One of our Circle members has recently been on a trip to Tanzania and has written a piece describing her experience, below:

In Zanzibar the majority of people are Muslim. I didn’t realize the strength of Arab influence until I was told of their role in the trade of slaves and spices. In fact, the hotel we were staying at was once the palace of an Ottoman prince and looked like he had left lots behind. It felt like walking through an Ottoman antique shop with unusual bric-a-brac dotted all around and framed by  beautiful wood panelling inlaid with Islamic designs. The décor was indeed very palatial, especially the four poster queen beds  and mosaic shower trays.   

The balcony was a different story. The Small space was wedged between two walls with only enough room for 2 chairs and a table with an opening at the end. Drops of water from the aircon unit were dripping down regularly, mostly on my friend’s head. They described the view as ‘the amazing metal roofs of stone town’ but that was must have been estate agent speak.  

Visiting the night market was on our agenda and despite being inquisitive I did not ask for more details. The Market turned out to be full of fish and food stalls with skewers of every sort of fish you could imagine and sometimes meat as well. Generally, most of the stalls sold similar stuff, but they all wanted you to buy specifically from them. One guy realizing I was from UK said ”I’m Millwall, you buy from me”. It seemed ironic given their track record on diversity. 

Drinks were also on offer but only fruit juices or soft drinks. Amazingly, when I said I didn’t drink those a young guy managed to conjure up a weird cocktail with a lot of vodka in it.  

We had booked a trip to Chengu island, also known as prison island. In the lovely 30-minute boat ride, you could see how much Zanzibar depended on fishing. The weather was hot and balmy and our boatman, Abdi Morrocco, was a good and helpful guide, even though his English was limited. 

I hadn’t told my friend that the island was home to a colony of peacocks and Aldabra tortoises which are giant and live a long time. The Oldest tortoise was 160 years old, but they had a little nursery with tiny ones too. I’m not in the habit of massaging 160-year-olds’ necks but as it was a rare tortoise I’d made an exception.  

The history of the island was interesting as it was used as a holding place for rebellious slaves by the Arabs. The British later on turned it into a quarantine island, and now it is a tourist attraction. We made sure to go for a swim before departing. 

Later on, we had the loveliest lunch, sitting in the sun and watching the sea, eating the freshest avocado and tomatoes on bruschetta, that I luckily didn’t break my teeth on and sipping a cool glass of white wine. Not long after we went to the beach on the east side of the island, the Indian ocean side. 

The hotel was small and all on one level and our room overlooked onto the pool with glimpses of the sea, the sand and the restaurant. The room itself was fine, but the pungent  odor of disinfectant played havoc with my chest the first night. I made sure they didn’t use it after that first night. 

Later on that day, we decided to walk down the beach to find somewhere to eat. The Fisherman’s was a very rustic place and at first it seemed little more than a shack just off the beach, but as you went further  back, it was welcoming and cozy. We ordered food and wine, which they probably had to rush to get from the local bottle store. Some guys rocked up with a guitar, drum and shakers and we were treated to some music, relaxing reggae in Swahili and English. The atmosphere was chilled and instigated some philosophizing, some dancing, enjoyment of great food, of lovely people. What a great start to the holiday. 

I’ve always wanted to swim with Dolphins, but not in captivity and we found out that this could be done in Zanzibar. I had to weigh the price, the time and the ethics of doing it and after some convincing from the hotel staff I decided that I should do it.  

I had to rise early but that was not a problem. I arrived at the place and managed to cadge a lighter (the airport took mine) and a sealed bottle of water. I set off in a boat and then 2 more boats joined ours. My boat was going quite fast, hitting the waves, bumping up and down. At one point the boatman said, “get in, get in, there they are” and I did, but was not too happy with the abruptness of the ride and signal. Plus, there were no dolphins. We drove a bit further and I asked him to stop and told him “I’m just going to swim for a bit”. I thought if the Dolphin wants to swim with me, they will come. To my surprise, one did. I told the boatman “That’s it” and he said, “you’re the boss”. I tried to make it as ethical as possible given the circumstances.  

After the trip I managed to get back in time for breakfast. 

Later, we went for a walk in the local town or village and after lunch, I went searching for a lighter, meanwhile my friend had been accosted by one of her work colleagues. It turned out she was DJ- ing at a restaurant just down the beach from us. Despite neither my friend nor I being into  deep house music, we agreed to have dinner with her when she told us the food there was excellent. It was a good night despite being interrogated by my friend’s colleague, but the deep house music did not fill us with deep joy.  

We wended our way back and had a discreet glass of wine on our terrace. 

The next day we were off to Maalam caves for a natural swimming experience. This was a very nature centered experience where you could snorkel and see fishes swimming amongst the rocks. Me and snorkeling are not generally compatible, but I could hold my breath long enough to see some. My friend loved it, and she spent ages face in water getting down with the flora and fauna. The were lots of other people there, and I thought they gave the birds a run for their money with their incessant chatter, almost chirping like. 

After the swimming we had a lovely coffee, and I bought some lemon grass soap. Back at the hotel we both fancied a burger for lunch despite my liking for fish and always saying I need to eat more, but we had eaten fish nearly every day. After lunch, our stroll down the beach led to me getting an hour long massage for less than £10.00 from Mamma Africa. 

On our last night we went to Mr Kahawa’s, which I later discovered means “coffee”. I was also told that “kafi” means to hit or slap someone, which was slightly confusing but since I order coffee a lot, I should probably remember this. Since I’d had a burger for lunch, I decided to be good and have a couscous salad. 

The setting was beautiful, watching the waves of the warm ocean lapping on the sand whilst listening to The Rolling Stones, which started us on a nostalgic musical journey. We have very similar tastes in music, and it made me realize how lucky I’ve been to see the bands that I have seen. 

I woke up very early the next morning and saw a strange cloud that rose up like an anthill. I then went right down to the front of the restaurant to see the sun rise and I was joined by a young German girl who was there to watch it too. It was quick but stunning and made me realize how close to the equator we were. It gets light and dark at the same time every day of the year. No short or long days. 

We chilled by the pool until it was time to go to the airport and fly back to Arusha.