We took off shortly after sunrise and 1:45 hours later cruised up to ZanzibarTown dock. We deboarded, and an un-refereed scramble to reclaim our luggage ensued before we entered the terminal house to an even larger scrum of people. Even though Zanzibar is part of Tanzania, it retains a measure of independence which includes, apparently, “immigration” contol.
After a passport and visa review, Jo worked her way through a crowd of taxi-drivers eager for our business to find the van and driver sent by Casa del Mar Jambiani to pick us up. Pre-arranged transport by Jo was one of our better moves!
The ride out of town was, in one word, “hairy.” Besides driving on the left side of the road, British-style, our driver constantly dodged broken pavement, walkers, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, trucks and brahma cows. A horn toot appears to mean “Get outta my way, I’m coming through whether you like it or not!” Round-abouts are contests of will, or maybe a game played by rules unknown to foreigners. Note to self: NEVER ride a bike in Zanzibar! In fact, don’t drive a car, either.
An hour and a half later, our driver turned off the main road and waited for a gate to open. Then we pulled into Casa del Mar Jambiani, a little oasis on the ocean that we would call home for the next 5 days. It took several deep breaths, a nap, a few laughs and a beer to re-establish a travel chi. After busy Dar and a chaotic day of travel, Casa del Mar was just what we needed.
car ride is like going to six flags
can’t wait to hear about the next adventure
Some of those pics remind me of Morocco!
That beach looks quite nice…
Love the beach! That’s my kind of living…..
Jack – you made me laugh out loud! the scrum, the NOTE to self about not biking. tell Betsy i just got back from Chicago and am exhausted – and that with a reserved seat on the plane.