East Africa - Tanzania and Zanzibar

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Our flight to Tanzania was short and comfortable on a Precision Airline (Tanzania) twin-prop.  We touched down in Zanzibar to take on new passengers and were in Dar es Salaam within a few more minutes.  Customs was a breeze as there were only a few folks on our small flight and no other large aircraft landing.  A few short forms and $200 later, we were through immigration and customs and greeted by our prearranged driver.  We quickly gathered some cash at the ATM and got a new SIM card for Tanzania.

It was a hot one-hour drive in heavy traffic before reaching our Airbnb home in the northern suburb of Mikocheni.  Lots of large homes and estates, all within high masonry walls made up the neighborhood.  Long dirt alleyways lines with small shops and local housing made up the balance.  the avenues were tarmac and has many businesses, schools, and large commercial concerns.  The president of Tanzania's home in Dar es Salaam was at the end of our street on the bay.

Our guesthouse for the next 10 days was lovely.  Two large bedrooms and three bathrooms, a well equipped kitchen and a nice lounge made our second floor residence comfortable.  The host was in the process of improving the driveway and grounds and we had the company of several local craftsman and workers over the first week.  They did a grand job of installing the new cobblestone drive and parking area, as well as new sidewalks around the house.  Our attendants were Margaret and Jane and were as sweet as you might expect.  They were still finishing the cleanup when we arrived so we walked to the local grocery store for our first few days of supplies and took a local TukTuk back.  Food was a bit higher priced that we expected...bacon, cheese, and meat were really expensive and the choices were limited.  Otherwise the store was a mini Walmart and we found everything we needed.  The TukTuk ride was less than $3 back to the house.  We set up our home and prepared dinner.  Kathryn arrived late evening. 

The following day we took a walk around the neighborhood, visited the supermarket once again, and relaxed as we waited for Andi's arrival midday.  With our foursome complete we stayed close to home for the next few days, relaxing, getting used to the heat and the mosquitoes.  Marlena was not scheduled to arrive until five days later and since there were limited things to see and do in the tourist vain, we opted to hold off until she arrived to do any serious exploring.  Bobbie did here daily long walks and I busied myself with mindless activities...my goal to rest up and enjoy some serious down time.  Andi was still in recovery from her leg injury...only having been free of the cast for a few weeks, was wearing a pretty heft brace and using a cane.  So I had plenty of company while Bobbie was off wandering with Kathryn tagging along.  The only adventure was shopping trip to a nearby mall where we purchased air mattresses and pillows.  Later we went to the cinema where we watched the Lion King in 3D...how appropriate...Lion King...Tanzania! 

Marlena arrived a few days later and our group was complete.  We planned a beach day and located a nice four star hotel resort on the bay, about two miles from our house.  A short TukTuk ride got us to the Hotel Meterraneo where we enjoyed a short swim and a nice day of lounging by the pool.  We treated ourselves to an upscale lunch at the hotel restaurant before returning to our abode much later in the day.

Over the next few days we visited a craft market, the architectural village, the Karikoo Market in the city center, wandered the streets of downtown and spent an hour at the National Museum.

 Models of typical local tribe homes throughout the region.

After ten days of relaxation in Tanzania's former capitol city, we packed up and taxied to the ferry terminal for our trans-channel two hour voyage to Zanzibar.  The ferry ride was great, crowded with toursits and locals alike, and the immigration and customs process caught us offguard.  After some inquiries we realized that Zanzibar, in addition to being a former independent nation and now an autonomous region of the Tanzania, was also an international seaport and we had just crossed a great deal of open water...with that, it all made sense...thankfully we had multi-entry visas so there was no surprises there.

We walked our hotel in the center of Stone Town and checked in.  Later that evening we met our Dragoman local guide, Daniel, who introduced us to city center with a short introductory walk.  We met of our Dragoman travelers and enjoyed drinks and later dinner on the roof of one of the tourist hot spots, 6* Above, a prisy bar and restaurant with above average prices...ha-ha.  Kathryn was in seventh heaven since as many of you know, restaurants and bars do not normally fit into our budget.

The following day was free-time awaiting the arrival of the Dragoman crew and passengers from the southbound leg that originated in Nairobi.  We opted for a half day tour of the Red Colobus monkeys and enjoyed a guided tour of the park where we spotted several and also got a really great presentation on mangrove forests and their reproduction process.

 We met Jose, our Dragoman group leader and the rest of the group, went through the normal signing of forms, and paid our final balances.  That night we returned to the the rooftop for a group cocktail and watched the sunset.  There were now 31 in our group...some to be only 20.  Later we enjoyed a meal at the market, well down with lots of local vendors serving up Zanzibar kebabs and swarma (giros), loads of veggies and fruits, and an assortment of local beer.

 

In the morning we checked out to the hotel, loaded up two transfer buses.  We would not meet our Drago Truck until we returned to the mainland.  We enjoyed a brief visit to the cathedral, Slave market, and spice market before heading north out of town and up to a spice plantation in route to the beach resort where we would stay two nights.

The spice plantation tour was great...something new for us...and informative.  Along with an introduction to the many plants and trees, we sampled local fruits, watched a lively fellow climb a coconut tree, and had a great traditional lunch at the home of our guide.  That was special for sure.

We arrived mid afternoon at our beach resort located on the north most beaches of Zanzibar and quickly got into resort mode with a swim in the warm Indian sea, and dinner and cocktails on the beach.  We had a full day of free time and joined several others for a boat ride to an outer island to view and swim with dolphins and snorkel a shallow reef.  It was a lovely stay, relaxing and pleasant in a nice three star resort with pleasant service.

We departed well before dawn to meet the 7AM ferry out of Zanzibar.  It was a two hour ride back to the mainland were we said goodbye to those departing the tour and met Zara our new truck home for the next two weeks.