Monday, January 26, 2009
ZANZIBAR
We made it home on Saturday and found ourselves a little tired (and some of us a bit sick). What a week filled with sand, sun and culture. The ferry out to Zanzibar was a nice two hour cruise. We had heard that it could be a bit rough and that sick sacks were commonly handed out…..but not this trip. We arrived to find a whole new world. Our taxi took us to the very northern tip of Zanzibar, a one hour trip back through time. We arrived to find paradise. The accommodations were just right, the sand white, the weather HOT, and the company of the natives was welcome. We could not have imagined a better spot to relax. The next few days were spent on the beach, roaming through the local village, snorkeling, eating, and watching the sunset………repeat as necessary. We left on Thursday morning for a spice tour and Stone Town. The spice tour was fantastic and educational. At Stone Town we stayed in the Tembo Hotel. The last two days we shopped and lazed around some more by the hotel pool. What a week! The pictures do not do the trip justice but hope they convey a bit of what we had to endure………:-) We will be heading off on Safari tomorrow morning and will return on Friday afternoon/evening so until then...............
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
In Zanzibar
I never would have guessed that there was Internet access out here but there is. They won't let me post any pictures, but I thought that I would write a note to let you know that we are at least safe. If you are interested, you can get a pretty good idea of where we are at by visiting http://www.amaanbungalows.com. This place is amazing. We have never seen water as blue and beautiful as this. Since we left Dar on Monday, I have taken almost 1000 pictures. Yesterday morning we walked through the local village that our Bungalows back up to. I was an experience watching the families start their day.......although I believe that they had been up a while longer then we had. As we walked, the children became interested in our presence, and several followed us for a while. They don't much like pictures taken of them so you have to be a little sneaky. At sunset we took a Dhow sunset sail cruise with a quick stop to snorkel for a bit. We have one more night here before leaving for Stone Town for one night. I believe we have plans on going to the spice plantation as well. This truly is a place that you have to see with your own eyes to really believe and take in it's complete beauty and rich culture. Can't wait to post pictures for you all to see.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Shopping @ the "Slipway" and the Fish Market
Saturday we went out to brave the Fish Market in Dar. What an experience that was. It was a mad house of people trying to sell you fish, prawns, squid......just about anything you can imagine, it was there......and for the most part, not on ICE! The girls were troopers and besides the sticky feet and pungent odors....all went well and we did get some dinner because we found someone with ICE. Later we went to the Slipway where we did what the girls do best. Shop! Found some great paintings and clothes for the girls. We leave for Zanzibar for the next five days. Can't wait to share the photos when we get back.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday Night Dinner and Friday out at Bongoyo Island
Dinner on Thursday night was fantastic as you can see by the look on Angel and Cassie's faces. On Friday we went out to Bongoyo Island. It is an hour boat ride out to the most beautiful island. We were pretty much by ourselves. We ate lunch (fish and chips) and just lazed around all afternoon. The pool of eels was pretty fun to feed after we ate. The factory in these photos is a cement factory on the mainland. This is where the inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate factory came from.
