Zanzibar = Heaven

We woke up bright and early Wednesday morning to catch the ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. It was a two hour journey on a very luxurious boat, across the bluest water I have ever seen! We’ve spent the past three days here on this gorgeous island, and it has been absolutely amazing! I’ll give you the highlights:

1. Watching the sunset from a balcony over the ocean while drinking a very delicious tropical drink from a coconut! Beautiful!

2. Eating delicious FOOD! Indian curry, Italian Panini, American Hamburger, Mango Smoothie, fresh Passion fruit juice, Chocolate ice cream, Tanzanian rice and beans, traditional skewers at the night market of chicken, beef, shark and octopus?!...it’s all so good!

3. Getting a massage! Heavenly…and much needed after a 32 hour bus ride sitting on a bucket…(but that’s a story for another time perhaps)

4. Visiting Prison Island and seeing giant tortoises! We took a wooden boat to a nearby island to see a colony of ancient tortoises, some over 150 years old! It was also a beautiful morning, which was great for exploring the island and taking pictures of the breathtaking beach/ocean views.

5. Stumbling across a local art studio in an old fort, and making friends with some of the artists. Marisa and I have been back a few times, to buy handpainted postcards and for a drawing lesson! Chande, an amazing artist, offered to give us lessons, so we went out and bought some paper, pens, and a postcard of a Zanzibari door to draw. I was so impressed by his ability to teach us how to draw a very spectacular door, not so much my drawing ability, but it was so cool! He was so great, and we took him out to lunch afterword as a thank you. Stone town is a very popular tourist destination, but it I’m so happy we were able to find this gallery and make some new friends!

6. Partying it up reggae style in the fort Thursday night! It was really random, kind of crazy, but totally worth the experience. It’s nice to be able to get out and do things at night…much unlike life in Muyenzi.

7. Enjoying local food at a night market on the ocean. Vendors are everywhere selling skewered meat, chips, fish, banana/nutella/peanut butter crepes, and the food was really tastey! You should all be proud, I actually ate shark and octopus. CHIZI!! But not bad, not bad. The octopus was a bit chewy for my liking, but it wasn’t as bas as I anticipated considering I could see a tentacle…

8. My poor toe is healing very well. Marisa stepped on my bad toenail in the taxi in Dar, completely ripping the toenail off and creating a painful bloody sad mess of a big toe. Thankfully I had packed antiseptic, gauze, and tape, and fellow volunteers offered to attend to me and fix me right up! While it is still quite painful, it’s healing positively. And considering how the nail has been dead for quite some time, this is probably for the best. I’ll thank her one day…

9.  Saturday was a day well spent at the sandbar with fellow volunteers! It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever experienced, and it was a gorgeous day! I managed to avoid sunburn, and although my toe did not appreciate the sand or the water, I still enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. Ethiopian for dinner was a great end to the evening!

10. Here’s a glimpse of the beautiful sunset J