Zanzibar is beautiful. It feels like we have stepped into the set of “Death in Paradise”. Palms fig and mango trees, white sands and crystal clear blue sea.
The day started with a walk through the narrow, winding streets of Sonee Town. Stone Town is gorgeous. Population is mostly Muslim so prayers ring out throughout the day.
Stone Town is a rabbit warren of very narrow streets, shared by pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles and cats alike. For a gorgeous seaside town it is interesting that we haven’t seen or heard a single bird.
There is a mix of restored and derelict buildings so we are seeing the potential for renovation everywhere and dreaming of life change. We opted to navigate ourselves rather than take up one of the many (aka hundreds) of offers from local guides. All greet you with handshake and introductions, and Rogers name seemed to catch on – so after our 6 hours walking round town they were greeting us like long lost friends as we turned every corner.
Our walk very quickly turned into a bit of a shopping spree- basketry and rush mats were stunning (there is a little place in Hong Kong that will be looking much brighter).
The weather is incredibly hot but dry heat so not too draining (at least not for the first 4 hours) nonetheless we were forced to take refuge in numerous coffee houses- it’s a tough job but someone has to do it……
First stop (round first corner from the hotel) was in a beachside cafe where we sat under a massive fig tree on the beach, feet in the sand, watching the local boatmen repair their boats and touting for business.
Zanzibar Coffee house was our absolute fave, best coffee and possibly the best pizza we have ever eaten.
Visited the old Slave Markets. We had a guided tour from a lovely young man (uni student) who reminded us that slavery is still prolific in the world today albeit with a different face- a sobering thought.
Returned to our rooms at 4pm utterly exhausted, to hibernate for a few hours before visiting the night markets in the relative cool.
After much scientific discussion (on my part) the three boys agreed to eat in a restaurant rather than partake in the pre-cooked delicacies from the street stalls.
Tomorrow will tell if that was a good decision….