Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Day 324 – Friday 17th December 2010

Our flight home leaves at 8:30am and we land in England at 3:45pm, just in time for a cup of tea.

I think it is going to be cold and very strange!

Day 323 – Thursday 16th December 2010

Today we leave Zanzibar at lunchtime and frantically travel around Dar, picking up our bags and doing last minute shopping trips.

And then we will try and get some sleep!

Day 322 – Wednesday 15th December 2010

We planned to get an early start but got sidetracked with breakfast overlooking the city.

We did however get going on our cultural tour and shopping spree, and had great success, not getting lost and finding most of what we wanted. Everything is very small, apart from some of the fish in the market, but it is busy and fun.

However, it was over 36 degrees by 11am and we were exhausted.

We made a detour to the Cathedral, which has a rich and troubled history, to meet up with a friend of a friend from Tabora. The cathedral was built on the former slave market.

After a short break for lunch and little sleep we ventured out into the P1010933streets, exploring the old palaces and markets. Armorel managed to convince me that she needed some henna done too.

This evening we went to watch the sunset, but missed it, and enjoyed the sea view as the darkness roll in instead, and then had a high quality traditional meal.

We are feeling very sad that this holiday, and this adventure are soon but over.

Day 321 – Tuesday 14th December 2010

We woke nice and early and embarked on a large, leisurely breakfast. We are going to miss the plates of fresh tropical fruit.

Packing didn’t take too long and we had time for a quick dip in the ocean and some sun bathing pool side.

Just after 12pm our taxi arrived and we headed to Stone Town, Zanzibar’s capital.

Awesome!

Our first impressions are a place full of life, rich cultures and adventure opportunities everywhere. This is exciting.

We got dropped a 5 minute walk from the hotel and made our way down tiny alleys and streets until we found our home for the next two nights, The Zanzibar Coffee House. It is a tiny coffee shop with 8 rooms above, full of character and charm.IMG_5242

We were treated to a wonderful iced coffee before we headed out to explore the town. I can’t think of words to describe it, and the photos can’t give you the smells and sounds as you weave in and out of narrow streets, but stunning comes close.

We spent most of the afternoon just pottering and getting lost before arriving back at our hotel for an evening drink on its roof terrace.

We had heard of some local music and dancing going on, and decided we would head along. Maybe we have been treated to exceptional standards in Tabora, but this was poor. We soon made our escape.

Our restaurant for dinner was wonderful; a small roof terrace overlooking the sea and the city, where we sat surrounded by P1010924 hundreds of cushions eating fresh seafood. The only downside was the fact that we were the only customers!

It really is not tourist season.

Day 320 – Monday 13th December 2010

Today is our last full day at the beach and we intend to take full advantage of it by doing very little.

We had success in the morning.

We ventured along for breakfast, but then back to the room and sat outside in the sun reading our books.

Hot and getting peckish we wandered along for some lunch before another session of reading and doing nothing by the pool.P1010895

Armorel did however visit the spa at 4pm for a pedicure. I stayed by the pool drinking tea and eating cake.

For our last night we were given a treat.

The staff wanted to say a special thank you to us and so we had a private dinner outside our room overlooking the sea. We had our own chef, Andrew, cook us fresh lobster, kings prawns, calamari, octopus and a couple of fish. Delightful!

A perfect way to end!

Day 319 – Sunday 12th December 2010

I think it is even hotter today.

After another large breakfast we packed up a day bag and went for a short walk around to the next cove.

Again we seemed to have found a private beach, just us, the sun and hundreds of crabs skittering along.

We got caught up in our books and the beautiful surroundings and before we knew it the afternoon had arrived. My stomach needed some food.IMG_5223

With the tide now out we walked out to find the sea. The sand was too hot to walk on, and the sea was like a bath. How are we going to cope in a week’s time?

It is too hot to do anything, so after a small bite we sat by the pool until the sun started to set.

For dinner tonight the waiters placed us on the beach, with the stars and fireflies.

It is stunning!

Day 318 – Saturday 11th December 2010

The sky is clear this morning, not a cloud to be seen. That is good news as we are off for a day trip snorkelling and a picnic.

A hearty breakfast was had before we embarked upon a traditional dhow boat at 10am.

After a 30 minute motor against the tide we arrived at a small Indian Ocean reef. Just us, our guide and our boat.P1010870

WOW!

There are so many fish, and so many colours. As a nature geek I was fascinated by the different swimming techniques of the fish, Armorel not so much.

The next two hours we spent floating around this tropical oasis. Truly jaw dropping.

Exhausted but wanting to stay down for ever we climbed back into our boat and headed off for a picnic lunch.P1010881

We have our own private island with a huge spread of food, and china plates. (Armorel was very excited by this)

The afternoon soon disappeared as we slept, read and swam, before we left for the hotel, but this time sailing across the seas with a peaceful southerly wind.

And to finish off our majestic day we were treated to a private dinner on a deck above the ocean, where we enjoyed 4 courses of exquisite food.

A magnificent day!