Zanzibar: Sea, Sun and Beach

The hot and humid climate of Dar Es Salaam (Even of peace in Swahili) is hard to live with… The only solution is to go at the beach and walk in the water… That’s why we decided to go to Zanzibar by ferry. 1:30 hours to do 80 kms, that’s very fast!!!

 Stone Town, the city of Zanzibar is a mix of several styles: Arabic, Indian, Tanzanian, Oriental… The majority of the inhabitants is Muslims and traditions are strictly followed (Women with niqab…) so be careful with your clothes: don’t show your shoulders and don’t wear a too short skirt or pant!  

The fruit and spice market is very nice… We discovered new fruits : a small mango with the taste of a kiwi and new passion fruits !!! We also tried two Tanzanian pastries: The visheti is like a doughnut in shape of a 8 and the vitumba is a doughnut made from rice flour and cooked in oil. It’s good but very fat!!!

Zanzibar is surrounded by a coral reef. Perfect for some snorkelling! We sa a lot of fishes, seaweeds, urchins, star fishes and coral! So impressive!! And very nice in a clear blue water with perfect temperature!!

Romain snorkelling

Doesn't need any comment ;-)

The island is also well known for its spices, we decided to visit a spice farm! We discovered (and sometimes tried) Cayenne pepper, Ginger, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Vanilla… And we also discovered that avocados grow in trees ! We didn’t know before! We also tried the Dorian: that’s a very stinky fruit (prohibited in public transport) but when you eat it it’s very good! And we also get a lot of accessories made with banana leaves!

Lemongrass

Cacao

Vanila

Muscade nut

Coffee beans

After few days in city center, it’s time to relax on the beach ! We took the dalla – dalla (Tanzanian matatu, better than the Kenyan version of it) to go to Nungwi in the north of the island. Our schedule: farniente, swim, games, friends and fun! So great!!!

But on some points we were a bit surprised: first the island was really empty! Only few tourists and no hotel full! Okay it is still the low season but it is strange.. Nungwi is one of the most popular beaches of the island! And there is no ATM there.. We forgot to take money in Stone town and even if in the hotels and restaurants they have a card reader, it never works!!! We had to change money at a forex point…with 17% taxes…that’s a shame!!! At last, the village is very dirty, without any attractions, so if you are a tourist, please stay at your hotel or take a boat but don’t visit the village… that’s a pity!

Anyway, we enjoyed these few days in Zanzibar and we also saw a nice sunset… And now we are tanned!!