Bye Bye Zanzibar (and Tanzania)

MEMORABLOG: 18.12. 1998

So, one month has passed. And a maiden trip overseas in almost over. Bought many souvernirs. I bought a wooden elephant, Adi bought a huge lion. Last evening we tried lobster in our familiar open-market restaurant.

Coming back to Dar was a bit of shock... after peace of Zanzibar we came to hustle and bustle of Dar. Our bargaing tactics improved and were excellent and soon we got a taxi to airport. Actually, we came to the airport some 4 hours before the flight. But that didn't puzzle us. We had some food on us, and therefore it was time for a picnic just outside the airport... not that was the best looking place to have picnic, but it was certainly the most convenient :) we even bought some fresh fruit for the trip...

As I can remember from the airport, are x-ray controls and uncomfy chair in the waiting lounge :) Flight back was also uneventful, though I really missed "european" food... not, that BA has such good food, just i missed some junk food... :) When we arrived to London it was early morning, and our flight was in the evening. Lets go again to the city centre... This time we had a breakfast with us. And we made ourselves another picnic... in Victoria Coach station... not because it was nice, but because it was handy :) We opened coconuts (usually smashing them to the curve) and cut pineapples... Later we went around the city, but december in London was cold. And coming from +35C to 10C was a shock... Lunch was in all-you-can-eat Pizza hut... not extremly tasty, but it was unlimited. I other guest around were just wondering who are these two maniacs that are stuffing themselves with pizzas... Probably Pizza Hut didn't make too much of profit out of us...

Later in the evening we had a flight back. Problem one. We sat in the plane for 1 hour, when we were informed that we have to change planes, as this one is having technical difficulties. So, we set off London some two hours later. Originally we were due to arrive to Ljubljana around 11 pm. But of course we didn't, and my uncle that was waiting for us went home. Problem two. We couldn't land in Ljubljana due to fog. So we landed in Trieste, some 120km away... and we finally arrived to Ljubljana city centre, at 3:30am... Problem three. It was -15C. It was coooold. And what to do when waiting for a train back home. No problem, we went to 24hours fast food joint (burek) and stuffed our veins with more greasy food... nice... felt really being back home :)))

Until next time... :))

Back in Stonetown

MEMORABLOG: 16.12-17.12. 1998

In the last "Stonetown" entry I almost didn't mention anything about the town itself. Stone town is regarded as Zanzibar's capital. The town was named after the coral stone buildings, largely built during the 19th century. The town is known for it's narrow alleyways, large carved wooden doors and covered balconies. The doors are part of the Swahili culture and were largely influenced by Arab and especially Indian motifs. The large brass studs on the doors became decoration after having served as spike covers to protect the inhabitants from elephant raids during the Indian wars. The town currently house over 16,000 people and is home to 51 mosques, 6 Hindu temples and 2 Christian churches. The people are extremely diverse and fascinating.

What is annoying in Stonetown, are the touts... they see you from a far, almost smell you. You really cannot avoid them, but when you are a few days on Zanzibar its easy not to get hassled (especially if you did most of tours, have a hotel and already have a ticket back to Dar). And some are quite friendly...

In any aspect, Stonetown is a "souvenir" shopping paradise... You can get everything you can get on the mailand, and more... and for lower prices :) But, our time on the island ticking away, and soon we'll have to depart back to the mailand. Actually, we decided to stay an extra day, and go the airport directly from the island and not to see more in deep Dar itself... so, i leave myself Dar es Salaam for the next time..

I was struck by one thing in Zanzibar. If Thailand is a paradise for men, Zanzibar is for women. Its really not uncommon to see a woman with a young black guy. When we were staying in Paje, a woman came with "a driver". Well... he looked like 18 or younger, she was 50+. They shared the room, while... well... he didn't eat with her. When she went back to the room, he also went. Ok, don't know who was using who, but i guess those boys like the mzungu attention for a few days. She gave him money, food and more...

Paje

MEMORABLOG: 9.12. - 15.12. 1998

After a few days of doing nothing every paradise gets boring... so, we decided to head for a few days to a east cost beaches... but there was one problem... at that time it was impossible to do that trip in one day... so, we had to stay another night in Stonetown... again... :)

We hit the market... again :) (i already bought extremly useful sandals there). We wanted some fruit, and bananas were the name of the game... different sizes, colours... so, let's get the biggest one... a red one... well... seller was noding a bit, but she clearly didn't speak english, neither did we speak swahili... so... only when we tried banana was clear what she wanted to say. That was clearly not a banana to eat raw, but to cook... it tasted, well, like a paper... strange, anyway, impossible to eat...

Next day we caught one of the first transfers to east cost... Jambiani was our first destination, but, we didn't like two things... prices of accommodation and the fact that there are huge amounts of seaweed on the beach. After seeing plenty of guest houses we settled down in Paje, in so called Paje Ndame Village. Well, if Nungwi was bustling with activity, Paje was almost deserted, without tourists... There was nobody in our guest house, and a few japanese in neighbour guest house. And actually, we were alone for next two days :)

But, that didn't stop us. Yes, stay here was quiet, but nevertheless enjoying. We rented the biggest room they had (actually, it was with double bed, but it was soooo big, that it almost seemed like a separate bed). Every morning we had great breakfast in adjacent restaurant, for lunch we just picked up coconuts from the ground and bought some pineapples from local market. We were also regular visitors to a local shop; drinks and cookies... It was also one of the rare places that had TV and basically a spot where people were coming to. So, it was a great place for observing life in a village.

Problem was what to do in a such of place. Fortunately i got a book in our Narrow street hotel (of course, i returned it back afterwards), so that was time spender. We we constantly playing a table game (though i really cannot remember the name right now). So, cycling was on a menu... So, cycling was on a menu... Adi got Super Olympic mountain bike (32 gears), I got Super OK mountain bike (27 gears). Both are like extremly heavy, and thats maybe even better :) Cycling on a beach is something special, cause you have to find a right line, as you need to avoid soft sand... Of course, cycling during the low tide is easier... Not only that, cycling on a main road is also difficult. Sand is a main issue, but as a keen cyclist we managed it without too many falls.

One day, we cycled to the north, further of Bwejuu. Soon we hit Breezes Beach Club. It looked really nice, and beach was combed and this was one of rare places without seaweed (probably they take it away every morning). Ok, one place that we cannot afford. Next was Club Vacanze. Again, combed beach and almost deserted. Sea was great for swimming, but there was nobody on the beach. Again, it was one of the places that we couldn't afford. And then we found people, laying around the pool.. mostly overweight Italians. But again, i wonder... why do people come across half of the world and then lay beside the pool? Couldn't they do that somewhere closer to their home?

But again, also Paje has some problems. First of all, at low tide sea goes away for 500 meters or even more... There are plenty of sea urchins, so you have to be very careful when going to the water. There is also plenty of seaweed, as there are many seaweed fields around Paje. And every day they take away a truckload of the harvest. As i heard, they sell it expensively to Japan...

And last, but not least... Anti-malarial drugs are beginning to have an efect. Lariam is a powerful drug, that reduces my sleep. So, i saw many sun rises... and its was incredible so see sun rising over the indian ocean. Unfortunately, lack of sleep makes you tired...

Nungwi

MEMORABLOG: 3.12. - 8.12. 1998

Its time to hit some beaches... The fishing village of Nungwi straddles the Northern tip of Zanzibar and its shade is a welcome relief after the barren stretch of road that leads there. There are a number of local guest houses in the village and on the West side of the cape there is a number of guesthouses and a couple of loud bars. There are fine sandy beaches around the cape and excellent diving and game fishing off the coast. I would say this is one of the best beaches on Zanzibar, as there is no seaweed and the tide doesn't go out for miles...

We stayed at Amaan Bungalows, close to the beach and nearest bars... so we were really using the next days to relax and relax... Snorkel gear was readily available (though, if i ever return to Zanzibar, i have to bring my own, as their gear was a bit worn out), and maybe next time i will also to Padi diving course there...

Eh, days soon passed, having breakfasts on the waterfront, cristal clear water, great sea food and plenty of night life. Oh, bonus was that it wasn't overcrowded... Yep, and the sun was veeeeery strong, and good suncream was essential... I stayed more in shade, while Adi was often baking on the sun :) So much, that he ran out of the sun cream ;)

Dolphins ????

MEMORABLOG: 3.12. 1998

So, our third "pre-planned" trip was to see some dolphins. Dolphin tours run from Kizimkazi in the south of the island. We passed Jozani forest, but we decided not to stop to see the Columbus monkeys, as we saw them near Arusha (though, those monkeys on Zanzibar are very rare red Columbus monkeys - oh well, next time).

After a long and dusty drive we finally arrived to Kizimkazi. The village seemed to have no tourist infrastructure and wasn't overrun by tourist. We embarked on a small boat and got our flippers, goggles and snorkels. Oh, did I mention that we were the only two people on a tour. Great... Some 30 minutes later we came to the spot where the dolphins are usually lurking around. Yep, we saw some, but it wasn't really like "swimming" with the dolphins as it was advertised. What made a day, was snorkeling on the coral reef. Incredible fish, corals, colours... :) we almost had to be dragged out of the water into the boat, as it was time to return back to the village...

Lunch was waiting for us... rice and fish curry... i guess they were suprised a bit, but we ATE a lot...

When we came back to Stonetown, usual itinerary followed... dinner at the gardens and another extra day enjoying in Stonetown... actually we met some sailors next day, and had a few beers together... funny, don't know why, but prostitutes almost "smelled" them... after a few hours, when the things went too dodgy we rather retired back to our hotel...

Lets roll some spices on the spice tour

MEMORABLOG: 1.12.1998

Over the centuries, Zanzibar’s cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and many other spices brought the sultans of Oman across the Indian Ocean by dhow on the seasonal trade winds.

For 15 US$ dollars, a full-day Spice Tour was available. It was said that will introduce us to most of Zanzibar's spices and fruits, and not only that, we'll see a few historical sites - old slave market and cave, ruined sultan's palace, baths and if you are lucky, a few historical sites too - such as the old slave market or a ruined sultan’s palace.

Our tour was by dala-dala (pick-up trucks converted into buses) and included good lunch of traditional Zanzibar food. On a way towards the “core” fields of Spice tours we went past the Livingstone house. This was used by Europeans whilst starting their expeditions to the mainland, including David Livingstone in 1866. Next stop was Mtoni Palace, built back in 1840 by Sultan Seydi. It was from here that the Sultan built and controlled his great African Empire and there were over a thousand people associated with his court here, including the royal family, Arab and Swahili merchants, scribes, concubines, servants and slaves. Well, today you can just vaguely imagine its former grandness. The palace was abandoned by 1885 and quickly fell into disrepair and during was damaged during the first world war.

The exotic spices and fruits are grown in the plantations towards the middle of island and there’s ample opportunity to dazzle the senses as you taste and smell them and guess what they are. We walked through the maze of trees and the smells were exceptional. Lemongrass, ginger, cardamom and cloves were just a few of the highlights. Other spices include nutmeg, vanilla, tamarind, menthol and plenty more... Oh, the island was once the world's leading producer of cloves (3/4 of the total world supply) and the clove industry was the foundation of the golden age of Zanzibar. Suddenly a short rain came, and we had to hide… under giant leaves… I don’t even need to mention those unknown fruits that we tried on a way…

Next stop were "slave caves". It is reputed to have been discovered in the early 19th century by a slave boy working on the estate of a wealthy Arab plantation owner. The boy found the entrance whilst searching for a goat which had fallen into the cavern. As a source of fresh water, the discovery was a blessing and from that day Hamed’s slaves regularly collected water from the pool for use on the estate. According to a guide book there is no evidence that the cavern was ever used to conceal slaves after prohibition. Well, stories differ and to us slave caves were presented as a gruesome place "to store" slaves.

However, just a kilometre away is another cave, that was used for "hiding" slaves... Following the abolition of slave trading in 1873, Arab merchants were resentful of what they saw as British interference. Black-market prices for slaves shot up and a thriving illicit trade developed, aided at sea by loop-holes in the treaties and the inability of the British to effectively patrol the whole of the Indian Ocean. On land the trade was more difficult to conceal. So, these slave Chambers were constructed by an important slave trader of the time, to hide slaves in transit from the mainland to the Zanzibar plantations and export further afield.

The day finished on a nearby beach. Nice, and no jelly fish this time :) All in all, it was a really nice day and tour :)

Prison island (and a few giant tortoises)

MEMORABLOG: 30.11.1998

Prison Island (Changuu) is the most popular island to visit from Stone Town as it is only a short boat ride (about 10 minutes) away from town. Actually, everybody seems to visit this island... The island was in the 19th century owned by an Arab who used it, as the sign says, for housing "recalcitrant slaves". Basically, unruly slaves were to the island for discipline. Later it was owned by a British General who actually built a prison and it was used it as a quarantine station.

The island offers the largest tortoises we have ever seen, and visitors can take a walk around the island sightseeing the old prisons and various other historical artifacts. That is it... I must say i was a bit disappointed. OK, giant turtles were quite intriguing (they were brought to the island around 100 years ago!!!), but otherwise... So, after a short walk around the island we hit the beach. It was said, that this was one of the best beaches on this side of Zanzibar... well... it could be good, but there was one big problem... the temperature of the sea was just right, water blue, but... we were soon bitten by many jelly fishes... eh, every paradise has a problem...

Karibu Zanzibar, the island of spices

MEMORABLOG: 29.11.1998

Let's go to Zanzibar... All I ever knew before is, that is an island faaaaar away with sexy name... Oh, and beside that, Freddie Mercury (Queen) was born there...

So, the our boat was already waiting for us... At first, I was thinking to go with a dhow, but as this is supposedly illegal and as it takes too long (just a few weeks before i saw Michael Palin travelling from Dubai to Mumbai on a dhow), we kinda agreed on something a bit faster... actually, we bought tickets a fast boat, Flying Horse, for 30US$... (two ways). Actually, this was quite expensive, especially compared to what the locals pay... but ok, i will earn (someday in the future - hopefully) much more money than them... 2 and a half hour trip is quite uneventful. Ok, you can feel when we hit deeper waters, as the waves became bigger and bigger, but that was it... To keep us awake and not bored, a movie "Jungle Book" was on... but it didn't do the trick :)

Funny, but when you arrive on Zanzibar, you have to do again border formalities... (at first we just walked through, and only after 5 minutes of walking, we were turned back). Actually, Tanzania is almost artifical form. Its an union of Tanganyika (mainland) and of Zanzibar (though don't ask me whether Pemba or Mafia Island fall under Zanzibar or Tanganyka). But the border is straightforward, they just check whether you have a valid Tanzania visa and give you a stamp (and they check yellow fewer certificate). Unofficially i heard, that this border control is to restrict poor from the mainland massively going to the relatively reach island...

Remember our friend John from Arusha? Yep, he was there with us.. and he immediately offered us a hotel... Narrow street hotel. We checked it, it was great, almost luxurious after spending last 10 days in holes or tents... Two rooms and nice cold aircon device, though it was a bit on a pricy side - 20US$. Quickly i opened the Lonely planet and picked another recommended guesthouse... and guess what? Yes, it was cheaper with 15US$, but luxury devices, as fridge, TV made us splunge into the narrow street for extra 5 US$... (actually, it was not a bad decision to go with that John - he really bargained us a good price - a tout from the street quoted the price 30US$, while in the hotel said 25US$).

And we really liked the atmosphere of Stone town, so we decided to stay here for a few days... Yep, Foradhani Gardens was our open-air restaurant with cooked seafood right in centre of Stone town on the waterfront. Though gardens are not much during the day, but in early evening they just sprawl with activity...

A few next days will be busy... :)

Back on Video Coach express... this time without video...

MEMORABLOG: 28.11.1998

Last night it was raining, so Arusha transformed into Finland - a land of thousand lakes (well, all the potholes were full of water). It was an early start, as this time we decided not to make again a mistake of starting late - so, departure was around 6:30 :)

This time we got an extra baggage... a guy, presumably one of the owners of the safari agency that we went with, is also going with us to Zanzibar... some "business" to do... lets call him John (or was he David??). Thats OK, as he arranged us a bus tickets, and they were of quite lower price than the other way around... OK, bus was... well... different from our first Coach. First of all, there were much more sits in the bus (5 seats in a row), and secondly... there was no TV, despite the name Video Coach... :)

Funny, but i guess the sits in the front row are reserved for mzungus. So, we got another mzunga for companion for the next 8-9 hours... And that was OK, as she was quite interesting, a stewardes from Switzerland travelling around Africa - alone... This time i felt much better, as people were not so much staring at us. I guess, after almost 10 days in Tanzania we also got a bit "adjusted"...

Trip itself was uneventful. No puncture, nothing really special... Of course, this wouldn't be Africa unless... There was a woman sitting infront of us (dare I say, "big momma"). Apparently going on some kind of business or just visiting family in Dar. And she had a HUGE bag... Full of roasted fish... and she was constatly eating them, and at the end we smelt like rotten fish :)

But that was not annoying, just funny... Annoying was entertainment. On a way to Arusha we were watching either film, either music videos... This time we got music... Volume was turned to the max, and loudspeakers were really under pressure... Problem was, that there was ONLY one cassette, and that it was playing whole 9 hours... So, ladies and gentlemen... let me present... BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS...

Damn... i stopped listening reagge after that bus ride... Interesting was, that people will still singing the song... even when the cassette played for the 10th time...

We arrived to Dar just before darkness... Again Jumbo Inn, and a short walk around Dar... but not too much... we decided to go directly to Zanzibar, and maybe do some serious exploring in the last days of our trip...

Arusha wilderness...

MEMORABLOG: 27.11.1998

We came late night back to Arusha... so, we have some for planning our future trip. Let's climb Kilimanjaro... :) Cool, lets do it... And it hit us... well, guys... basically, you cannot afford it... it costs 500US$+ for just a few days, and you already spent almost half of your budget in the first week... damn... what a disappointment, no Kilimanjaro... Mount Meru is cheaper and lower, but the weather isn't favorable, and we are a bit not interested to stay in Arusha for a few more days...

What about trip to the west, towards central Tanzania and Lake Victoria... not a bad idea, but we were put of by reports of extremely bad roads and 24 hours trip on a bus... We were even thinking about going to Usumbara mountains, but at the end we reached no decision... So, it was a time for another Kilimanjaro beer and a strange, but tasty pizza in the restaurant just across the road...

At least we had a chance of a tour around Arusha... we weren't staying in the best part, its kinda doggy, there near the stadium. But we liked it. And the guesthouse was quite lively, lots of foreigners, though encounters with them were brief. Honestly said, Arusha isn't the place to go sightseeing for a week. Streets are in terrible disrepair and some potholes are bigger than cars... and after rainy day, Arusha transfers from dusty to muddy... At least they had a nice market, where we got loads of fresh fruit and some souvenirs...

Then, we decided to do some trekking around Arusha, towards Mount Meru... We desperately wanted to see Tammy falls (as recommended to us by a friend from airport), but locals weren't too anxious to take us there... they were mentioning military, ransom, danger, ... so, still don't know what is so special by these falls and why it was dangerous to go there... So, we agreed a day trekking with a local guy, to some native villages, waterfalls...

I was surprised. Just a few minutes from the guesthouse, we were in completely different environment... small houses, african cows and smiling children and fabulous landscape... What a contrast to Arusha, now i could imagine how people can stay in Arusha for more days... We started venturing into the forest, and so close to the town you could already observe columbus monkey in the trees... Great landscape, passing different villages, house and people doing the ordinary business (i guess they weren't used on seeing mzungu there, as that day trip wasn't on itinerary of big agencies...). After a few hours we came approached some men, who were, deep in the forest, cooking their own "fire water" - i guess that was a bit on a illegal side. Funny guys, i guess that was for their entertainment and of course profit. Well, drink really tasted like fire... and probably it burned away my liver... they were drinking it pure in large quantities, but i would prefer mixing it with a lot of water or juice... Adi was more daring tasting it, and he almost regretted it :)

After a few hours we arrived to a small village... interesting stuff... apparently our young guide will marry a girl from this village... but unfortunately he doesn't have enough money, yet, to buy a few cows to get her... From there we hitch a ride on a pickup... well, the pickup was so full, that it eventually broke up... sooooo... we had to push it... hehehe... fortunately after a couple hundred meters the road went downhill, so we all jumped on... just... I didn't even think whether the brakes work???!!! Apparently brakes worked...