Moyo Yangu iko Zanzibar, bado...

Okay this is the last of three post about the trip to the pwani- sorry there is alot to talk about, and i even have more to say then i can post...
(Oh Yeah- why dont you guys make some comments- i would LOVE to hear from you!)

So 16-7-08 started our second day in Zanzibar. Woke up early, feeling a little crispy. We boarded the bus and headed for the Kasri (palace) ya Maruhubi. The palace burned down in 1899, but i did not catch the cause. However there were alot of mango trees that surrounded the outside of the magofu (ruins) and it ends up that they are actually from India. The ruins were right by a beach where guys were building huge ships. Here we talked to the tour guide and he told us some methali's (proverbs) like: usisafari nyota ya mwenzia. Methali are very big here and are shown on kanga's which are the customary dress for women. This methali translates to something like do not travel on your friends star.

After this we checked out a shamba la viungo (spice farm). Pretty typical trip for tourists, but it was fun because we got to travel all through this huge farm and taste all the different spices from the trees and plants like cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, cinnamon, and menthol. My favorite was the clove because it was kali (strong!) and made my tongue go numb. The turmeric, which looked like a carrot stained our hands and teeth, haha. Kids followed us as we walked, making us little accessories out of leaves, like hats, glasses, bracelets, bags, etc...very cool. It started to rain pretty hard so we waited under a covering of this one house for second, but since it kept drizzling we got big leaves from a banana plant and used them as umbrellas- great idea, right! At the end of the tour we sat around and got to eat a bunch of different fruit: star fruit, oranges, jack fruit, "pud fruit" i dont no what is was but it was like custard, and more.

After this we had free time for lunch and whatever else which was awesome. Grabbed lunch at a Chinese place, weird right? but it was good. and then out of boredom we started haggling with the local vendors who walk around trying to sell things. THis guy was selling sunglasses and he wanted me to buy them, so i greeted him then proceeded to punguza bei (lower the price). He wanted TS 15, 000 (like $15) for these sunglasses but i got the price down to TS 5,000. They are like huge rockstar glasses, right on. (BTW did you know that Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar?!) After this we made our way to the beach where Cara proceeded to buy the ugliest dashikis ever. The boys put them on and we headed to find a bar. On the way we ran into my friend Patrick. We told him we were looking for a bar with a bei rahisi (easy/low price) he proceeded to take us to the Starehe- this divey bar behind some shops. The bar was outside and mostly locals hung out there. Some people were thrown off by the boys who wore wazungu shirts but were actually speaking Swahili well. Good times. Then we saw two students, Mike and Vivian, walking by on the beach, and the boys got up on the ledge and started screaming WAZUNGU! I thought it was funny, but i think Mike and Vivian were a little embarrassed.

For dinner we ate at Monsoon- restaurant with Swahili cuisine. High prices, bad service, and hot as hell in there- not my favorite place. After this we went to the Old Fort for the ZIFF again and before the music started they announced a shindano la dansi (dance competition!) Cara got on stage and danced, it was awesome.

The next day 17-07-08 was our last day in ZNZ. We started by checking out the Jozani- Chwaka Bay National Park. Saw some monkeys and some awesome mangrove trees. There are three different kinds on mangroves here. One was the mkoko magondi, or the long legged mangrove, this was my favorite one, i think i could relate to it... SO after this we went to Paje beach and ate lunch and hung out on the beach. After we headed back, to Stone Town. On the way back Cara blew chunks on the side of the bus- :( i think it was food related. However her little bug kept her from going out on out last night, so i lost one of my partners in crime.

So got back and got ready for dinner. As i walked down the street i passed the alley where my friend Patrick works and of course he was there. We ended up going to the Starehe were we coincidentally ran into Cody, Nikki, and Dan! I love when that happens, and we hung out. Good times. Its cool when you realize you can sit down with people and talk, tell stories, and joke in another language. We ended up going to the Fish market again for dinner because it was quick, cheap, lots of locals, and next to the Old Fort- perfect! First i sat down with some guys at a little table hidden in the back of the market where they were drinking Tangawizi Chai (ginger tea) is was kali for sure, but real good. Went to the Old Fort after and danced and drank some Tusker (my favorite beer here). Very fun. WE ended up going to the disco at like 2:30 am and danced some more (tilicheza dansi usiku kucha- we danced all night!)

The next day hurt having only 2 hours of sleep and the boat ride from hell. We were sitting inside of this boat and the ride was real choppy- people were losing it all over the place, barf bags were flying- not fun. And this ride happened to take like an hour longer than the one to the island. After, we TRIED to eat breakfast in Dar, and then we hopped on the bus for our travel back to Arusha. All in all i think we traveled for 15+ hours.

Anyway, i loved the trip to the Pwani! Zanzibar is fun and i want to go back already. I am lucky to not have gotten sick at all or have gotten anything stolen. Sorry for writing so much, i wonder if any one will actually read all of this!
SIKU NJEMA!