Cyber Ethiopia

In the previous weeks we toured all around the island of Zanzibar. Now the tour finishes up with the beach and ocean. The Beach and the Ocean I've developed a great fondness for the Indian Ocean over the years. It is the most convenient ocean to escape to from landlocked Ethiopia. Compared to the crowded beaches of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, or almost everywhere else, Indian Ocean beaches tend to be almost empty, especially on the islands of the Ocean. I've never felt crowded at Red Sea beaches, Seychelles or the coastline of E. Africa, except in front of major resorts where foreign visitors inexplicably crowd themselves into narrow strips.  Zanzibar is no exception. There are miles of beaches, and almost all of them have only scattered people.

The best thing to do on Zanzibar is enjoy the relaxation of the beach. At the beginning of a vacation I find that there's nothing better than to get a lot of sleep and to relax on a beach. After a couple of days, I have the energy for more than little beach walks, and Zanzibar offers a variety of distractions and attractions. I can't say that I'm an overall expert on the beaches of Zanzibar, but I have managed to visit a few. The East coast directly across from Stone Town has some lovely beaches - the best at Pongwe, which has a large shallow area over white sand - perfect for swimming at high tide. The beach from the town of Uroa down past Tamarind Beach Hotel (where we stay) and Zanzibar Safari Hotel is also quite nice, although at low tide it is seaweedy. Seaweed is a big product of Zanzibar - sent to the Far East and Europe as a food supplement (in ice cream for example!). It is cultivated by Zanzibari women, who set stakes out in the ocean and plant the seaweed on them. At low tide they go out to harvest with makeshift rafts made of things like plastic bottles, or collect the seaweed which has washed in on the beach. Although the amount paid is quite low, it has been a good cash earner for local women and apparently a real source of independence and empowerment for them. There are also nice beaches further north or south on the East Coast. The Northeast boasts Mnemba island, the most exclusive Zanzibar retreat, where celebrities fly in and pay a fortune for seclusion and luxury. The Southeast coast also has the luxurious Breezes Hotel on the nice beaches there. Although the Southwest has marvellous beaches, there are not many places to stay as to date the government has wisely discouraged development in this marvellous area. The Northwest also boasts good beaches, and a new luxury resort is going in at Nungwi in the far north. Kizimkazi Dolphins Swimming with the Dolphins One of the set tourist activities is visiting the dolphins off the southwest coast, and swimming with them if you're lucky. The trip starts from a restaurant at Kizimkazi. We lunched there, where we tolerated the lackadaisical service and poor food. The place was filled with the young and restless, the worst example of arrogant types who seem to think they are having the most exclusive and wonderful trip in the world and resent having others around to share it. Ignoring the crowd we set off in the old motorized craft (US$25 for four of us, not bad), and motored for almost an hour to get to the dolphin area. Just when I was beginning to give up on seeing the dolphins, a group appeared, then another, and yet another. We sighted over 20 dolphins in all, many of them gratifyingly close to the boat. My daughter Danielle and I donned our snorkel gear, and poised ourselves on the edge of the boat. Every time we got close to the dolphins and were ready to jump in, they would veer off again. Finally we leapt in, and Danielle gracefully flippered off and saw the dolphins. I didn't. Two of my favourite travel writers are the elegant Paul Theroux and the clownish Bill Bryson. I'm sure that Paul Theroux would have described his snorkelling as something like 'I slipped beneath the waves, gliding in unison with the slick grey beasts which loomed out through the water'. Bill Bryson would have said something like 'I lunged off the boat like a grey beached white whale, flopping on my belly on the waves below me, my mask and snorkel spinning off of my face, and me coming up gasping and grabbing for the side of the boat as the laughing dolphins swam past'. My experience was something between the two, but much closer to Bryson. When I leapt from the boat my mask flipped up and left me gasping. I clutched the side of the boat straightened my mask out, then snorkelled back and around. I was too late to see the dolphins which Danielle had cavorted with. I don't snorkel often enough to be very good, every time I seem to have to learn to do it over again. After a couple of tries I was swimming like a fish. On our way back we stopped near a coral reef and had a proper snorkel, with hundreds of brightly colored fish swimming around. The Desert Island On another day we embarked from the southwest coast under the guidance of Hassan, the godfather of the taxi drivers of Zanzibar. He had offered us a trip on a traditional sailing vessel, a dhow, to an uninhabited island two miles off the southwest coast. Without quite knowing what we were getting into, we set off. After a drive down a narrow track which doesn't seem to see a lot of cars, judging by the startled looks of the villagers, we came to a picturesque spot by the ocean. Fishing huts and fishermen in hammocks swung lazily while some cats fought beneath. Four of the fishermen were quickly organized, and we waded out over coral to the waiting dhow. The boat was old and locally made, with a huge pile of stuff on the floor-nets, ropes, poles, which we had to fit around. Along with the fishermen there was the four of us and Hassan - who is a big guy. We all managed to fit in comfortably. Once we were underway, the stiff breeze took us across to the island in less than half an hour. The sail set up was very interesting and different from the standard western design. Three ropes extend from the single sail set up like a spinnaker at the front of the boat, and all are tied down. With this set up we set a swift pace. The trip on the dhow gives a sense of the tradition that launched Zanzibar as a major trade centre, particularly with India. The monsoon trade winds of the Indian ocean blow to the northeast from Zanzibar to India from July to September, then reverse and blow from India to Zanzibar from November to February. This convenient pattern has facilitated trade from India to Africa for a very long time. In about 100 AD, the Periplus of Eryhrea, written by an unknown sailor, describes a trip through the Red Sea down the coast of Aftica and to India at the height of Roman times. Zanzibar, or one of the other islands off the coast, is described as a centre of trade even at this early date. On our short trip on January 1st we took advantage of the winds blowing to the Southwest to sail to the island. It is clearly visible from the shore, a large tree covered island which is wisely restricted from any development by the government. As we got closer a spit of white sand emerged from the north end of the island, which is covered at high tide. Low tide was at mid-day so it was perfect for us. The beach rising from the turquoise water with the green of the island in the background was a marvellous picture. The island was perfect for beach walks, snorkelling amongst the coral, and for a short walk in the forest. At low tide there is a coral shelf around the island to walk on. There are thousands of crabs, several different species, which lain enjoyed immensely. I noticed some exceptionally big clam shells on the beach, which led me to look closely for large clams when I was snorkelling. To get up to the forest on the island required climbing up a shelf of coral rock which is gradually eroding, leaving a sharp undercut and a short but steep climb up. It is amazing and somewhat humbling to think that the entire island is coral which obviously grew under water. In fact all of Zanzibar is coral, formed 7 million years ago. At that point the level of the ocean was high enough so that the island was underwater. With global warming, the island is likely to be under the ocean again in a couple of hundered years. Although the island is uninhabited, it is used by fishermen. At the edge of the forest there were woven traps stored, as well as old campfire sites and a half built lean too. There were a few paths, but they didn't go far, and in our beach footwear we didn't get far. The information from Hassan that the only wildlife on the island was birds, rats, and snakes was also enough to deter us from serious bushwhacking. Some day no doubt the pressure will be sufficient for the government to give into development on the little island, and that will be a shame. The snorkelling was great from the island. The whole area is coral, so as soon as you get a few feet from shore past the sand, your are into coral and the attendant sea life. There are hundreds of fish–blue, green, yellow, zebra, black, red (including candy cane striped), as well as fascinating red and yellow starfish, sea cucumbers, and spiny urchins. The large clams, about the size of my head, were nestled in vegetation at the bottom of the sea. While we were snorkelling, our fishermen friends were also busy in deeper waters, with spearguns. They had good luck, returning with more fish than we could possible eat. They built a fire on the beach and cooked 7 fish, an octopus, and 2 crayfish (they insist on calling them lobsters), which along with bread and salad became our feast. We were hungry from our exertions, and tucked in heartily. It was fun to watch the kids munching away on octopus tentacles, with the long sucker encrusted limb sticking out of their mouths. We feasted so much that I didn't eat another bite of food for 18 hours afterwards - I was too stuffed! The visit to the island was the highlight of Zanzibar for me, and it is a fitting finale for the story of Zanzibar. Tourism is not very old or developed in Zanzibar yet - it has only grown a lot in the 1990's. there are still many unspoilt spots to visit, but unfortunately they may not survive the rapid growth in tourism which is now underway.