Zanzibar Part 1

I really don't know where to begin in telling you about our trip to Zanzibar. I want to begin at the end, because I am here at the end. I want to begin at the beginning so that it is as comprehensive as possible. I want to tell you everything, but know I cannot and if I try I will lose you.

I will try to begin at the beginning, and tell you the most important things.

The Zanzibar International Airport is tiny and run down. It consists of a few rooms. As soon as I stepped off the plane I was hit by the hot, humid air of some place tropical. We walked through the tiny airport and were immediately swarmed by men who wanted to carry our bags. It was clear they needed money. It was a hectic scene. I tell you about how instantly overstimulating and hectic my experience was because my entire week was like that. Even when I was sitting on the beach, watching the stars with Sam and some of our new friends, my mind was spinning and my heart was overflowing. My week in Zanzibar was definitely one of the richest weeks I've spent in my life thus far.

The ride from the airport to our hotel was a perfect, jolting introduction to Zanzibar. We sped along the bumpy dirt road and I watched intently out my window as an entire new world of sights met my eyes. We passed tiny shops and restaurants with hand painted signs. We passed huts with men women and children lazing on the front porches. There were bicycles and and scooters cramming up the narrow road. We sped by them so close that I had to catch my breath again and again. There was green everywhere. And other colors. Everyone wore bright ones against their dark skin. The women had their heads covered with bright cloths. Many of the men wore little caps in many colors. The children stared, grinned and waved.

One of the images that will forever be left on my brain, is of a little boy. He saw the van coming down the road and raced out from behind his hut. He had the hugest grin on his face and raised his arm high, high over his head, waving at us. His exuberance was entirely unbridled. In the instant I was able to glance him I saw everything that is good about children, everything that is good really, about people even. It was a pure moment, of pure emotion. It's hard to really explain to you how it made me feel, but I will always remember it, and it is part of the reason I will return to Zanzibar. In my week there, I learned a lot about Zanzibar's people, and was impressed and humbled by them, and overwhelmed with love for them.

Our hotel was right on the ocean. Sam and I could sit on the porch of our little cottage and stare at the sea. Everything about the place was lovely, from the warm staff who helped us learn as many Swahili words as possible, to the fabulous food, and the Swahili furniture and mosquito nets in our rooms (sleeping under a mosquito net is awesome...you have this little private bubble...makes me want to get a canopy bed :)).

Our first morning we got massages in a two story hut on the sand. The women who gave us our massages were kind and sweet and spoke softly in Swahili to one another while they worked. It was so relaxing. After that, we needed to venture into Stone Town or Zanzibar Town (it's called both), to use an ATM. Zanzibar is a small island, but the roads are busy and bumpy, with police check points, so getting to Stone Town is a bit of a production. We had arranged to take a taxi with the hotel, but then we met Khalidi. Khalidi is one of the 'beach boys' that works the beach by the Safari Club, where we were staying. The beach boys hang out all day and wait for the tourists to come down to the water. They are not allowed up on the beach by the hotel or on the hotel premises. They are they to sell tours. The hotel has excursions you can arrange like a dolpin tour, a spice tour, etc. etc. The beach boys will offer the same tours but at a better price. It's how they make a living.

Most of the beach boys were so pushy and agressive about selling to us the first time that we walked down to the ocean, that Sam and I sort of shrugged them all off. It was overwhelming and we didn't really know what to think. Khalidi was different. I mean, he really wanted to sell us the trip to Stone Town, but he wasn't trying to be slick or fake or anything. We decided to go with him and his driver. He soon became one of a few very good friends we made in Zanzibar.

Our first trip to Stone Town was hectic, exciting and stimulating. The town is bustling. We walked through a fruit market with more fruit than you can imagine, and people everywhere, on bikes and walking and shouting. There's a fish market you can smell from nearly a mile away. The people are ecclectic. Zanzibar is such an interesting mix of Indian, Arabic and African cultures. The main religion is Islam. Most of the women cover their heads and some even cover their faces. Everyone speaks Swahili, which is one of most lilting, lyrical languages I've ever heard. It's truly beautiful. And everyone is friends with one another. I've never been somewhere were people all interact together they way they do in Zanzibar. We walked through the markets with Khalidi and his friend. As we looked through the shops at all the paintings and textiles, Khalidi seemed to know everyone. "We have to go in this shop," he would say "this guy is my best friend." "I thought the last guy was your best friend," we'd tease him. He'd laugh and push us inside. The only really difficult thing about Stone Town is that people are so desperate to sell you things. And they aren't afraid to be pushy. It gets exhausting to haggle, to say no, etc. And there is such poverty.

After Sam and I shopped, we stopped in at a tiny hole in the wall bar for a beer. The place was entirely dark (even though the sun was blazing outside), and an American movie played on the TV suspended from the wall. It was really only local people, and some of them eyed us suspiciously. We were ok though, as we were there with locals. They insisted on ordering our beers, as tourists get charged like three times the price. I went to use the restroom and had to squat over it. It reeked. I soon learned that most of the toilets in Stone Town are like this. I got used to it.

We stopped at the ocean to watch the sun set before heading back to Uroa (the east beach where our hotel was located).

On the way back to the hotel Khalidi insisted we stop in and meet his family. They were such lovely people. We sat in the narrow hallway of their hut and talked to the children. There were so many of them! It was hard to figure out exactly who was who and how they were related. Khalidi's uncle was warm and welcoming. The girls stared and smiled shyly. 'Jambo, jambo,' we said. Hello. How old are you? A group of the kids were sitting directly across from me on a little bed. I asked Khalidi's uncle if I could take their photo; if he would ask them if it was ok. When he did they grinned. Two of the girls jumped up and ran away. "Do they not want their photo taken?" I asked him, "are they shy?" "No," he said, smiling, "they went to change their clothes." I was so touched. The girls came back in lovely dresses, so I could take their photos. I don't know how to explain how that made me feel. It was just so innocent and touching. I didn't want to leave.

That night back on the beach, Khalidi and two of his friends, Ibraham and another who's name I can't recall, built us a beach fire. We sat around it and drank beer and listened to the drumming in the distance. The drumming came from the hotel's discoteque, suspending on a jetty over the ocean. Ibraham went and fetched and old bucket and began drumming along with his hands. The other guy began dancing around the fire. We clapped and sang and laughed. It was such a nice time. The stars were brilliant and more than I've ever seen. I found Orion in the sky and pointed him out.

This was only the first full day, and you see how much I have written?? :) I will post a few photos to go along with this portion of the story, and then tell you more in another post. There is much more to tell. We met so many wonderful people and learned so much. We had beautiful experiences, like chasing dolphins, and being caught it a storm out at sea in a rickety wooden boat. It was amazing.

I would post more, but the uploader is slow, and I am late for a Babies' Home Shift. More to come I promise. The top: Fatima and (forget her name). The masseuses at the hotel, Next: the beach at sunset with Khalidi, Next: Sam, Nino (one of the beach boys we became friends with, and me. Next: Stone Town. Bottom: Some of Khalidi's family, including the girls in their pretty dresses.