Thursday, April 18, 2013

Zanzibar--Two Thumbs Down

Looks beautiful from up here!  White powdery sand, aqua beaches...

Even the hotel is lovely.  Though why you would want an indoor pool at the beach escapes me?

So what's the story.  Well, I'm sure it is distinctly clouded by our experience at the hotel.  Yes, it was nice enough, people were friendly, but the food SUCKED!  I mean we're at the ocean for christsakes--where's the seafood?????  The menu was short but sweet.  But everything we asked for was unavailable.  They couldn't even do breakfast decently.  The place was nearly vacant--only 4 other people there.  Thank God we made friends with Francine from NYC so we could whine together.  During our five days there we only had one good meal and that was seafood on seafood night.  The rest of the food was a real mystery.
At least the cocktails were good and free and we made the most of the liquid diet.

The beach was deserted and during low tide you could walk almost a mile out into the ocean to a reef.  We attempted it one morning and were given rubber shoes to wear.  Now I know why.  It was impossible without them as there were hidden coral colonies at high tide that now made the trek very treacherous.  Not to mention the anemones in droves just waiting for a misstep to render a blow.  Shockingly we encountered local women with hand made spears walking barefoot spearing fish and shrimp along the route which they deposited into burlap bags.  They were singing and laughing and we had a nice chat with them.  It was so difficult to maneuver the coral that we never made it to the reef before the tide started coming back.  Forget this!

After a couple of days of lazy sun, Steph got overdone so the next morning with Francine in tow, we headed for a Spice Farm Tour and to visit the ancient Stone Town.
There a lots of spice tours available and when you drive back into the forest you would be clueless of what awaits.  Under the canopy of trees it is cool, buggy and very aromatic.  Our guide proceeded to show us the wonders.
Can you guess?  This is cinnamon.  Never had any idea it was a tree.  They slice the bark and then let it dry.  It curls on its own as the moisture evaporates.
Yep.  A freshly picked cluster of lichee nuts.  And he was right.  They are the sweetest I have ever tasted.
And madame Steph is sporting a freshly sliced star fruit.  Very sappy and sweet--both of them!
And here we have cloves.  Would have walked right by and missed them.  Our guide walked around for a bit with one stuffed in his nose since he said he had a cold.  Looked like a green bugger--gross.
And these are nutmeg pods.  The nutmeg falls to the ground when it is ripe.
Beats me what this is, especially since you have to pry open the husk like a clam.
And then it is revealed--the lipstick plant as he demonstrates.  Very creamy kernels with a nice, gentle aroma.  It is actually used for lipstick and the locals use it au naturale.
And this monster they call a cotton tree.  It actually grows these huge whisps that then fall to the ground.  Thought I might try a few hair extensions.
At the end of the tour we were all crowned queens--for a price of course.  They wanted to seriously overcharge us for these freshly woven palm frond hats and specs.  No thanks.  We did do some hard bargaining for some spices before we left to visit Stone Town.

Probably another reason Zanzibar was not a fave was our location way up on the north coast.  It was 45 minutes into town!  Then in town it stunk horrifically!!!  I know, lots of places stink but this really was the worst.
Probably had something to do with the seafood market.  Finally found seafood!
Fresh octopus anyone?  Steph and Francine were gagging by now so we exited back to the street before they started to hurl.
As it was midday, most people were out of the sun having lunch somewhere.  Looks, feels and smells like any other coastal town.  But I would take Lamu any day over this.  Just didn't like the vibe here.  It wasn't welcoming.
I had read that this was a great foodie place with awesome coffee.
Once you cross the lush courtyard, you enter the hotel area.  Then you walk up seven flights of stairs to the rooftop restaurant. Going back down was much less effort.




The view across the roofs to the ocean was spectacular!
And the menu was quite interesting.  Of course we have to try the coffee and it did not disappoint.  Lunch?  That was a different thing altogether.  Steph and I ordered the fish of the day and Francine craved a steak.  After 30 minutes Steph got raw fish but mine was ok.  She sent hers back. I ate mine.  Francine waited.  After another 30 minutes, Steph got her fish and Francine got her steak.  Fish works but the steak is shoe leather.  Back it goes and we wait.  After another 30 minutes there is quite a commotion in the kitchen behind us, the chef runs out, the manager is yelling at him and the waiters scatter.  Francine gives up.  Francine wanted to treat us but when she went to use her credit card there was no power.  So we all scrounged up enough cash to pay the tab and left.
We walked along the docks, by the olde cannons that formerly protected this colony.  In this ocean square they have seafood festivals at night but we didn't want to make another expensive 45minute ride into town that night.  Instead we sat enjoying the sun and breeze.  At least for a bit.  We were accosted by a very drunk local trying to sell us trinkets.  When we tried to shoo him away, he started screaming 'fuck you' over and over.  Our guide finally ran him off, thankfully, and we headed back to the crappy food hotel.
Dear Francine left us in the morning and we left our temporary imprint on the powdery sand on our last day.  In the morning it is back to Nairobi and Steph's last day here.
Where did the three weeks go???
 I decided to give Steph a work out so she would sleep well on her flight home.  So we headed to Hell's Gate National Park to spend the day.  It takes about 2 hours to get there.  I had intended for us to ride bikes thru the park but I soon realized it would be a bit taxing in the heat and they had no maps and we had not packed a lunch.  So Caesar drove us along the dirt roads where we saw many groups that had camped overnight and were proceeding to rappel the cliffs and rocks.  We decided to hire a guide (required) and tour the gorge.  We opted for the two hour hike.
Well.  It was more than a hike.  It was a workout!  And yes, you did need to hold on when climbing up and down the sheer rocky faces.
Yes, we did climb down this to walk along the dry riverbed.  Scary.  Steph had to be coaxed and our skinny Masaai guide showed her he really was a strong dude.
Some areas are not so dry as they are fed by underground springs, both hot and cold.  Last year in this spot a sudden rain storm created a flash flood that washed 30 school children down stream killing 7.  It is closed off now until they replace the surrounding walkways.

And then the day was done.  Back to the skeeter motel to grab our bags after a bite to eat and somehow it was almost 10pm liftoff time.  We dashed to the airport to find Steph's flight boarding so we didn't have time for our usual slobbery, crying, snotty nose farewells.  We actually missed that, we both agreed.

So she was gone.  February flew by somehow but not without reminders of Zanzibar.  I contracted malaria and spent most of February in bed.  Feels like the worst flu you ever had.  Another reason not to like Zanzibar. And then in March we were consolidated for the Kenyan elections for 10 days.  It was fun to spend time with the other 115 volunteers but after about 7 days we all found we missed the quiet of our own villages and routines.  And then we endured the wait for the official declaration.  It was like the hanging chad, Blagoyovich and Supreme Court all rolled into one!!  What a stressful time not knowing if and when there would be violence.  But it's done now and the countdown is here for all of us to return to the good ole U. S. of A.  Only a few more months now and I am soooooooooo ready!  We start doing our paperwork and have our final medical exams next month in preparation.

I'll close this tome by thanking Steph again for being such a love to my boy Cognac.  I appreciate everyone's prayers but his brain tumor was not going to allow him to have a happy ending.  It was his time.  So Steph kindly put him to sleep for me before she visited and we both cried over him when she arrived.  Happy trails sweet boy.

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