Zanzibar - Tanzania

I took so many photographs in Zanzibar it is impossible to put them all on here! So... sadly.. I have decided to put the photographs into small sections to sum up my beautiful week long trip there. I hope you enjoy them! 

The Sunsets

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... well here are five to show you just how absolutely phenomenal the sunsets are over there. It's breathtaking. Surreal. A dream that you just don't want to wake from. 

The Spice Farms

An absolute MUST if you ever go to Zanzibar... going on a local spice tour. It may seem a bit intimidating at first but it is so fascinating and you learn so much not only about spices and taste but also about the culture of the local muslims here and their way of life. What a treat! 

If you're ever there and your local guide asks you if you want to see Butterfly Man ( a man that climbs up a palm tree and sings to you), please don't say no like we were tempted to. We thought it would be a silly tourist gimmick but I am so glad that we decided to experience it. Yes. It is a man climbing up a palm tree and singing to you... but the palm tree is like......... forty feet high! Higher!!! He collects coconuts from the top (with no harness or safety provided for him) and he scales his way back down, dancing as he does so.. adding in the odd trick here and there showing his super-human strength balancing with one hand off of the side of the tree still way too high up for it to be safe!

He then cuts up the coconuts of different ages and explains the difference in each one. 

As it is a muslim community I must warn you to please show respect and cover up the shoulders, tummy and legs. While we were there (not on the spice farm, but in the country), two British girls were attacked with acid. Another was attached with a machete knife.  On that note....

The Locals

Barring what I just said... the locals are probably some of the friendliest people that I have ever met. 

Every person greets you and smiles and is so ready and willing to help. They remember your names and genuinely want to know how you are and what you have planned for the day. Their English is broken but you understand exactly what they mean by the way they communicate with their eyes and hands. They are just lovely. Warm and welcoming and protective of you! 

I went on three boat cruises in Zanzibar, all with the same captain. Captain Marco Polo. He is amazing!!!! Every day he'd have fresh lobster, King Fish, Calamari, Squid, Coconut Rice... it was all there for us every day and he'd cook it all up while we snorkled and swam around the area looking at the most beautiful coral that I have ever seen.  

If I can offer some advice here, just listen to the locals. They know what they are talking about. When they tell you that you need a guide to walk along the beach, listen to them. There are people called Beach Boys who will try and sell you things on the beach and can get quite aggressive if you keep refusing them or choose someone else over them. 

Barter with the locals. Half the price of whatever they are trying to sell you and go from there. It's a bit like Thailand in that respect and luckily I had experience with bartering in Thailand when I was 16 so it wasn't a completely new concept to me. 

The Ocean and it's Sea-Life 

It wouldn't be a lie if I told you I swam every single day that I was there. Sunset to sunrise, my hair was crispy with sea-salt and I had sand underneath my toes. It is how life should be - is it not? 

I was lucky enough to visit the Zanzibar Aquarium whilst there, where I saw such a gorgeous turtle environment and even got to hold a baby turtle that was barely 4 months old! I got to feed to bigger turtles too and stroke their beautiful shell homes. 

When we went out on the boats we saw dozens of dolphins swimming around our boat, playing with us in the lapping water. 

The ocean was a photoshopped kind of blue. It feels like a dream when you're looking out onto the horizon, a dream you really never want to wake up from. 

We snorkled with such beautiful fish, over the most beautiful coral. We fed the fish little bits of banana under the water (believe it or not, they love it!). It was all just too incredible for words.  

The Company 

When you travel it is absolutely essential to go with people that you can be yourself around, have fun with... people who bring the best out in you and are ready to embrace all that they country has to offer with you. If you have that - you are sure to have the absolute best time travelling. 

Zanzibar was AWESOME!!!!!! After one week it felt as though we had done two weeks there.. that is how much we fitted in with such a small amount of time to play with. 

We visited Stone Town but unfortunately it was Ramadaan so everything was closed. We had really wanted to get to the Freddy Mercury bar but alas.... we still had such a fantastic time! 

Cocktails and food were all inclusive so we literally just drank ourselves into a coma, ate until we very nearly popped and almost turned into wrinkly, dried up hobo's by the time we had to leave.