Maggie and Steve (our traveling companions) had visited Zanzibar during their last trip to Africa so we opted to spend a week relaxing before the long trip home. But, it did not start out relaxing as Precision Air, the local airlines, overbooked our flight from Arusha to Zanzibar (both in Tanzania) – Maggie and Steve were able to board but we ended up spending several hours waiting for our boarding passes for the rerouted trip to Zanzibar via Nairobi, Kenya. As we left Arusha, we were told that a Precision Air agent and a taxi would be waiting for us in Zanzibar as we would miss the reserved taxi that Maggie and Steve would take to our accommodation, about 90 minutes north of the airport.
When we arrived in Zanzibar and cleared customs again, we had to hunt down the agent who then told us he had been informed we were staying near the airport (in Stone Town) that night. He had told the agents in Arusha, there were no taxis going to the north end of the island at that time of night. So we then realized, that the Precision Air folks in Arusha had just wanted to get rid of us. We felt justified in raising a polite fuss and voila, a taxi was found for us. It was a memorable ride as we listened to East Indian music while bumping along dark, dirt roads with an older East Indian driver wearing a bright orange kaftan and kufi hat – sorry, no photo.
NUNGWI, ZANZIBAR
Eventually, we arrived at our Mnarani Beach Cottages on the north end of the island after midnight. Thank goodness, someone was at the main security gate in the dead of night and then at reception to give us a room key. After bouncing around in Land Rovers for 12 days, we welcomed a few days to decompress and enjoy some tropical breezes.
Remember to click on the photos to see the a larger view and/or hover over the photos for text
We could see the edge of the barrier reef around the island from our accommodation but it was too far to swim or walk. So, Steve arranged a snorkel trip and fish lunch on the beach. It took us about 90 minutes to reach Mnemba Atoll, to the south-east, by small power boat.
It seemed that many others had the same idea as there were swimmers from 20 boats anchored in the area. But, it felt so great to drop into the cool waters of the Indian Ocean, with the small fishes surrounding us. We found the drop-off where the scuba divers were swimming – better fish than the shallows - and spent 2 hours in the water in our rashie suits, bought in Australia. The full-body rashies protected us as it's hard to judge how long to spend in the sun - the water is cool but the sun is burning brightly overhead. Steve had brought his small underwater camera so here are a few of his photos for you.
On reflection, since we were on the Indian Ocean, we could have taken a flight from Africa to the Seychelles (3 hours) or a bit further to the Maldives for an extended scuba diving excursion. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20.
The Muslim/Arabic influence is more prevalent in Zanzibar than in other parts of Tanzania. The everyday dress for the local men is cotton shirt and pants with a keffiyeh (cap), with the women in long dresses & hijab and the school girls all wore white fitted headscarves. So, we wore conservative dress even at the small ‘resort’.
We walked about the little town of Nungwi to find something light for lunch, instead of eating at the resort. Jeannie was able to purchase 10 buns for 2,000 shillings, the equivalent of a loonie ($1 Canadian) but couldn’t find any cheese as few of the homes had electricity or running water. Even finding a corner-type store was a challenge - just subsistence living for the locals who depend on tourism for any cash.
Just beyond the gates of our place was a sea turtle rehabilitation aquarium where you could feed the turtles and have selfies taken with them, which we declined. But we did enjoy watching the turtles - they are so peaceful in their movements.
After staying for 4 nights at the north end of the island, we arranged for a taxi to take us back to Stone Town in the south, with a tour of a spice farm included. Seeing the plants and original seed pods of the spices that we take for granted at home, was very informative. Particularly interesting was the nutmeg fruit with the red aril (lacy wrapping) which becomes mace. And underneath the wrapping is the actual nutmeg seed).
STONE TOWN
Stone Town is the main commercial town and capital of the island (more than a million people live on the island of Zanzibar which is 1/5 of the size of Vancouver Island). We stayed in a slightly worn but friendly guest house (Hiliki House) near the waterfront and markets. Each day started with an interesting breakfast of fresh local fruits, eggs and an assortment of breads.
Then, it was off to check out the wares along the narrow, winding alleys of the town. There were many small shops, quite a few street hawkers and only a few more traditional stores.
Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara), lead vocalist of British band Queen, was born in Stone Town so of course, there is a restaurant in his name. We also found several restaurants to our liking and returned to them several times. It was the first time we had been able to use our credit cards rather than US cash. Africa is mostly a cash society with credit cards used only in the major cities and the larger hotels. We spent considerable cash (US currency) on tips while on safari and on Zanzibar, much more than anticipated.
One of the best-known features in Stone Town are the wooden doorways (Indian origin, Omani (Arabic) origin and Swahili design). These designs have been copied in other parts of the world, as we saw some in Barcelona that reminded us of these.
Wanting a laid-back adventure, we arranged for a dhow trip (a traditional Arabic trading vessel), through the front desk of the guest house. So, one evening, we set off after dinner for a sunset cruise along the waterfront of Stone Town. It definitely was laid-back (slow sailing, watching the unique way they change the sail to tack and sharing a ripe coconut and pineapple with a samosa each).
During our last days, we were challenged by the beginning of the monsoon season with it's thunderstorms and torrential rains. We sought refuge in a few restaurants or opted to play cribbage at the hotel until the rain subsided.
JOURNEY HOME
After a few days of rest in the tropical heat, it was time to begin our long journey back to the cold north. Remember the overbooked plane and our re-routing to Zanzibar a week ago? It came back to haunt us on the way home.
We traveled to Dar es Salaam from Zanzibar via Precision Air, as planned. However, on presenting ourselves at the KLM desk in Dar es Salaam for our boarding passes for the 3 legs to return to Victoria, we were told that our bookings had been cancelled. WHAT??? WE DID NOT CANCEL THE TICKETS!!
Remember the agents in Arusha who had taken more than 90 minutes arranging our new flights to Zanzibar, with many phone calls to someone offsite while they stared at the computer. Could they have cancelled all of the flights as they tried to re-book our flights to Zanzibar? We knew the timing so suggested that as an explanation to the KLM ticket agent.
He asked us to wait while a colleague worked on a solution. About 30 minutes later, we were told that our extra leg room seats were no longer available but they did have room for us on that same flight to Amsterdam – the back of the plane next to the toilets. We would need to travel on a different KLM flight to Victoria via Vancouver rather than the Calgary to Victoria connection that our traveling companions were taking. We were happy to take those new arrangements as the thought of being stuck in Dar es Salaam for days waiting for KLM seats back to Amsterdam, was not attractive.
Once we were on the first flight, Jeannie spoke to the folks in “our” seats who indicated that they secured those seats on the same day that we were bumped/ screwed around by Precision Air. So, it was apparent that the agents in Arusha did not know how to book flights and just cancelled everything and started from scratch, securing seats on the Precision Air flights only. Yikes – makes travel insurance very attractive.
We arrived in Amsterdam on time and said ‘a bientot’ (see you soon) to Steve and Maggie. We really should have planned to stay a few days in Amsterdam to break up the long trip home but didn’t think of that plan until we were enroute. We arrived in cold and snowy Victoria about ½ hour behind Steve and Maggie who took the originally booked flights. After 28 hours of traveling, we were happy to be back at The Rig. Only to find that Steve and Maggie’s car had a soft, flat tire which we were able to inflate from the air compressor on the RV. Oh, isn’t traveling fun? “It’s all part of the adventure”, says Jim.
NEXT BLOG: Japan and the north Pacific Ocean
