Zanzibar, Tanzania
We arrived in Zanzibar about 6:30 am and were cleared to go ashore at 7:00 am. This is a tender port and the ship controls the tendering process to be sure that the HAL tours can leave first. This requires a passenger, not on a HAL tour, to get a tender ticket and wait to be called to be the tender. This process has worked well and we have no concerns on this trip.
Today we plan to play golf at the only course on the island. Our tee time is 10am. It is about a 30 minute cab ride to the course and the tender ride with loading and unloading adds another 30 mins. We prepared to leave at 8 am.
85% chance of rain today but there is a bit of blue sky, especially towards the northern end of the island where the course is.
We boarded the tender and when we left there were a few drops of rain. No problem, we thought. By the time we arrived at the port there was a huge downpour. I couldn’t even see the northern end of the island. It looked like an all day rain. We decided to stay on the tender and return to the ship, put our clubs away and decide what to do.
The golf course allowed us to try again at 10 am the following day. Our dinner reservations at the Rock restaurant were for 6 pm and we decided to move that to 2 pm and have a late lunch instead of dinner. This would provide more of a view of the restaurant and surrounding area.
We took the tender back to the port and took the complementary shuttle to the downtown area. As soon as we got off the busses we were approached by many people about tours and transportation. I did ask a few about going to the Rock restaurant and back. $100 was the going rate. I knew I could do better with Uber so I gave a no thank you. Farther away from the crowd I was approached by another driver. $50 he said. We agreed to meet at 12:15 for the trip out to the Rock. It is only 38 miles but the estimated travel time is at least 90 minutes.
We have been to Zanzibar in the past and the “must see” things have already been done. Zanzibar, Tanzania, is another poor country where the average citizen lives in a run down house with a corrugated sheet metal roof. The roads are lined with business after business. The product for sale is in good shape but the building it is being sold out of is dirty, and looks like it should be torn down. In some areas, shop is set up near the edge of the road. No building, just a blanket with goods for sale on it. This is life in Tanzania and especially in Zanzibar.
We began to walk through the downtown area and stopped in some shops. A man wearing a garbage bag as a raincoat followed us. He kept pointing things out and told us what they were. I told him that we have seen Zanzibar before and didn’t need his help. That didn’t work and he kept following us from shop to shop. Terri kept thanking him and said we didn’t need his help. No avail. I finally told him that I had no cash. I didn’t bring any money. I also told him he didn’t look like he had a credit card reader under the garbage bag. He did finally leave us alone.
Terri sampled perfume, looked at jewelry and other items. Nothing we needed. As we walked back to meet the cab driver, a man held up a few t shirts that said Zanzibar. They were nice looking Adidas shirts and I asked how much. $20. I told him I’m not interested. “How much you give me?”, he asked. “5 dollars”, I said. I really wasn’t interested in the shirt. “No profit”, he said. We continued to walk. “Ok. Ok. $17 dollars”, he said. I told him no again. “What is your price”, he said. I maintained the 5 dollar stance through our entire conversation. “Ok. Ok. 10 dollars”. We continued. “Ok. Ok. 5 dollars”. I gave him the 5. He did ask for an extra dollar to buy a Coke. No luck with that request.
Our cab driver was waiting for us at the chosen meeting location. We climbed in and settled down for the ride. After 30 mins I noticed that we had only gone 4 miles. Traffic was terrible and the roads were beyond bad. Ditch after ditch. There were also speed bumps. No reason for them. The ditches served the same purpose. After an hour of driving we got to our first paved road. A brand new asphalt road. It was nice. I am guessing it was paid for by China as they continue to try to take over Africa.
We arrived at the restaurant at 2 pm. Our driver took us across the beach and waved to the restaurant. Soon, two men got into a boat and pushed themselves over with big sticks.
Lunch was fantastic. Typical African fare. I had steak on a stick and Terri had fish and rice. Great stuff. I talked with the owner after dinner and he said they built this in 2008 and the rent the “rock” that it sits on from 14 local families in the area. The rock is out in the water and is not owned by the government.
Our cab driver waited for us as we had lunch. About 90 mins. We finished lunch and went back to the city. The driver dropped us right off at the tender port. I gave him a $10 tip and his faced glowed like he won the lottery.
Back on the ship we went right to after dinner trivia. The theme was “currency”. What was the first currency? Which currency is worth the most? What is the origin of the $ before US currency? Thomas also posted photos of currency and we were to guess where it was from.. Not bad. Second place.
Evening entertainment was a group we had seen before. The Tanzanian Boys Circus.
Great show. All kinds of acrobatic stunts! 10!!!