our goodbyes as he will be undoubtedly be gone when we return. We are leaving Stone Town today.
It is Idi, a Muslim holiday. Families are strolling to the mosques, dressed in their finest. A young Muslim man sees us watching and voluntarily takes the time to explain what is happening. Idi is a celebration, which happens after Ramadan and coincides with the pilgrimage many take each year to Mecca in the Holy Land. After prayers today, he tells us, everyone will meet at the fields along to waterfront for a feast. There will be much visiting and a present for each child. Everyone will be wearing his or her best. Though it is a Muslim holiday, I notice that there are many Indian families also dressed up lavishly and strolling the streets. Idi is four days of no school and no work for most. Reason enough to celebrate.
Back at The Clove and all packed up. Our taxi arrives right on time. Another arrangement made by email before I left home. We travel the same road we took north toward the spice farms. We stop for fresh fruit at a roadside stand. Will and Kristin amuse the many children living there by taking photos and sharing the results. An experience for all.
Beautiful, perfect smiles. Laughing eyes. The bright colors of fine dress clothes. A lucky moment. Back in the van we travel on. The driving is again white knuckle. Wide eyes. No restraint. A stop at a spice farm for more vanilla and saffron. Bill drives a hard bargain. ‘Not good quality. Your prices are too high’. He is right. A vendor gets in the van with us and directs us to another farm where the saffron is pristine. We buy all they offer. 1500TSH/bag.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride continues. A rolled van down a bank prompts Kristin to request more caution from our driver. He obliges her for about 5 minutes. The land we travel past becomes more arid. Clay brick and thatched-roof huts. Classic. Cliché. Real. Electric wires string them together. I take it in. I think about all we are learning. I am proud that we are all able to move past the stereotypes and form a new understanding of people different from ourselves. We have all commented on how exceedingly friendly everyone has been. We have been welcomed without question by so many people. The population of Zanzibar is 90% Muslim. I love the realization that this is now what my association with ‘Muslim’ will be. Will appears to have had similar thoughts based on his comments about the people here. Age 15. A life-changing experience for us all.
We are amazed when we arrive in tact to The Sunset Bungalows at Kendwa Rocks. We are not prepared for the abundance of wazungus (white people) here. The only local people we see are the employees. We all notice and comment on the change in atmosphere. A far cry from the joyous hubbub of Stone Town. The guests here are quiet and look somber. Serious. Privileged. I am embarrassed to be one of them. The staff does not seem too happy either. This worries me. I want to ask them if this is all OK with them. I don’t want to be associated with the other guests but I am by color and station.
Our dwellings are classic huts in the sand off the beach. Tall beds. Mosquito netted. Air Conditioned. You’ve got to be kidding! It feels great, I must admit. It is quite hot outside.
We eat lunch at the ‘Sunset Restaurant and Bikini Bar’. No modesty here. Such contrast. Guests in scanty swimsuits eating their lunch. It is odd to see so much skin after spending 5 days surrounded by people in long all-concealing robes.
These Beach cabana's are simply amazing. They are constructed with small diameter logs that are often lashed together. Some have amazing trusses that span great distances, some are two stories. they are within 100 yards of the water and seem to have been around for a while, Must not get to many storms.
Bill and Will show their new documentation and arrange a dive. Brian and I walk up the beach. It is unreal. Deep blue depths. Turquoise shoreline. White sugar sand. It is breathtaking. Masaai people stroll along. They look like props. Traditional dress complete with long walking sticks. Abundant jewelry. How did they get to Zanzibar? I thought they were from the Serengeti. Do they want to be here? What do they do here? Pose for pictures? Are they real?
Along the shore a bluff reaches down. Slightly overhung. Lava? No, coral. The whole island is ‘built’ on it. The incoming tide prevents us from going around the point. Back near our huts, we grab our snorkel gear and test the water. Choppy waves limit visibility. Our buddy fish have already found us! We eat again at the Sunset. The curry is good but the prices are high. There are other eateries along the line I want to sample. Relax. Enjoy the beach.
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