Posted by: Jonathan
We set up camp for a night along the beach in Dar es Salaam after two days of driving. I welcomed the sand as an updrade from the dust that has stained everything I own over the past week.
We set up camp for a night along the beach in Dar es Salaam after two days of driving. I welcomed the sand as an updrade from the dust that has stained everything I own over the past week.
We were given three free days to explore the coast and Zanzibar islands before the truck continued south. I wasted no time and took the first ferry across the next morning to Stonetown and began exploring the labyrinth of streets encroached by aging buildings.
That evening a group of us went out to dinner and watched the sun disappear behind the clouds.
Being that the restaraunt was tourist priced, myself and one other (believe it or not I am not the only budget boyfriend out there) just enjoyed the company and waited to eat at a local seafood market. At the market, there were tables of every kind of freshly caught seafood you could imagine. Once you picked out several pieces you bargained hard for a deal and then waited while it was cooked on a grill right before your eyes.
The next day I made my way up to Nungwi, the northern tip of Zanzibar island, and lounged on the beach for some time.
That afternoon our truck group got together and rented out a boat and did a snorkel/sunset/dinner cruise. I am definitely spoiled when it comes to snorkeling but the reef they took us to was less colorful than a black and white photo and less lively than a morgue. I spent my time perfecting my back flip instead of trying to spot a lone fish.
The next morning Alex (my Chilean tent mate that I was sharing a room with in Zanzibar) and I went on a two tank dive to the marine park around Mnemba Island. The visability was "only" 30 feet, we were told it was closer to 60 feet a few days before, but there were still an exceptional number of fish and a few types of corals tht I have never seen before. Sorry no underwater photos since Oprah 2.0 can't hold her breath.
Mnemba Island was nothing to scoff at either with a perfect circle of sand and a small green interior.
The rest of my free time I spent relaxing, reading, and walking on the beach.
The last free day was spent making the six hour journey back to the truck to camp at the same spot in Dar es Salaam by the beach. That night was one of the worst nights of sleep. For starters Alejandro and I rolled the dice that it wasn't going to rain and at 1 A.M. we were up trying to put on the rain fly in a torrential down pour. To make maters worse, our alarms went off at 3:20 A.M. since we had to pack the truck, make breakfast, and be ready to leave by 4:30 A.M. to head to Malawi