Cheesy carman deezy means cool bananas in Swahili!
The catch phrase of the day. We woke before our alarms & relished the fact we were lying in a bed. Unfortunately we did have to get up at 7am, eat breakfast & be ready to leave by 8am. Today's adventure is an optional extra activity that 11 of us choose to do. It involved hopping in a small wooden boat and motoring towards prison island. An island formerly used to punish slaves and then after this to quarantine people arriving in Zanzibar who had a fever. The potential for yellow fever outbreaks in Africa is a scary reality. Even now they are checking our yellow fever vaccination certificates.
When we visited prison island it was set up as a resort & tourist attraction. We got there before 9am & disembarked off our boat onto the beach. There was beautiful star fish in colors of orange & red all along the shoreline.
We walked up the beach & onto the jetty. The water is very clear and a gorgeous variation of blue, aqua & turquoise, the sand is fine and sun bleached white. After we walked off the jetty & along the path towards the quarantine area, we saw a couple of male peacocks showing off to some hens, pretending not to care about their dancing & fluttering feathers. They are such beautiful birds when they are courting, you can't help but stop to admire them. We arrived at the quarantine area which is now converted into a courtyard with a boutique cafe, toilets & library. Much of its authenticity has been lost. Our tour guide didn't have much to say about the history & I think its name is more grim than the place itself.
After walking around the courtyard, it was on to meet the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. The 2nd largest land tortoise after the ones on Galapagos Island. We were told that they are an introduced species from Cuba & that 4 were given to a person of royalty as a present. Of the 4 original, 1 is still alive & is recorded as 194 years old, though they think he is slightly older than this. He is the oldest, but not the biggest tortoise there.
We had a great time interacting with the tortoise. They all looked healthy & had a very large enclosure. They were surprisingly interactive & when we walked into their enclosure a few started 'running' towards us. They loved the food & the petting. We noticed they would stretch their legs & necks up so we could scratch them around their shells and the base of their necks, which they seemed to love the best. We were also witness to 2 mating, a somewhat disturbing sight & sound, but kinda cool...
I could of spent hours in there with them. The only disappointment was when I spotted 2 Arab tourists who were sitting on them & not being gentle. Something we are told not to do, for obvious reasons. I didn't hesitate to yell at them to get off & give them my filthiest look.
The other slight disappointment was a smaller enclosure with the babies, Who hatch very very small! There was a couple of hundred kept separate from the adults. I asked our tour guide what happens to all the babies when they grow up, the enclosure is not large enough for hundreds of them, especially if they continue to breed. I'm not sure if it was a language barrier, lack of information & understanding or lack of a plan that made me unsatisfied. He just kept saying "its for tourism, we don't sell turtles" "no zoo, only Zanzibar"
Being an introduced species, I understand they can't release them, but they need to do something to restrict unnecessary breeding. I do worry what will become of the hundreds of baby tortoise.
Once we eventually finish with the tortoise, we walk back down the beach & into the boat. We then are taken a short distance off the island to a section of sea, full of coral. We can't get our swimming gear, goggles & flippers on fast enough! The water is clear & cool. The coral is abundant & healthy, according to Nathalie, who's done volunteer work in the field of marine biology. We see rainbow fish, clown fish, sea horse & many many more.
It's a beautiful hour spent below the water admiring this unique & diverse environment. It's another great opportunity to use our go pro and film some underwater footage. Unfortunately for Tom, his goggles weren't fitting well & his toe was hurting inside his flippers. Small inconveniences for a special experience. I could tell he was enjoying himself.
After the boat dropped us back onto the beach, Tom & I went to the restaurant from the night before. We were short on time, it was 12.15pm & we had to be back at the hotel by 1pm. It was a bit pricey for 2 beers & 2 pizzas, but we still weren't keen on street food & willing to risk being sick. We took half the pizza with us & arrived back at the hotel by 1.05pm. We soon after hopped onto the bus & left Stonetown on our way to Kendwa Beach. Once we arrived, we had 1 hour to check in before we needed to meet up, once again at the beach.
Our hotel is in a resort & back's onto a beach. Our room is really nice & when compared to tents is very luxurious. We hang out our still damp laundry on the rail, do some exploring before we realise 1 hour is up & we need to be on the beach for our sunset cruise.
The cruise is in a traditional boat with a sailing system very similar to the felucca we sailed on in Egypt. The boat we are on in Zanzibar is called a dowl. We are on board for 2 hours sailing along the beach front, mostly just sitting quietly & enjoying the serenity. We are served cold water with fresh local bananas & watermelon, while being sung a swahili welcoming song.
The sunset was pretty, of course, but definitely not the most spectacular one we have or will see in Africa. I love the vibrant & exotic colors of pink, purple, orange, red, yellow & blue colors that are splashed across the sky when the sun sets in Africa.
The catch phrase of the day. We woke before our alarms & relished the fact we were lying in a bed. Unfortunately we did have to get up at 7am, eat breakfast & be ready to leave by 8am. Today's adventure is an optional extra activity that 11 of us choose to do. It involved hopping in a small wooden boat and motoring towards prison island. An island formerly used to punish slaves and then after this to quarantine people arriving in Zanzibar who had a fever. The potential for yellow fever outbreaks in Africa is a scary reality. Even now they are checking our yellow fever vaccination certificates.
When we visited prison island it was set up as a resort & tourist attraction. We got there before 9am & disembarked off our boat onto the beach. There was beautiful star fish in colors of orange & red all along the shoreline.
We walked up the beach & onto the jetty. The water is very clear and a gorgeous variation of blue, aqua & turquoise, the sand is fine and sun bleached white. After we walked off the jetty & along the path towards the quarantine area, we saw a couple of male peacocks showing off to some hens, pretending not to care about their dancing & fluttering feathers. They are such beautiful birds when they are courting, you can't help but stop to admire them. We arrived at the quarantine area which is now converted into a courtyard with a boutique cafe, toilets & library. Much of its authenticity has been lost. Our tour guide didn't have much to say about the history & I think its name is more grim than the place itself.
After walking around the courtyard, it was on to meet the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. The 2nd largest land tortoise after the ones on Galapagos Island. We were told that they are an introduced species from Cuba & that 4 were given to a person of royalty as a present. Of the 4 original, 1 is still alive & is recorded as 194 years old, though they think he is slightly older than this. He is the oldest, but not the biggest tortoise there.
We had a great time interacting with the tortoise. They all looked healthy & had a very large enclosure. They were surprisingly interactive & when we walked into their enclosure a few started 'running' towards us. They loved the food & the petting. We noticed they would stretch their legs & necks up so we could scratch them around their shells and the base of their necks, which they seemed to love the best. We were also witness to 2 mating, a somewhat disturbing sight & sound, but kinda cool...
I could of spent hours in there with them. The only disappointment was when I spotted 2 Arab tourists who were sitting on them & not being gentle. Something we are told not to do, for obvious reasons. I didn't hesitate to yell at them to get off & give them my filthiest look.
The other slight disappointment was a smaller enclosure with the babies, Who hatch very very small! There was a couple of hundred kept separate from the adults. I asked our tour guide what happens to all the babies when they grow up, the enclosure is not large enough for hundreds of them, especially if they continue to breed. I'm not sure if it was a language barrier, lack of information & understanding or lack of a plan that made me unsatisfied. He just kept saying "its for tourism, we don't sell turtles" "no zoo, only Zanzibar"
Being an introduced species, I understand they can't release them, but they need to do something to restrict unnecessary breeding. I do worry what will become of the hundreds of baby tortoise.
Once we eventually finish with the tortoise, we walk back down the beach & into the boat. We then are taken a short distance off the island to a section of sea, full of coral. We can't get our swimming gear, goggles & flippers on fast enough! The water is clear & cool. The coral is abundant & healthy, according to Nathalie, who's done volunteer work in the field of marine biology. We see rainbow fish, clown fish, sea horse & many many more.
It's a beautiful hour spent below the water admiring this unique & diverse environment. It's another great opportunity to use our go pro and film some underwater footage. Unfortunately for Tom, his goggles weren't fitting well & his toe was hurting inside his flippers. Small inconveniences for a special experience. I could tell he was enjoying himself.
After the boat dropped us back onto the beach, Tom & I went to the restaurant from the night before. We were short on time, it was 12.15pm & we had to be back at the hotel by 1pm. It was a bit pricey for 2 beers & 2 pizzas, but we still weren't keen on street food & willing to risk being sick. We took half the pizza with us & arrived back at the hotel by 1.05pm. We soon after hopped onto the bus & left Stonetown on our way to Kendwa Beach. Once we arrived, we had 1 hour to check in before we needed to meet up, once again at the beach.
Our hotel is in a resort & back's onto a beach. Our room is really nice & when compared to tents is very luxurious. We hang out our still damp laundry on the rail, do some exploring before we realise 1 hour is up & we need to be on the beach for our sunset cruise.
The cruise is in a traditional boat with a sailing system very similar to the felucca we sailed on in Egypt. The boat we are on in Zanzibar is called a dowl. We are on board for 2 hours sailing along the beach front, mostly just sitting quietly & enjoying the serenity. We are served cold water with fresh local bananas & watermelon, while being sung a swahili welcoming song.
The sunset was pretty, of course, but definitely not the most spectacular one we have or will see in Africa. I love the vibrant & exotic colors of pink, purple, orange, red, yellow & blue colors that are splashed across the sky when the sun sets in Africa.
- Alli
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