Zanzibar… the First Time

The first time in Zanzibar!!

On 8 March we leave at 21.30 from Malpensa on a Eurofly flight. Business class, the usual very comfortable seats and very kind staff After dinner we watch a film and in the end fall asleep!! They wake us very early for breakfast! On 9 March 2007 at 6.00 local time we arrive at Stone Town airport Queue for the visa and payment of $50 (they didn't ask us for photos) and queue for collecting the luggage, which is handed over by hand since the airport has no baggage carousel! The usual tip is requested both for the delivery and to avoid the bags being opened. Outside, waiting for us, are the village entertainers, We get on the minibus and after about an hour we arrive at Dongwe Village, where we are served the welcome cocktail and find our friends too, who play at the village.

They assign us our room and the boys carry our luggage (we're in the newly built ones) The room is really new and spacious with a king-size double bed and its mosquito net, a single bed also with mosquito net (which we'll use as a sofa), two wardrobes, a minibar, a safe, a desk and a large welcome basket of fruit. Our bed is strewn with flowers! The bathroom is spacious too. We're on the upper floor and on the balcony there are two comfortable armchairs. From there we see the sea through the greenery! We go straight down to the beach (passing the seawater pool) - the whitest, finest sand, like talcum powder. It's low tide, so we take our first walk on the jetty; we stop at the bar and, sipping a fruit cocktail, watch the strange effect of the tide forming stunning natural pools of crystal-clear water. At 13.00 lunch, and they assign us our table, which will then stay for our whole stay.

We spend the afternoon having a nap and sorting out the suitcases. At 17.00 (it'll be every day) at the pool-beach bar, entertainment with tea and biscuits ( Tea Time ) Their spiced tea is very good In the evening, before dinner and right after, there's Manuela playing the flute, Giulio playing the guitar and together they sing. After dinner at 22.00 the usual briefing by the village chief for all the various explanations. Every evening there's a show, then games, and some evenings a film screening on the jetty We spend our days between walks on the very long beach (without being disturbed by the BBs), boat trips to go snorkelling,, swims in the sea and pool, Since there's a Wellness Centre inside, for a few days I relax by having massages with the various spiced oils. Unfortunately they couldn't organise the safari to Selous Park for us because the rains had already started there.

We decide to do a few excursions We go to Stone Town, where we visit the fish, meat and fruit market, the former sultan's palace, the Anglican church and then a wander among the alleys and the various little shops. Another excursion First they take us to a small village where the village chief shows us his own house made of mud and dung; there are many children and we can't help giving them pencils, clothes and a few sweets Then we pass where the carpenters work, carving by hand great doors in red mahogany wood. Finally, here's the spice plantation, where we find ginger, red bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, henna, and our guide has fun making us guess the scent of the various plants. Another excursion is to the Jozani Forest, where we meet the friendly little monkeys (red colobus), monkeys with tawny fur on their backs that live only in that forest.

One day we spend on the blue safari aboard their boat, the Dhow. They take us to the sandbanks that form when the tide is low, we snorkel, then back on the boat towards Kwale Island, where a little lunch awaits us based on rice with various sauces, fish, small lobsters, and lots and lots of fruit. And so fifteen beautiful days pass! We still have a few excursions left, which we'll certainly do on our next trip. Unfortunately the day of departure arrives, a brutal early start at 3.45 on Friday 23 March. Minibus to the airport; luckily no queue for the exit visa since we're in business, we wait to board and at 8.00 we leave, then stopping over in Mombasa. We're in love with Kenya but we've left a little piece of our heart on this wonderful island too, and we're already certain we'll return!