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March 9

Zanzibar: Monkeys and Stone Town

It had been a hot night, especially when the electricity went off and the fan stopped. In the morning, I found that I still had diarrhea, and took another Immodium. It was kind of liberating in a way, since I no longer had to worry so much about eating something that would make me sick. At breakfast, I found the two ladies from Oregon from the safari. They followed Eric's suggestion and ended up here as well. We had a pancake with a hard-boiled egg, toast, and fruit. The waiter claimed it was the best breakfast in Zanzibar. I was skeptical, but the view from the roof certainly added to the experience.

Afterward, in the sitting room downstairs, I saw Jimmy, who had escorted me to the spice tour yesterday, trying to sell the same tour to the two ladies from Oregon. But they already had booked Mitu's somewhat more famous tour. Unsuccessful with the ladies, Jimmy tried selling me another tour. He said he could take me to the beaches, but I said I wasn't interested in the beaches. Since I had just one last day here, I wanted to see Stone Town. A city tour didn't interest him, but he suggested a half-day trip to see the rare red colobus monkeys in Jozani Forest. This interested me, and would leave a half day free to wander about Stone Town. But Jimmy wanted $50 to take me to see the monkeys, which I thought was too steep. I told him I would go for $30. Jimmy agreed, and his "brother" drove us to Jozani Forest in a minivan, stopping at a Forex on the way so I could change a $50 traveler's check. We also stopped briefly at a hospital, so Jimmy could check on one of his children who was sick.

By the time we got to the forest, it was raining. The man at the entrance said the rain was "no problem" - they had umbrellas. But we would have to wait 20 minutes for the guide to come back. I paid the entrance fee and bought a Stony Tangawizi ginger beer. Several others showed up: two Danish men living in Dar Es Salaam, and the Australian from the spice tour, who had economically come by bus.

Red Colobus Monkey

When the guide came, he led us away from the park toward the road, since the "friendly monkeys" were outside the park. We quickly found a group of the red colobus monkeys, and then crossed the road and found larger group. We could get very close to the monkeys, which were habituated to humans. The Zanzibar red colobus monkey is very rare, with only 1500 in the world, all in Zanzibar. After seeing the monkeys, we entered the park for a nature walk. We passed first through a planted mahogony forest, and then through a native swampy forest, which was very jungle-like, with lots of palm trees and big vines. We brought umbrellas on the walk, and had to use them often. There are monkeys here, but they are "not friendly", and hard to find in the trees. We saw a black monkey. At the park entrance, there was a store where I bought a monkey t-shirt.

I rode back to town with Jimmy and his "brother", and Jimmy escorted me back to the hotel. Then I wandered about Stone Town on my own. First, I went to the dock to check ferry times. They go at 7:00, 10:00, ..., and probably, I should get the first one to connect with the bus to Mombassa or Aruba, where I could spend my last night before catching another bus to Nairobi for my flight home. But I wasn't sure I could get to the ferry so early. I'd have to check. Vendors were selling coconuts along the street. I walked down the street to the Floating Restaurant, which is built out over the harbor, and had grilled octopus with chips for lunch. Then I looked in the fort, which had an amphitheater inside and some shops, but wasn't very interesting.

Street in Stone Town

I wondered around Stone Town's alleys a while, mostly lost. Only a few shops were open on a Sunday afternoon, and I didn't see many other tourists in the inner alleys. I emerged into a big marketplace on the other edge of Stone Town, and explored it a little. The smell was pretty bad from the fish and meat sections. I returned to the hotel for a short rest and water, since it was very hot out.

I returned to the dock and bought the 7:00 ticket on the Sea Express. I would have to work out a way to get there in the morning. While I waited in line, a kid tried to sell me an octopus he was carrying around. I headed down Creek Street to the Anglican church and old slave market. They charge 300 shillings for a guided tour including the underground slave chambers. I took the tour. The slave chambers weren't much to see, but the church was nice. The church's altar is built on the site of a former slave whipping post. I wandered about the interior of Stone Town some more, finding a large mosque. I don't think I saw the baths I read about, but I'm not sure what they look like. I was a little nervous about being the only white person around, and carrying a large Nikon camera, but I took lots of pictures and there was no trouble. The elaborate carved doors of many buildings were very beautiful. The buildings themselves had a decaying look, with the stone appearing very weathered.

I returned to the hotel and asked at the desk if I could get to the dock at 6 AM in the morning for the 7:00 ferry. They said it would be difficult, but I assured them I would pay the person who helped me generously. They said they would let me know later. I had a refreshing cold shower before leaving for dinner. When I passed the front desk, they introduced me to a young man (teenager, probably) named Abdullah, who would help me carry my bag to the dock in the morning. I made it to the waterfront in time for sunset. The sun was behind a cloud, but the sky turned a nice orange color.

I found a big souvenir shop by the waterfront, a rather dark and cavernous room filled with African things. I bought a kissing mask similar to the one I bought in Uganda, but more elaborate, with an elephant head, tusks, and a shell necklace. It cost $20, and one tusk was broken and the shell necklace was also partly broken, but I figured I could fix those. The point at the top of the head of the one I bought in Uganda had broken off on safari, and I wasn't sure I could fix it, so the new mask could be a replacement, perhaps.

I tried going to an Indian restaurant behind the fort that my book recommended, but it was closed. I went to the Sunrise restaurant on the south end of Stone Town instead. They have a lot of local dishes on the menu, and I had been wanting to try a Swahili curry. Also, they have outside seating, which is very attractive since the indoor restaurants are quite stuffy. The terrace was pleasant and breezy, and the prices reasonable. I ordered a calamari coconut curry with rice and a Tusker beer. Mice scurried about between the tables, and inside as well. An Englishman dining alone, who said he was on a "cultural safari", joined me. He wanted to visit Uganda because of the interesting mix of ethnic groups there. The cooking took a long time. The Englishman's fish masala arrived, looking excellent. My calamari soon came afterward. I didn't detect much evidence of coconut - the curry appeared to be tomato and onion based - but it was very tasty.

I started walking back along the waterfront toward my hotel, when I noticed the ladies from Oregon near the fort. They were ahead, walking in the same direction. I was a little nervous about entering the heart of Stone Town alone at night, especially carrying a package from the souvenir shop, so I decided to follow them. As they tried to find their way through the alleys back to the hotel, I caught up with them and joined them. We came upon an interesting little store called The Spice Shop, which had been closed in the afternoon, and we took a look inside. I noticed that Zee Bar and Zee Pizza upstairs had an interesting menu, and I might have tried it had I known it was open (assuming I could find it - this is the second time I saw it, and only stumbled apon it by accident).

Back at the hotel, the receptionist brought Abdullah to me, because he wanted to know what I would give him to help me in the morning. I offered $5, a bit more than I gave the taxi driver who brought me here. He agreed. I was already sleepy, so I packed, took a cold shower (hot was available, but not attractive) and went to bed early, anticipating a 5:30 wakeup from the nearby mosque.

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