Zanzibar

Well we decided to splash out on one last flight before we resigned to our faith of spending literally days travelling by bus... But true to form Julie and I along with our other travel buddies almost missed our flight... We were sitting in the lounge sipping our coffee with the screen saying our flight wasn’t due to take off for another half hour when a flight attendant came running up the stairs asking where we were going. We calmly told her Zanzibar and that’s when we realised they had been calling our names over the inter com for about 20 Min's and the plane was just about to start off down the run way... Oops

The flight was delightful – a 40min journey where we got free drinks and cashew nuts – Precision Air all the way.

On arrival in Zanzibar the heat hit us as we got off the plane and we could understand why the locals always shivered when we said we had come from Moshi...
Zanzibar is an island apart – completely different to mainland Tanzania in architecture, rhythm, language and people but it is stunning. We spent a few days in Stone Town and went on a spice tour on the first day and got to taste all their local fruits and spices directly off the tree’s or from the ground – like ginger, cloves, banana’s, grapefruits and much more... We also got to sample some of their home grown coffee beans and curry powders... I also got to taste Zanzibar pizza in the gardens in Stone Town which offered an array of food stalls from fish fresh out of the water and crepe’s with nutella and banana fillings – really cheap and unexpectedly cheap...

Following stone Town we moved North to Kwenda for a few days on the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar. These were easily the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen with the warm water of the Indian oceans lapping up on their shores. Although it was very beautiful and relaxing I did get itchy feet after a day on the beach and went in search of something a little bit more adventurous than sun bathing and found a number of dive centers on the coast... After speaking to a few of the guy’s I settled with the Spanish Dancers to do my 3-4 day open water diving course. Although I’ve never been scared of the water I did find myself unprepared for the experience of breathing under water. I got a bit panicked on the first day with completing some of the really basic skills but once I got out in the open water on the 2nd day and could see the underwater life in all its glory I quickly forgot any concerns I had... day 2 wa therefore far more successful and on day 3 I got to go to Nwemba Island about an hour off the west coast of Zanzibar where I was literally swimming in waters surrounded by hundreds of different types of fish. The one that sticks out in my mind the most was a trigger fish about the size of a football and in no way afraid of us... The final day I sat my exams but as I woke up with a head cold I was not in a position to do any deep dives, as I couldn’t equalise effectively and found myself in a lot of discomfort at only 3metres! My instructor Allan, from the States, was very pleased with me though by the end especially considering my dodgy start... So I’m now fully qualified and can’t wait to go on a dive just for fun without having to complete any tasks like removing my equipment under water and then putting it back on again, taking off my mask and then replacing it and expelling all the water from it etc etc etc... So if anyone is planning any diving trip in the near future let me know what the deal is...