Zanzibar

I just got back from a great week long vacation to Zanzibar, a small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of mainland Tanzania.  It was really nice to take a break from life in Arusha and relax on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

We spent the first night in Stone town, the main port on the island.  Stone town has about a 90% Muslim population so it was important we dressed appropriately and didn’t draw too much attention to ourselves.  It was even difficult to find a restaurant that served alcohol!  On Friday, we visited the historic slave chambers which was incredibly eye opening.  Stone town was used as a slave port to hold and sell East African slaves in very small quarters.  I remember learning all about the slave trade in school but it was so sad to see first hand the conditions they were forced to live in.

After Stone town, we spent four nights at a beach called Kendwa on the northern tip of the island.  We stayed at a place called the Sunset Bungalows and sure enough, the sun set right in front of us every day- it was so beautiful!  We went on an all day snorkeling excursion on Saturday.  We rode out to the coral reef on a wooden sailboat and then snorkeled for about an hour or so. We then had lunch on a secluded beach and swam around a little bit before sailing back home.  A few days later, we went out on a boat to go line fishing for the morning.  I can’t remember the last time I went fishing so it must have been beginners luck when I caught the biggest one!  We had the restaurant at our resort cook the fish for lunch; it was delicious J

Once we got tired of the gorgeous sunsets in Kendwa, we headed to a Nungwe- a town about 10 minutes north.  We stayed in Nungwe for three nights and just enjoyed relaxing on the beach and hanging out at a few of the local restaurant/bars.  After receiving a few phone calls and text messages from Pascal, Francis, and the kids, I decided I needed to bring them back a souvenir of some sort from Zanzibar.  I would be shocked if any of them (adults and children) have ever seen the beach so I collected about 70 shells to bring back. While I was out collecting shells one afternoon, I ran into a man with a pet monkey!  I was so happy when he let me hold him, even though he bit me a few times.

It certainly was an amazing week but its crunch time back in Arusha.  I only have two weeks left at the orphanage and so much left to do!!