A traditional sailing boat
I've spent the last week or so (I've lost track already) on Zanzibar island, off the coast of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. I've been travelling with my buddies Jolene and Ty (funny, ain't it?) from Peace Corps. We spent three nights in Stone Town which is the biggest city here on the island. The city was ruled by Sultans from Oman that took over here a really long time ago. They developed the spice trade here, and also made it the most important port for the slave trade going
east. The city is beautiful, filled with 2-3 story buildings with a distinct Arab architecture. The roads are tiny, winding, and numerous, making it very easy to get lost.
Alright, this post is already boring the hell out of me. Cut to the chase. We took a spice tour and got to see how all those crazy spices
you eat are made. They are made on trees, like the cinnamon tree, the allspice tree, the nutmeg tree, and the clove tree. It was all very interesting and I got to have a sliver of cinnamon bark to keep my pocket smelling fresh like a glade plug-in. The best part about this
whole spice thing is that they (the Zanzibaris) use spices to cook!!! It's a revolutionary idea, one that I hope someone exports to Malawi within the next century. The seafood is excellent as well as I have been experimenting with it, again since the food is so bland in Malawi.
The past five days we've been at what has to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, Kendwa. I'm serious, this place was gorgeous. The sand was like corn starch, so white and fine it coated your body. We took a day and went diving. We left on a small wooden boat with an outboard motor in the middle of a thunderstorm and 8 foot seas. We all thought we were going to puke but none of us did. We did two dives, and on the second one we saw about eight sea turtles, all chillin' on the coral. I looked a few in the eyes until they flapped away. When we surfaced everyone said (myself excluded), 'I couldn't stop thinking about Finding Nemo!' The coral was good but not great. The fish were very colorful.
The rest of the time was spent being lazy on the beach. I think I have proved my self worth to myself and the rest of the world. I was chillin' with a few Masai one day (they come to Zanzibar to sell nice things like necklaces) and I started asking them about their piercings. They all had huge holes in their ears and scars on their shoulders from lions (seriously). I showed them my tongue piercing and they all squeled and jumped back in horror! They swore they could
never do such a thing. They asked if it meant something or if it was for fashion, and also if I did it with a hot bone. I tried to get them
to try it but they vehemently refused. Mom, feel proud.