Zanzibar Days

Our trip to Zanzibar was our final adventure while in Tanzania. After a brief but memorable safari in Mikumi, we traveled to Dar es Salaam on April 17 where we met Sharmala at the thankfully-air-conditioned Econo Hotel. After weeks in the cool refreshing climate of Mbeya, we found Dar to be extremely humid and hot.

Sunday morning we were up and off to the terminal to catch our ferry to Zanzibar. First-class tickets got us comfy seats, AC, and weird Tanzanian movies. Although the early morning rains were over, the sea was a bit rough for the first hour of the trip.

Once we landed on the island, we had to pass through customs which may seem surprising since Zanzibar has been a part of Tanzania since 1967 but they are very protective of their identity and sovereignty (they have a separate branch of government which only the people of Zanzibar can vote for).

You never know when you’re going to bump into someone you know . . .. as we stood in immigration lineup, a young white woman asked Jan if she was Meredith Wilson’s mother from N. Van . . . and of course she IS! Jan recognized this woman as a friend of her daughter from her HS years. She was traveling with her husband on a 3-week holiday in Africa!

Our driver whisked us up to the north west end of the island, quickly passing out of Zanzibar City and into the village-strewn countryside. The vegetation was lush and tropical; trees bursting with blooms and fruit (bananas, jack fruit, mangoes, all sorts of palms...)

We arrived at Nungwi Beach Resort after just over an hour; hot, somewhat bedraggled from the heat & travel only to find that our resort of choice to be less than what we had hoped for. The good points were it was on a beautiful small stretch of beach and the price was right. The not-so-good points were: loud music from the bar/restaurant; strong-smelling pesticide in room; inadequate chairs, hangers, tables in our room; low/no water pressure; thousands of flies around our eating table while being served at the cafe; limited beach furniture (with a price tag for usage); I could go on but you get the picture. The music blared into the night (it turns out there was a disco on the property right behind our cabin so we got “surround sound”) and was only silenced by a 3-hour power outage between midnight and 3AM.

Needless-to-say, we were on the hunt for a new place right after breakfast the next day - stalking the beaches for something more agreeable. After all, it was the low (rainy) season so we thought we might be able to talk someone into a deal (for us, of course). The thing is, we wanted to stay another 3 nights so wanted something comfortable, affordable, and a place where sleep was possible.

The 3 of us were immediately “taken” with Flame Tree Cottages but unfortunately, they were out of our price range. The thing is, being the low season, all of these resorts were VERY quiet. In fact one large place seemed to be deserted except for the Maasai guards draped in their famous red-blue robes.

The proprietors of the Flame Tree Cottages were very accommodating, and generously offered us another rate that while more than we had planned, was impossible to turn down. And so we stayed and enjoyed and soaked in the stunning setting.