Mosquitoes, boats and markets

Wow there are lots of mosquitoes around this year. I was asking the bunch at work today and their theory is that it is due to the extreme heat. It is 33 degrees Celsius every day and the rainy season is apparently a little late - I guess there is enough water around though for the mosquitoes to hatch. So now I am covered from head to toe in my moisturiser of choice ... Tabard mosquito cream! I'm also quite relieved that I decided to take malaria tablets this year. Usually I give them a skip but I was told that the Comoros was really bad so I just elected to take the tablets for the entire journey.

This morning when I got up I saw a lovely little cruise ship arrive. The Clipper Odyssey is really my idea of what a cruise ship should be. She is small and only takes 128 passengers but has all the mod cons anyone could want. I can definitely picture myself on her!
The Clipper Odyssey

Today's work session went really well so at this stage we are definitely looking at finishing a day early. There are only 7 fishery profiles to complete and then everything must be validated. But that won't take too long. Lunch was really good today - chicken pilau which is spicy rice with broiled chicken. I should stick to the traditional dishes because they do make those best!

We called it quits just after 4pm because everyone was exhausted. That meant I had some time to go wandering around. I decided that today was the day to find the cathedral. I did cheat a little and had a look at a map on the Internet before setting off but I also nearly walked right passed it. Walking through Stonetown I become a bit blazé about looking at walls because they are so high and go on and on but something made me take a second look. Behind the wall was the cathedral. Further forward it had a fence which I could poke my camera through but it was closed to visitors. I was just pleased to have actually found it. 
 Close up to the cathedral - the fence and the other buildings around make this one very difficult cathedral to photograph
The entrance to the cathedral

From there I just carried on into the winding streets and got lost for a little bit. I was definitely in an area of Stonetown that I had never been before and there wasn't another tourist in sight. The way I figure it though is that there are four sides to a very small part of the town: the sea, a large garden and two main roads. I know what each of them looks like (some more than others) so if I just keep on going forward I will eventually come out at a place I recognize. So on I walked and amazingly I did come out at a place I recognized but it was not really where I expected to come out at all! Anyway no harm done and I just carried on walking. I walked through the market area again which was hectically busy with all the locals doing their shopping. One amusing guy told me I should come have a look at his stall because it was happy hour on spices! Here are just some photos from the market:
 The ladies selling some fish
 Bread for sale from a basket on the back of a bicycle
 One of my mother's favourites: dates
This is Tonge kwa tonge in Swahili, basically little dried fish that in South Africa is called Kapenta. I 'm not sure if it is the same species (probably not) but the idea is the same.

My last stop before returning to the hotel was Livingston's Café for an ice cold Safari Lager. There is something quite refreshing about sitting under a palm tree, sipping a drink, watching the ocean idly and listening to some melodic Zanzibari music. It was entertaining too as there was a ferry in loading cars and that is quite amusing. There was one idiot who nearly put his car in the surf but in the end he managed to get off the beach.
 The entertainment at Livingston's
 Will this end in tears? No he did get it off the beach eventually
This photo is for everyone who works at uShaka and complains about how close we have to park to the sea! These cars are parked on the beach waiting for the next ferry to arrive.
A dhow to end the day!

That is my story for today. A bit short but then there wasn't time to accumulated much. Good night everyone :-)

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