Hello my dear family and friends!
I’m sad to say that our trip has come to a close but what better way to end it than a week on Zanzibar?! We spent the first 4 nights at a lovely hotel in Stone Town called The Haven House where we got our own floor. After settling in on Nov 30th, we had some free time to explore. It’s safe to say that most of us got lost after not too long. We wondered through the tight stone alleys and quickly found the gelato place. We also found the best and worse craft shops and made mental notes how to get back to the good ones. That evening, we met up at the local night market for dinner. It was in a park overlooking the harbor. There were about 30 different stalls who were mostly selling the same three things (fruit, Zanzibar pizza, and meat on a stick). A few of us tried the Zanzibar pizza which is a crepe like shell/bottom with whatever filling you want cooked open faced on a skillet then flipped. Needless to say, we fell in love fast with the oily food. A few other members of the group got to satisfy a three month long crave for shawarma and others got their fill of fruit. Will full bellies, we found our way back to our hotel. The next day we had a free day. Most of us got lost again and in case you couldn’t have guessed, we bought more crafts. We also experimented with hair braids and henna. We returned to the market for dinner. December 2nd was our spice tour day! After a filling breakfast, we piled into a taxi and went on our way. Because we are so used to ‘African Time’, we weren’t surprised when it took us an hour and a half to get to our tour because of unexpected stops. We were joined by a man from Great Britain, a woman from Germany, and two women from Sweden. As we began our tour, we were given a little cup made from a leaf to collect different spices in. We walked for 30 minutes and got to smell, taste, and see different spices and fruit and see how they are grown. We saw cinnamon, cardamon, pepper, vanilla, ginger, turmeric, starfruit, nutmeg, cloves, and lemon grass. We all really enjoyed it and the jewelry that a local made us out of palm leaves. Then we piled back in our taxi and drove to our lunch spot where we got to eat food that was infused with the spices we just tasted. We all loved it. After lunch, we went to see a slave cave and spend some time on the beach. The slave cavern was where slaves were historically held for the black market even after slavery became illegal before they were traded. At the beach, a few of us jumped in the beautiful blue water while others enjoyed the white sand. Then it was time to return to town. We had a lazy afternoon then filled our bellies and went to sleep. The next day was another free day for what other purpose than to buy more crafts??
Early on the 4th, we packed up again and headed to our resort. After an hour drive, we arrived at beautiful Panga Chumvi. We had a quick breakfast there then drove to a different resort which was the home of our SCUBA company. We then spent the next 8 hours watching videos, answering questions, and taking quizzes. After a long day that reminded all of us of the schools that we left last spring, we got to enjoy the beach that was right outside our rooms at Panga Chumvi. The next day, we split up into groups and had a pool instructional day. One group went back to the same resort we were at the previous day, the other group went to a bigger, much fancier place. The first thing my group did was take a swim test and tread water for 10 minutes. That definitely got my blood flowing! Then, we learned how to communicate underwater, how to swim without a mask on, how to breath right, and many more skills that are essential to SCUBA. Then we returned to the resort. Then next two days were open water dives. Unfortunately, I had some minor stomach problems so I decided to stay back with a few other girls. It was horrible to spend two days laying on the beach relaxing. I hated it! Just kidding, it was a good break and good time to reflect! The other girls did a total of 4 dives over the two days and they loved it! They had to preform some of the skills we learned in the pool in open water, that part wasn’t too fun. They saw lots of fish and returned with a few new favorites. On the night of December 7th, we gathered as a group and celebrated the three upcoming birthdays (Claire, Kasey, and Colin). We adorned them with tiaras and got to enjoy pineapple sorbet and a delicious fresh-baked chocolate cake. Stuffed with sugar, we went to bed. The next morning, a lot of us woke up early to watch the sun rise over the ocean. It was a huge beautiful ball of orange. A few hours later, we had to leave our paradise. We headed back to Stone Town to catch the ferry. We endured quite a sea-sickening ride but we all made it safe back to Dar. Valencia again picked us up and took us to our hotel. Now, it’s the day we leave. It’s bittersweet for everyone. We have been able to see each other grow in ways we thought unimaginable. We have been able to push each other and get through the hardest times. Most of all, we have grown close. It’s going to be hard to go back to my life without my new family but I am so grateful for my time with them. Thank you to each one of you! I will love you forever!
Julia
