Getting to Zanzibar proved to be more interesting than we thought it was going to be. We decided to fly, and avoid the dangerous and long bus and ferry ride. We didn't know however, that our plane was going to be a 12-seater. It was a bit of an intimidating, bumpy ride, watching the land move slowly below us, and watching the pilot push all of his buttons as we flew, but we made it safely to Zanzibar in one piece.
The "airport"
On our first day in Zanzibar, we spent a lot of time walking around Stone Town, the main city on the island. Stone Town is a predominantly Muslim city, and it has a real European vibe to it. The streets are very narrow and windy, and there are a lot of beautiful doors, windows, and intricately carved details everywhere. I had a frenzy taking pictures...if you want to see more of them, I posted a lot on facebook.
The streets of Stone Town
For dinner in Stone Town, we went to the local square which turns into a fish market after dark. Scottie and I watched as our octopus and lobster were grilled in front of us, and then walked and ate our food on a paper plate. Although it wasn't glamorous, it was super delicious and one of my favorite things we went to (and ate!) in Zanzibar.
The nighttime fish market
The next morning, our group of five went on a Spice Tour in the area just outside of Stone Town. The tour was really cool--the guides picked and pulled spices off of plants and out of the ground and let us taste and smell them. We got to sample ginger, lemongrass, coriander, coconut, and all sorts of different spices. We then got to have a fabulous lunch that was made using some of the spices we tried on the tour. 
Scottie drinking from a freshly-picked coconut.
The memorial at the Old Slave Market
After a bit of window-shopping and wandering through Stone Town, we took a taxi to THE BEACH!
(The beach)
The beach we stayed at was named Kendwa and Scottie and I were fortunate enough to stay at one of the nice rooms that was just a few steps away from the beach. The beaches in Zanzibar are amazing. White sand, turquoise water--it was a beautiful and welcome contrast to the dirty, busy city of Arusha. We had an amazing time during the four days that we stayed there. We swam in the ocean (and promptly fried ourselves in the sun), took a "sunset cruise" one night, ate delicious food (chocolate peanut butter brownies!? Yes please!), I got a henna tattoo (not permanent mom!) and a pedicure, and we enjoyed our time reading and laying under the shady huts on the sand. 
My henna-ed hands!
On our last full day in Zanzibar, we walked to Nungwi, the town next to Kendwa. We walked there along the beach, but had to take a cab back, because the tide comes in and makes it impossible to walk back the way we came. Our friend Kathryn was trying to find a specific painter that a family member had connected with in a past trip to Zanzibar, and it was kind of an adventure finding where this person could possibly be. The sun was very hot by the time we actually made it to Nungwi, but we were guided to an area where Humphries, the painter, was supposed to have his shop by a friendly local. This was super lucky because there was no way we would have been able to navigate the tiny local village, but almost immediately upon arriving, we found the shop and the painter that our friend was looking for! It was kind of a surreal experience, finding someone so specific in such a small place, in such a little corner of the world. But it was cool that we were able to do so!
Paintings being sold out of a cave in Nungwi
We were sad to say goodbye to the beach, but I think all of us are a little bit happy to be back in Arusha as well. Arusha is by no means beautiful, but it is nice to get back to school and the comforts of our temporary home.
Much love,
xo
Laura and Scottie
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