Day Two of our Tranfser to Paradise

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania - Zanzibar Town, Zanzibar



My travel buddy, Megan (sorry we're greasy, just off the plane)

Mosquitos here are nuts. I've done everything possible: malarone, 100% deet bug spray, and treated bug nets yet they're still getting me! They are super bugs...

Megan and I had a long day today. We woke up early and explored the area around our hotel. From the drive in last night it looked a lot scarier than it did today. However, I have yet to see a tourist so I feel very alone and out of place. Especially when all the locals stare at you like you're an alien...

The street our hotel was on

Me in front of our hotel

Our taxi picked us up at 9 and we headed to the ferry terminal. Our driver was crazy! There was a traffic jam so he went over on a parallel side street and followed that until it was backed up too. Then he reversed a bit down the highway (with people behind us, mind you), honking the whole way until we came to a clearing with a foot and a half tall cement barrier blocking the two roads. What does he do? Drive over it, bottoming out his little car the entire way across it. The rest of the trip smelt like burnt oil so I'm sure he ruptured something...

I didn't realize how hectic it is when trying to buy a ferry ticket. I imagined it something like the Seattle ferries with one office where you buy the tickets, etc. Nope. There are a bunch of different ferry companies and each has different times (that they don't tell you) so you have to try to pick the one that's leaving the soonest. We picked Seabus which acording to them loaded at ten and left at eleven. Ten-thirty rolls around and nothing. By the way, don't let "porters" take your bags for you. They won't tell you how much right away and you assume 2-5 dollars and then demand 30... UGH. Finally a ferry arrives and we try to board and are told it's the wrong one. Ours is the next one. So we wait ANOTHER hour and ANOTHER ferry and finally it's our turn. We board and take a seat. As soon as we pull out of the dock I realize another thing about these ferries: they sway. I immediately realize I'm going to be sick; it's a two hour ferry ride. They let us go outside and I sit on the bow. It starts to feel better and it turned out to be quite a pretty trip.

On the front of the ferry boat

Zanzibar - So beautiful!

We unloaded off the ferry, caught a taxi, and headed to our guesthouse of choice, the Jambo Inn. We were so lucky and got the last available room for the night. We explored Stone town and went into a cathedral used during the slave auctions. We actually went into the holding cells and they were so damp, dark and cramped that I don't know how anyone could have lived down there.

After that we set out to find the beach. We found A beach, but not really a swimmable one. BUT, we found the area where the street vendors come at dusk to serve up delicious food for really cheap, Foradhani Gardens. Even the locals were there. I at dinner: beef skewers and naan for under $1.

It got dark really quickly so we figured we should head back to the room... it was a long walk and by the time we got back it was pitch black, but we made it!

Chelsea