Zanzibar - The Island of Sugar, Spice and Most Things Nice

EDITOR NOTE: Due to an inordinate amount of “activities” in which we partook during our “relaxing” time in Zanzibar, this blog post has exceeded the normal/digestible length for most readers. Thus, it has been split into 2 parts. Feel free to read, peruse, or just gloss over at your discretion. I’ll personally meet you in the photo section:

Part 1 – The Travel Bits

After a week of travelling within the remote East African savannah, and the Spice Island of Zanzibar awaiting our arrival, we were confronted with 2 options on how to reach our intended destination. Both of which involved making fairly significant “sacrifices” (at least in the opinion of someone who considers the below two options, actual discernible choices):

• Option #1 – The “Well, That Sounds Like The Opposite of Fun” Option
  • Brief Overview = Drive back the way we came + short flight
  • Pros = Save $$$, like, a lot of $$$
  • Cons = 8-10 hours of driving, of which ~4 hours would be spent on the previously aforementioned “road from hell.” And the remaining 4-6, probably, on a less-hellish, yet-still-unenjoyable stretch of gravel-torn “highway.” Oh yeah, add two kids to the mix just for fun.

 

• Option #2 – The “We Be Balling” Option
  • Brief Overview = Fly Entourage style (although instead of champagne, cocaine & half-naked flight attendants, we have bottled water, chewable TUMs & a fully-clothed pilot in his mid-60s)
  • Pros = Trading 8-10 hours of driving with 60 minutes of flying
  • Cons = Spend $$$, like, a lot of $$$

With the decision all but making itself (sorry boys, technical college awaits!), we departed our camp for the nearby Seronera Airstrip – A literal patch of gravel carved out of the Serengeti savannah. After a heartfelt farewell to our trusty Toyota Land Cruiser, we handed the keys over to a gentleman who had recently flown-in from Arusha, having drawn the short straw to drive our 4x4, back to Arusha (like I said, this option cost a bit of $$$). At which point, we boarded our semi-private 12-seater Cessna, and watched as the grassy plains and Acacia trees slowly disappeared into the distance below.

After a brief, albeit fairly bumpy, 60-minute journey, we landed in the bustling city of Arusha (~9 oh-so-glorious hours ahead of our Land Cruiser), and were quickly informed that our connecting flight was “unavailable” (i.e. what aviation experts deem an “airplane hangover”). However, thanks to the wonder that is African domestic travel (i.e. customer service > capitalistic greed), we were transferred over to a completely different airline, for no additional cost. An airline, if I may add, was twice as expensive as our originally-booked option. Queue up Charlie Sheen #winning.

Ninety more minutes later, and we were welcomed to the final destination of our Tanzanian adventure -- An island of pristine white sand beaches, turquoise blue waters, and most importantly, smooth asphalt roads -- The perfect remedy to heal my ailing ribs, which had developed a chronic “soreness” after 7-days of death-gripping our 4x4s steering wheel.

(Intermission / Bathroom Break)

Part 2 – The Zanzibar Bits

Now, before jumping into the highlights of our time in Zanzibar, I thought it prudent to provide a bit of a historical background on this unique African island, with another segment of:

The Not Another Damn Travel Blog History Guide to Zanzibar:

While relatively small in size, spanning only 53 miles in length and only 24 in “girth,” Zanzibar’s modest geographical footprint is greatly overshadowed by the historical importance this semi-autonomous island nation has had on the world. An influence that began as early as the 1st century, when Unguja, as it is known today in Swahili, was deemed the unofficial trading port for the entire eastern coast of Africa (due primarily to the fact that the wind just kept blowing everyone’s boats its way).
​
Over the centuries, Zanzibar became a literal blending pot of cultures, as influences from traders in Arabia, Persia & India, combined with those of colonial occupiers of Portugal, Oman & Great Britain. To the point, where in the 19th century, Zanzibar was known worldwide, and had earned a notorious reputation as host to two of the most popular exports at the time – Spices & Slaves. And while one of these exports thankfully met its deserved demise over two centuries ago, spices still reign supreme in Zanzibar, as does the remnants of centuries of inter-mixing cultures, ideas & most importantly, food.

And with your history lesson officially complete, onto the highlights:
​

• Jambiani Beach:
  • Overview - The carefully-chosen base for our time on Zanzibar, Jambiani is a small fishing village on the south-eastern coast, and one of the few parts of the island that provides a solid blend between local authenticity and tourism. With most of the village occupied by local residents, whose stone-built dwellings intersperse with the various guest houses & villas which dot the beachfront, Jambiani has thankfully avoided the drastic transformation that other parts of the island have seen due to an influx of tourism. Or, to summarize more concisely, Jambiani is the “cheap place to stay.”
  • Personal Experience – As to avoid spending our time in the African equivalent of Tulum, located on the northern part of the island (i.e. Influencer Epicenter), we enjoyed our relatively quiet patch of sand, frequented by a solid mix of tourists strolling along the beach, local children playing a nightly game of soccer, and of course 2-3 stray cows, truly signifying your presence “off the beaten path.”
  • Fun Fact – During the period of low tide, the turquoise blue waters which lapped the shore for the past 6-8 hours, retreat back over 1km in distance (yes, 1 kilometer – Even those without a strong metric-based foundation should still be impressed), leaving behind a collection of stranded fishing boats, and hundreds of locals taking advantage of some “rod-free fishing”

 

• The Rock Restaurant:
  • Overview - Located on a small portion of land jutting out from the Indian Ocean (i.e. a rock), the famed Zanzibar restaurant, aptly-named “The Rock,” is one of the most iconic landmarks in this world-renowned archipelago. Catering to those who wish to combine both Instagram-worthy moments with a menu that is easily twice-as-expensive as anywhere else on the island, this uniquely located restaurant is the ultimate photo/foodie experience.
  • Personal Experience / Fun Fact (a “twofer”, if you will) - If you happen to time your visit during high tide, you are treated to a free, albeit extremely short, boat ride to the steps of the restaurant. Which, unfortunately, is only applicable to those travelers whose children’s hanger pains do not dictate 75% of their exploratory schedule. Thus, for us, low tide it was, and a walk, not a boat, to the steps we took. #havekidstheysaid

 

• Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park:
  • Overview - As the only national park in all of Zanzibar, “Jozani” is a tiny patch of forest in the middle of the island, known primarily as home to the Red Colobus monkey – A primate that can only be found on Zanzibar, and is also well known for consistently sporting “awesome hair days”
  • Personal Experience – Alongside several hundred other tourists looking for a “non-beach” activity for the day, our trip to Jozani brought us literally face-to-face with the Red Colobus monkey, as well as a Russian couple with which we were conveniently paired during our tour, who decided that the “mute” approach to traveling would be the best form of camouflage during these unpopular times.
  • Fun Fact – The Red Colobus monkey surprisingly does not understand English, and only responds to Swahili. A fun fact Lincoln learned after frequent shouts of “hey monkey, look at me!”

 

• Dhow Boat Ride
  • Overview - A form of transport that dates back thousands of years (yes, thousands), the traditional Dhow is an unmissable sight along the coast of Zanzibar. Moreorless a carved-out canoe with an attached sail, this sea-faring vessel, which once was used almost exclusively for transporting heavy goods & supplies, has now found a much more economically lucrative purpose, in that of transporting heavy tourists & luggage.
  • Personal Experience - For all of $40, we enjoyed over an hour at sea in the late afternoon, eating fresh fruit, while watching the “sail operator” scamper about the rickety frame to ensure we kept up with the ever-changing winds. A memorable first-ever boat ride for the boys! And less so for my apparently-having-kids-has-forever-made-me-super-sensitive-to-boat-rides wife, Julie. #waterchummerextraordinaire
  • Fun Fact – One of the oldest references to a Dhow goes back all the way to 600 B.C. Which, if pre-COVID times felt like ages ago...

 

• Stone Town –
  • Overview - As the historic heart of the island it calls home, Stone Town is a centuries old portion of the capital of Zanzibar, representing the literal melting pot of cultures which have helped shape its presence over the years. Within the narrow maze of alleys & streets which comprise Stone Town, are a myriad of stone-built structures, representing centuries worth of architectural styles & influences, and most importantly, housing a never-ending array of culinary cuisine, all inspired by generations of “cultural cross-breeding.”
  • Personal Experience – Due to an average climate of “absolutely stifling,” our stay in Stone Town was limited to ½ a day, most of which involved getting lost in the maze of narrows roads & alleys, checking out the occasional souvenir store, and declining about 783 offers for a guided tour.
  • Fun Fact - While historians will find interest in learning how both spices & slavery once made Stone Town the epicenter of the trade world, most visitors flock directly to the home of Zanzibar’s most famous, and of course, mustachioed resident – Freddie Mercury. A man who represented everything that Stone Town stands for – Being fabulous. #longlivethequeen

 

• The Food – As this blog post has found itself reaching the outermost lengths of attention span, I’ll keep this one brief. The food was amazing. The food was cheap (like, insanely cheap). We will probably never experience seafood as fresh, or as delicious, as what we ate while on Zanzibar.

And of course, not to be omitted, the ever-entertaining lowlights:
​

• Rental Car – While it is safe to say that we are fairly “low-key” travelers, who tend to just go with the flow when issues arise, our experience with the inappropriately-named “Zanzibar Best Car Rental” was quite the test to our travel mantra:​
  • Example #1 – Car Seats
    • Expectation = 2 functional car seats, as confirmed on multiple occasions
    • Reality = No car seats, followed by a random person in the airport parking lot attempting to give us 2 baby seats (note, our children are not babies), followed by a trip to town to obtain 1 car seat, and a booster seat, which was almost more appropriate for me than our 4-year old son 
  • Example #2 – Fuel
    • Expectation = Present in the vehicle
    • Reality = Running on fumes, with the closest gas station functioning on a cash-only basis. Which of course, we did not possess at this moment-in-time​
  • Example #3 – Vehicle Cleanliness
    • Expectation = Clean
    • Reality = Definitely not clean. Aside from the old food & drinks in the cup holders, there was trash littered on the ground, and an odd “grime” covering the steering wheel. Thank god for baby wipes.

 
So yeah, overall, definitely not the “best” experience in terms of renting a vehicle. However, with 19 of 20 lug nuts present, and a semi-functional window operating unit, we were successfully able to travel from A to B, which I guess is all you can ask for at the end of the day?
 

• Kendwa Beach – Alongside its sister beach Nungwi to the north, Kendwa Beach is where tourists come to escape from the island of Zanzibar, and immerse themselves in your typical “could be any beach in the world” culture. With all-inclusive resorts lining the white sand beach & turquoise blue waters which have fostered this regions popularity, it is hard to remember you are still in Zanzibar, as the friendly & welcoming nature experienced throughout the island, is thrown right out the window, with capitalism reigning supreme here:​
  • Example #1 – Being quoted $80 when inquiring on the cost to rent a beach chair. Yes, $80. US Dollars. For a chair. A plastic chair. On the beach. I said it was plastic, right?
  • Example #2 – Having security guards approach you in order to pay the full $20 rate on your previously-negotiated beach chair. With the man with which you negotiated down to $10, whole-heartedly denying he ever provided a discounted rate
  • Example #3 - The general vibe that comes with a beach full of overweight eastern Europeans who enjoy nightly techno dance parties.

​
And with that, I leave with you no more words, and a handful of pics: