Zanzibar

[onlyMark]

The rooms and grounds of our place. Note the bed is lower. Don't note the untidy nature of our room, we needed to stretch out and sort our kit out a bit –

[questa]

You have my sympathies over the duel with "Joe". It can sour a trip to have to argue with non-cooperative idiots, specially when you have just arrived after a long haul flight.
In Almaty, Kazakhstan I arrived at 3am, 2 hours late to be told my room was not ready. As I had already paid for the previous day to cover a late arrival I got a bit stroppy. The guy was not familiar with bookings, he was the night watchman and had little English.
So I picked a sofa in the lobby, collected a cushion, grabbed my all purpose sarong as a cover and slept on my documents.
When the office opened at 7am I refused to get up (thus messing up their lobby)until they brought me a cup of coffee and refunded the previous night's payment.

[onlyMark]

We'll go for another walk anyway -
























This game, played by the girls, is what we would know as pig in the middle. The two outside participants needed to hit the middle one with a ball for positions to swap. It actually was played with humour but seriously and they'd obviously done it a lot –

[onlyMark]

More beach and sea and beach side properties. Many again we stopped at for a drink or lunch –

[bjd]

I'm not much of a fan of going to beaches but those certainly look pleasant.

What you called "pig in the middle" we used to call "British bulldog".

[kerouac2]

I've seen the Indian Ocean from various angles over the years (Mauritius, Durban, Mombasa, Djibouti, Aden, Maldives, Muscat, Chennai, Pondicherry, Phuket...) and it is my favourite ocean. However, when I see the scenes of the northwestern Indian Ocean, I am always looking on the horizon for those pirates who have made such a name for themselves.

One thing about that part of the world -- it seems to have the most blindingly white fine sand. I always love seeing it.

[onlyMark]

It's different bjd to the game I know as British Bulldog. Though you may call it that, no problem.
For me, British Bulldog is where one person stands in the middle, everyone else stands to one side. It is usually played in a restricted area. The outside people have to pass to the other side of the area without being caught by the middle person. Anyone caught has to then also stay in the middle. Multiple runs back and forth makes more and more people be caught until there is just one person left trying to get to the other side.
It is now banned in British schools as being too violent.

"...it seems to have the most blindingly white fine sand. I always love seeing it."
Which sometimes is quite difficult with a high sun. Plenty of squinting needs to be done. I think I mentioned somewhere I didn't bring any sunglasses. I certainly needed them.

[bjd]

Okay, you are right, Mark. What you describe sounds like British Bulldog. I did think there was a ball in there somewhere but your description sounds more correct. We used to play it in the schoolyard and I don't remember it as being particularly violent.

[onlyMark]

You weren't brought up where I was.

[kerouac2]

I think it is just called dodgeball in the United States.

[questa]

This is a sensational set of pictures, Mark. All the different shades of blue in the sky and sea and the long empty beach with the surprisingly clean sands. The solitude and spaciousness is almost overwhelming and the beach front buildings nestle among the palms and creepers in a timeless way.

Your photos should earn you a place on the Zanzibar Tourist Board...

[kerouac2]

I have to admit that I am waiting for the photos of fragments of MH370 on the beach.

[onlyMark]

The last bit then to finish this off. In three weeks I'll be in Sri Lanka, we'll see if I can be bothered to take any photos.

The last day we had a final walk round Stone Town before the flight home in the evening. As we left the last hotel Joe said goodbye to us, said he wouldn't want me to be his employer and his parting words were, "Love ya guys!"
Since then, whenever Mrs M or the daughter are having a bad moment I always say to them, "Don't forget. Life isn't so bad. Joe loves us!" –












On the way to the airport –

[onlyMark]

Zanzibar airport could be a little better, to put it mildly. After checking in we went to the waiting area as we were asked to do so, before security/immigration, as afterwards there is little space at the gate.
It was on the roof.
Luckily the sun was going down and it had a nice breeze.
As we waited we noticed, in fact you couldn't not notice them, a large group who had been approached by a worker for Mango Air. They were shouting at him "You're lying! Tell us the truth for once!" and "Liar, liar!" (pants on fire?)

It turns out they were to fly to Johannesburg from Zanzibar that morning with Mango. The plane had broken down and they had to wait for another one – 12 hours ago. Their bags were all checked in etc and they had to wait on the roof without food or water since then. Some, I know, had just gone back into town for a meal, most though were still waiting.
The eruption happened after several broken promises had occurred and they were now being told their replacement plane would arrive not for another five hours.
Oh dear. I'd have led a revolt and taken over the airport.
So, this is it. The waiting area.
We had about an hour there and flew home –





Next report whenever.............

[tod2]

Jan 5, 2018 6:29:44 GMT onlyMark said:

Also generally if you pay a bill using a credit card, an extra 5% will be charged.

Damn crooks! As a business person I know full well that when you approach a bank for card facilities(machine), a rate is negotiated on what they will charge you. I have a very good rate because we are busy and put through dozens of transactions every day. The only two cards we don't take ( and neither do most traders except big places like Woolworths) are Diners Club and American Express, simply because their rate is almost double.
Adding on another percentage is blatant crookery.

Mark, I have had no internet for a week so missed posting anything about your terrific report.
My honest impression is that you have a fascination for the unusual. I do too but not in a way that exposes my eyes to decrepit buildings and my nostrils to stinky markets. I have that right here at home and tend to try and run a mile.
The beach is pure Mozambique - the maintained buildings look superb.
I admire your travel curiosity and thank you for showing me somewhere I definitely won't be going to. Good on yer mate!

[onlyMark]

I can photograph tourist attractions until the cows come home, but that isn't the thing I'm so interested in. I'll always try and get a few shots of them but normally I tend to veer away to the rough bits.
I'm thinking of inventing smell-o-forum so you can all share in my travels. You'd have to have your windows open though.

[mossie]

Spare us Mark. The smell has come through loud and clear in your report already.

[onlyMark]

You remember when your pilot had the shits and would fart in the cockpit?
Well, imagine you are the pilot of a commercial airliner and all the passengers had the shits.

Then triple it.

[tod2]

Does "Shit Hole" ring a recent bell....I'm sure somebody described parts of Africa like that.

[onlyMark]

I'd love to see him walking round the fish market.

[questa]

Could you tell the difference between him and a barracuda? Barracudas could make a nice pet, I suppose.

"The barracuda is a ray-finned fish known for its large size, fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour." Wiki.

[bixaorellana]

Looks as though the Mark family wound up having a most satisfying vacation --history, culture, & beach time. You all certainly covered a lot of ground.

On the previous page, is the stuff identified as "old building material" fossilized coral?

[onlyMark]

Yes, it could be being re-used from a previous build rather than freshly dug out of somewhere.
We did notice when snorkelling at a reef that 80% of it was dead though.

[tod2]

This is why Mark.
Major coral bleaching. This occurs during high sea surface temperatures associated with El Nino – a warm extreme weather pattern. But other factors such as cold conditions, elevated solar radiations and pollution have been found to cause minor coral bleaching at local scale.
Coral along Tanzania’s coastline is being affected.

For example, the 1997-1998 global coral bleaching event caused mortalities of up to 80% in some of Tanzania’s reefs. This worldwide bleaching event was caused by elevated sea surface temperature due to El Nino. Sea surface temperatures were 2°C higher than average (over 30°C).

The Misali and Tutia reefs in Pemba and Mafia Islands were the most affected with about 90% of these reefs suffering coral mortality.

Normally prolonged bleaching events lead to coral mortality (deaths) because the provider of food - photosynthetic algae – is no longer there to play its role. Most of these reefs have not recovered and there is no hope for them to recover completely.

Another bleaching event occurred in 2016 between February and June along the Tanzanian coast. Like previous events, this was caused by high sea surface temperatures due to El Niño. But this one didn’t cause much mortality. Few coral mortalities were observed in reefs in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Most coral recovered and are now in good health.

While these were two significant coral bleaching events, there are also minor seasonal bleaching events. These are not recorded and occur between February and June as these are the hottest months in Tanzania.

Mark another factor could also be that Stone Town Reef is probably the most visited corals in Zanzibar by snorkelers. Is that where you were?
There are very vigilant tour operators on snorkel outings on The Great Barrier Reef, and if you were found standing on the coral you got a huge dressing down. It is a big No No.
Maybe not so strict in Zanzibar?.

[onlyMark]

Tod, thanks for all that information. I'll pass it on to Mrs M as she was most concerned. I was as well, but she was quite put out.
The reef we went to was not near Stone Town as was on the other side of the coast. However, if you remember a photo or two earlier, it was very busy as it is close to the top of the island where many resorts are.
We were warned about touching or standing on it, probably because we went with a professional outfit. No doubt there are less reputable firms who aren't bothered.

[lugg]

Fascinating thank you Mark. To be honest I already kind of knew that Stone Town would not be a place for me ( or not as a solo traveller anyway - Questa I am in awe and looking forward to your report later this year ) and ....your photos confirmed it but that did not stop me from enjoying it vicariously through your report. I also kind of knew that the beaches would be stunning and so they are from your photos - such lovely shades of blue and white. I was keen to know what your experiences of the reef and snorkelling etc. were ; sad to read that rising sea temps have affected it to as so many other reefs across the world.
No mention of / memorials to Freddie ?

[onlyMark]

There are a few little places in Stone Town that refer to him, but nothing much at all really.

With the snorkelling, there are still many, many fishes things and other creatures, but I do wonder how many there would have been had all the coral been alive.

[questa]

OnlyMark, Is it worth the time, hassle and expense to make a side trip to see Mt Kilimanjaro? It would mean a return flight to Arusha or kili airport, taxi and/or tour bus, 2 nights accom when I have already paid for nights in Zanzibar. I can't do any walks etc so I would just be going to see the Mountain from about 40km away.
At the same time I feel that if I don't go, I will miss seeing a World icon. Are there good post cards available in Zanzibar to help me decide? Do you know if any day tours do this trip?
(do you want payment in e-chocolate? )

[onlyMark]

You'd have to juggle with something like the PrecisionAir schedule to find the most convenient flights. I doubt very much if you could do it in a day at all.
Yes, it is an exceptional sight, but it wouldn't be worth the effort and expense for me unless I was going to climb it, thus taking several days anyway. Just looking at it from afar....... nope, don't really think it's worth it. There are day tours from Arusha where you walk the first part and back again, but flying over/around it would be the best thing.
In answer to your last three questions - Probably, No, Yes.

Who are you flying with anyway for the last bit to Zanzibar? Maybe you could do a stop off on your return. I'm sure we had a view of it when we flew from Nairobi as it is just off to the side on a direct route.

[kerouac2]

I saw Kilimanjaro from Tsavo National Park in Kenya, and it was indeed a stunning sight. However, you really had to appreciate it not long after sunrise because it would completely disappear in the haze for the rest of the day as though there was no mountain there at all. I don't know if viewing it from the Tanzanian side presents the same problem.