Zanzibar Pt. 2

Days 4-6

On Tuesday we left Stone Town and headed out to the eastern side of the island.  We checked in to a cheap but lovely resort with bungalow-style rooms.  It was an incredibly beautiful spot, all white sand beaches and clear blue ocean and coconut palms.  We thought we’d died and gone to heaven.

On our second day at the resort, it rained.  No, it poured.  It was my first experience with warm rain since Hawaii.  To the embarrassment of my travel companions, I spent most of the day in a swimsuit and a rain jacket.

We spent our last day in Zanzibar exploring the beach.  We found lots of seashells and a Masai tribesman who tried to sell us some beaded jewelry, not much else.  In the afternoon we went snorkeling.  We were taken out to the coral reef in a fishing boat by an ancient-looking Tanzanian man in tattered shorts and his nephew.  The boat had a patchwork sail made out of old blankets.  Snorkeling was fun, but nothing we saw was of greater interest than that boat and the old man it belonged to.

Day 7

On Friday we went from the resort directly to the waterfront and caught a ferry back to Dar.  For a little extra cash we got to sit up on the top deck.  It was a significant improvement from the stuffy cabin.  They had bean bag chairs up there and everything.

We checked into a hotel in Dar with crazy colorful murals on all the walls and an exquisitely cheap Indian fusion restaurant attached.  Joey relaxed in our room with his Kindle while Kelsey and I explored the city. We did a little shopping in some back alleys, got lost, found an excellent Arab-style bakery, got lost again, and eventually found our way to the waterfront where we bought some interesting trinkets from a Masai and his nephew.

That night we bought fried chicken and chips from a street vendor.  That was one of Tanzania’s biggest contrasts with Rwanda, the fact that we could buy and eat food in the street.  It was a fitting and delicious end to our vacation.

Day 8

The bus ride back to Kigali was neither fun nor particularly memorable.  I sat next to a woman who kept trying to put her three-year-old daughter in my lap, then switched seats with Joey and ended up in front of a girl who kept sticking her feet under my seat and massaging my butt with her toes.  At one point we stopped at a rest stop and I managed to lock myself in a bathroom stall.  I struggled loudly and desperately with the door for several minutes before Kelsey finally heard me and got me out.  When I emerged, there were about two dozen women there just standing and staring.  I felt like reprimanding all of them for their lack of humanity (I was sleep-deprived and already quite irritated) but instead I said “don’t worry, no problem” in three different languages and got back on the bus.

Day 9

Sad as I was to leave Tanzania, it felt good to cross the border back into Rwanda.  It was nice to know the local language again.  We also spotted some baboons playing in the grass near the immigration office.  It was hard not to smile watching them.

~

So now I’m back in Rwanda.  School got off to a decent start this term until the weather turned cold and stormy and all the students stopped showing up for class.  I’m in Nyanza now for the ELT-JCS project and looking forward to teaching tomorrow.  More updates to follow as more exciting things happen.  For now, mugende n’amahoro.