Just the name, “Zanzibar,” conjures up visions of white sand beaches, exotic foods and a pace of life very different than that of Mercer Island. We definitely found all of those things and much, much more during our 3 weeks on the tropical island 6 degrees south of the equator off the east coast of Africa!
When we first added Zanzibar to the itinerary, we did so because we wanted to find somewhere fun in Tanzania to spend Christmas and New Years Eve. We knew we wanted to go on a safari early January, so we chose Zanzibar because of its proximity to mainland Tanzania and it’s reputation as “exotic.” We knew little more than what we had read in random guide books and on TripAdvisor.
Three weeks zoomed by, and as we leave Zanzibar headed for our safari, here is what we took away from our stay!
1) NOTHING LIKE GRANDPARENTS AT CHRISTMASTIME! We were lucky enough to have my parents come join us for 5 days in Morocco and 5 weeks in Tanzania! We had all started feeling a little homesick at Thanksgiving when we saw pictures of everyone we knew gathered together in the US while enjoying traditional meals and festivities. Although Morocco was awesome, it wasn’t home. A week later, TeeTee and PopPop showed up! It was awesome!!! Our Christmas tree was definitely funky (made from a dried palm flower) and our stockings were unconventional (made from upside down hand puppets) but it didn’t matter because grandparents were with us! Thank you TeeTee and PopPop for making our Christmas in Zanzibar that much more special!
The restaurant on the rock was right across from one of our favorite hangouts…Upendo!
2) CASH IS KING! I won’t elaborate too much on this one because my dad wrote an entire blog post on it, but it really was a finance odyssey. The guidebooks say, “You must use $USD to buy everything, but don’t carry a lot of cash because you can become a target for petty theft!”….what?!?!
We should have known we were in trouble when we got to the Dar es Salaam airport and our Tanzanian VISA had to be paid for in $USD. They wouldn’t even accept euros! $50 USD for everyone except Americans and Irish who have to pay $100 USD…weird!…I get why Americans pay the most but I don’t get why Ireland’s citizens pay twice as much as everyone else?!? Anyway, we had been on the road for 3 months, so we did not have a spare $700 USD in our wallet for all 7 of us to enter. We had to get Egyptian money at our layover in Cairo, then somehow switch it to euros in Cairo, then switch it into $USD in Dar. CRAZYTOWN!
As PopPop said, we spent our entire time in Zanzibar wondering if we would have enough cash to pay for all meals, taxis, etc. Because the only ATM on the island was a $50 cab ride away, we tried to minimize trips there and would walk 40 minutes down the beach to a great restaurant that took credit cards. Needless to stay, the staff at Paje By Night got to know us very well during our 3 week stay 😉
Otto with Otto, the great dane puppy, who lives at Paje by Night!
I guess the big lesson learned here is: know what you are getting yourself into when going to Zanzibar, or simply stay at a place that takes credit cards so you can avoid a lot of the craziness. The funny thing is that we would meet other travelers from Europe or other countries in Africa, and we would all share strategies on how to get cash and use credit cards..it was a big bonding experience 😉
3) OFF THE BEATEN PATH CAN BE CHALLENGING BUT VERY REWARDING. We decided to spend our 3 weeks in Zanzibar on the east coast of the island, in the small village of Bwejuu, rather than in the north, a big resort area. While our decision created a lot of issues (see #2), it was a very cool experience. We didn’t meet any Americans and spent most of our time hanging out with the locals or adventurous European travelers seeking the more exotic as well. Probably the best part was looking out from our bungalows and seeing local people fishing and cows walk by! It was peak holiday season and there were virtually no tourists on the beach! Down at Paje it was more of a scene with kiteboarding, but in Bwejuu, the biggest thing happening was fishermen coming in on their dhow boats and everyone from the village going to the boat with buckets to buy the catch of the day!
Women fishing with nets in front of our bungalows
4) WE TAKE SO MUCH FOR GRANTED! I know it’s cliche but it is so true! Following Christmas, we stayed for a week at a place called Pakacha, owned by a man Ali who is simply awesome! Ali grew up in Bwejuu and said he could never live anywhere else. While we were staying there, we learned that the government had shut off water to the village of Bwejuu for 2 weeks and the residents had no fresh water. Knowing this was a regular occurrence on Zanzibar, Ali had built a well for his bungalows and restaurant. He opened up his well to all of the residents of Bwejuu, so they could come get fresh water. We talked to Ali and he said it is not uncommon for people to suffer in this way because it happens all the time. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean with no access to fresh water, Zanzibar does not have large lakes or reservoirs. We realized how lucky we are to live in the USA and feel confident that we can turn on our faucets and water will always come out!
The view from Pakacha on Bwejuu Beach
5) TANZANIANS ARE A PEACEFUL AND HAPPY GROUP. With little to no support from government, anarchy could easily take over Tanzania, and yet, it doesn’t. Things work relatively well and there is very little crime beyond petty theft. Why? For the most part, people seem happy! Different religious groups and ethnicities live harmoniously, making Tanzania one of the most peaceful countries in Africa. Maybe it is because there is an abundance of natural resources (other than water) so as Ali said, most people have access to food. It was really cool to spend time with the locals and learn they are a very happy group of individuals!
Local kids watching the kite boarding action on the beach
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