Out of Africa with John & Lynn

Thursday, January 30

This was our last day in Stone Town so we got out early, walked around town and had breakfast at the Stone Town Cafe. We tried to visit the museum but it was closed ~ so we walked around to visit cathedral ~ it was also closed ~ we were striking out ~ we decided there was a message here ~ no museums for you today ~

so we looked around at the sights and shops.

The mosque loud speakers that we hear all day ~ it's amazing how immune we have become

Everywhere the doors ~

We finally found a door with the "slave chain" ~

Inside the old fort ~

The amphitheater inside the old fort ~

The alley of shops ~

Dana found a painting she loved but it was too large ~ the artist offered to paint her a smaller one so we stopped back to see how it was coming ~ it's amazing how he could do it so quickly ~ it took several hours but still ~ not showing you ~ you'll have to visit her to see it!

It was another sweltering hot day ~ but we found a new restaurant ~ Travelers cafe ~ and had a cold drink ~ that may not sound like a great feat but you have to remember #1 we can't have ice made with local water, #2 there are often power outages so no refrigeration ~
It's even great to have cold water because the water we carry around during the day becomes actually hot in the bottle.

It was beautiful here so we stayed to watch the sun set and have dinner ~
They have to put a net up along the railing so a stray soccer ball (from the nightly beach soccer games) doesn't hit the patrons ~

Tuesday, January 28

This morning we took a Precision Air shuttle from Moshi to Kilimanjaro airport which was about an hour drive and then a one hour flight to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar), and Pemba.
Zanzibar's historic centre ~ Stone Town ~ is a World Heritage Site and is claimed to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa. It was named for the coral stone buildings that were built there mostly during the 19th century, on the site of a very old fishing village.

We checked into our hotel and then walked around Stone Town.

Our hotel ~ the Abuso Inn ~

Our traditional Zanzibar bed ~

The view from our room ~ however if I turned the camera an inch to the left you would see the huge Hyatt hotel that is being constructed right in front of this hotel. They used to have a 180 degree view ~ thankfully, for this hotel ~ it looks like this much of the view will remain ~ others not so lucky ~

The water is so blue~

Stone Town is a maze of alleys and narrow streets containing housing, shops, businesses, restaurants ~ one could very easily get lost.
We walked around checking out some of the old buildings ~

The old fort ~ built around 1700 by Omani Arabs as a defense against the Portuguese. The old fort is now a cultural centre where there are classes, shops and there are drama and music performances in the open air theatre.

Center of the Forodhani Gardens ~ dozens of vendors cook up local cuisine each evening ~ some local favorites include squid, octopus, goat meat and Zanzibari pizza ~ (we ate down the street at a restaurant)

Zanzibar National Museum of History and Culture ~ one of the most prominent buildings in Old Stone Town and one of the largest structures in Zanzibar. It was built in 1883 by Sultan Barghash as a ceremonial palace.

The narrow alleys ~ as you are walking through it is not uncommon for motor bikes to come whizzing by ~

We stopped to have lunch at the Stone Town Cafe ~
We were dripping ~ it is really a different kind of heat here ~ the temperatures
have been over a hundred and it is very humid. Walking around in between these building, in these temperatures is sweltering ~ for us. I start out wearing a shirt and by noon it has stretched to a dress!

We had a good lunch but more importantly ~ a cold drink ~

The famous doors of Zanzibar ~ at last count there were 560 carved doors in Zanzibar. The oldest door discovered in Zanzibar is dated AD 1694. The custom of putting brass knobs on the shutters comes from India, where the knobs were said to prevent elephants from crushing the doors. There is some mention of elephants in Zanzibar by early explorers but there have not been elephants in Zanzibar for some time so the brass knobs were mostly added as a decoration and to show the wealth of the owner.

The dhow boats ~ fishing boats ~ ready to give you a tour ~

Some huge freighters ~

A school bus ~

Just some of the views ~

They'll take you anywhere ~

Overlooking the water ~

Many of the bars and restaurants have "sunset bars" ~ a bar on the top floor to sit and watch the sunset ~ we went to Tatu on the top floor ~ there are no elevators in Zanzibar ~ so it's up the stairs everywhere ~