Zanzibar
I like the way the name of my current location, Zanzibar, rolls off my tongue when I say it aloud. Try it: Zzaanzzibaar.From the first moment I saw images of Zanzibar’s palm-fringed white sands and turquoise waters on Google, I counted down the days to my arrival. Now I’ve been here for nine days and, having found that it is exactly the type of island paradise I dreamed of, I’m not interested in leaving. Sorry mainland Tanzania– I’m going to have to see the rest of you on some other trip.Zzaanzzibaar. Really, just try it.Years ago, Zanzibar belonged to the Sultan of Oman and traces of Arab culture remain throughout the island– men in robes and embroidered caps, women in headscarves, mosques, windows with onion-topped arches. Narrow, pungent market alleyways and intricate carved wooden balconies– so similar to those I saw in Delhi and parts of Rajasthan– and the prominence of Indian shopkeepers also reveals the proximity and influence of the Indian subcontinent. Intermixed within all of it are the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of tropical Africa. Huge segments of the world come together on this island. A global blend. I love it.Besides wandering around and enjoying all of these people and their surroundings, my daily life on the island involves eating massive quantities of delicious food. (Sadly, this comes at the same time that I spend most of my days on the beach, wearing a bikini.) The best place to eat is Forodhani Gardens, an oceanside outdoor night market beloved by tourists and locals alike that is lined with dozens of inexpensive street vendors grilling seafood and meats, frying vegetables, and displaying juicy slices of fresh fruits. Matteo and I have fallen into a routine– first, we head to “our” seafood vendor (a lovely man who doesn’t try to charge foreigners extravagant prices), where Matteo orders grilled barracuda skewers wrapped in chapati bread and I have crab claws with plantains. Next, we make our way to “our” juice man, who pours us fresh glasses of sugarcane juice seasoned with ginger and lemon. Then, despite protests from our full bellies, we head over to “our” kabob man, who gives us a plate of beef and fries drenched in spicy pili pili sauce. Afterward, groaning but unable to control ourselves, we’ll have some ice cream, or a crepe with bananas and chocolate. (Best of all, the whole meal will cost us about $4 each.)A good way to digest all of that food is to spend hours lying on the beach and reading. After some time, swimming in the warm, clear ocean also helps. So, after traveling up to a beach on the north of the island, and renting a cozy bungalow with a porch overlooking the ocean, I did that too for five wonderful days.Now, lured by the promise of colorful tropical fish and coral reefs hidden beneath the water’s surface, Matteo and I are back in Zanzibar’s main town, enrolled in a four-day PADI Open Water Dive course. (I’ve read that there’s also wonderful diving in Egypt’s Red Sea, so I think this may be the beginning of a long relationship with scuba equipment.) I spent all of yesterday studying dive theory; today, I wore scuba gear for the first time and took my first breath underwater in a hotel swimming pool. Tomorrow, I go on the first of the course’s four ocean dives– I can’t wait.Once I finish the dive course, I may travel to another beach on the east coast of the island and stay there for a few days. And then, despite my longing to stay here forever, I (probably) will leave Zanzibar to return to Nairobi. I have a flight to Cairo booked for August 7, and the excitement of traveling to another region of the world is beginning to run through my adventure-addicted veins.
Tags: RTW 07/08, Tanzania, Zanzibar
admin
Leave a Reply