My dad and I were picked up from my apartment at 3am on Thursday morning and we headed to the airport. We quickly progressed through check in and immigration and settled in on some seats to wait for our gate to be announced. We left on time and were in Nairobi by shortly after 6am. I did some quick duty-free shopping and we settled in at the gate to wait for our flight. Also departing from our gate was a flight to Somalia and it was quite interesting to see all the women in full black hijabs with henna designs on their hands speaking on their cell phones. The exciting thing about this flight was the amazing views of Kilimanjaro.
Kili from the plane
One of the perks of traveling with my dad is staying at nice hotels! We stayed at the Zanzibar Serena and it was incredible. (I should note that we booked our rooms on a Spice Tour package so it became quite reasonable.) Upon arrival our rooms were not quite ready (well they were, but we didn't want to be on the ground floor so waited for other rooms!) so we had a bite to eat and enjoyed the views!
View through hotel lobby
Dad checking out the ocean view
We decided to do our city tour in the early afternoon so that we could get our bearings. I had spent two days in Stonetown in 2007 but never did a proper tour so it was a great experience. I should mention that we traveled to Zanzibar at the beginning of the Long Rain season - this means it was incredibly hot (+33) and humid (my estimate is 90%). I am unsure when I have been quite as sweaty as I was there when not actually working out!
Old Fort
In 2007 I attended a 'Best of Tanzanian Hip Hop Concert here but did not recall it looking this way!!
View from the top of the "House of Wonders"
me in front of giant carved doors in the "House of Wonders"
building beyond repair
it cannot be town down as Stonetown is a UNESCO World heritage site but the city does not have the money to repair it...
Alley in town - the flags are from a recent Agha Khan celebration
narrow alleys that are easy to get lost in
Bright coloured building
After a snack on the way to the hotel we settled in by the pool to watch the sunset - the hotel had louge chairs set up facing the ocean....it was a perfect end to a long, hot day!
Dhow sailing across the sunset
Sunset
Friday morning we woke to grey skies and rain. Over breakfast we decided that it would be a good day to do our spice tour and that we would hope for good weather on Saturday for a beach day. I had been on a spice tour before and remembered it being humid but was prepared...or so I thought! I was ready to call it quits well before my dad as I was too hot and getting eaten alive by the bugs (my fault for wearing flip flops!!).
me in one of the tubs at the Sultan's ruin's
it is a bath structure where his 99 concubines would visit him
spice used as makeup for women
don't recall what spice it is - but it's pretty:)
Dad as King of the Spice's
me as Princess of the spices
goofing around with the spice glasses!
The day turned out to be hot and sunny. After lunch at the Archipelago Cafe we returned to the hotel for a couple hours by the pool. I wore tons of suntan lotion and managed to avoid burning! Late in the day we left the oasis of the hotel and went to buy some gifts for my family.....I found a skirt and dress for myself! We watched the sunset while having some pre-dinner snacks at the Fordhani Gardens (outdoor foodcourt of seafood delights...and falafel for me).
sunset
Zanzibar dessert pizza
Saturday was beach day but the weather did not want to cooperate. We drove around 45 minutes to the somewhat secluded Serena Magwapani Beach - near the slave caves. The setting was perfect. There were some traditional fishing boats and a group of boys swimming in the perfect blue water! I settled in on my chair ready for a day of relaxation. Shortly thereafter the rain started and by lunchtime it was a full downpour BUT it was beautiful. It looked like there was a silver shimmer above the water.
Trying to wait out the rain
Post Lunch the sun came out!!!
sunset cocktail back at the pool
Saturday night we headed to Mercury's for dinner - I had Zanzibar Fajitas and was reminded of my love for mango salsa! We sat on the covered balcony at the water's edge and watched the brief thunderstorms....which brought some much needed cool air!
We wanted to make the most of our last day - in the morning we headed to Prison Island to see the giant tortoises. They are the second biggest ones - just behind the ones in the Galapagos which we had seen in 2007. They were incredible - we got to feed them and I even picked up a couple of the babies!
Starfish at Prison Island
Turtles mating
(yes - I do have video!)
me...speaking to a baby giant turtle
me at the Prison Boutique - it was closed though
After the Island we spent some time at the pool before wandering around town to finish gift shopping. I went on a mission to find a store that I had seen on our tour - I was unsuccessful and got lost in the winding alleys! Sadly, after lunch we had to gather our things and head to the airport! The computers were down so we receive handwritten boarding passes and had to pick up our onward passes at the transfer desk in Nairobi. We were home in Kla by just after midnight.
It was a wonderful four days in paradise and really felt like a vacation! Thanks Dad!!
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