The combination of heat and humidity hit us immediately upon exiting the plane on the tarmac of the Zanzibar airport. We spent the next three hours wandering the maze of Stone Town streets.
The streets are full of life, mostly a relaxed life. Stone Town is one of the safest places to visit.
The main market is particularly colorful, divide into the outside market, the smelly fish market and the sheltered food market.
People are very easing going in Zanzibar, but they have a thing against taking their picture. One must either ask for permission or steal it.
In the evening we took the car to Matemwe, a beautiful village on the west coast, with one of the best and longest beaches on the island. Our lodge was owned and run by an Italian, quite pleasant and very good value for money, although they have to make significant efforts in improving customer service.
during the morning the tide is low and the beach is mostly occupied by children playing. they are very friendly and go crazy if you offer them candies. They are undoubtedly the best guides to walk you to the coral reef, navigating among the myriads of sea urchins.
In the afternoon, we took a walk to the village which is right behind the fences of the beach lodges. Matemwe is a beautiful village, offering an authentic view on Zanzibar’s everyday life.
Towards the end of the walk, we came across the football field where a local friendly game was taking place.
before the sunset, the beach becomes busy with fishermen that returned from a day in the sea, villagers that move between the south and north part of the village and kids playing by the sea side.
On our final day, we took a snorkeling trip to the nearby Mnemba island. The waters were relatively clear and we saw quite a number of fish but the highlight was a pod of dolphins that were passing by. We chased them for a while and managed to swim with them briefly.
It was a wonderful long and relaxing weekend, recharging batteries for the difficult business trip ahead. Indeed on the way back to Nairobi, the airport closed while we were approaching, because of a crash landing. We had to divert to Kilimanjaro international, spent the entire night on the couch in the lobby and take the morning flight back to Nairobi for a full week of 12-hour business meetings.