Tanzania Part 5: Zanzibar

On November 5, we headed to Moshi for a night in hopes of getting a good view of Kilimanjaro so I could happily snap some photos. No such luck...so, the next day, we headed to Zanzibar for some R&R. Yes, I know, it seems like we are splurging and enjoying R&R a bit more often these days but those safaris, although amazing, were quite tiring! Especially the camping part...

Bye Kilimanjaro - maybe next time we'll see you

Hello Zanzibar!

We stayed at, Mvuvi Resort, a lovely place that provides a full-board option (which I would recommend). The location was great and the staff was attentive. You can pay a little extra for them to arrange a day tour of Stone Town, which Paul and I really enjoyed despite the torrential rain that drenched us.

The view from the dining room

White sand on Kiwengwa Beach

It was peaceful and relaxing

Watching the colors change while the sun set

On November 7, we visited Stone Town, about 45 minutes away from where we were staying.

Darajani Market - as you can see, it's very wet

We walked through the fish area

Fresh fish for sale

This one was getting a beating or a gutting - not sure which

Not sure the umbrella was really helping...we walked through the fruit section of the market as well

And the dried octopus and other fish-like products area

Colorful veggies

Emerson Spice - a fancy hotel that used to be a 19th century Swahili sultan's
palace (Matt Dillon has supposedly stayed here)

The streets of Stone Town

If you've been following the blog (and/or my Instagram account) you will know that one of my favorite things to photograph are doors. And the wooden doors in Stone Town were very photo-worthy! There are mainly two types of doors in Zanzibar - 'Indian (or Gujarati) doors' and 'Arab doors.' The Gujarati doors have square shutters and are the type of doors you would find in India. The older 'Arab doors' were all square at top but the semi-circular frames were introduced later and still considered an 'Arab door.'

Even though this is considered an 'Arab door,' the brass knobs come from the Indian door
style (in India the brass knobs were used to prevent elephants from tearing through) 

Since there are no elephants in Zanzibar, these brass knobs were included for decoration and as a sign of wealth

Another example of an 'Arab door'

Another traditional Zanzibar door - this is considered an Indian (or Gujarati) door 

Along the Zanzibar Harbor looking towards the Indian Ocean

A view of the House of Wonders near the National Museum

Entrance to the House of Wonders

Target acquired

Instead of canon balls, we use garbage

Along the Zanzibar Harbor

All types of ships

The House of Wonders used to be the residence of a sultan originally built in 1883 and restored after the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896

Not part of the original Old Fort (also known as Arab Fort), this is an amphitheater added for local performances

Still part of the Old Fort / Arab Fort

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral

Mercury House - did you know that Freddie Mercury from Queen was born in Zanzibar?
This is where he grew up!

Photos displayed outside Mercury House

Another traditional wooden door

Alley way

The view from Africa House Hotel

We opted not to hang out for a drink - it was a long, wet day of walking!

Walking through the streets

We then visited the former slave market and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral.

Inside the building where they kept the slaves, you can still see bricks from Glasgow clearly marked

In one of the areas slaves were kept for days

A replica of manacle used on the slaves

Sad and eerie

This is the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral built by Bishop Edward Steere in 1874 - the cathedral stands exactly on the site of the former slave market

Inside the cathedral - these pillars were installed upside down

Looking towards the entrance

Front of the door (left) to the cathedral

The back of the door - pretty!

Another shot of the front door (on the right) to the cathedral 

Looking up

Another perspective

To the slaves monument

Those are the original manacles used - very sad to see

On November 8 we went snorkeling - because of the weather the day before, it was cancelled.

One of the guys on the boat who brought us to the snorkeling site fed the fish some sea urchin - they loved it

Paul is scared of the fish

They were surrounding me

Pretty

Here you have a couple of pretty fish

Yes, they were super close to me

Selfie...except Paul wasn't looking

I didn't pick this up - that guy handed it to me...

See, he kept picking up starfish to show us

Bad Paul!

Our last day, we walked along the beach in between naps and eating. I think we are starting to gain back all the weight we lost in Asia!

Traditional fishing boat

Locals on the beach

Very colorful

Boats

Mvuvi Resort is owned by an Italian couple

I like that boat

The view from where I was laying

Local kids playing

They were having a lot of fun

Another local kid playing

And another

Walking along the beach

We left Zanzibar on November 9 for one last night in Dar es Salaam before heading to Namibia.

Leaving Zanzibar

Sad to leave!