Hey there,
I landed at
Sanisbar airport the day after my return from the Kilimanjaro. Instantly I
experienced the the hectic tourism minted lifestyle of that island. The first obstacle
are the “official taxi companies” in the airport waiting hall, which try to
push you into taking their “fair” prices. I pushed myself through that and
immediately was surrounded by a herd of cab circling me like a wounded Warthog
in the Serengeti.
These drivers
weren’t less pushy and tried to persuade me with a weird mix out of
intimidation and benevolence. I was annoyed by my cab driver quite a lot but as
soon as we finished the pricing it was quite nice to talk to him in the car.
I drove up
to Stonetown, which is a UNESCO world heritage city since 2000. This town has
direct access to the beach and promised a laid back lifestyle. I have to say
that it didn’t charm me that much. It was quite packed and at every corner
someone tried to sell some spices or other souvenirs. I actually just wanted to
find a calm café and relax for a while.
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| fishermen leaving for the night |
After
watching the sunset at the beach I decided to go for a stroll through the city
and headed to the famous night market. The market itself was quite cool and offers
a huge variety of spices, herbs and local food.
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| inside Stone Town |
After the
first night I was considering going to the famous islands close to Stone Town (Prison
Island etc.). I still wasn’t feeling relaxed at Stone Town and the thought of
spending another night at that place didn’t really please me. Talking to some
backpackers in front of my hostel I met Daniel who wanted to share a taxi up to
Nungwi. That sounded like the perfect plan for me and I decided to leave Stone
Town. As a general rule of thumb I always try to leave a place as soon as I don’t
feel comfortable anymore. Of course there was still plenty to see in Stone Town
but at that moment it just wasn’t right for me.
On our way
up to Nungwi, which promised a more relaxed beach lifestyle, we went to a spice
village. A lot of spices are farmed on Sansibar and it became known for its
famous tours. The spice tour itself took up to 2,5 hours and was definetely
worth it. It was surprising to see the huge variety of spices in their growing
form. Some were impossible to guess and especially the cinnamon surprised me in
its diversity in regards to the different smell of the leafs, roots and its bark.
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| Spice Man |
In Nungwi
the two days were quite alike. I relaxed on the beach, had good local food and
in the evening we went to the local club “Coccobello”.
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| laid back beach life at Nungwi |
The second day Daniel
and I went for a snorkeling tour early in the morning. The boat was packed and
the service unnecessary unfriendly. Luckily a group from Luxembourg made the
trip quite humorous. All in all we were both a bit disappointed of that highly
promised snorkeling adventure.
My last
stop on Sansibar was at Paje. This place is popular for all its watersport
activities. Hence I only had one day left before my return flight to Vienna I
decided to spend the last day on the beach.
With this
post I will close this chapter of my trip to Tansania. I have to say that my
experience in Tansania was amazing. I loved the diverse landscapes and
especially the hospitality of the people. Altough Tansania can be quite touristic at some places it still offers untouched places if you look for them. I most certainly will come back looking!
Thank you
for reading!
Best wishes,
Vince
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