Getting to Zanzibar
While Anise, Sami, and I crossed the border from Malawi to Tanzania a "taxi driver" who looked like he was going into Malawi turned around to offer us a ride to where the rest of the taxis were that we needed to take from the border town in Tanzania to Mbeya - the first stop on our way to Zanzibar. He was very persuasive and also recommended we use his guy to exchange our Malawian kwacha to Tanzanian shillings.
Long story short: Anise ended up getting scammed when a guy walked off with a big chunk of her kwacha "to find someone for change" (not the guy the taxi driver recommended). She got into a fight with the hoard of excessively pushy OTHER guys trying to get us to exchange our money with them. Our taxi driver was annoyed, we were annoyed, Anise was angry - it was not good. The situation escalated when she finally yelled in frustration "you're all in cahoots!" (and some swears). Then our taxi driver was angry because we didn't use his exchange guy, and sort of caused a scene. He took us the extremely short distance (which we could have easily walked) and then refused to open the trunk to give us our things until we had paid him the price that he tripled due to our fight. He had originally said 3,000 shillings for a tiny distance and then decided to charge us EACH 3,000 shillings which made us even angrier. The whole thing was a huge debacle. Then we had to get on a mini bus taxi, where I kid you not the floor was SO HOT it was actually painful. And we couldn't put our feet up because we had our luggage on our laps, of course.
We thought this was the final bus to Mbeya but without explanation we stopped at another location where everyone started to exit our mini bus and get onto a DIFFERENT bus. No one said anything to us though, and we had no idea if we were supposed to get on this bus, pay again, or WHAT was going on. So we transfer to the already full bus. For a row made for four people there were NINE. People were still trying to get on, but couldn't get through the front door so they were literally climbing through the windows to get onto the bus. However, they were climbing into a full bus so Sami had a man STANDING ON HER KNEES in this bus. When I retell it now it makes me laugh but it was the farthest thing from funny. The front of the bus (aka the aisle) was standing room only and so full that's why no one else could get on the bus. When we stopped at other points before Mbeya people in the back of the bus had to EXIT THE BUS THREW THE WINDOWS. It was like something out of a movie – we were all like “is this real life?”
By the time we got to Mbeya it was around 10pm. We had no idea of what kind of options were available in terms of accommodation for the night so we got in a taxi and asked them to take us to a hotel (SPLURGE!). We arrived at the hotel and we are pretty positive we were the only people staying there. It was clean, and secure so that was what mattered. We got advice from the front desk person on which "luxury" bus companies were the most reputable and safest. It was a stressful process because the second you got to the rank where the taxis and buses were you were bombarded with people all trying to sell you tickets and scams are more than commonplace. We went with what we could determine was the best choice and most legitimate to get us on the Princess (incorrectly spelled on the bus as "Princes") Muro bus. The Princess Muro bus took us to Dar es Salaam over the course of 19 hours. At one point we saw an overturned bus on the side of the road which was a less-than-encouraging sign. Also, the reason these buses are "luxury" is because they restrict the passengers to one per seat (novel idea in Tanzania). This is also where I experienced my first squat toilets (where the toilet hole is level with the ground so you squat…if that wasn’t self-explanatory). Not what I would describe as a pleasant experience, they are not my favorite…
On our arrival in Dar it was already after dark (typical) so we got a taxi that instead of taking us to the place we wanted to go, tried to take us to the ferry and drop us off there. What turned out to be a common theme here was people pretending they knew what we were talking about when really they had zero idea. After us refusing to get out of the taxi until we were at a hotel he finally understood the name of another place where we had heard Peace Corps Volunteers from Tanzania stayed. It was like a backpackers/hotel and worked out great. The next morning we got up early so we could make it to the ferry to Zanzibar (yay)!
Zanzibar
After three days of travel we FINALLY had arrived in Zanzibar! Our first few nights we stayed in Stone Town which is the big city in Zanzibar. It's the only city like it that I've ever been to, the streets are completely winding, and impossible not to get lost in. Which is fine because everything is so cool to look at! Unique architecture and beautiful old doors around every corner make it a city you WANT to get lost in. I loved Stone Town and would have spent more time there if we had the chance. It was a cool place to be! In Stone Town Sami's friend Mallory met up with us and she was our travel buddy for the rest of the trip.
While in Stone Town we signed ourselves up for some tours we had heard were not to miss and arranged our transport conveniently to take us where we needed to go in addition to the tours. Zanzibar is a tiny place so going from one side of the island to the other doesn't take long, but it was nice to have our transport arranged.
Our first tour was the Blue Safari which was absolutely amazing! We got to a boat that took us out to a coral reef where we got to snorkel and see seriously beautiful and amazing fish and reefs. There were also jellyfish which WOULD sting you and DID sting us. You'd be swimming and suddenly see all these little transparent things that looked like mini balloons and frantically swim backwards to get away from them, but a few stings were unavoidable. It was so fun though! After our snorkeling we were brought over to a deserted island where we got to drink fresh coconut milk straight from the source. It was amazing being on a tiny white sand beach surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water. Absolutely beautiful. As if this wasn't enough we were taken to another island where we got to climb on a massive baobab tree and had a free seafood lunch. It was as much as you wanted to eat fresh lobster, shrimp, fish, and octopus stew with coconut rice -it was DELICIOUS. We sailed around local tiny islands, took in the beautiful views, and got to swim a bit more. When we were all tired of swimming we headed back to the main island. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done!
We spent two nights after that in an area on the East side of the island that was very quiet since it was off season. We were in Jambiani at a resort that was really beautiful right on the beach. It was a nice secluded get away - almost no one else was there! We went for a long walk on the beach and just enjoyed a relaxing time. On our way from Jambiani to our next destination we went on a spice tour which was so much fun! We got to taste and identify spices in their plant/root form. The guys who gave us the tour were so much fun, and such characters. We had a blast and it was neat to see all the different spices that are grown on Zanzibar.
After Jambiani we headed to Kendwa Beach on the North side of the island which was where all of the people were! We stayed at a resort that was right on the beach, next to a place called Kendwa Rocks that had amazing food! It was a really fun atmosphere at Kendwa Rocks so we spent two days on the beach hanging out! We went to a reggae party one night and swam in the crystal clear ocean at midnight to cool off after all our dancing. It was an absolutely amazing experience. We made friends with some South Africans we met there, and had a blast with them. We also met up with our Peace Corps friend Kristina and her friend (they had travelled separately from us in Malawi/Tanzania/Zanzibar up to that point). It was fun to be able to have a Peace Corps South Africa reunion in Zanzibar!
Sami and I were continuing to Zambia by train (to meet Mallory - who had flown) to Livingstone so we could see Victoria Falls. It wasn't easy leaving Zanzibar - a truly unique paradise but it had to be done.
Here are some things I loved or noticed about Zanzibar that made it special:
-Stone Town's amazing architecture and buildings - you felt like you were stepping back in time!
-Muslim influence -for a hot island everyone (girls/women) are covered head to foot due to their cultural or religious practices.
-It's stunningly beautiful - beaches, water, sea life, everything! So exotic!
-Amazing food - nom nom nom.
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