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Zanzibar!
So, we finally left for Zanzibar from Dar Es Salaam on the 12th January, Our ferry was huge and unsurpirisingly we were bundled without choice into the almost exclusively white "VIP" Lounge, This was made all the more ironic by the fact that a film was playing to the whole boat about apartheid...After collecting the Zanzibar stamp on our passports we headed off into Stone Town. Stone Town is the old quarters of Zanzibar and is a busy collection of old and winding streets. The buildings are all old stone structures with amazingly intricate carved wooden doors. So, we spent a few hours walking around before finding the Pearl Guest House and checking in. We spent a night there, once again sweating away under a fan that looked as if it was about to leave the ceiling and fall down on us, and the next day left to the beach. We headed to the North of the Island and to the beaches of Nungwi.
I had the best first experience possible, as when I went off looking for possible places to stay and ended up inches form stepping on a dead cat. My favourite type of surprise. Anyway, after that horrible experience we managed to find a really nice place to stay, Union Beach Bungalows, that cost only $10 a night per person, whcih is pretty good by Zanzibar standards.
The next week we spent pretty much just relaxing on the beach - swimming, sun bathing and eating! The weather was very, very hot - even compared to Ugandan standards. This caused a few problems....I think due to doxy (malaria pills) we all had increased sensitivity to the sun. This meant that we burnt easily and some times in the sun I actually felt as if my skin was on fire! Ouch! To make things even better, I spent about a week, and 3 sleepless nights in pain because I had sunburnt lips. This sounds a bit ridiculous , but it was actually ridiculously sore - they had blisters all over them.
On one day we also went snorkelliing out at the Mnema Atoll Coral Reef - this is also a marine conservation area - so it's pretty cool. We were taken out on a boat, that at times I was a bit concerned was going to capsize, out to near an island that you are immediatly charged $500 if you step foot on it. Needless to say, we steered well clear of that! We were given our flippers, snorkels and masks and then left to swim around looking at the coral and hoardes of brightly coloured fish darting around amongst it. On other day, a few of the others took the next step and went Scuba Diving. I was too scared for this though! The idea of being deep under water with the prospect of sharks doesn't really appeal!!
So, with a box full of shells, we eventually left the beach and headed back into Stone Town to get dinner before boarding the night ferry back to Dar. Food came in the form of the fish market that happens every night after dark on the water front. There were massive stands with loads of exotic fish - including reef shark, squid and swordfish - which they cooked up in front of you. As well as this there was sugar cane juice and a speciality called a "zanzibar pizza!" Mmmmmm...
When we finally left, the immigration office had closed, and for a scary minute we thought we weren't going to be allowed on the boat - but eventually they waved us through. So, lacking our exit stamp, as far as immigration are concerned, we are still on Zanzibar. Happy days!
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