Dertingers In Africa 2012: Stone Town

Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar – February 29

Last night we hurried about that rubic square on the truck packing essentials needed to be in Zanzibar for four nights. We say goodbye to the truck, our tents, Sam and Kioko and while in Zanzibar we have accommodation with beds; imagine that. I sure am. Sleeping in the tent at Dar was difficult. It was like being in a sauna all night, so I ended up reading myself to sleep. The malaria pills we are taking sometimes cause insomnia or vivid dreams, so it was a bit of a long night as I read and took breaks to look for the Little Dipper and Big Dipper in the stars, through the screens in the tent. Just kidding; no Big Dipper and Little Dipper here. I did however, find Orion's Belt and the Southern Cross in the southern sky.

Finally morning came and we hurried to get ready with the hope of getting on the 9:30 ferry. Sam drove us to the dock and Chris gave us a heads up regarding the adventure ahead. “Carry everything you have in front of you.” “Tuck all travel documents inside your pack.” Good idea! We walked about one kilometre from where Sam dropped us off to the ferry dock through the very populated city, even at this hour of the day. When we arrived we waited in the air conditioned terminal while Chris bought our tickets. How do I spell relief? AIRCONDITIONING Yeah! A chance for the clothes we are wearing to dry out. Next we moved onto the ferry, much like a large collection of sardines packed and pushed together, all hoping to make it onto this particular ferry. We found seats on top with a little cover to protect us from the sun. The ride was so refreshing and we all ended up falling asleep, either hugging our packs or stretched out over top of them.

Once we arrived in Zanzibar, we collected the stamp in our passports and showed our immunization records. We were picked up and driven to Stone Town and our accommodation for one night. Once we settled into our room with a bed and our own bathroom (how exciting is that?) we went out to explore Stone Town and find a place to eat lunch.

Stone Town is the old port town of Zanzibar. It reminds us very much of Old Jerusalem and the potential for me to get lost was high, so I kept very alert to where Ed was at all times. LOL After a good lunch we wandered the winding cobblestone alleyways checking out different shops and local markets or bazaars, as they are referred to. Fruit, spices, fish, cloth and anything possible to sell contributed to the collection of fragrances, odours, and colours around us. A local man had in his mind what he was sure Ed was looking for and began to lead him deeper into the heart of Stone Town. At one point, Kiwi Chris said, “Wait a minute; I'm not following him anymore; who knows where we are going?” I decided it was safer to follow Chris and the others. LOL We whistled to Ed and shook our heads at him. His new friend, however, didn't understand and continued to tag alongside of him trying to persuade him to go his way. As hard as we tried, we could not lose that fellow, so finally Ed pulled out some money and paid him off. He seemed to understand there wasn't any more money to be given and left us alone.

We enjoyed a beverage at Africa House, overlooking the harbour at sunset. It was very quaint, much like I would imagine a cafe in Saudi Arabia. The architecture was beautiful; very Arabic in nature. Once the daylight was gone, we walked to the harbour front where there was an evening food market; a large market of various street food all the way from lobster to Zanzibar pizza (fried pizza that tasted more like an omelet in a crust). Ed had a few tastes of pizza. The last words we heard from Kioko were, “Just don't eat food cooked from street vendors.” We decided it was best to eat the remainder of dinner in a restaurant so we walked to Mercury's (a restaurant named in honour of Freddy Mercury, who was from Zanzibar). Good food, good talk, good beverages, end of a good day.