№53 — Zanzibar
White beaches, deep turquoise water, sunshine all day long, good friends and cold beer — there is little that one could need more after the strenuous climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro. That’s why we stowed away our hiking gear and left the center of Tanzania to go to the beautiful archipelago of Zanzibar.
We were expected paradise but when we landed in Zanzibar City airport, we were served an airport that is probably one of the worst I have ever been to. Imagine a shack next to a runway where your baggage does not come on one of those conveyor belts but a guy pushes in a carriage with all bags on top.
After this very interesting airport experience and a one hour drive across the island, we finally met our destination for the next week — a nice house thirty meters away from the beach in Matemwe. It had everything that we needed to relax our sore muscles and more — a pool, a fridge with beer and our own cook.
If you have been following these blogs, you may remember that I did my diving license last year but, so far, have only been diving in Austrian lakes. I was hyped to finally go diving where you can actually see more than just two fish and a bit of grass. One Ocean, the dive school next door, which was of course managed by a German woman, took us to two great dive spots. One was right off the coast of our beach and was a reef surrounding Mnemba island, while the other was a wreck dive off the coast of Stonetown, the island’s capital. While our warm-water, blue ocean diving colleagues were slightly shocked by the low temperatures — the water was only 26°C — I was in heaven. Fish everywhere, beautiful corals and, most importantly, not freezing to death. All four dives were simply amazing and an experience I definitely do not want to miss.
In addition to all the great activities, we also enjoyed some tasty food at home and surrounding restaurants. While most of the easily accessible restaurants are definitely catering to tourists, it was still amazing food for a reasonable price. Most outstanding, however, was a fish and chicken BBQ prepared by our host. Huge chunks of freshly caught tuna, well seasoned chicken, great sides and, a common theme, cold beer.
We also attempted to do some sightseeing but I must admit, Stonetown, the old town of the island’s capital, does not offer much excitement. A few coffee places, a market with overpriced and overcooked food, and some narrow streets with touristic vendors. If you ever go there, don’t bother with spending too much time in Stonetown, rather head for the beaches on the rest of the island. If you ever end up there and get really hungry, skip the restaurants near the beach and head to Lukmaan Restaurant. It offers tasty and affordable food for both locals and tourists.
