A Funny Day in Zanzibar



Mangrove Swamp at Jozani Rainforest

 Easter break brought the opportunity for us to go someplace as a family. We had looked at a couple of longer trips, but cost and time led us to good ol' Zanzibar. For less than you will likely pay for gasoline this month, we were able to visit this little piece of paradise for a few days:

This Grey Heron was HUGE. It stood almost four feet tall. I kept creeping closer to it for a better shot, but I have to admit that when this bad boy looked me in the eye, I backed off.

I was at the Indianapolis Prize dinner a few years back when George Archibald won for his work with Whooping Cranes. His work is really amazing. I imagined my story going more like this: "American woman accidently massacres Grey Herons feeding in natural habitat, as she moves in for photo op." Or, "Indiana woman killed by Grey Heron off coast of Africa." Not what I want to be remembered for.

Later the first day, we went on a little excursion to the Jozani Forest, home to the only Red Colubus Monkeys in the world. As far as they know. I had brought the kids here last year when we had a guest and Len was out of town, and was quite relieved to find the monkeys were not as aggressive this time.

Oh wait, that is my family.

A sweet mama monkey nursing her little one:

After the walk through the forest and Mangrove Swamp, which is amazingly set partially in salt water and partially in freshwater (SO glad God has that figured out), we were back to the room and sat outside the restaurant while waiting for dinner. Simple. Serene. Wonderful.

Who knew we were beach people? It would be against common sense to NOT enjoy the beauty of the ocean while we live so close to it here.