Well hello from the beach.It's great here! We're on Zanzibar Is off the Tanzania coast.
What a comparison to the misty green mountains of Rwanda!
We had a shortish flight to Dar Es Salaam over Arusha and Mt Kilimanjaro which was exciting, then a lengthy wait, with xraying of our stuff on arrival, then into transit, where it was done again, then again going into the gate area! A b----y pain as Courtney can't be scanned so it takes much explanation to get her around them for a pat down!
The airport didn't display our flight- ever- so there was some anxiety there! However the cleaners who sat around for 2-3 hrs told us all was well!!
It was only a 15-20 min flight in the end( could have got a b----y ferry tho the coast was a long way from the airport) and the hostess never got out of her harness as we came down the second we'd got up.
It was dark by the time we got to our hotel. ( our transfer yet again didn't come) so it was a lovely surprise in the AM to see the blue sea out our window.
We had a marvellous buffet breakfast then went off to explore the main town, called Stone Town.
I had done little research on it so had some real surprises. There were 2 Cathedrals 100's old, 2 Sultans Palaces 3 and 4 stories high, 100 yrs old, and a fort from 1699, built to repel the Portuguese. The Portuguese were here in the 1500's then the Omanis with their Sultans until 1963, Germans in 19thcentury, then English. The buildings are amazing and this is Africa! Again I wonder what happened to Australia when all this was going on.
There are Middle Eastern influences in the buildings, with lovely verandah s and big heavy wooden doors with spikes in to stop elephant and camel charges. There are many Muslims and Mosques.
As elsewhere on our travels stuff for tourists is expensive and they won't drop their prices, however Courtney has bought several things.
The town was a centre of Slavery trading for many centuries and the auction buildings are now meat and fish markets.
It was very hot and by 5 pm we collapsed at a beachside bar for Happy Hour (really just to rehydrate !!!) hmmm!!
Yesterday we came across to the East Coast, an hr by taxi to the beach.
It is very simple and basic and the tide goes out 10 miles but when it's in - wow.
There are very simple villages behind the beach with chickens and goats running around.
It reminds me of Vanuatu but the housing is better.
I think it was in Mexico that I swam in water like this - same temperature as bath water- beautiful!!!
The full tide comes to within 5 m of our cabin. Presumably they don't have hurricanes or tsunamis here!!!
There's the usual flow of hawkers flogging massages, henna dyes, souvenirs etc! And bratty children wanting food and money.
When the tides out there are 1000's of sticks exposed. Seems they grow seaweed on them. Don't know why yet.
Next we are off to Victoria Falls via Johannesburg, where we are staying overnight near the airport.
C