When we arrived in Zanzibar it was over 35C. It took us about an hour to travel from the airport to the Blue Bay Beach Resort. It was very noticeable along the route that the houses in this part of Tanzania were much better than those we had seen in Kenya and yet the little village shops and "hotels" were just as shabby and surrounded by rubbish. Most of the houses are built on the fringes of banana plantations and the roads were lined by enormous Mango trees.
They gave us an upgraded room at the hotel but unfortunately it was up a steep hill and we decided because Dave found it difficult to climb in the heat (well 2 heart attacks what do you expect) we should not unpack until we had negotiated a room closer to the main complex. Reception were very kind and we did get the room of our choice.
As you can see the pool was fantastic, they even had a Jacuzzi on one side. Diners were served around the pool at night and the staff had to erect windbreaks each evening as the breeze off the sea could be quite strong.
The accommodation was excellent but the general demeanour of the staff was lacking - charisma by-pass I called it. Not the same exhuberance shown by staff in Kenya. The General Manager made himself known to us and his name was Kostas - now our second home as
far as holidays go is Greece and Kostas came from Corfu which is just a spit away from our favorite Island of Paxos. It was nice to be able to mix a little Greek with our limited Swahili. We were also able to mix a little of our improving French on a visiting magician who came from Paris. Multi lingual thats us.
far as holidays go is Greece and Kostas came from Corfu which is just a spit away from our favorite Island of Paxos. It was nice to be able to mix a little Greek with our limited Swahili. We were also able to mix a little of our improving French on a visiting magician who came from Paris. Multi lingual thats us.
The beach was beautiful with no local souvenir traders to ruin its peace. Impossible to sit on the sand though as it was just too hot.
The one on the near right was our room, just look at that Bougainvillea, why can't I grow it like that?
We went on a couple of trips whilst in Zanzibar. We visited the spice growing area and tasted the various spices and fruits,. It was fascinating to see how they grow. I had no idea that vanilla pods grew on a vine or that cumin seed pods splay out from the root of a very attractive palm-type plant. Our guide cut a slice of fresh ginger for us and the taste was incredible. We were treated to a variety of teas made from, ginger, mixed spices, and lemon grass. The fresh pineapple and mangos were dripping off our chins mmmmmmmm!
Our second trip was to the Johazi Forest where the Red Colobus monkeys live. This is the only place in the world where you can find the Red Colobus. They were so tame we could virtually shake hands. The were living alongside Sykes Monkeys in a lush tropical paradise.
Down the track from the area where the monkeys lived we were escorted through a Mangrove Swamp, we have often seen pictures of these places but to be actually in such an area was quite an experience. The humidity was overpowering, we were both soaked to the skin after only five minutes walk.
Nice feeling though, a bit like the feeling you get at the end of a good hard workout in the gym - yes I can still remember what that was like.
Anyway thats all from Africa. We would still like to go back to Kenya but maybe the next holiday will be to Paxos because its some time since we have been back and our friends Terry and Kate live there now so we ought to look them up. That is the main problem with living here in France, it makes the journey times so much longer. It is easier for us to travel via London because for example if we want to fly from here to Corfu we have to go vie Paris, Amsterdam and Athens and the total journey time is in excess of 12 hours!
So the next post will be soon as we have our carnival in Bize at the week-end, weather permitting, it was delayed last year because of rain and it is possible we may see rain again this week.
Our son Chris and daughter in law Penny and granddaughter India have just bought an old village house (thanks to a little help from guess who) and they have been moving in this week-end so hopefully life will be getting back to normal for them soon. Daughter Tina will be on her way back from her job in the British Virgin Islands some time in April and none of us know what she will be doing next - watch this space.
