You can take the westerner out of the west, but... We watched television during breakfast, Nate checked his email account for the first time since we left the States, we realized we forgot to take our malaria pills yesterday, and we both ordered good-ole eggs and toast with breakfast.
Tomorrow is our last day. I'm looking forward to wearing western styles again, and to wearing my real wedding ring!
We packed everything so we could check out of the hotel and store our luggage before breakfast. We had a list of things we wanted to do on our last day in Stonetown - namely some souvenir shopping and seeing a few last sites.
Breakfast:
Cardamom spiced donut hole w/ powdered sugar, coffee w/ milk, poached eggs, toast, one mini banana, strawberry yoghurt
After breakfast we walked to Msumbi Coffees, which is a little cafe/roaster we'd read about in one of the guide books. It's a neat little shop - very nicely designed and slightly upscale in contrast to the surrounding neighborhood. We got a quick coffee lesson from the shopkeeper and then ordered two cups and bought some coffee beans to bring home with us. You heard correctly: TWO cups! Nate the non coffee drinker had some!
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| msumbi coffees |
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| Nate drinking coffee - you're seeing it in the flesh, people! |
This part of Stonetown was very interesting. There was not much street activity but there seemed to be a lot of remodeling going on.
After coffee we went back to a t-shirt shop Nate noticed the day before. He wanted to buy a Zanzibar soccer (ahem, I mean football) jersey and a kanga for Kate. We considered buying a nativity for Mommy but decided it wasn't her style. We made our purchases then dropped them back off with our luggage at the hotel.
Our next destination was the market we saw on the first day. It was morning so the market was busy. We weaved our way through the crowds trying to avoid hustlers. Nate bought some sea salt and I finally got to buy a breadfruit (ahem, I mean a Zanzibari apple) with the last 200 Tsh coin I had on me. I hid it in my bag to try later.
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| Anglican Cathedral |
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| slaves were imprisoned in subterranean chambers that frequently flooded with sea water |
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| 50 men, 75 women and children were forced to crouch here for several days awaiting sale in the slave market |
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| The caption reads: This crucifix, made from the wood of the tree under which Dr Livingstone died at Chitambo Village, Ilala, Zambia, in 1873, and under which his heart is buried, was presented to the Diocese of Zanzibar in 1901 |
The cathedral is now a monument to the work done to end the slave trade in Zanzibar. The work they have done to preserve the structure and turn relics of abuse into monuments of hope is very moving. You can find more information on the cathedral here.
As we were saying our thanks and goodbyes to our guide, he told us about a ferry accident that had taken place yesterday evening. He was surprised that we didn't already know about it but said it probably wasn't anything to worry about.
We wandered back toward another Indian restaurant we had decided to keep on our list for lunch. It was a smallish restaurant but it had really beautiful high ceilings.
Lunch:
Sweet lassi, potato in curry sauce, beans in curry sauce (are you sensing a theme?), spicy tomato based soup, rice, roti, and chapati
side note: the lassi was served with crushed ice, which we've been trying to avoid. We didn't even think about it, drank the lassi, then realized our mistake and got pretty worried. Fortunately nothing happened and we're both just fine - not to mention glad we tried the lassi!
After lunch we had one more stop to make: we had read about bungo juice and remembered seeing it on the menu at Clove Garden so we headed back there with our fingers crossed. No luck: it was apparently out of season. Now we have a reason to come back to Zanzibar!
We were still a little worried about the ferry so we headed back to the hotel to see if we could get any news about it. There was a line for the hotel computer with internet access, so while we waited we ordered a"margherita" pizza and a Stoney Tangawezi.
The ferry service website indicated that the ferry was still running. The latest news reports indicated that there were 31 dead, including one foreigner. I can't help but wonder how people die in these types of accidents. I realize how ignorant this is. The boat doesn't sink instantaneously, so do they somehow get trapped? Perhaps they didn't know how to swim? Maybe they do know how but they are drowned by another person who cannot?
Even though the ferry website seemed to show everything running on time we decided we should go ahead to the dock just in case.
We walked to the ferry port, and noticed as soon as we got to the waterfront that something was different. The harassment stopped, as did activity in general. Everyone was quiet and we soon noticed that most everyone was lined up along the waterfront facing the ferry dock. At least 100 people were crowded on the dock, all facing the same direction. We knew it had to be related to the ferry accident, but we couldn't tell if it was a debrief, a ceremony, a group of delayed travelers, or something else altogether.
As we approached the ferry gate we could see a large crowd of travelers, some foreigners some locals, waiting outside the gate. It was clear that some had been waiting a while. Some were snacking, some were sitting on their suitcases or had taken off their backpacks, some were even reading paperbacks.
I wandered around the back of the crowd a bit to see if I could overhear a conversation and get an idea of what was going on. Soon I heard a girl about my age ask another if she knew why we were all waiting. I walked over and asked if I could hear the response, too. She said she wasn't sure but she thought the delay must surely be related to the accident. She said she'd seen bodies being carried from the dock through the gate.
We continued to wait, getting bits of rumored information here and there. Soon an official-looking person came through the gates, stood on a bollard, and made several announcements in Swahili first and then English. He assured us that the ferry would depart, but it would be an hour behind schedule. Not knowing the local politics we weren't sure if this information was trustworthy but we waited to see what would happen next.
I couldn't help noticing a familiar-looking man wearing a pink button-down shirt. He looked so familiar but I just couldn't place him. Finally I pointed him out to Nate who immediately said, "Oh sure. That's Mario van Peebles and that's his father, Melvin. He directed Baadasssss and a bunch of other cool stuff." It never ceases to amaze me how much Nate can store up there.
Soon the official came back out and announced that they would allow the elderly and families with children to enter the gate but would not yet be allowed on the boat.
At 4:15 we were finally allowed through the gate. There was a lot of confusion at immigration but we tried to be patient and we eventually got to the window with our papers. While we waited, emergency workers walked by carrying bodies covered in heavy black plastic and carried on stretchers. The area within the gates was a flurry of activity - uniformed men and women, including medical professionals and regular and military police. There were some workers standing around idly, while others were rushing about. Some were chatting and laughing while others were somber. I only saw one man who was visibly distraught. He was holding another man's hand. There was more confusion over baggage check, but we boarded smoothly and by 4:40 we pulled away from the dock.
By the time we reached the mainland things seemed to have calmed down again. There was the usual ruckus over luggage unloading. Mario (we're on a first name basis now) offered to help me with my bags. I swore I was going to be cool if he talked to me but I blew it as usual.
We caught a cab (by way of a middle man/fixer - very tricky) back to the hotel. It was a long ride full of roadside peddlers selling absolutely anything you could imagine. Need some glossy reading material? No problem. Some folding chairs? Choose a color. Novelty blow-up palm trees? Why, we were on our way to pick up a pair anyway - how convenient!
We checked into our room - a different room from ten days ago - and immediately wanted to bust out the breadfruit and give it a try! My trusty pocket knife came in handy to cut through the hard outer peel. We decided it tasted like sweet tarts. Worried about stinking up the hotel, we wrapped the remains in plastic and snuck it outside to toss it in a public garbage can.
We wandered around briefly before heading to supper. How exciting that we have the whole day ahead of us tomorrow to see Dar!
We discovered a boisterous restaurant called The Waterfront outside of our hotel. It appeared to be popular with expats, western workers, and stray cats. We decided it would be a good spot for supper. While we ate we witnessed the most dramatic tide we've ever seen. More on that tomorrow.
Supper:
2 Tuskers, Nate ordered kebabs, Sydney had a fruit dessert for supper!
We were still a little worried about the ferry so we headed back to the hotel to see if we could get any news about it. There was a line for the hotel computer with internet access, so while we waited we ordered a"margherita" pizza and a Stoney Tangawezi.
The ferry service website indicated that the ferry was still running. The latest news reports indicated that there were 31 dead, including one foreigner. I can't help but wonder how people die in these types of accidents. I realize how ignorant this is. The boat doesn't sink instantaneously, so do they somehow get trapped? Perhaps they didn't know how to swim? Maybe they do know how but they are drowned by another person who cannot?
Even though the ferry website seemed to show everything running on time we decided we should go ahead to the dock just in case.
We walked to the ferry port, and noticed as soon as we got to the waterfront that something was different. The harassment stopped, as did activity in general. Everyone was quiet and we soon noticed that most everyone was lined up along the waterfront facing the ferry dock. At least 100 people were crowded on the dock, all facing the same direction. We knew it had to be related to the ferry accident, but we couldn't tell if it was a debrief, a ceremony, a group of delayed travelers, or something else altogether.
As we approached the ferry gate we could see a large crowd of travelers, some foreigners some locals, waiting outside the gate. It was clear that some had been waiting a while. Some were snacking, some were sitting on their suitcases or had taken off their backpacks, some were even reading paperbacks.
I wandered around the back of the crowd a bit to see if I could overhear a conversation and get an idea of what was going on. Soon I heard a girl about my age ask another if she knew why we were all waiting. I walked over and asked if I could hear the response, too. She said she wasn't sure but she thought the delay must surely be related to the accident. She said she'd seen bodies being carried from the dock through the gate.
We continued to wait, getting bits of rumored information here and there. Soon an official-looking person came through the gates, stood on a bollard, and made several announcements in Swahili first and then English. He assured us that the ferry would depart, but it would be an hour behind schedule. Not knowing the local politics we weren't sure if this information was trustworthy but we waited to see what would happen next.
I couldn't help noticing a familiar-looking man wearing a pink button-down shirt. He looked so familiar but I just couldn't place him. Finally I pointed him out to Nate who immediately said, "Oh sure. That's Mario van Peebles and that's his father, Melvin. He directed Baadasssss and a bunch of other cool stuff." It never ceases to amaze me how much Nate can store up there.
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| stalking Mario van Peebles |
At 4:15 we were finally allowed through the gate. There was a lot of confusion at immigration but we tried to be patient and we eventually got to the window with our papers. While we waited, emergency workers walked by carrying bodies covered in heavy black plastic and carried on stretchers. The area within the gates was a flurry of activity - uniformed men and women, including medical professionals and regular and military police. There were some workers standing around idly, while others were rushing about. Some were chatting and laughing while others were somber. I only saw one man who was visibly distraught. He was holding another man's hand. There was more confusion over baggage check, but we boarded smoothly and by 4:40 we pulled away from the dock.
The ferry ride was rough and extremely windy, and a lot of people were nervous. One group of men sat huddled together on the floor for most of the ride. We started on the roof deck but found our way into the cabin after about an hour fighting the cold wet gusts.
By the time we reached the mainland things seemed to have calmed down again. There was the usual ruckus over luggage unloading. Mario (we're on a first name basis now) offered to help me with my bags. I swore I was going to be cool if he talked to me but I blew it as usual.
We caught a cab (by way of a middle man/fixer - very tricky) back to the hotel. It was a long ride full of roadside peddlers selling absolutely anything you could imagine. Need some glossy reading material? No problem. Some folding chairs? Choose a color. Novelty blow-up palm trees? Why, we were on our way to pick up a pair anyway - how convenient!
We checked into our room - a different room from ten days ago - and immediately wanted to bust out the breadfruit and give it a try! My trusty pocket knife came in handy to cut through the hard outer peel. We decided it tasted like sweet tarts. Worried about stinking up the hotel, we wrapped the remains in plastic and snuck it outside to toss it in a public garbage can.
We wandered around briefly before heading to supper. How exciting that we have the whole day ahead of us tomorrow to see Dar!
We discovered a boisterous restaurant called The Waterfront outside of our hotel. It appeared to be popular with expats, western workers, and stray cats. We decided it would be a good spot for supper. While we ate we witnessed the most dramatic tide we've ever seen. More on that tomorrow.
Supper:
2 Tuskers, Nate ordered kebabs, Sydney had a fruit dessert for supper!
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