A Damp Zanzibar
It is the rainy season in
Tanzania now and over the last few days Zanzibar has had its fair share. The
roads have been completely flooded. The owner of the Abuso Inn, where I am
staying, told me that the problem is that everyone throws their rubbish into
the drainage system so the moment it rains everything backs up and the water
can’t go anywhere. From my point of view the rain is both a blessing and a
curse. It is a blessing because it is not so hot but a curse because I don’t
have any rain clothes so the possibility of arriving at working looking like a
drowned rat is very real. Furthermore, the rain has meant an increase in
mosquitoes.
These little pests are so clever!
I have no idea how they do it but despite mosquito mesh on the windows and a
net around the bed; I have woken up every morning with at least three little
guests in my sleeping area. Thank goodness I decided to take malaria
prophylactics on this trip because otherwise I would be feeling quite panicky
at this stage.
You would think there is enough mosquito netting to keep the little pests out!
The last time I stayed at the
Abuso Inn, construction had started just in front on the Hyatt Park Hotel. The
foot print looked huge but it really didn't prepare me for the completed monster
of a building I saw when I arrived. Fortunately the local people managed to get
a small open space developed between the Hyatt Park Hotel and the Tembo House
Hotel so at least the view isn’t blocked completely. One of the most pleasant
experiences at Abuso Inn is having breakfast on the rooftop terrace and gazing
out at the ocean and the boats. It would have very disappointing if it had been
lost completely.
The Hyatt Park Hotel that blocks a large section of the beach
The lovely view that remains looking over the closed park of the Hyatt Park Hotel
Besides this new hotel, Stonetown
has changed in other ways too. There used to be a lot of small shops selling a
variety of things from bakeries to curios to foreign exchange but these have
been replaced by a multitude of jewellery stores all advertising tanzanite and
other gems. I guess there is a market for this but it seems a bit sad to me
that the diversity of the shops has been lost. I’m also not really sure how ten
plus jewellers survive together in a block less than 200m long but the market
drives these things so it must work.
I have diversified my foraging
excursions this time and tried out a few places have not frequented before. Make
no mistake I have still been to my favourites (Livingstone’s Bar and Africa
House Sunset Bar) but I went to the Book Café which is new and the Buni Café
which has always been then but one I have always just walked past. I went to
the Book Café because the rain was drumming down and I felt like having a chai
latte and indulging in a piece of cake. I was disappointed on both counts. The
cake, white forest, was really dry and a bit tasteless and the chai latte was
watery. I did go back (always try a place twice) and had hot chocolate that was
superb. Buni Café was average. While the food was less expensive than
Livingstone’s and Africa House, it was a step down in quality. Not bad but just
a little more plain. The fresh mango juice was, however, delicious! The main
draw cards of my two favourites are their respective locations. Livingstone’s
is on the beach under a huge tree while Africa House has the most amazing late
afternoon to evening views. Sometimes it really is worth paying a little extra.
The Book Café
The view from my table at Livingstone's Bar
Africa House Hotel - one of my favourite spots
A well deserved sun-downer at the Africa House Sunset Bar
The view makes the higher cost of the food at Africa House so worthwhile
My time in Zanzibar has been
good. I am feeling relaxed and getting into the swing of being on the road
again. The Comoros is always a bit stressful having to rely on my really poor
French and having to eat all the starchy food with very little variety. So it
was a relief to arrive in Zanzibar, a place I am very familiar with, where
everyone speaks English and where it is so easy to move around. I was so
ridiculously thrilled on the first morning in Zanzibar to be presented with a
plate of fruit for breakfast and to be able to sit and enjoy the wonderful view
while sipping on a cup of coffee. The group I was working with were all mostly
old hands (some with ten years of experience!) at using the database which also
made things just a little bit easier for me.
My healthy fruit breakfast
The Tanzanian group and me :)
The view from my hotel room
Next stop Mombasa!
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