Zanzibar !!
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Epco
21 December 2017 | Tanzania, Stone Town
On the Thursday the 21st of December we woke up early at Kays Lodge, the holiday has started!
Using Uber, we managed to get a taxi to the harbour, Epco is still a bit worried if we will make it in time as Google maps indicates that it will take more than one hour to get to the harbour.
Because we drove around town, we arrive well in time at the Harbour. At the harbour it is always busy with travellers, sales people, taxi drivers, tourists and people walking by. And it seems that if you are a wazungu, everyone wants to talk to you to offer you their services or to sell something to you.
Between all the people we quickly found Maria as well and went looking for the entrance of the boat. Of course, many people wanted to help with this problem and with their help, we found the way to the boat waiting area. Before we arrived there, we had to show our tickets and have out luggage scanned through several x-ray machines and walk through a metal detector, not always sure if they were working. Eventually we got tired of saying no and two boys in official jackets helped us carrying our luggage to the crates which go in the luggage area of the boat. We gave the helpers a little tip (which was too little according to them, but we did not agree on a price) From the waiting area we entered the Kilimanjaro boat, a big catamaran boat, which is the quick ferry connection since a few years.
On board we first had to all sit in the seating area inside, but after we were on our way, the outside was opened. All three of us went outside for a breeze and some sunshine. After some time, the sun became too much for Epco, he went inside while Maria and Eirini enjoyed their conversation outside.
Once arrived in Stone Town Harbour (Zanzibar) we located our luggage again, said good bye to Maria and started walking into town. The walk was a bit heavy with our luggage, but Epco was tired of all the (expensive) offers of all the taxi drivers.
After a 20 minutes’ walk in the sun and some looking around, we located our hotel. We had booked this hotel on advice of the VSO Tanzania country director, she found it charming and local. It was indeed charming and local and a bit outdated. But we liked the atmosphere. We were a little bit concerned when we entered, because the property was for sale and the manager asked us if we could pay right away in dollars. We wanted first to have a look and promised him, we would pay tomorrow. One we located the room, we crashed on the bed and enjoyed the rest.
On our way to the hotel we did already noticed a nice breakfast spot and we decided to treat us ourselves on a nice lunch at Stone Town Café. Yogurt with fruits and muesli and fries. Refreshed we took a dive into downtown Stone Town, with all the different shops, old Arabic buildings and a lot of atmosphere! We visited the old German fortress and saw some nice painting shops in there. As every tourist in Stone Town, we received a lot of attention from the shop owners, almost pulling us from the street into their stall or shop. We were amazed by all the nice ‘local’ things we could buy, much more than we had seen so far in Tanzania.
In the evening we found ourselves a nice restaurant with local Zanzibar food (Lukmaan) We choose food by pointing at it and our waiter was really explaining everting. During dinner we reflected on the first impressive day in Zanzibar and started writing some postcards which we bought.
Using Uber, we managed to get a taxi to the harbour, Epco is still a bit worried if we will make it in time as Google maps indicates that it will take more than one hour to get to the harbour.
Because we drove around town, we arrive well in time at the Harbour. At the harbour it is always busy with travellers, sales people, taxi drivers, tourists and people walking by. And it seems that if you are a wazungu, everyone wants to talk to you to offer you their services or to sell something to you.
Between all the people we quickly found Maria as well and went looking for the entrance of the boat. Of course, many people wanted to help with this problem and with their help, we found the way to the boat waiting area. Before we arrived there, we had to show our tickets and have out luggage scanned through several x-ray machines and walk through a metal detector, not always sure if they were working. Eventually we got tired of saying no and two boys in official jackets helped us carrying our luggage to the crates which go in the luggage area of the boat. We gave the helpers a little tip (which was too little according to them, but we did not agree on a price) From the waiting area we entered the Kilimanjaro boat, a big catamaran boat, which is the quick ferry connection since a few years.
On board we first had to all sit in the seating area inside, but after we were on our way, the outside was opened. All three of us went outside for a breeze and some sunshine. After some time, the sun became too much for Epco, he went inside while Maria and Eirini enjoyed their conversation outside.
Once arrived in Stone Town Harbour (Zanzibar) we located our luggage again, said good bye to Maria and started walking into town. The walk was a bit heavy with our luggage, but Epco was tired of all the (expensive) offers of all the taxi drivers.
After a 20 minutes’ walk in the sun and some looking around, we located our hotel. We had booked this hotel on advice of the VSO Tanzania country director, she found it charming and local. It was indeed charming and local and a bit outdated. But we liked the atmosphere. We were a little bit concerned when we entered, because the property was for sale and the manager asked us if we could pay right away in dollars. We wanted first to have a look and promised him, we would pay tomorrow. One we located the room, we crashed on the bed and enjoyed the rest.
On our way to the hotel we did already noticed a nice breakfast spot and we decided to treat us ourselves on a nice lunch at Stone Town Café. Yogurt with fruits and muesli and fries. Refreshed we took a dive into downtown Stone Town, with all the different shops, old Arabic buildings and a lot of atmosphere! We visited the old German fortress and saw some nice painting shops in there. As every tourist in Stone Town, we received a lot of attention from the shop owners, almost pulling us from the street into their stall or shop. We were amazed by all the nice ‘local’ things we could buy, much more than we had seen so far in Tanzania.
In the evening we found ourselves a nice restaurant with local Zanzibar food (Lukmaan) We choose food by pointing at it and our waiter was really explaining everting. During dinner we reflected on the first impressive day in Zanzibar and started writing some postcards which we bought.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
