So the trip to Zanzibar started with a 4pm Ferry from Dar es Salaam. Myself and my new Norwegian friends Amy and Sigmund arrived at the Ferry terminal at about 14:30 and were promptly given many offers for assistance. I would not say that this is required but it did help that our bags were carried for us and the porters explained everything that was required. I would recommend finding out what they expect to be paid before letting them carry your luggage to avoid an argument after the fact. We travelled business class which I would recommend as it does make things simpler. The seating is free seating and therefore if you want a good seat you need to be quick on the draw when they start boarding. The ferry trip is 2 hours and was pretty smooth. During the trip we went and stood outside and saw a whale.
When we arrived we found the guys from Kibuki car rentals. I arranged my car before leaving for the trip and then arranged for Amy and Sigmund via WhatsApp while we were in Dar. The guys, who were called Ismail and Ismail, took us to our cars in a parking lot a short walk from the ferry terminal. The cars were old Rav4’s but in pretty good shape. They asked us to take any pictures of dents or scratches. Let us know the tank was empty and we could bring it back that way. They also organised our Zanzibar Drivers Permits. If you are going to Zanzibar I highly recommend them for an affordable car and great service.
I then drove to the Forodhani Gardens Market to meet my Couchsurfing Host, Kelvin. I drove the wrong way down the one way road but no one seemed to get too worried and luckily there were no cops. I found a parking and went to the night Market to get something to eat and to meet Kelvin. I had the famous Zanzibar Pizza with Vegetables. Kelvin took me to his place which was just behind the House of Wonder in Stone Town. I was on the third floor and had loads of space and a double bed which was much more than expected. We then went out for a drink to Taperia where there was live music and dancing. I got home just after 12 as I ate some Cashews on the Ferry that did not agree with me, so left the bar. #overshare
For my first full day in Stone Town I went out to get iced coffee and got convinced by Captain B to go to prison island to see the tortoises and to go snorkeling. This is something that I did after a bit of negotiating.
Prison island was awesome. The trip out there was on a motor boat and took about 30 minutes. On our boat we had about 10 people. There was a group from Bosnia and Serbia; a French couple; an Italian guy (Luca) and myself. We first went to the tortoises. This costs $5 or the equivalent in Shillings. Perhaps it was a little more 🤦🏻♂️. The tortoises were incredible with the oldest one being 194 years old. Luca and I got chatting on the boat and so we explored the island together plus we were the only who on the boat that were snorkelling. After an hour of exploring we found our Gladiator (this was the name on the boat roof) boat and went out to the reef to snorkel. The snorkelling was really great. The reef was close to the surface and therefore you could see most of the sea life without having to dive too deep. There were so many different types of coral and tropical fish I wish I just had gopro.
After the trip to prison island we returned to Stone Town and Luca and I had lunch and then we went for a walking tour of Stone Town. We started in the Forodhani Garden where our guide explained about Zanzibar’s history and the fact that the park was reclaimed and used to be the harbour. We then went on to the old Fort and to the slave Chambers and past the Market.
The Slave Chambers were quite chilling and I cannot understand how people allowed other people to be treated in the manner that they were.
I then went home to freshen up and I went to have dinner at Radha Food House, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, and had amazing cauliflower tikka masala. I bumped into Luca on the way to Forodhani Night Market where I went to have a sweet Zanzibar Pizza with Nutella and peanut butter. Not sure why I never took any pictures at the food market but there are enough online for you to see what it looks like :-).
I then went home and off to sleep in order to have a great day of exploring the next day
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