My first week of Zanzibar beaches was a calm antidote to the hustle of Dar es Salaam.
Then I did a week swing back to the crazy streets of Stone Town.
I took the ferry from Dar es Salaam on the Tanzania mainland to Stone Town on the island of Zanzibar.
Then it was about an 1.5 hour drive to the east coast where I first stayed.
The name ‘Tanzania’ was created from the two states that joined to create the country in 1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
‘Karibu’ is ‘welcome’, and was a greeting I heard a hundred times a day!
The drive across the island. There were many spice farms for tourists to visit. Spices have been a huge part of the economy for over a thousand years. Mainly cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg.
And finally to the small town of Jambiani, a quieter area.
Behind the hotels lining the beach were small streets of the town. And flooded streets after a heavy rain!
There was quite a daily tide difference, which exposed the seaweed farms. Every morning women would be out collecting it. The seaweed on the beach was cleaned up by the hotels, so it varied.
Grilled tuna for lunch. 15,000 shilling (Cdn $8.50)
I was fortunate to be invited to join two Austrian women for a day trip up north on the island.
First was a boat trip to the Mnenba sandbar, which is exposed during low tide.
It included fruit, vendors, monkeys and dolphins.
Then we stopped at a turtle sanctuary of endangered green turtles.
And then a beach at Nungwi, a gorgeous area.
And grilled squid!
Another lunch was typical Swahili food with chicken, ugali (cornmeal mash), spiced rice, kachumbari salad, coconut beans, cassava.
Then I moved slightly up the coast north of Paje. it was a small hotel but I had an seaview room.
Idyllic as it looked, it still had the daily power outages and shaky wifi!
The hotel next door for our pool.
Breakfast at the beach.
Grilled fish at the little restaurant down the beach.
Then back to the hustle and bustle of the city.
The architecture is a fusion of Arabic, Indian, European and African influences.
Stone Town is famous for their carved wooden doors.
The Old Fort from the 17th century.
The House of Wonders (1883) was completely shrouded for reconstruction. It was a former palace of a sultan, and the first building in East Africa to have electric lights and a lift.
It was heavily damaged during the Anglo-Zanzibar War of August 27, 1896.
British ships bombarded the palace to oust the Sultan, who had assumed power without their permission.
The war is often cited as the shortest in history – only 38-45 minutes!
The Old Dispensary was started in 1887 and after many delays, was finished in 1894. Like many buildings, it fell into disrepair, and was restored in 1994.
Sunsets on this side of the island!
Two old churches.
The Catholic Saint Joseph’s Cathedral, from the 1800’s. Didn’t pay the US $5 to go in.
Everything tourist related is priced in US$. But I used the local shilling.
Anglican Christ Church Cathedral. And the adjacent East Africa Slave Trade Exhibition.
Very detailed and sad history of the slave trade.
It was hard to imagine how horrific the conditions were to be left jammed into a crouch for days.
Many sites of reconstruction.
Freddie Metcuty was born in Stone Town.
Christmas!
My favourite hotel this trip.
Another building brought back to life.
Sitting in front.
Breakfast
Pools on two levels.
View from my room.
And the cats!! In Muslim culture they are respected.
At the market.
The one last day in Stone Town with a friend from Germany, who I met in another hotel on the beach side.
We laughed about all the unplanned hotel and hotel room changes we had made here. Usually about getting a good fan or air conditioning when it was 30oC and humid all night!
Then a last dinner of kingfish.
Now it’s December 31, and a flight to Mombasa, Kenya.
A new country for a new year!
Wishing you all the best in 2026!