There are lots of words to describe Zanzibar, beautiful, magical, surreal, inspiring...I could go on here for a while. At the end of what turned out to be a very hard 2010, Andrea (who has become my official travel buddy) landed in this incredible place which deserves every lovely name you can possibility dream up.
Arriving at the airport and stepping head first into the kind of heat we just don’t get here in Cape Town was definitely a bit of a culture shock. Zanzibar only has the very basic of modern infrastructure and the drive from the airport to the hotel continued to highlight this. Arriving at Casa Del Mar was like stepping into a different universe. Built right on the beach of Jambiani on the South East Coast of the island, the hotel is a little piece of heaven.
 |
| Jambiani Music Academy entertaining us for Christmas dinner |
Arriving on Christmas day was very special and the hotel staff went out of their way to make the day lovely. They organised a pretty yummy Christmas dinner for all the guests and organised some live music too. Things just got better from there, we snorkelled, got to walk along some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen (and coming from Cape Town that was quite a feat), we got to spend hours reading (for two working girls, reading had become a very fond but distant memory) and relaxing on deck chairs at the hotel with the beautiful blue (like you have never seen blue before) sea just metres away.
During our Spice Tour it became clear why Zanzibar is sometimes known as Spice Island. Your guide walks you along small dusty paths deep within a lush and palm tree rich jungle where you get to see/taste/discover cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and various fruits. Keeping in the amazing spirit of the Zanzibar people the guides are friendly, knowledgeable and spend the whole tour hand weaving gifts of necklaces and baskets for all on the tour.
 |
| Our creative spice guide |
The people, without a doubt were the highlight of the trip. The people of Zanzibar are the kindest, friendliest people you will ever come across. You cannot walk past a single person without them saying “jambo” with the biggest, most genuine smiles you will ever see. It really does put things in perspective when you see how under developed Zanzibar is, how poor the country is and yet the people operate on this level of happiness I think we in developed cities spend our lives trying to achieve.
 |
| The happiest and friendliest little people |
We had 11 days, 11 days where we couldn’t access the internet, where cell phones didn’t work, where we could just relax. We were in such a state of bliss when we arrived back at OR Tambo Airport that when we put our cell phones on and Facebook, Twitter and every other kind of message flooded our phones we both literally started to shake and only Spur Nachos and a glass of white wine could bring us back down.
Would I go back...in a heartbeat. Do I wish I was there right now....absolutely!
Jenny Williamson
No comments:
Post a Comment