Stone Town

Zanzibar 013
Originally uploaded by susiebarber

This morning I was driven to the Zanzibar Serena Inn in Stone Town. I’m beginning to realize why this safari is costing an arm and a leg – the accomodations are first class all the way and truly a bit over the top. I’m just not used to a butler in each hallway to answer your every question and to check on you constantly. I kinda wish I had booked a safari myself that put me in tents or something – I’d feel a little more at home. I wonder what these people would say if they knew about the village I stayed in in Nepal …

I just spent a couple of hours walking around town and visiting the Zanzibar National Museum. It seems that everyone has been here at one time or another: the Indians, the Portugese, the Germans, the Turks and just about the rest of the world as well. The shortest war ever happened here when the British bombed for 45 minutes and kicked out the Germans. You can see different influences in the architecture around town and in the different types of restaurants available. I walked around quite a bit and got lost -- the town is just a maze. It was great, though. Getting lost let's you see places you'd never see otherwise and it was fun to watch children playing and people going about their daily business. Eventually I found the site where slaves were processed. Now there's a church built on the site and for a fee, you can go inside and see the high alter which is where the whipping post used to be. No thank you.

I just had the best shish kabobs ever – they don’t call this the spice island for nothing. Also, I’ve come to love fresh squeezed bungo juice. I have no idea what a bungo is, but the juice is really good. Oh, and there’s Barak Obama paintings, posters, bumper stickers, buttons, etc. everywhere here.

Tomorrow morning I fly to Arusha, which is near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I should have a good view, both from the plane and from the lodge where I’m staying (that’s what the brochure says anyway). The next morning we set off on safari. Since some of the descriptions of the lodges we’ll be staying in say things like “24 hour electricity”, so I have large doubts that I’ll have internet access. I will write up something each day as well as prepare photos and will post as soon as I can. Most likely, you’ll see multiple posts showing up at once sometime down the line. Just in case you’re wondering where I am at any given time, here’s my itinerary for the rest of the trip:

10/10 – Fly from Zanzibar to Arusha. Stay at Mountain Village Lodge
10/11 – Drive to Ngorongoro Crater. Stay at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
10/12 – Game viewing in the crater and then drive to the Serengeti. Stay at Serengeti Serena Lodge
10/13 – Hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti at dawn (still can’t believe this one!). Game drive the rest of the day until sunset. Stay at Serengeti Serena Lodge again.
10/14 – Drive to Lake Manyara National Park, stopping at Olduvai Gorge where they found the oldest known human remains. Stay at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
10/15 – Early morning game drive and then visit a Masai village and local school. Stay at Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
10/16 – Drive to Tarangire National Park and do afternoon game drive. Stay at Tarangire Sopa Lodge.
10/17 – Drive to Arusha, have lunch, and get dumped at the airport to start the long journey home (Arusha -> Nairobi -> London -> San Francisco).

I’ll be home in 9.5 days!