Dar es Salaam & the Spice Island of Zanzibar

Old door in Stone Town.

There’s nothing quite like an East African port… the touts, the heat, the crowds, the heat…



Dar Es Salaam was always going to have it all to do following in the footsteps of Maputo so when we got here and it was REALLY hot and the dudes at the pricey hotel on which we had decided to splurge started to take advantage of us, I was not exactly feeling the Tanzanian love. That all changed, though, upon arriving in Zanzibar…


View of the harbour, Dar el Salaam.

Getting here was an adventure. We walked down to the port just after breakfast in search of passage to the island around 14h. The touts are THICK down there… It was funny to see how people who had been snoozing seconds before would jump to their feet ready to help us find things, sell us stuff or exchange money…they’re pesky but hey, they’re just trying to make a buck so, whatever… We found the best ferry available and took a 10:30 AM sail time to avoid having to take the extra slow boat…


You know you're in a Muslim area when...

When we arrived an hour later with our bags (in a local cab – not our hotel’s cab, which wanted to charge us $30 for a 2 dollar fare…) yet more touts clung to the car until we showed that we already had tickets upon seeing which, they dispersed in search of fresher tourists. Then it was the porters’ turn. I was definitely not adverse to having someone else carry my heavy bag in that heat, so off one guy went, following another who had Helene’s backpack. The best part? They marched us half-way up the queue and budded us right in… nice! The French guy behind us was bemused but held his peace and just gave us a wry smile; I suspect that he barged the queue just like us so easy come, easy go…

Eventually we were allowed to board and the thick, humid air of the port gave way to delightfully cool, air-conditioning and a Jackie Chan movie… After taking some pictures of the port from the water, we both promptly fell asleep. Upon arriving on the island, foreigners have to queue up again for a secondary customs check, which added a good 45 mins to the trip but the fact that the young guys in the booth were by far the nicest and friendliest customs officer on the planet made it pleasant all in all. It took a while to find our contact Ali, who had brought along his friend who is going to be our guide for the week (!) and rather than take a cab, they said we should walk to the hotel. By the time we got there we were totally soaked in sweat… the humidex must have been around 45C and our shirts felt like we had just gone snorkeling in them. Along the way, the Tanzanians are trying to make small talk and I’m just staring through the sweat that is stinging my eyes and trying to keep from throwing up. It wasn’t a long walk but our 5 month packs are not exactly light and the stickiness combined to make it one of those moments when you think that overheating is just a few minutes away.


Stone Tone harbour, Zanzibar.


Dhow avoiding tugs and ferries.

Arrived and settled, we started to feel better and after a nice cold shower, it was lunch on a breezy terrace overlooking the harbour. One thing that is definitely welcome in Tanzania is the pricing of things: 9 bucks for grilled marlin. Mozambique was quite expensive by comparison. Later in the afternoon we met up with Ali and the guide and had some ice cream while watching the sun set over the ocean. We discussed the workshops and what tourism we want to do and basically just resolved to wait until today to figure it out.




Ali and our guide. I want one of those hats...

Last evening was great: we wandered down to a restaurant in the old British consulate building and had drinks on their beach. The air was marginally cooler (maybe 24C) but there was a breeze so it was very pleasant. After a week here I will really be ready to both: a) get close to Kilimanjaro and cooler environs and b) cross the equator again and return to fall/winter. I am simply not made for the tropics…or for a summer that lasts from May to Dec.




Beach in Stone Town.