bill & Mary Ann
