Monday, October 02, 2006
Sept. 28
For the first half of the day we were on the train. The landscape had changed over night and was now full of rolling hills and palm trees. The brown land had become green...and much more humid. At 12:30 we got to Dar es Salaam. We got a cab and the cab driver got a ticket. It was strange in that the cop just hopped in the back seat with us at a traffic light and instructed the driver to pull over. He was quite curteous, but it was strange in that he just sat in the back. Finally we got to downtown Dar. After taking out money, we booked the 3:45 ferry to Zanzibar. It was a 2 hour ferry. Upon arriving in Stonetown (main city/town on the island), we got a cab to take us to multiple guesthouses. In the end, we settled on one right by the ferry terminal. It is currently Ramadan, so you can't eat or drink outside during the day in Stonetown. The city was quite rich during the slave trade, but has now languished. The large stone buildings and narrow streets look quite weathered, but at night, the city seems much more mysterious and intriging. Also at night is the fish market food stalls. For less than a dollar a kebab, you can get anything from yellow fin tuna to shark to snapper. Lobster is alittle more. We feasted on 4 kebabs, naan and sambosas for less than $8. You pick the fish and they grill it for you. Not bad. After dinner, we arranged for transport to Nungwi, a beach town/diving spot on the northern tip of the island. We arranged it by paying half the fare to a bellboy in an alley. Seemed a little suspect, but it was a 8 AM pickup and we only put $5 down.
Sept. 29
The driver for the transport to Nungwi arrived early. We had some breakfast on the roof terrace while he picked up the rest of the passengers. By 8:30 we were off. By 10 AM we were in Nungwi. We checked into a guesthouse that consisted of multiple duplex beach bungalows by the beach. It was clean, though the bathroom did smell alittle mildew-y...can't really complain when you are on a tropical island beach and only paying $30 a night. We arranged diving for the next two days, relaxed on the beach and had a late lunch at a resturant with deck extending over to the edge of the lagoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach. The beach had fine white sand and little seaweed at places. At the northern tip, there was a dhow builder (wooden sailboats). Dhows sailed up and down the coast all day adding an interesting element to the aqua marine water. Sunset was at the beach's main bar and dinner was at another waterside resturant.
Sept. 30
Breakfast was included with the room, so we had eggs, fruit and bread on the beach. Not a bad way to start the day. At 10 AM loaded up the boat, and with a total of 4 other, we headed out to a reef. It was pretty good visibility (approx. 12 meters). Fish were everywhere. After a snack of watermellon and biscuits, we did a second dive. Quite beautiful, but not drastically different in scenery. The highlight, other than experiencing the underwater environment surrounded by teems of fish, was a large octopus. After the diving, we relaxed in the same way we did the day before...beach, sunset, dinner and drinks.
Oct. 1
Almost identical to the day before except we had two dives in a different location, Mnemba Island. This time the visibility was slightly better and the dives were alittle more varying in scenery. Fish were similar, but the first dive was more of a "wall" and the second one was a flatter reef. On the second, we saw 5 sea turtles. The boat ride for this day of diving was much longer than the previous day. It was close to 2 hours one way. Luckily the weather was fine and the water, beachs, and islands were stunning. More relaxation on the beach to close out the day.
For the first half of the day we were on the train. The landscape had changed over night and was now full of rolling hills and palm trees. The brown land had become green...and much more humid. At 12:30 we got to Dar es Salaam. We got a cab and the cab driver got a ticket. It was strange in that the cop just hopped in the back seat with us at a traffic light and instructed the driver to pull over. He was quite curteous, but it was strange in that he just sat in the back. Finally we got to downtown Dar. After taking out money, we booked the 3:45 ferry to Zanzibar. It was a 2 hour ferry. Upon arriving in Stonetown (main city/town on the island), we got a cab to take us to multiple guesthouses. In the end, we settled on one right by the ferry terminal. It is currently Ramadan, so you can't eat or drink outside during the day in Stonetown. The city was quite rich during the slave trade, but has now languished. The large stone buildings and narrow streets look quite weathered, but at night, the city seems much more mysterious and intriging. Also at night is the fish market food stalls. For less than a dollar a kebab, you can get anything from yellow fin tuna to shark to snapper. Lobster is alittle more. We feasted on 4 kebabs, naan and sambosas for less than $8. You pick the fish and they grill it for you. Not bad. After dinner, we arranged for transport to Nungwi, a beach town/diving spot on the northern tip of the island. We arranged it by paying half the fare to a bellboy in an alley. Seemed a little suspect, but it was a 8 AM pickup and we only put $5 down.
Sept. 29
The driver for the transport to Nungwi arrived early. We had some breakfast on the roof terrace while he picked up the rest of the passengers. By 8:30 we were off. By 10 AM we were in Nungwi. We checked into a guesthouse that consisted of multiple duplex beach bungalows by the beach. It was clean, though the bathroom did smell alittle mildew-y...can't really complain when you are on a tropical island beach and only paying $30 a night. We arranged diving for the next two days, relaxed on the beach and had a late lunch at a resturant with deck extending over to the edge of the lagoon. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach. The beach had fine white sand and little seaweed at places. At the northern tip, there was a dhow builder (wooden sailboats). Dhows sailed up and down the coast all day adding an interesting element to the aqua marine water. Sunset was at the beach's main bar and dinner was at another waterside resturant.
Sept. 30
Breakfast was included with the room, so we had eggs, fruit and bread on the beach. Not a bad way to start the day. At 10 AM loaded up the boat, and with a total of 4 other, we headed out to a reef. It was pretty good visibility (approx. 12 meters). Fish were everywhere. After a snack of watermellon and biscuits, we did a second dive. Quite beautiful, but not drastically different in scenery. The highlight, other than experiencing the underwater environment surrounded by teems of fish, was a large octopus. After the diving, we relaxed in the same way we did the day before...beach, sunset, dinner and drinks.
Oct. 1
Almost identical to the day before except we had two dives in a different location, Mnemba Island. This time the visibility was slightly better and the dives were alittle more varying in scenery. Fish were similar, but the first dive was more of a "wall" and the second one was a flatter reef. On the second, we saw 5 sea turtles. The boat ride for this day of diving was much longer than the previous day. It was close to 2 hours one way. Luckily the weather was fine and the water, beachs, and islands were stunning. More relaxation on the beach to close out the day.
# posted by Adam @ 6:58 AM 
