November 13, 2008 – Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar is a group of islands about 45 km off the mainland coast of Tanzania in Eastern Africa and is known as the Spice Islands due to clove, nutmeg cinnamon, pepper and other spices grown there. The island was once ruled by sultans and slave traders and was the stepping stone for missionaries and explorers. There is a fort built by Portuguese but the later British influence is obvious from some of the architecture and driving on the left. The old area of town is known as “Stone Town” and it has some unique architecture including ornately carved heavy wooded doorways studded with brass. We had opted for a 5 hour “dhow adventure” which was limited to 20 people and was one of the highlights. We tendered ashore and took a bus from the dock through Stone town to the upscale Serena Inn Hotel where we met our 2 dhows. There was no dock and we had to wade waist deep from the beach to get aboard (we had been pre warned about this.) The water was crystal clear and a bit cooler than in the Seychelles. We motored (not enough wind to raise the sails) about 30 minutes away from the waterfront of the city to a sandbank where we again had to step into waist deep water to get o to the bank. It was shallow quite a way out and the bottom was littered with sea urchins. The sand was brilliant white and soft and had lots of tiny crabs darting about and into their holes. There were 2 sets of picnic tables under a canvas top and off to the side were the cooks for our lunch.

Those of us interested got back in a dhow and went out a few hundred meters to the reef for an hour of snorkeling. With the cooler water temperature (compared to La Digue) the reef was brilliantly colored with a large variety of coral at depths from 1 foot to over 40 feet. On the corals were several different varieties and colors of starfish, iridescent clams, anemone, slugs, shelled animals and sea fans. The fish were plentiful and brilliantly colored and this was the best snorkel trip to date. There was a soft current so we could drift along the edge of the reef with little effort.

We returned to the sandbank and had some coconut water and beer before lunch and we strolled along the water’s edge collecting some beautiful shells. The lunch was cooked over coals on the sand and consisted of a lobster similar to the Morton Bay Bug, swordfish, barracuda, chicken, calamari, rice & sauces and a small grilled maize bread. After the hot food we were served several fruits, one at a time and with explanation of what they are and how they’re used. All are locally grown and quite delicious. The finale was coffee spiced with Amarula liquor, an African concoction similar to Bailey’s Irish Cream. We got back into our dhows and spent 30 minutes returning to the hotel and again got waist deep into the water to get ashore. While we awaited our bus we strolled around a beautiful park in front of the hotel where there were paintings of Obama and “Obama for Tanzania” t shirts for sale. They’re really high on this guy. Lots of cars had Obama campaign bumper stickers on them. It gives us all on the cruise hope that, even if you didn’t vote for Obama, he may make progress in getting the world to like America again. The people we’ve met all love Americans as people but don’t like what our government does.

Back at the dock we looked over the vendors’ wares and bought a couple of t shirts with Swahili sayings on them. It was hot and since our route to and from the hotel took us through the interesting parts of town we decided not to go back in after showering and changing from swimsuits to clothes. When we got back on the ship we found out that announcements had been made during the day that we had been in an area where there was a recent outbreak of yellow fever and everyone would have to have proof of vaccination or get a shot from the doctor before our next stop in Richards Bay. We have our certificates because they are required for Brazil, but it’s causing some upset for those getting off in Cape Town. A few people who left their certificates at home tried to talk their way out of getting another shot, but we can’t stop in south Africa unless everyone has one. We sailed away at 6:00, had cocktails & dinner with friends and went to the show which was a singer worth listening to. We were worn out from 3 straight long days and retired early.