This past month has been a fantastic change of pace from the frustrations and challenges of my Fulbright project so far. The end of June marks the halfway point of my grant and unfortunately I do not have much to show for it. I thought that by the time Benjamin came to visit me, I'd be well into my work and a vacation would be a nice break. Instead, Benjamin came just as I was at my wit's end and about to give up on my project altogether! 3 weeks of holiday has made all the difference and I feel reinvigorated and enthusiastic about upcoming 5 months. But I have to catch up for the past month, so I'll start from the beginning;
New house! again!
After I realized how seriously I was being ripped off at my old house, I decided to move into a new one! Lucky for me I found an adorable little 2 bedroom house to rent that is WAY nicer than my last house and cheaper too. The kitchen is a big upgrade from the last one, and I don't get electrocuted by the appliances. The garden is beautiful, there's plenty of room for Jaala to run around and I have an awesome view of the foothills of Mt. Meru.
Holiday!
Ben flew into Nairobi on the 23rd and after an 8 hour (supposed to be 4hr) bus ride, he made it to Arusha. After a few days of cruising around Arusha, we flew to Zanzibar to stay for week. Zanzibar is one of those places that is so gorgeous it doesn't seem real. All those generic dorm room posters of beautiful white sandy beaches with bright green water, lined with long, swaying palm trees...yea, that's a real place..its called Zanzibar.
It's really hot, but breezy all the time, the main part of town in clean and it's safe to walk around anywhere at night. People are typically nicer and street salesmen don't harass you for nearly as long. I think because of the Muslim population everyone on the island is more conservative and respectful, there aren't many nightclubs or bars, so the town pretty much shuts down after the restaurants close.
The first 2 nights we stayed at a small hotel just 5 minutes walk from Stone Town called the Zenji Hotel. It seems like there is an endless amount of cheap hostels and hotels to choose from in town, most of which offer free breakfast with the cost of the room. Ben and I choose to "splurge" on a room at the Zenji ($25 per person) because they boasted about their breakfast and REAL coffee on the roof!
(*side note about coffee here; you would think since Tanzania is a major exporter of quality coffee beans, that you get a good cup of coffee anywhere. Well, since a good bag of coffee is between $9-$13 in Europe and the US, its worth more to export it than keep it in a country where most people cannot afford to buy it. Most places serve this awful powdered, instant coffee called Africaafe...that sort of tastes like coffee..and I have suffered through way too many cups of that stuff!)
The Zenji Hotel was absolutely worth the $25 splurge. The rooms were simple, comfortable and decorated with gorgeous Zanzibar style furniture. All the rooms were air conditioned, which I usually could care less about but in Zanzibar it is totally necessary. I would go back to stay at the Zenji purely for their breakfast, coffee, brownies and rooftop cafe!
For 2 days we wandered around Stone Town, meandering through the alleyways, getting completely lost and taking lots of photos. At night we went to the Forodhani Gardens, which is a newly rebuilt, park-like area right on the water where there is a nightly seafood market full of fresh fish mishkaki, (kebobs) naan, chapatis, grilled bananas and sugarcane juice! Mmmm
After a couple days of Stone Town, we went to stay at another hotel 10 minutes south called the Mbweni Ruins Hotel. For anyone that is thinking about visiting Tanzania or Zanzibar, going before the high season (June-Sept) makes ALL the difference with accommodations, tours, etc. Ben & I could have never afforded this place if we didn't get low season rates. Plus, we were practically the only people there! Mbweni is absolutely the most gorgeous place I have ever stayed in. The hotel is split into 3 buildings, and is kind of spread out along the beach with dense tropical vegetation in between. On the property is the actual Mbweni Ruins, which were discovered in 1871 and made into a school for freed slave girls. The ruins are open to all guests at the hotel and we were free to walk around them anytime. The restaurant was beautiful and all the food was fantastic, but the best part (for me) was the bush babies that would come down one by one to the restaurant every night for their usual piece of fruit!
The pool and beach were private and secluded, surrounded by mangrove forests that you could cruise around in kayaks. When the tide would go out you could hear the clicking and popping of the small crabs that live in the roots of the mangrove trees. We did a lot of reading, lounging, swimming and wandering on that beach, I can see why so many Tanzanians move to Zanzibar.
One nice thing about Mbweni is that they have their own dhow that will make daily trips to some of the neighboring small islands. There are several surrounding islands with great snorkeling, diving and beaches, Ben and I decided to go to Changu island because of the resident Galapagos tortoises! (it's always all about the animals for me) Changu island (aka Prison island) is a tiny speck of land just a tiny bit north of Stone Town. From the beach at the hotel, we got into a wooden dhow and sailed 30min north, past town, to the tip of Changu island. As we approached the beach, the water turned into bright blue, turquoise and green. Once we were on the island, we got to tour the tortoise sanctuary, hear about how they got there in the first place and feed the tortoises spinach! After tortle lunch, we went swimming in the crystal clear water of the Indian ocean. After being completely blissed out from feeding animals (pretty much what I want to do all the time) and the extreme, unreal beauty of the beach, we sailed back along the coast of the Zanzibar.
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I shot film of the Mbweni ruins and the trip to Changu island, pics coming soon!After a few more unbelievable days on Zanzibar, we flew back to Arusha, which felt cold compared to the island, it was probably a balmy 60 degrees, but it felt a lot colder with a sun burn!
Next post: Lake Manyara safari & Moshi jungle weekend
This is a fantastically symmetrical tree in my front yard that is all over town, makes a great shade tree...I haven't found out what it is yet...
This is a fantastically symmetrical tree in my front yard that is all over town, makes a great shade tree...I haven't found out what it is yet...
Starch Banana, (musa paradisiaca) Swahili name; Matooke. I did not know, that banana trees are actually considered perennial herbs and the banana itself is a "5-sided berry fruit".
Cute little unidentified flowering, creeping succulent.
large, unidentified leafy-like succulent
AWESOME seriously strong and thorny plant with adorable little dainty, pastel flowers, unknown.
Everyone I ask about these just says "bird of paradise" but I want to know what kind! There are several really amazing, alien looking, hanging bird of paradise flowers around here, all of which were definitely imported as ornamentals. I know they are not indigenous here.
Cassava plant, which, silly enough is a major food staple, but is not in the book. In case you don't know what cassava is, it is a delicious potato-like root that is absolutely amazing if you fry or bake it and eat it with sweet chili sauce! 
I can't tell if my Pomegranate tree is ornamental or not, I've only seen one fruit and it was tiny and waaaay to tart to eat!! although I tried...
