Sunday: We drowsed in bed til 8, then hustled off to breakfast. Danielle, Casa del Mar hostess, had arranged a snorkel adventure for four of us and the boat would come by at 9:30 AM. The reef that protects Zanzibar lies about a mile off shore, with a long sandy flats between it and shore. When the tide is out, the flats are mostly exposed sand; at high tide,they're covered with a few feet of water and strong wave action. We had until 1 PM before the tide would come in.

When Joe & Beth and Betsy & I arrived at the beach, Hajddi, our guide, was waiting for us. We walked about 1/4 mi. over the sandy flats to reach his boat, which was moored in shallow water. Hajddi is 32 years old, from Jambiani, with 2 children, operating his family's boat. Like many of the local craft, it is a dhow–a narrow wooden boat with outriggers and a mountable sail. He had a helper, also named Hajddi (“Hajddi 2”), to pole the dhow out to deeper water and help raise the mast and sail.

Everything about Haddji's dhow is local, employing native technology. It is made on Zanzibar from mango tree; it is joined with handcut mortise & tenon joints; the outriggers (also mango wood) are attached to horizontal poles that are themselves lashed with rope; the mast is bamboo, the sail lightweight canvas. The mast never actually seats into the boat itself–it is held aloft with a rope, while the bottom simply braces against a vertical strut anchored into the boat. If the sail fills with side wind that threatens to tip over the dhow, Hajddi controls the rudder while Hajddi 2 jumps onto the opposite outrigger and leans outward, bracing with a rope, until the dhow levels out.

Only Westerners corn-raised on cars, computers and air conditioning would be amazed by such elemental technology–hey, that describes us. It was a great ride, and we jumped at the chance to grab the rope and help hoist the heavy mast and sail. After 20 min. we could see large waves breaking on the reef edge 1/4 mile ahead, so we anchored, put on our fins and masks, and dove into the water. The snorkeling was fine, with clear water, bright orange starfish, large serrated clams and a few fish species. No, it didn't compare to Roatan or Hawaii for plentiful brightly colored fish. But those places didn't have a dhow to deliver us to the reef!