zanzibar

A 7 hour bus journey from Lushoto brought us to Dar Es Salaam, the capitol of Tanzania. Dar was busy, but unlike Kampala, Uganda, had a fair amount of stop lights, rather than the classic game of chicken at the bazillion chaotic intersections. At the ferry terminal, where we were to pick up our pre-ordered ferry tickets, we somehow were being declined them and our ferry ride because the "system went down". The man apparently handed Rob our money back. Fortunately, Rob fought for us (likely just as hot and frustrated as me), and we were handed our tickets. It felt about 100 degrees that day, so as we ventured towards the ferry, Rob spotted a man pushing around an ice cream cart. He knew this would speak to my heart and knows how to make his wife happy.  Ice cream is not a reality in the villages, nor even bigger towns. With that, I picked up a chocolate covered ice cream cone to temporarily mask my thirst but completely fill my sweet tooth. That ice cream cone was symbolic for me... the entrance into the final part of our journey: indulgence. Ice cream, beaches, hot showers and cool pools, variety in food, and relaxation.

The ferry ride across the Indian Ocean to the small island of Zanzibar was pretty quick and easy. We sat towards the top with our pringles and popcorn and enjoyed the breeze and the ocean view. Rob noticed that there were no life-jackets in site. Anywhere. So you just hope that nothing goes wrong or that if it does, we can swim to land before a shark swims to us.

We arrived in Stonetown - the main center of Zanzibar island. This little town has quite the history: it was the primary location for slave export of East Africa during the 1800s, and exported up to 600,000 slaves. It's interesting to be walking about such a gorgeous island that experienced such a dark period of history. The old slave market no longer exists and now has an Anglican church built over that site. There was also an absolutely beautiful Roman Catholic Cathedral that was designed by the same architect as Notre Dame. Zanzibar is fascinating because it's where Africa in every sense of the word collides with the modern world. While the ferry boat dumps off tourists from all over (mostly Europe), the fishermen in African dhows are out in the turquoise waters pulling in their catch for the day: lobster, jumbo (and I mean JUMBO) prawns, kingish, tuna, etc. The town is vastly Muslim, so the women are like walking rainbows of color. Beautiful dresses and headcovers drape over them all, except their feet, usually sparkling with an anklet or two. The many laughing kids, well, mostly boys, run and slap into the waves... and mostly undressed. Swimsuits are definitely optional here for the little fellows. The smells of Stonetown also are colliding forces. The pungent odors of sewage from the abundant poverty clashes with the rich smells of curries, fresh seafood, refreshing spices and sweet fruit. 

Speaking of food, there is quite the impressive open air evening market featuring the many fishermans' catch of the day. Foradhani Gardens is the name of the market. We were told by a lady at our hotel to go and "eat to our fullest". So we did. Best lobster of our lives. And for an incredibly good price. We ate and ate and ate. Lobster and a variety of fish, and topped it all of with fresh pineapple. Repeated on the second night. There is more to this story, but I think Rob is addressing it currently in the post prior. Let's just say it was the best and worst lobster of my life....

We then headed to Matemwe beach, on the east cost. Known for being a quiet and chill beach, we thought that would be a good place to start. Despite my 24 hours of torment from the aforementioned lobster, Matemwe was wonderful. The most memorable part of this beach is that during low tide, there are countless (over one hundred) women sitting in the shallow waters harvesting their seaweed. They have little seaweed farms and sit in the bright, hot sun and super salty water for at least 10 hours a day. It's quite amazing to think how their body compensates to handle those conditions. The sun is incredibly intense here... quite close to the equator. If you don't have your sunglasses on and look at the sand, you will be seeing spots for the next 5 minutes.  So, these women dot the clear waters, with the men on bikes riding along the beach carrying items to and fro. Rice, pineapples, mangoes, wood, you name it. Definitely a beach experience unlike any other. Plus, there were few tourists, so it really felt like we were experiencing something unique and authentic. 

We stayed at a cozy little spot called Sele's Bungalows right on the beach and made some new friends. Mostly we enjoyed relaxing and read at the beach, and even found a lovely little Italian villa that let us use the nice pool if we ordered lunch there. Um... okay! Our main activity we did in Matemwe was head out to Mnemba Atoll for snorkeling  Our dhow slooowwwllly motored us out to the island, but it's hard to complain, because the color of the Indian Ocean here is unlike any other ocean I've seen. The deep waters are a very rich, yet transparent, deep blue. One caveat. In Matemwe, I was reading a book involving shark attacks, so to say I was nervous might be an understatement. Especially because the dhow didn't really stop at the island, but more so the middle of the ocean with a view of the island. Probably closer than it seemed, but I was scared. So, Abdalah (our captain) and Joseph (our young snorkeling 'guide') threw in the anchor and spoke their few words of English (snorkle! hakuna matata! no sharks! many fish!). We jumped in to discover what are the biggest schools of fish I have ever seen. Amazing, especially with the sun shining through that water. We snorkeled atop a reef for quite some time, enjoying the big schools of fish. Rob spotted an octopus and even a small ray. I mostly was trying to enjoy the beauty while watching my back for a huge shark that wanted to make me his dinner. Recommendation: do not read the book, Unbroken, during a snorkeling portion of vacation. :) We also saw the most amazing starfish I've ever seen. It was very thick and somebody described it as looking like an ornate Christmas cookie. After about an hour, we called it good, and I hopped into the boat, happy to be alive!

One more Matemwe experience: Rob spotted a young local on his bike cruising down the beach with a vervet monkey balanced on the front handlebars. Awesome. So, we followed this duo into the beach shop where they entered. Turns out this monkey, named "Twenty", is not afraid of people. After asking Rob, "do you think he has any diseases?"... I was debating if I should hold him, Twenty decided on his own he wanted to jump onto my shoulder. He was after the flower on my hair. So, he hung out on my shoulder as he nibbled his little snack. Pretty fun and unexpected. I know Big Tone would have loved seeing that (love you, Dad!).

After Matemwe, we headed to Nungwi Beach, on the northern tip of the island. Nungwi is known as being a little more touristy, but this is likely because the beach here is stunning. There aren't seaweed farms here, but there are countless dhows. The beach walks are perfect because despite the heat, there is always a strong breeze. There is also an aquarium set around a natural lagoon where we got to feed and learn about the two primary sea turtles here - green sea turtles and the hawksbill sea turtles. Some grow up to 150 - 300 kg. Not kidding! Our daily routine here is this: breakfast served to us on our veranda, pool time, beach walk,  lunch along the way, pool time, shower, beach-side dinner underneath sparkling white twinkle lights and very vibrant stars. We also enjoyed a massage on Valentine's day underneath a lovely tree by the beach. Let's just say we are feeling incredibly blessed.

One humorous thing that has been noted on at the beach seemingly countless times is the men making comments about Rob. ..."You exercise, man?" "You like to gymming?" "Physical fitness man!" "You play rugby?" "Muscles!" It's quite funny. Rob is quite the contrast to the Maasai men you see here or really any locals for that matter. Plus, European men seem to have a smaller build.  Rob is always humble, but it always gives me a good laugh.

This adventure has been such a blessing in countless ways. In addition to the countless unforgettable experiences, cultures and people, we also have read many books - 3 of which are utterly inspiring: Unbroken, Same Kind of Different as Me, and Love Does. I recommend everybody who can read to get a hold of those books! If you want to read one or all of them, I will literally buy them for you and ship them directly from Amazon to your house. Rob reads one chapter of Love Does to me at night, and it's such a good end to the day. Plus, it sparks encouraging and challenging conversation, and allows God to talk to us in a new way. We also have had more time to read our Bibles and discuss how we respond to God's love, and we hope to continue this trend even when home. God has been with us the entire journey and definitely carried us through the potentially scary or shotty experiences. I know He watches over us, and even that little guardian angel Mom instructed to protect us. :)

We have taken many photos on a nice camera, thanks to Alec, but can't upload them here. We tried to upload some from our iphone but still it got backlogged. With that, we will add some images when we get home. So, that's our story and we are sticking to it! We are signing off of blogging so that for our final day at the beach tomorrow we can have a plan-free day. Then we will fly half-way around the globe to our home sweet home.

Sending love from across the world,
Meg and Rob