The ferry from Dar Es Salaam was fast and efficient.  Even though Zanzibar is part of Tanzania we still had to go through a type of customs where our documents were checked.  We disembarked and left the terminal and found ourselves in the heart of historic Stone Town.

This place has a very different feel from the mainland.  Aside from a dramatic difference in architecture, this island city felt different than the cities we’d been at in the mainland.

The Doors of Stone Town

One of the first things to notice are the doors. For many, including myself, doors are just something to pass through and keep the outside weather on the outside and the inside climate on the inside. However many doors of this town are special and incredibly ornate. Here is an amazing gallery of some of the doors (Click Here).  The influences of Arabs, Swalhili, Indians, Persian, and European colonists who inhabited the island for the last 700 years show their influence on the varied decorated doors.

The Fort

Also know as Ngome Kongwe in Swahili, is a pretty mighty site to visit. It has served many purposes over the years. A fact that stood out to me was that it was built by the Arabs after kicking the Portuguese out.

Swimming with Dolphins

This was a highlight on our trip. A brief car ride to the launch point, and then we piled into a skiff and motored off into the ocean. “There!” the spotter said and the captain aimed the boat to a pod of dolphins.  By the time people splashed in the dolphins had left. We scrambled back into the boat.  After a bit more, the captain found another pod and we tried again. I splashed in without my life jacket and swam as hard as I could. I was close to the dolphins and snapped a shot with our disposable film camera. The dolphins started to accelerate away. I hummed loudly underwater and the dolphins turned abruptly and faced me. I had no idea what I had said in dolphin, but it certainly got their attention. They lost interest quickly in me, and took off.

Spice Tour

Zanzibar is most famous for its spice trade. Even though this trade has been in decline for the past forty years (According to this article) a tour of a spice farm was spectacular. Red, green, and black peppercorn, nutmeg, mace, cloves, vanilla, and cardamom were all some of the interesting spices on the tour. They also grew coconuts and pineapples. They guide showed us how the coconuts were harvested. On the way back to Stone Town, we stopped by a home visit where we ate home-made cardamom saffron rice, it was amazing.

Two Tables

Unfortunately Zanzibar has obtained a reputation as a tourist hot spot. Many of the resorts offer restaurants with bars for boozing until late into the night. This was not something that Sharleen and I wanted. The hotel clerk recommended a small restaurant called the Two Tables. We didn’t know what expect. There were only two meal times: early and late. We went to the early sitting. We walked up the stairs and on on the deck overlooking the courtyard were two tables. We sat down along with ten other strangers had a delightful meal. There were no menus, you got whatever was cooked. We got the distinct impression that they made dinner for the their family, and a little more for the 12 extra guests.  It was great evening siting on benches with strangers having some phenomenal food.  It was the best hidden gem of a restaurant we had found since arriving to East Africa.

The North

We finished our time in East Africa with some beach side resort time in Northern Zanzibar

We had ample time to watch the beach side goings-on. A low tide about a dozen or locals waded into the water to net fish and trap octopus. Young boys kicked around a makeshift ball. In the evening, couples walked the beach. We did some snorkeling in the reef area, but the current was strong and the marine life unremarkable.