First off, sorry for so many words and photos.  There is so much to see and experience in Zanzibar, ok now..

After an amazing two weeks spent in the mainland we headed over to the semi-aotonomous Tanzanian island of Zanzibar.  The trip began with a flight from Moshi which proceeded in a manner unfamiliar to us.  We showed up at Kilimanjaro International Airport dutifully about an hour before our 100pm flight was to depart.  We then proceeded to get our tickets from the FLY54o ticket counter but could not locate anyone there.  Eventually we talked to someone with a different airline who told us it would be 30 minutes before someone arrived. Forty-five minutes later we were told to wait another ten minutes which brought us up to almost our departure time, no worries.  After another 2/3 cycles of waiting 10 more minutes we found someone at the counter who issued us our handwritten tickets.  Ready to go we head over to the gate and sit, and sit, and sit with no information of what was going on.  Around 330 a bright orange plane matching the color of hand written ticket lands, ~12 people get off and a lady tells  with FLY540 tells us and the other 6 or so people that our plane has arrived and to board.  We board the almost full plane which is on it’s way to Zanzibar to exchange some more passengers before ending up in Dar es Salaam.  It was not  a bad airport/flight/experience but things did not progress in any manner we had ever seen in air travel.  We were slowly realizing that things in Africa do come together but how and when they will occur is forever uncertain.

Having travelled with a tour company for two weeks, it was nice to arrive in Zanzibar on our own with no real itinerary.  We started the week in Stonetown for a few days before heading to the southwest of the island for some beach time.  While in Stonetown we stayed at the Princess Salme Inn and highly recommend it to anyone on a budget.  It was an unassuming building located a short ways north of downtown.  Our initial lack of enthusiasm dissipated on entering the hotel and witnessing the charm of this old arabic home converted to a hotel.  The staff was great and the rooftop terrace was a nice surprise.

After checking in we headed to the historic part of town and consciously got lost in the maze of tiny alleyways.  Stonetown is imbued with such a long and diverse history (many of the 16th century  buildings are still standing) with the mixing of African, Arabic,  Asian, and Portuguese cultures and is a magnificent city.  After walking the streets and beach we had our first great but premature meal of our time in Tanzania.  Following dinner we slowly headed back towards our hotel to the increasingly loud and bright humming of something going on in Forodohni Park along the water.  Turns out they have nightly open air street markets full of foods from fresh crepes and nutella to just caught seafood cooked to order.  Some of us were too full to eat, others got the nutella crepe.

The next day we headed back to the historic part of town to walk the streets some more.  Eventually we ended up on the outskirts of town and in one of the main markets.  The increase in activity and people here was nearly palpable.  The aromas from the numerous spice vendors and fishermen’s wares filled the air.  One of the most striking and first sites we encountered was the nearly 4 foot in diameter ray lying on the pavement draining blood from being sawed in half while people bid on the meat.  The market was amazing albeit jarring to those used to a more westernized and detached style of procuring ones groceries.

We then walked in circles until we located the Angelican cathedral Christ Church which now occupies the area of what was once one of the largest slave markets in Zanzibar.  After paying the nominal fee and finding a free guide we walked around the grounds learning some of the history of the church, the slave markets, and Dr David Livingstone.  The construction of the church was done in celebration of the end of legal slavery.  It was interesting to learn some of the history of Doctor Livingstone in his work to end slavery that came to dominate his life after witnessing it first hand while exploring Africa.  While the church was spectacular the most striking part of tour was visiting the underground huts that used to house the slaves before being sold.  Reading about the conditions slaves had to endure fails to even come close to witnessing firsthand the cramped underground concrete quarters so many people passed through on their way to even more hardship.

Following a full couple of days enjoying the rich cultural diversity in Stonetown we headed to Kizimkazi in the south of Zanzibar for a few days of quiet and swimming in the Indian Ocean.