Zanzibar Kiwenga

Stay in Zanzibar

16/3 Air Italy flight, a truly modest airline.. a very quiet night flight, but impossible to sleep. The darkness shields the view of the landscapes until the first light of morning. A warm sun begins its climb and accompanies us in the discovery of unknown lands, a bed of clouds hides the sky, the beginning of Kenya, but in the distance Kilimanjaro rises majestically. By now the outbound journey is almost at its conclusion, Zanzibar comes into view. 17/3 arrival in Zanzibar. We get off a bit dazed from the journey, and we are hit by the muggy heat that stings the throat, but it will soon take a back seat. The airport immediately catches the attention, truly dilapidated. After gathering our thoughts, we go through customs (50 dollars) and wait for the suitcases in a suffocating heat, together with people from another flight..

we are lucky and it arrives right away, we wait for the right moment and skirt around the fake customs that tries to scrape together a few dollars. Outside the airport we find a sea of minivans waiting for tourists with a concentration like a taxi drivers' protest. 17/3 journey to the hotel. Finally we are all on the minivan heading to Kiwenga beach, Hotel Neptun. Having left the airport we cross Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, the streets are in an orderly chaos, there are western signs intertwined with deep poverty. We cross curious glances of people who live in ruins in the city and in huts just outside, the road is acceptable and in just under an hour we arrived with a rich preamble from our guide Emanuele.

17/3.....Accommodation: Neptun Beach Resort presents itself as well-kept and clean, the room welcoming and very spacious, lunches and dinners always tied to local traditions but always with European options available. The local people are always smiling, they live by the motto Hakuna matata..no problem...the beach is long and white, better to skip the first few metres and it becomes a true paradise with the sun bringing colours from emerald green to the most transparent blue. At about 500 m you can make out the coral reef, but in this area it's not the best. The weather is always good fortunately with a few clouds that temper the heat a little, a characteristic of these beaches is certainly the presence of island inhabitants or Masai ready to sell any kind of souvenir or to organise excursions, I must say quite insistent, but you can handle it all with a smile.

I am also struck by the will to survive of these people, who speak understandably in 3 to 5 languages. Blue Safari Trip. It begins with some apprehension hoping it's the right choice, but accompanied by the right enthusiasm. We leave the hotel with the very widespread minivans, the journey of about an hour passes quickly, we are distracted by the people and colours that accompany us. We arrive at a large bay created by the low tide, the boats are waiting for us....We board small boats, both motorised and sailing. We set off, the crystal-clear sea accompanies us for a short stretch, in the distance we see a dream beach that emerges only for a few hours each day. We are about to get off the boat when in the distance a dolphin emerges almost as if to give us a timid greeting. A swim tempers the heat above us, I put on mask and snorkel and follow one of our guides along the coral reef.

A whole new world appears around me, not having much experience I am struck by breathtaking colours and fauna. After the splendid dip our guides offer coconut, pineapple and Zanzibar nougat, by now real life is just a memory...After this relaxation we get back on the boat and disembark on an island where an irresistible feast has been prepared, fresh grilled fish and island specialities based on rice and polenta. After a short walk to visit the majestic Baobab now in decline, fallen 70 years ago, but alive for almost half a millennium, our trip is almost over, but there is still time for a stop in the mangrove lagoon, these few words I don't think can convey the uniqueness of these places, but we are tremendously happy to have passed through them.

The boat is reloaded, unfurls its majestic sail and guided by the wind takes us back to the mainland crossing the same landscapes as a few hours earlier but by now swallowed up by this splendid sea. 24/3 return home…A sincere farewell to our travel companions Alessandro and Silvia, unexpected and wonderful.