Wow! I am really enjoying Zanzibar. The sunset I left you for last time was beautiful, and the drinks were tasty. Enjoyed the spice tour. Got to see many plants from which our common spices come, as well as some new ones. And we got to taste many fresh fruits grown on the farm as well.

Then we arrived in Nungwi at the north. This is my first time seeing and swimming in a turquoise, tropical ocean. I spent the first afternoon just lolloing about in the ocean. I can't believe how clear and empty the water is. No jellyfish and little seaweed! And I can't believe the ocean can be so warm. I also did a dive refresher that afternoon because it has been so long since I was scuba diving. But that leads us to the next day and a highlight of my trip!

Yesterday I went scuba diving off the coast of Mnemba Island. It is a marine conservation area and teaming with coral and tropical fish. It was an amazing experience! While I was diving, dad was snorkelling. Most of us wanted to do one or the other, so we were enough to get a boat out to the island. It took 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get there. As soon as we descended into the water there were many beautiful things to see. All the way down, I was descending beside a cliff of coral. There was such a variety of marine life and all of it beautiful! I was swimming through large schools of fish. The colours were so vibrant. It was best safari yet! We met up on the boat with the snorkelers for some lunch and then moved on a little further for a second dive. This time we had to descend to the bottom to see fish, but it was still absolutely incredible! Those snorkelling on the surface had a visit from dolphins - so cool!

Now we are back in Stone Town. Today dad and i visited the old slave market. The story was similar to that at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, but this time things were run by the Arabs. I'm leaving you again for sunset drinks with the gang. It is the last night for 1/3 of our group. They are staying here in Zanzibar. But I am looking forward to Ngorongo Crater and the Serengeti. Nice as Zanzibar is, I don't want to miss what's coming. The rest is sure to be unforgettable!

After drinks we will go to the night, food market. We also did this last time and we liked it so much we are going again. It is realy cool! I'll have to tell you about it another time.

Hakuna Matata!

Debbie