Getting to Zanzibar and Matemwe Beach

After so many days of hiking and camping, we took a day to relax in Moshi.  Then, we boarded a Kilimanjaro Express bus and made our way to Dar es Salaam.  We had the night near the port after buying our ferry tickets for the following morning.  The assumption was that it would be similar to the ferries in Mozambique, but we were completely wrong.  

We arrived at the port with plenty of time to spare.  There were tons of people outside and once we told them we had tickets they directed us inside.  We put our bags on a scanning conveyor belt and walked through the metal detector.  Then, we were funneled to the next checkpoint.  Tico managed to get through with his backpack, but I was sent to baggage check so he followed suit.  We were immediately directed over to the VIP luggage cart even though we insisted we weren’t special.  It didn’t matter what we said as they wanted our bags on that cart.  After significant force, they managed to get both of them on it. 

We went through the ticket checkpoint and then got our tickets punched.  The minute we entered the boat it felt like a completely different world.  We took the first 2 seats we saw, but someone came to check our tickets and directed us out of business class and into economy.  Most of the seats were taken, but we found 2 in the middle and made ourselves at home.  There was a safety briefing as if we were on an airplane and then we pushed away from the dock as the sun was rising.

We slowly moved through the bay and into the Indian Ocean.  They announced that the front deck was open and we moved out to get some fresh air.  We passed fishermen in their small boats and others in sail boats.  When we didn’t want any more wind, we went back inside to take a nap until we arrived.

 

They unloaded the boat and we went through immigrations even though we hadn’t entered a new country.  I asked why and the official told me it was because the government requested it.  We had a hotel to walk towards as we’d coordinated a spot to meet up with Margaret, our next visitor.  People tried to direct us to different places, but we tried to follow the route to where we needed to be.  The streets of Stone Town have no order and they appear to be more alleyways rather than streets.  They wrap around the buildings that were built almost on top of each other.  We walked down some that looked like they led to someone’s home and others that landed us at a dead end.  We tried to follow the GPS, but took a few wrong turns getting there.  Once we reached the dot on the map, it turned out it was the wrong spot.  Thankfully, it was only a few blocks away and someone directed us to the right place.  

 

We dropped our bags and grabbed breakfast at a nearby local restaurant.  Margaret would get in around midday so we went back to the room to rest up before her arrival.  Before we knew it, there was a knock on the door and she was ready to spend a week with us on the island.  We headed into Stone Town to find a place to get lunch.  There was a spot not too far away that let us sit down and catch up.  It’d been over 8 months since we’d all seen each other so there was a lot to talk about.

 

After lunch, we took advantage of the juice bar next door and got concoctions made from fresh fruit.  We took them with us as we wandered around the streets and headed towards the beach.  There were touts trying to sell us different things, but we walked away from the town and most of the civilization.  The beach was mostly empty as the area inland was occupied by large hotels.  We found a place that served alcohol as the island is mostly Muslim and not all locations offer special beverages.  The sun set over the ocean as we continued to tell stories and talked about a possible plan for the coming days.

 

 

The next morning we checked out of our hotel even though we didn’t know exactly where we were going.  The decision had been made to get out of Stone Town and enjoy the beach and that was enough of a plan.  We walked towards the port and found a shady spot to leave the bags.  Tico stayed behind while Margaret and I went in search of information about boats to Pemba and Mombasa.  We found out when the ferries left for Pemba and learned that getting to Kenya by boat was not the best option.  

 

 

After reuniting with Tico, we asked the men playing checkers under the same shade tree where to find the daladala station.  We got directions, but one of the men having an espresso overheard and offered to drive us there.  At first, we declined as we assumed he would overcharge us, but it turned out that he needed to be in the general direction and was willing to offer us a deal.  We took advantage of it and enjoyed the 1.5 hour relaxed ride through the island’s farmland and villages.  

 

Our driver was willing to help us find a place to stay as well, which we wouldn’t have gotten with a daladala.  He stopped at one place in Matemwe that we thought would be reasonably priced, but loaded back into the car when we weren’t satisfied.  The next stop was at Keys Bungalows.  Although the owner wasn’t up for negotiating, we liked the location and decided to stay.  With our bags in the room, we went out in search of a restaurant for lunch.  

 

 

We asked a group that was outside of a house if there was a place nearby.  The man directed us back to where we’d come from and to a roundabout while his wife tried to communicate something else.  We started walking to where the man had pointed when we were called back.  After using our broken Swahili, we understood that she was willing to cook for us if we told her what we wanted.  She sent someone to the beach to get another person that spoke better English and we confirmed our menu as well as the price.  We were told to return in 45 minutes and went back to Keys to get a beer while we waited.  

 

Over than hour later, we went back to the house to find the food was still being prepared.  While this didn’t surprise us, we were getting hungry, but walked to the beach to pass the time.  There was a group of people on the shore gathered around so we walked over to see what was happening.  The fisherman had brought in their daily catch and were selling it by the bucket.  Most of the buyers were taking the fish to Stone Town or other inland villages to resell the catch.  It was fascinating to watch as the men circled around the man in charge and auctioned off each bucket.

 

 

 

 

We spoke to different locals trying to learn more about the price of a bucket and what exactly was going on.  During our conversations, we were offered different trips and we started negotiating prices to snorkel near the island of Mnemba.  Once we found the best deal, we finalized the details and were also offered to have dinner cooked for us.  We bought an octopus off the beach and were told that Dondo, the guy that organized our snorkel trip and dinner, would be at Keys to pick us up that evening.  

 

 

It was time to head back and see how our lunch was progressing.  We were told a few more minutes and then were led to an empty house on the beach.  They had rolled out a woven mat for us to sit on and brought us pots of food as well as bottled water.  After speaking with the man who had initially directed us to a restaurant, it turned out that he was the caretaker of the home and the owner was in Stone Town for the day.  While he didn’t speak much English, we were able to have a small conversation and express how good the food had been.

 

 

We walked along the beach, but as the shore has a good amount of sea urchins, the water was empty.  As we wandered, Dondo and Rafiki (Husain) found us and we stopped to speak with them.  Rafiki had learned phrases from English songs and wanted help with pronunciation and meaning while Margaret convinced Dondo to give her a ride on his moped.  While we spoke with them, the sun set over the other side of the island through the palm trees.  We parted ways so we could clean up before dinner.  

 

 

Not long after, they came back for us and we walked through the village using headlamps.  We were directed to someone’s home and were told it was Dondo’s cousin.  They had laid out a similar mat in the center of the home and we were served our meal.  As it turned out, the people in the house hadn’t even cooked our meal, but as they had a space for us, we ate there.  We thanked them for the meal and then called it a night as we’d be up early for our snorkeling the next day.

 

The day before we mentioned that we’d be going on a day trip and would need breakfast by a certain time.  When we woke up, it didn’t look like the kitchen was open yet, but we let them know we were in a hurry.  Another couple at our hotel, who was also waiting for breakfast, would be joining us so we weren’t as concerned about the time.  Dondo came to get us and waited while we finished up our meal.  

We loaded into the boat and drove north along the shore.  Instead of going in a diagonal line towards Mnemba island, they wanted to avoid the waves as long as possible.  Once we got closer, we turned right and cut across the waves.  We had to keep our distance from the island as we would have to pay if we got too close.  There were several other boats and we spotted 2 dolphins not far away.  The boatman tried to get close, but the animals were too quick for us and would swim away from us quickly.  We jumped in twice trying to get view of them, but they were on the ocean floor and out of sight before we knew it.  

 

 

Back on the boat, we moved back to the area where we’d be snorkeling.  We jumped overboard and couldn’t believe the amount of fish.  On our previous snorkeling trips, we had seen fish, but it was nothing in comparison to what we were seeing.  Most were around different groups of coral, but there were also schools of fish swimming in the open.  We spent over an hour diving down and just floating as we watched the incredible number of fish.  There were all different colors as well as a group of black fish that also amazed us.  There were species of fish we hadn’t seen before like the needlefish.  We got back on the boat for fruit and I jumped in for one last look before we had to head back.  

 

 

 

Before getting off the boat, we organized our dinner and what time we wanted pickup.  We had decided to try to see if we could have lunch with the woman from the day before, but she wasn’t home.  Another woman waved us over from her home and we realized that she was the local pastry chef.  It was Eid the following day so most people were preparing something that would be shared with the community.  This woman was making small cakes and we bought a few from her before continuing on in our search of a meal.

We asked at a house that looked like it was serving beans, but they were already sold out.  Most people were fasting due to the upcoming holiday so we realized we had a challenge ahead of us.  We asked at a kiosk if there was anywhere we could get food and finally found 2 boys that could help us with the language barrier.  They told us to come back in 10 minutes and a meal would be ready.  Knowing that it would be longer than that, we went for our usual beer and then went back to see how it was going.

 

The meal was ready and they’d spread out a mat on the front porch of someone’s home.  It felt like we were on display as we ate along a main village road and many people passed us.  One woman explained that she was fasting for Eid and others simply said their greetings as they went by.  Once we were done, we continued on through the village back to the beach.  As part of the negotiations for dinner, Margaret had included a motorcycle ride so she headed off down the beach while Tico and I wandered to Kigomane village.  Dondo came to pick us up for dinner and we walked back to the same house to eat.

 

 

 

We’d heard wonderful things about Zanzibar and so far it as living up to our expectations.  The water was full of fish and we’d managed to spend a good amount of time with the locals.  We still had several more days to explore the island and a lot more fresh seafood to eat.

Helpful tips:

• There are no ferries from Zanzibar to Mombasa.  You can get a private motorboat or get a ferry to Pemba and then a ferry to Mombasa.
• The Azam Marine ferry leaves Zanzibar for Pemba on Wednesday and Thursday and goes the opposite direction on Tuesday.
• Try to meet the locals and get an amazing home cooked meal!