Zanzibar Easter 2012

Kangas in the street market

Zanzibar is turning into a bit of an Easter tradition for us; we've made a quick spring trip there each of the last three years. Last year, we visited the Jozani Forest and saw the monkeys. This year we went with friends from the States who also live in Tanzania, but whom we rarely see as they are over 10 hours' drive north. Being together made Zanzibar extra-special this year.

The Spice Tours are very popular and we have skipped them on previous visits, but women and children took a short one this weekend, and really enjoyed seeing where our familiar cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, mint, lemongrass, and almost every other spice you can imagine comes from. Seriously. Vanilla, all kinds of tea leaves, iodine and even cacao beans. Ruby enjoyed showing me each leaf after Baker, our friend and guide, explained them.

The kids and Baker underneath a huge tree that produces a fluff used in pillows locally.

Henry and Ruby recoil in shock as Baker smashes red seeds used in makeup and dyes. We also ate turmeric root, which colored our mouths bright yellow. I proved my womanhood by eating a big chunk of raw ginger, freshly dug and peeled. It kind of reminded me of the summer camps I used to work at, where we proved our alpha-ness by eating grub worms and other miscellany.

After wandering through all the plants, which are planted here and there in what seems to be no particular order, we rested at a hilltop banda where various teas from fresh leaves were served.

While we were walking around, another guide was weaving palm crowns for each of us; Baker said that children in Zanzibar learn to weave palm and banana leaves at an early age for decorative as well as pratical applications. Henry fashioned a palm leaf sword and was challenging anyone who moved for the next two days.

Mtoni Marine is a good place to stay with a family; they have a small beachfront, GREAT pool and children's pool, and lower rates than most beachside places. I like that they charge per room and not per person as most here do. Plus, it's only five minutes north of Stone Town, whereas most beachside hotels are at least 30 minutes' drive.

Henry found a great shell and wrote his name in the sand at low tide:

This was hilarious: Easter morning, Hannah put several eggs out on the beach so the kids could search for them. It went really well, and the resident mules even got in on the action. However, one got a little aggressive, which sent my kids running with their arms over their heads, which made the mules trot after in pursuit, thinking they wanted to play...you get the picture.

Ruby swimming laps at the Mtoni pool

Stone Town...street after narrow crooked street of high walls and gorgeous colors. As Hannah and I wandered through, we came upon what was obviously a men-only game of dominoes, which looked quite competitive as they slammed each one down in turn. As we stopped for a second in surprise, a man turned around and barked at us, "Do you want to play or something?" We quickly moved on. Zanzibar is not some attraction created for travelers...it is a town of neighborhoods where people live!

I took several shots blindly from my hip; this is one of my favorites.

A local travel/copy/internet shop.

Zanzibar trunks on display at a woodcarver's shop:

Another hip shot at the old market. Spices stacked in plastic packets, grain baskets, all kinds of fresh produce, honey and fresh fish, yours for the bargained price.

Sunset dinner on the beach at Livingstone's. Every night, local youth come to dip in the water and vie for bragging rights in acrobatic skills. Livingstone's is located in the building where David Livingstone's body was brought from across the country to await burial by his dear and loyal African friends.

Funny sight at the port...the car was suspended just by straps, with crates being carried out from under it.

Ahhh, I love these people!

Speaking of food, we found a great new restaurant called Maru Maru in Stone Town. From the House of Wonders, go in the street directly to the right of it (as you're looking toward it from the water) and continue straight until you see the hotel and restaurant on the left.

It's owned by the Aga Khan, reflected in the quality of the food and decor. They have a great rooftop bar and dining area with views of the harbor and most of the city. Delicious menu (Indian) and good prices.

Another great restaurant: Mercury's, just outside the ferry port entrance. Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar to Indian parents, and the restaurant is a kind of shrine to his life, omitting any parts that would offend local culture. It was a great dinner and setting.

Another great sunset from Mercury's, watching teens do backflips into the water as fishermen clean and repair their boats for another day.

Don't miss the Prison Island blog post about a fun side trip from Monday. It's hard to believe we were just there four days ago. And I'm glad we took the ferry home on Tuesday and not yesterday when there was a tsunami warning. From birthday month to Zanzibar, it's been a full month already.

Birthday Week!

 Birthday week for Ruby meant all things girly, lots of indulging in what she likes (reading) and dreaming of things to come. Stretching her birthday over a week this close to Easter required some calendar wrangling, and we started a week before her birthday this year. Holy Week deserves due attention too, after all.

Friday night was the first Big Event of Ruby's week, featuring a sleepover party. Ruby helped me make cupcakes the day before, and the girls each got to ice and decorate theirs with super special toppings like chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces that you can't get here.

 And of course, everyone got to eat their candy. Which may have put a few little tummies over the edge.

 We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the old version. I like the candy tie-in and also the fact that author Roald Dahl lived in Dar es Salaam as a child and was inspired to write the story by this enormous concrete factory that overlooks the city.

The girly-ness of it all was almost overwhelming at times....

 Ruby's best pal Happiness came early and stayed late...they are so good together! This is a perfect snapshot of their friendship - they aren't always doing the same thing together, but they love each other. After the rest of the kids left Saturday morning, Ruby read one of her new books (Snow White) to Happy while Happy blew bubbles across the book for atmosphere.

 Now this is going to revolutionize Ruby's life: after months of trying, I have finally mastered French braiding. This child's thick, curly hair is tricky at best to style in tropical heat and humidity.

 Grandma sent some window clings for the kids and they've been having a ball with them.

 Great investment: the trampoline we got on sale at Game last summer has been a huge lifesaver. We are on it at least once each day. Everyday is like summer!

 School has gone on for us while the other schools are out. Don't worry - we will take a few days off this weekend. And next week. And we spend plenty of time each day playing and having fun. Who says education has to hurt?

Anyway, Henry found this artifact in the yard this week, and we put it in vinegar to try and clean it a bit. It has been working happily all day. We're on a water unit and have conducted all sorts of related experiments and activities, might as well throw a little acid in there.

It turned out to be a penny that we pressed at Conner Prairie before we moved here. I have no idea how it got in the yard, or even to Dar.

 This is homeschool - Ruby reading to Henry in the hammock. We do a lot of reading out here. Today's selection was Ruby's choice (hey, it IS birthday week!) - Robin Hood. Happy seven years to my girl!

Ruby is Seven

Turtle Island Field Trip

 Let me be upfront - I have a hundred other photos like these, it was a matter of choosing some to share with you. This was a gorgeous Easter weekend in God's creation, and we celebrated.

One great aspect of living where we live is that it's so easy to visualize what life was like in Biblical times. The fishing boats must have been so similar to these. People worked hard to live, without the amenities we enjoy like supermarkets and petrol stations to fuel our cars.

Have you ever considered that this is the same sea that was around from the beginning of Earth? How cool is that? And we love exploring it. Our school theme this week is creativity; it's so vital for children to exercise and understand theirs! We were made by the creator of creativity...and if you don't believe that, try snorkeling.

 Len taught Ruby and Henry to snorkel this year and they are constantly asking to go now. There's a place about 20 minutes from our house with a nice reef, but Changuu, or Prison Island, was our destination this weekend. It's a 30 minute or so boat ride from Stone Town in Zanzibar (which is a 90 minute ferry ride from Dar).

 I wish we had an underwater camera. We saw dozens of different fish, schools of vibrant yellows and blues and purples. I saw every fish in Finding Nemo and then some. Coral in every color of the rainbow. Len saw a moray eel and we all got stung by jellyfish, but I didn't mind because they were transparent purple.

This guy was out with lobster cages and seemed to not even notice us floating around his dinner. I wonder if he caught the amazing lobster we had at Mercury's?

 Being a holiday weekend, the island was quite busy, but still peaceful. That's our boat in the center of this photo:

The island is famous as a refuge for the Aldabra Tortoise, imported from the Seychelles in 1919. They are not found anywhere else in the world. Read more about the sanctuary here.

Baker, a friend from Zanzibar, was our guide and pointed out the extensive fencing around the island. We thought it was to keep poachers out, but Baker noted that while that is true, the main reason is to keep the tortoises from dropping off the cliffs into the sea, where they sink like anchors. No graceful sea turtles, these.

The tortoises below are about 85 years old and not fully grown. Two-year old 'babies' were about the size of basketballs.

 Graceful painted walls bordered walkways throughout the Prison part of the island. It was only used as a quarantine camp for a short while before being decommissioned.

Len and the kids are standing on the edge of what was the prison bathroom, which is a 20 foot sheer drop onto rocks.

 It seems like a lovely place to be quarantined, really.

 I thought this Zanzibar-styled door was a nice touch to the hotel that was recently built.

 Len took a photo of me, to prove I really exist. You know how I prefer to be behind the camera.

 I am really not trying to be obnoxious with these sea shots. Really.

 Ok, look at the shadows closely...the rounded shape at the bottom of these steps, and another at top right. Can you guess what it is?

 Look closely...they are massive schools of fish (not tiny ones, either!) hiding from fisherman. Henry said, "Hey, it's like Swimmy!" as in one of his favorite books, Swimmy, by Leo Lionni.

 We passed this ship on the way out and back. Not sure what the deal was with it, but we've been learning about what makes ships float or sink, and this was a great opportunity to point out the Plimsoll Line. Also, the name of this ship is the RAK Indiana. Kind of fun to see a reminder of home in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

 Headed back to Stone Town after a great day on the water. What a great use of four hours of life.