Trip Report: Tanzania, Kenya & Zanzibar with MICATO May /June 2006
Aug 29th, 2006, 09:14 PM
#162
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Thanks bat & Leely for sticking it out with me - I don't mean to drag it out, work is making me do that.....
But I guess I have to earn the $ somehow in order to get back to Afreekah don't I?
And Maxigirl- I do hope you are not TOO stressed & found time to read this day before you set out on yours tomorrow!!!!
But I guess I have to earn the $ somehow in order to get back to Afreekah don't I?
And Maxigirl- I do hope you are not TOO stressed & found time to read this day before you set out on yours tomorrow!!!!
Aug 31st, 2006, 02:29 AM
#168
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Oh Lynda,
This has been 'SOME' trip report and I completely understand what you are saying about work interfering with writing. You have been fantastic to post so much and in such detail and in reading it I lived through it along with you. I too am sad that this wonderful report is soon coming to an end.
Imelda
This has been 'SOME' trip report and I completely understand what you are saying about work interfering with writing. You have been fantastic to post so much and in such detail and in reading it I lived through it along with you. I too am sad that this wonderful report is soon coming to an end.
Imelda
Aug 31st, 2006, 07:58 AM
#169
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Lynda, Have enjoyed not one, not two, but three long cups of coffee and your delicious detailed trip report! "I went to Africa because I did not want to die and discover I had never really lived. I keep going back because I need another dose of the magic." YEPPER - says it ALL!!! Learned a lot this morning, what a cheetah lick feels like/smells like, the uses of a stapler on safari, the perils of jumping out in the Seregeti to take pictures of the migration, how to bold and unbold, where I need to visit on the next trip to Nairobi, how to fool my brain about jet lag. Really, I'm more like you, although I sleep the sleep of the dead, I was up before the thought of dawn every morning on safari! MICATO should give you a commission fee for the great raves you are providing! Can't wait to read about Zanzibar, but I understand about posting and having it really come to an end. FOR NOW. Thanks again, Deb
Aug 31st, 2006, 03:40 PM
#171
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Lynda,
Thanks so much for such an interesting and detailed trip report. I have been reading your reports intermittently, and enjoyed them immensely. Although our experiences with Micato were very similar, they were not identical, even though we took the same tour, which I think speaks very highly of their ability to be flexible. I just got some pictures from our traveling companions on safari, and have had a great day reminiscing about the trip through those pictures and your report. I'm so glad you took the time and hope that people realize what a great outfit Micato is -- 1st class all the way.
~Mary
Thanks so much for such an interesting and detailed trip report. I have been reading your reports intermittently, and enjoyed them immensely. Although our experiences with Micato were very similar, they were not identical, even though we took the same tour, which I think speaks very highly of their ability to be flexible. I just got some pictures from our traveling companions on safari, and have had a great day reminiscing about the trip through those pictures and your report. I'm so glad you took the time and hope that people realize what a great outfit Micato is -- 1st class all the way.
~Mary
Aug 31st, 2006, 06:47 PM
#172
Lynda, I have been enjoying your trip so much. Thanks for sharing all of this. I didn't read the whole thing through at one sitting and have tried to pick up where I left off each time. BUT I didn't read where you used the stapler so I know I missed some of it. I'll have to go through it all again 
Sep 17th, 2006, 09:44 PM
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<b>DAY 15, SUNDAY, JUNE 11TH, 2006 ZANZIBAR SERENA INN</b>
It was back to getting up early this morning, just like on our early game drives day! After polishing off our last Nairobi breakfast, gathering our luggage, and going for one last run to the ATM, we were all ready set to go to the airport at 7:00. Chad and Jim and I were not due to fly out to Zanzibar until 9:50 AM, but Roberta and Michael’s flight to the Seychelles was leaving at around 9:00, so early we would be!
Now, here’s where a little déjà vu comes into play for at least one Fodorite in our midst – Sherry. The night of the Pinto’s dinner, two weeks back when I heard Roberta say they were going on Air Kenya to the Seychelles, I thought of Sherry and her ‘bad luck’ in getting there, so I advised Roberta to make sure that they confirm their seats on that flight. Not that that helped Sherry any, as she had confirmed her seats the day before the flight and they gave them away anyways; but I thought maybe it would be a good start! Or, failing that I said, I had hoped that Roberta and Michael had always wanted to see Dubai. She said no, they were booked into one of the plushest resorts that they had stayed in as of late (The Banyan Tree) and she was quite looking forward to it – not Dubai! So, Daniel took their information, and said Micato would confirm the seats. Well, two weeks later, on this morning….you know the rest!
Jim and Chad and I checked in on our flight with no problem, while Jim went for a smoke and Chad went to find the boarding gate, I decided I should report a very small, but irritating incident that we had outside to an airport official. When the Micato driver took our luggage out from the van, he put it on the sidewalk and went off to get 3 carts for us; but neither Jim nor I heard he was doing this. A guy with a cart came up, loaded on our 2 bags and started pushing it towards the airport. You see, it really is me – I attract these guys – I think I have ‘easy mark’ plastered on my forehead. So we shrug our shoulders and say ‘oh what the heck’. The guy goes exactly 10 feet and stops, takes off our luggage and says he can’t go into the airport; this is as far as he could go. We looked at him very strangely and just a little shell-shocked, but thought again ‘what the heck’. Jim pulls out a 100 ksh and gives it to him. The guy says ‘no, sir that will be 200 ksh’. Now really shell shocked, we actually gave it to him; mind you he had one of our bags in his hand so that did contribute to the decision. But I was a little miffed and thought I should report this to someone. I went to the ‘manager’s office’ and asked where I could tell someone why I was a little miffed. The lady directed me to another lady who was standing with Roberta and Michael – who looked more than a little bit upset. I went over; Roberta turned to me and told me that Air Kenya had no seats for them!!! She couldn’t believe it, as Daniel had confirmed them the day before.
Neither Roberta nor Michael were going to take this in its stride – they had three days in the Seychelles, and they were going to enjoy ALL three days, no matter what. The Air Kenya supervisor had a few suggestions; overnight tonight to J’Berg, with a flight out tomorrow evening from there to the Seychelles was one. Roberta basically said ‘are ya nuts?’ Roberta called Daniel, who actually had not even left the airport (just in case, he said). And although he was not allowed inside the check in area, he called the Micato air representative who happened to be over in the other terminal. As Micato books a tremendous amount of their inter-Africa air with Air Kenya, I would think that she held a few aces in her hand in that conversation. Soon, others who had been ‘bumped’ joined their little group, in total there was 9 very disgruntled people. For an hour Air Kenya kept insisting there was nothing they could do, but they finally said “OK”, we have room. For all 9 people yet! It wasn’t too clear how they suddenly came up with the room – just as their departure time rolled around.
And, meanwhile while that drama was unfolding, Jim was out having a smoke and he mentioned to the security guards what happened with the ‘porter’ demanding a 200 ksh tip to go ten feet. The security guard went to see who it was, as he said they had no porters outside as the carts were free to use. He came back, radioed someone, and then Jim got to watch a little drama of his own as they cuffed one of the guys that were ‘pretending’ to be porters. One ran away before being caught, but they caught the one that scammed us. Later on, a security guard came over to us and thanked us for pointing this out, as he said, this type of thing does not attract tourists to come back!
So much drama and it was only 9:30 in the morning! We went through passport control, through security and then upstairs to the departure gate, more security, and eventually out on to the tarmac to board the flight. When I read Imelda’s report about being in the wrong country, I originally thought that maybe they had boarded the wrong plane, as that would have been very easy to do! Three or four planes were sitting out there, we had to check with the stewardess at the top to make sure we were on the right plane. Our Precision Air flight (about 74 seats) was delayed a bit, there were some bags sitting out on the tarmac and they wouldn’t load them until someone identified them. As we had passed by the luggage cart, they had asked us to point out our bags; once we identified them they put them on another cart. I’m not sure whatever did happen in the end, but we eventually did take off. The flight was smooth, and a highlight for sure was seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro up close. It was awesome; it was a pretty clear picture out the window. Jim raised his can of Kilimanjaro beer as we passed….
Flying over Stonetown was spectacular too. The water was so blue, and the buildings were such a wonderful contrast to the ocean. And there was our hotel – the Serena – I could see it! We landed, walked off the plane, and as we were seated in the back row, we were the first in the terminal. Wow, what a small terminal I thought! Passport & visa control looked at us strangely; ‘what, you don’t have the yellow cards filled out?’ As no one had given us any, that would have been pretty hard! So, a nice delay here while everyone filled out their cards; I wondered why they hadn’t passed them out on the plane, I hardly thought this was the first time Precision Air had flown into Zanzibar from Nairobi!
And now here is where I fall into yet <b>another</b> scam. Jim, who has a bad back and cannot stand very long, went to sit while Chad and I went to get the 2 Micato duffle bags. I chuckled when I saw the baggage handling area, it was just an empty room off of the main room with a huge open window that the handlers chucked the luggage through. Chad retrieved his bag, and went to get Jim’s while I got mine. I no sooner started to lift it so that I could clip the pull strap on it (the duffle bags have wheels) when a guy whisked it out of my hand and had it on a cart along with Chad and Jim’s. Whoa, wait, wait, I said – but he heard me not. In two seconds flat he had us standing at an ‘express’ customs official’s post that had no line up. The customs guys murmured something (not sure what) and then waved us to go out the front door after ‘pretending’ to look at Chad’s bag, but he didn’t even actually open it. Before I knew it we were outside <i>running</i> after the guy with our bags on his cart. When the guy stopped, in the midst of a throng of people, he got the point across to me very well that he wanted some ridiculous sum of money; I can’t remember what it was, but it was steep. In a panic, I looked around for the familiar Micato hat and shirt; as soon as I saw it I ran to him and he came over to rescue us. Mussa, our guide-to-be said a few things to these guys in Swahili, raised his voice a bit, and still the guys wouldn’t let go of the trolley. Meanwhile it was raining cats & dogs and we were getting drenched. Mussa called his driver Ilias over and between the two of them, they got the luggage back – and no money changed hands. I am not sure what was said. I felt so bad that I fell victim to this, but really, it happened so quick that I did not have time to assess the situation. And, I think I really do have a mark on my forehead.
The ride (with our luggage intact!) into Stonetown was interesting. SO much culture – so much to see! We have traveled the world over, in many developing nations, and I have seen the same pictures time and time again; but I never tire of it and I always marvel at it. There is just something so magical to me in seeing people go about their daily life that is so different from ours. I do not see the poverty, I see the life style. And I see the smiles on the people’s faces as we pass by, but not the wrinkles that are the sign of so much hard work in the hot sun. I see the colours in the people’s clothes, not the tears or the stains of dirt on them. Anyhow, I digress. We get to the Serena Inn, and it is beautiful. The doorman greeted us as if we had just been there last year, and the hotel manager came over to welcome us to his hotel with some hot tea while Mussa registered us. And the lobby is spectacular, just as I had pictured it, lots of dark wood with oranges, whites and burgundies used in the décor. Reminded me of Arabia, not that I have ever been there, but…
Once Mussa had registered us, the manager came back over and apologized that he would have to put us on the ground floor for the first night, instead of the usual top floor that his Micato guests enjoyed. We told him we had no problem with that. The room was just off the lobby, hey pretty convenient for going for meals I’d say! It was a small room, with two twin beds, lovely décor and a fabulous view of the inner courtyard with the ocean just beyond it from our balcony. Concerned, the manager asked us again, once we went back out to the lobby if it was OK for one night. We assured him it was, but I did mention that tomorrow was our 30th anniversary and if he could find us a double bed up there tomorrow we’d be very happy! Skipping ahead here – he outdid himself – the next day when we moved up to the third floor not only did we have some amazing coloured glass windows that the sun would catch in the early evening, but it had an AMAZING view of the Indian Ocean and a huge king size bed!! We were, as you can imagine, VERY pleased!
Back to the first day – it was an afternoon at our leisure, or, Mussa offered us his services to take us shopping on foot in some of the local stores in Stonetown. We were pretty bagged though, and the three of us were looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon enjoying the facilities at that lovely hotel. Lunch was incredible; it was an a-la-carte menu, complete with lobster, steak, chicken stuffed with lobster, wonderful appetizers and salads and of course great deserts. Chad, Jim and I must have spent the better part of two hours at lunch that day; it was so amazing to sit there and watch the dhows and the fishing boats coming and going on the Indian Ocean right next to the table through the open windows. Mmmmm good.
We spent the afternoon exploring the facilities and napping until it was time to go for ‘sundowners’ at the bar on the deck while listening to the taarab band. Fabulous music, fabulous cocktails (no alcohol in mine) and a fabulous sunset. Next time we go to Zanzibar, I think we shall spend the entire 3 days sitting on that deck, or our balcony! Dinner was a set menu with two meat/fish choices and a vegetarian option, the food was every bit as good as lunch.
<b>DAY 16, MONDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2006 ZANZIBAR SERENA INN</b>
<font color="red">OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!<font color="black">
We awoke early this morning as Mussa was coming for us at 9:00 for our Stonetown tour. Our 30th anniversary and what a wonderful place to be! Breakfast, a buffet, was very good, except for the porridge Jim said – too sugary. By the time we set off on the tour, it was raining buckets. It was supposed to be a walking tour, but Mussa said we could drive for a bit and then maybe the rain would slow down enough to do a little walking. We liked Stonetown, it is old, it is run down, but it has CHARACTER! And, I did look for Corbin’s cat (vacationbennett – he took a photo of a fat calico cat that was snoozing on his back on a step). But I didn’t find him. Jim probably thinks that is a good thing, as I would have snuck him home in my luggage. Anyhow, we saw the dispensary from the outside, and then stopped at the market. What a wonderful place that is! I loved it, not so much the smell mind you, but I loved walking through it, hearing the vendors calling out, looking at all of the ‘unusual’ items (especially the cow’s head, that was just plain strange) and seeing all of the pretty colours of the vegetables and fruits. We didn’t buy anything, but we should have, this was the cheapest place I saw the spice gift packs – they were 1.00 USD. So, even if you are going to the spice farm later like we were, stock up on the spices here. The chicken area is quite the sight. Mussa asked us if we wanted to go in there, not for the squeamish he told us. We did go in, and this is the only place that we encoutered the locals asking us to please not to take pictures. I could see why.
My camera quit working right smack dab in the middle of the market. It’s a 5 yr old Olympus, film camera though, so probably time I changed over to digital. The zoom quit working, and then the film advance quit right after that. But what a disapointment! Jim of course had his Nikon, but him and I, well, we see different things and I really felt bad asking him all of the time to take a picture of this, or that. But we made do, and Chad was there also with us, he had his Cannon (I believe), and he is an avid photographer. So I was covered.
After the market we visited the Anglican Church and the Slave quarters, it was quite moving, especially the original holding quarters. Very cramped and small, I could feel the anguish down there of ghosts past. Meanwhile it had stopped raining, so we walked through some of the narrow streets (alleys?) and explored. It was quite the sight, I loved it.
After a great lunch (lobster again) at the hotel, Mussa picked us up at 2:30 for our spice tour out in the country. And, of course it had started raining again! The drive out was interesting – much utamaduni (culture) which of course would have made for great pictures had my camera not broke! The spice farm tour was very interesting, it was quite a bit of walking, but it was over flat land. We saw many of the different spices, I really can’t say I have ever thought of where pepper comes from before!
Chad, Jim and I celebrated our anniversary that night at supper, Chad bought us a bottle of wine, and lobster was even featured on the set menu. Originally we were going to go up to the Terrace Restaurant, there is a cover charge there of 15.00 pp, but we thought it would be nice for this special occasion. Unfortuantly though, they don’t open it in the rain, as it has no overhead protection. Oh well, another year.
<b>DAY 17, MONDAY, JUNE 13TH, 2006 ZANZIBAR SERENA INN</b>
Another day in paradise! I really could have stayed here forever. Breakfast was rushed again, we hadn’t seen the National Museum yesterday, and Mussa wanted to take us there before setting out to see the Red Colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest. The National Museum was very interesting, the exhibits are very well done, we enjoyed it.
The drive through the country to the forest was lovely, lots of culture and lots for Chad and Jim to take pictures of. But, of course it started to rain as soon as we got there. That’s what umbrellas and rain coats are for though! We saw a family of Colubus monkeys on the side of the road just before we got there, they are bigger than I pictured them. And that red really shows! Once we got out of the van and walked through the forest though, they were too high in the trees to see really clearly. The zoom on both Chad and Jim’s cameras sure came in handy here!
From here we drove to the mangrove swamp across the way – that was sure interesting, but it was really wet and we were soaked to the bone. Back at the hotel we dried off, changed, went for lunch (before they stopped serving – lobster again of course!) We spent the rest of the afternoon R & R’ing and enjoying the lovely facilities and napping. Sundowners had been called for 5:30 at the bar, it was dry, it was warm and the sunset was incredible. Sure, just as we had to leave the next day ….
</font></font>
It was back to getting up early this morning, just like on our early game drives day! After polishing off our last Nairobi breakfast, gathering our luggage, and going for one last run to the ATM, we were all ready set to go to the airport at 7:00. Chad and Jim and I were not due to fly out to Zanzibar until 9:50 AM, but Roberta and Michael’s flight to the Seychelles was leaving at around 9:00, so early we would be!
Now, here’s where a little déjà vu comes into play for at least one Fodorite in our midst – Sherry. The night of the Pinto’s dinner, two weeks back when I heard Roberta say they were going on Air Kenya to the Seychelles, I thought of Sherry and her ‘bad luck’ in getting there, so I advised Roberta to make sure that they confirm their seats on that flight. Not that that helped Sherry any, as she had confirmed her seats the day before the flight and they gave them away anyways; but I thought maybe it would be a good start! Or, failing that I said, I had hoped that Roberta and Michael had always wanted to see Dubai. She said no, they were booked into one of the plushest resorts that they had stayed in as of late (The Banyan Tree) and she was quite looking forward to it – not Dubai! So, Daniel took their information, and said Micato would confirm the seats. Well, two weeks later, on this morning….you know the rest!
Jim and Chad and I checked in on our flight with no problem, while Jim went for a smoke and Chad went to find the boarding gate, I decided I should report a very small, but irritating incident that we had outside to an airport official. When the Micato driver took our luggage out from the van, he put it on the sidewalk and went off to get 3 carts for us; but neither Jim nor I heard he was doing this. A guy with a cart came up, loaded on our 2 bags and started pushing it towards the airport. You see, it really is me – I attract these guys – I think I have ‘easy mark’ plastered on my forehead. So we shrug our shoulders and say ‘oh what the heck’. The guy goes exactly 10 feet and stops, takes off our luggage and says he can’t go into the airport; this is as far as he could go. We looked at him very strangely and just a little shell-shocked, but thought again ‘what the heck’. Jim pulls out a 100 ksh and gives it to him. The guy says ‘no, sir that will be 200 ksh’. Now really shell shocked, we actually gave it to him; mind you he had one of our bags in his hand so that did contribute to the decision. But I was a little miffed and thought I should report this to someone. I went to the ‘manager’s office’ and asked where I could tell someone why I was a little miffed. The lady directed me to another lady who was standing with Roberta and Michael – who looked more than a little bit upset. I went over; Roberta turned to me and told me that Air Kenya had no seats for them!!! She couldn’t believe it, as Daniel had confirmed them the day before.
Neither Roberta nor Michael were going to take this in its stride – they had three days in the Seychelles, and they were going to enjoy ALL three days, no matter what. The Air Kenya supervisor had a few suggestions; overnight tonight to J’Berg, with a flight out tomorrow evening from there to the Seychelles was one. Roberta basically said ‘are ya nuts?’ Roberta called Daniel, who actually had not even left the airport (just in case, he said). And although he was not allowed inside the check in area, he called the Micato air representative who happened to be over in the other terminal. As Micato books a tremendous amount of their inter-Africa air with Air Kenya, I would think that she held a few aces in her hand in that conversation. Soon, others who had been ‘bumped’ joined their little group, in total there was 9 very disgruntled people. For an hour Air Kenya kept insisting there was nothing they could do, but they finally said “OK”, we have room. For all 9 people yet! It wasn’t too clear how they suddenly came up with the room – just as their departure time rolled around.
And, meanwhile while that drama was unfolding, Jim was out having a smoke and he mentioned to the security guards what happened with the ‘porter’ demanding a 200 ksh tip to go ten feet. The security guard went to see who it was, as he said they had no porters outside as the carts were free to use. He came back, radioed someone, and then Jim got to watch a little drama of his own as they cuffed one of the guys that were ‘pretending’ to be porters. One ran away before being caught, but they caught the one that scammed us. Later on, a security guard came over to us and thanked us for pointing this out, as he said, this type of thing does not attract tourists to come back!
So much drama and it was only 9:30 in the morning! We went through passport control, through security and then upstairs to the departure gate, more security, and eventually out on to the tarmac to board the flight. When I read Imelda’s report about being in the wrong country, I originally thought that maybe they had boarded the wrong plane, as that would have been very easy to do! Three or four planes were sitting out there, we had to check with the stewardess at the top to make sure we were on the right plane. Our Precision Air flight (about 74 seats) was delayed a bit, there were some bags sitting out on the tarmac and they wouldn’t load them until someone identified them. As we had passed by the luggage cart, they had asked us to point out our bags; once we identified them they put them on another cart. I’m not sure whatever did happen in the end, but we eventually did take off. The flight was smooth, and a highlight for sure was seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro up close. It was awesome; it was a pretty clear picture out the window. Jim raised his can of Kilimanjaro beer as we passed….
Flying over Stonetown was spectacular too. The water was so blue, and the buildings were such a wonderful contrast to the ocean. And there was our hotel – the Serena – I could see it! We landed, walked off the plane, and as we were seated in the back row, we were the first in the terminal. Wow, what a small terminal I thought! Passport & visa control looked at us strangely; ‘what, you don’t have the yellow cards filled out?’ As no one had given us any, that would have been pretty hard! So, a nice delay here while everyone filled out their cards; I wondered why they hadn’t passed them out on the plane, I hardly thought this was the first time Precision Air had flown into Zanzibar from Nairobi!
And now here is where I fall into yet <b>another</b> scam. Jim, who has a bad back and cannot stand very long, went to sit while Chad and I went to get the 2 Micato duffle bags. I chuckled when I saw the baggage handling area, it was just an empty room off of the main room with a huge open window that the handlers chucked the luggage through. Chad retrieved his bag, and went to get Jim’s while I got mine. I no sooner started to lift it so that I could clip the pull strap on it (the duffle bags have wheels) when a guy whisked it out of my hand and had it on a cart along with Chad and Jim’s. Whoa, wait, wait, I said – but he heard me not. In two seconds flat he had us standing at an ‘express’ customs official’s post that had no line up. The customs guys murmured something (not sure what) and then waved us to go out the front door after ‘pretending’ to look at Chad’s bag, but he didn’t even actually open it. Before I knew it we were outside <i>running</i> after the guy with our bags on his cart. When the guy stopped, in the midst of a throng of people, he got the point across to me very well that he wanted some ridiculous sum of money; I can’t remember what it was, but it was steep. In a panic, I looked around for the familiar Micato hat and shirt; as soon as I saw it I ran to him and he came over to rescue us. Mussa, our guide-to-be said a few things to these guys in Swahili, raised his voice a bit, and still the guys wouldn’t let go of the trolley. Meanwhile it was raining cats & dogs and we were getting drenched. Mussa called his driver Ilias over and between the two of them, they got the luggage back – and no money changed hands. I am not sure what was said. I felt so bad that I fell victim to this, but really, it happened so quick that I did not have time to assess the situation. And, I think I really do have a mark on my forehead.
The ride (with our luggage intact!) into Stonetown was interesting. SO much culture – so much to see! We have traveled the world over, in many developing nations, and I have seen the same pictures time and time again; but I never tire of it and I always marvel at it. There is just something so magical to me in seeing people go about their daily life that is so different from ours. I do not see the poverty, I see the life style. And I see the smiles on the people’s faces as we pass by, but not the wrinkles that are the sign of so much hard work in the hot sun. I see the colours in the people’s clothes, not the tears or the stains of dirt on them. Anyhow, I digress. We get to the Serena Inn, and it is beautiful. The doorman greeted us as if we had just been there last year, and the hotel manager came over to welcome us to his hotel with some hot tea while Mussa registered us. And the lobby is spectacular, just as I had pictured it, lots of dark wood with oranges, whites and burgundies used in the décor. Reminded me of Arabia, not that I have ever been there, but…
Once Mussa had registered us, the manager came back over and apologized that he would have to put us on the ground floor for the first night, instead of the usual top floor that his Micato guests enjoyed. We told him we had no problem with that. The room was just off the lobby, hey pretty convenient for going for meals I’d say! It was a small room, with two twin beds, lovely décor and a fabulous view of the inner courtyard with the ocean just beyond it from our balcony. Concerned, the manager asked us again, once we went back out to the lobby if it was OK for one night. We assured him it was, but I did mention that tomorrow was our 30th anniversary and if he could find us a double bed up there tomorrow we’d be very happy! Skipping ahead here – he outdid himself – the next day when we moved up to the third floor not only did we have some amazing coloured glass windows that the sun would catch in the early evening, but it had an AMAZING view of the Indian Ocean and a huge king size bed!! We were, as you can imagine, VERY pleased!
Back to the first day – it was an afternoon at our leisure, or, Mussa offered us his services to take us shopping on foot in some of the local stores in Stonetown. We were pretty bagged though, and the three of us were looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon enjoying the facilities at that lovely hotel. Lunch was incredible; it was an a-la-carte menu, complete with lobster, steak, chicken stuffed with lobster, wonderful appetizers and salads and of course great deserts. Chad, Jim and I must have spent the better part of two hours at lunch that day; it was so amazing to sit there and watch the dhows and the fishing boats coming and going on the Indian Ocean right next to the table through the open windows. Mmmmm good.
We spent the afternoon exploring the facilities and napping until it was time to go for ‘sundowners’ at the bar on the deck while listening to the taarab band. Fabulous music, fabulous cocktails (no alcohol in mine) and a fabulous sunset. Next time we go to Zanzibar, I think we shall spend the entire 3 days sitting on that deck, or our balcony! Dinner was a set menu with two meat/fish choices and a vegetarian option, the food was every bit as good as lunch.
<b>DAY 16, MONDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2006 ZANZIBAR SERENA INN</b>
<font color="red">OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!<font color="black">
We awoke early this morning as Mussa was coming for us at 9:00 for our Stonetown tour. Our 30th anniversary and what a wonderful place to be! Breakfast, a buffet, was very good, except for the porridge Jim said – too sugary. By the time we set off on the tour, it was raining buckets. It was supposed to be a walking tour, but Mussa said we could drive for a bit and then maybe the rain would slow down enough to do a little walking. We liked Stonetown, it is old, it is run down, but it has CHARACTER! And, I did look for Corbin’s cat (vacationbennett – he took a photo of a fat calico cat that was snoozing on his back on a step). But I didn’t find him. Jim probably thinks that is a good thing, as I would have snuck him home in my luggage. Anyhow, we saw the dispensary from the outside, and then stopped at the market. What a wonderful place that is! I loved it, not so much the smell mind you, but I loved walking through it, hearing the vendors calling out, looking at all of the ‘unusual’ items (especially the cow’s head, that was just plain strange) and seeing all of the pretty colours of the vegetables and fruits. We didn’t buy anything, but we should have, this was the cheapest place I saw the spice gift packs – they were 1.00 USD. So, even if you are going to the spice farm later like we were, stock up on the spices here. The chicken area is quite the sight. Mussa asked us if we wanted to go in there, not for the squeamish he told us. We did go in, and this is the only place that we encoutered the locals asking us to please not to take pictures. I could see why.
My camera quit working right smack dab in the middle of the market. It’s a 5 yr old Olympus, film camera though, so probably time I changed over to digital. The zoom quit working, and then the film advance quit right after that. But what a disapointment! Jim of course had his Nikon, but him and I, well, we see different things and I really felt bad asking him all of the time to take a picture of this, or that. But we made do, and Chad was there also with us, he had his Cannon (I believe), and he is an avid photographer. So I was covered.
After the market we visited the Anglican Church and the Slave quarters, it was quite moving, especially the original holding quarters. Very cramped and small, I could feel the anguish down there of ghosts past. Meanwhile it had stopped raining, so we walked through some of the narrow streets (alleys?) and explored. It was quite the sight, I loved it.
After a great lunch (lobster again) at the hotel, Mussa picked us up at 2:30 for our spice tour out in the country. And, of course it had started raining again! The drive out was interesting – much utamaduni (culture) which of course would have made for great pictures had my camera not broke! The spice farm tour was very interesting, it was quite a bit of walking, but it was over flat land. We saw many of the different spices, I really can’t say I have ever thought of where pepper comes from before!
Chad, Jim and I celebrated our anniversary that night at supper, Chad bought us a bottle of wine, and lobster was even featured on the set menu. Originally we were going to go up to the Terrace Restaurant, there is a cover charge there of 15.00 pp, but we thought it would be nice for this special occasion. Unfortuantly though, they don’t open it in the rain, as it has no overhead protection. Oh well, another year.
<b>DAY 17, MONDAY, JUNE 13TH, 2006 ZANZIBAR SERENA INN</b>
Another day in paradise! I really could have stayed here forever. Breakfast was rushed again, we hadn’t seen the National Museum yesterday, and Mussa wanted to take us there before setting out to see the Red Colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest. The National Museum was very interesting, the exhibits are very well done, we enjoyed it.
The drive through the country to the forest was lovely, lots of culture and lots for Chad and Jim to take pictures of. But, of course it started to rain as soon as we got there. That’s what umbrellas and rain coats are for though! We saw a family of Colubus monkeys on the side of the road just before we got there, they are bigger than I pictured them. And that red really shows! Once we got out of the van and walked through the forest though, they were too high in the trees to see really clearly. The zoom on both Chad and Jim’s cameras sure came in handy here!
From here we drove to the mangrove swamp across the way – that was sure interesting, but it was really wet and we were soaked to the bone. Back at the hotel we dried off, changed, went for lunch (before they stopped serving – lobster again of course!) We spent the rest of the afternoon R & R’ing and enjoying the lovely facilities and napping. Sundowners had been called for 5:30 at the bar, it was dry, it was warm and the sunset was incredible. Sure, just as we had to leave the next day ….
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Sep 18th, 2006, 04:06 PM
#177
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Lynda, I agree with your assessment of Stone Town.
Interesting/ugly/messy/beautiful/breathtaking all at once. And I'm not nearly the rose-colored-glasses type that you are. I hope I don't have that "Chump" sign on my forehead either.
I don't want this report to end.
Interesting/ugly/messy/beautiful/breathtaking all at once. And I'm not nearly the rose-colored-glasses type that you are. I hope I don't have that "Chump" sign on my forehead either.
I don't want this report to end.
Sep 18th, 2006, 04:15 PM
#178
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since we don't want it to end, and it has taken 3 months to finish, I think it's time for you to go back Lynda! I've really enjoyed it all. You could have thrown the stapler or office supplies at the man who ran off with your bags, next time keep it on you at all times! Thanks for all the pre-safari and trip report amusement! It's been great!
Dennis
Dennis
Oct 12th, 2006, 07:27 PM
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Hi Lynda,
We leave Oct 26 for Micato's Stanley Wing Safari..can't begin to tell you how much your trip report has helped...especially with packing and $$. I tried not to read everything..sort of like hearing the end of a movie before you see it, but looked for tips. You are a gem to do all this work.
Tell me how many people were in your tour? You don't mention Deet once...did you use it? How about the stuff you spray on your clothes to keep away the mozzies?
Is there room enough for a small daypack in the vehicle on the game drives? Is water provided for the drives?
May have more questions once I actually start gathering items to pack.
Mish45
We leave Oct 26 for Micato's Stanley Wing Safari..can't begin to tell you how much your trip report has helped...especially with packing and $$. I tried not to read everything..sort of like hearing the end of a movie before you see it, but looked for tips. You are a gem to do all this work.
Tell me how many people were in your tour? You don't mention Deet once...did you use it? How about the stuff you spray on your clothes to keep away the mozzies?
Is there room enough for a small daypack in the vehicle on the game drives? Is water provided for the drives?
May have more questions once I actually start gathering items to pack.
Mish45
