Zanzibar was founded by arab traders as a source of spices and slaves in the early 19th century, and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It's beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world! The buildings in stone town are very old and worn with the most beautiful decorated wooded doors. The residents are majority Muslim so we had to wrap up and cover our knees and shoulders... A task for me, as everyone knows how much I love a mini skirt ;)
We strolled through the winding streets to find our hotel and then headed out to our spice tour. First stop was at our guides house for lunch where he served us Biriyani on the floor in his lounge. We then went with him to his family farm and he walked us around offering us fruit and spices to taste along the way.
At sunset we went to Africa house for cocktails and then headed down to the Forodhani market for dinner. Usually, the market is bustling with locals and tourists but that night it was heaving! Being Eid, everyone was at the market celebrating, children running around excitedly and everyone enjoying the evening together! The stalls sell the same sorts of things over and over - fresh seafood in abundance and a pastry called a Zanzibar pizza which is delicious! All around there were sounds of laughter, bargaining, sizzling and the most mouth watering smells! We wanted to stay out and enjoy the eve a bit longer but the streets were so confusing, and we thought it best to stick with the rest of the group and all go home ;)
The next morning we collected our snorkelling gear and sailed over to prison island. Strangely this island was initially going to be used as a prison, but never actually got used for this purpose - it was instead used as a sanitation station and is now an exclusive resort. Many many years ago 4 giant tortoises were given to the owner of prison island and now a huge colony of over 100 of these giant Adalbran tortoises live here. The oldest, 186 years old, is still the original tortoise and we were lucky enough to spot him ;) after playing in the tortoise enclosure we headed out to sea for some snorkelling (didn't see too much out there), had lunch and then headed back to stone town.
(Turtle action!)
We collected our bags from the hostel and then caught a shuttle to Sunset Bungalows at Kendwa beach. This resort was beautiful, after some of the camping sites we have stayed in we were so relieved to sleep in a proper high ceilinged room with white sheets, a day bed, mosquito nets, a balcony with sea view and a fresh water shower!
There isn't much else to say, I can't do it justice so will add the photos to say it for themselves.... Just imagine it - sunsets, seafood, boat cruises, pedicures on the beach, water sports... Three days of chilling out and absorbing the rays!!!
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