Sunset Bay Hotel Nungwi

... up. (and because Ramadan had just ended, every man and his dog was out too!). Dinner was at Mercury's (named after Freddy Mercury from Queen as he was born in Zanzibar) where T and I shared a banana/ pinapple pizza that was surprisingly VERY nice! Tropicana I think it was called. Even the meat-atarians liked it!
In the morning we had ...

... a week later my days have consisted of eating, sleeping, swimming, sunbathing, walking, drinking.... and repeat....

Theres the normal backpacker crowd here consisting of British, Americans, aussies, scadadavian.... and then the ITALIANS!!! Not backpackers just families, couples, younger older.... I'm not sure why but there is obviously some sort of package deals for the italians and then they stay at italian only resorts... xenophobia at its best!! So ...

... and cusine, and I was not disappointed! However, as it's a muslim country, they were not selling beer anywhere in the village! Only the resorts catering to the tourist sold alchohol. Back to the hotel bar, the party was in full swing. All the people from pur group were there, and were excitedly discussing that there was a message on the board that if a girl goes dancing on the bar plot in her bikiny and bra (meaning swim suit) she will get a bottle of whisky ... no ...

... to the main part of town. Jumping off we climbed aboard another mini bus taxi which took us the 5-10 minute drive (s250) to main ferry terminal near centre of city. Down to the dock and onto the ferry, half upstairs in the open air the other half inside. Stu rocking up about 20 minutes later... completely flustered and hungover but here all the same. Martin, Sarah, Linds, Muzza, Oliver and I were downstairs inside. Noticed TV's so got good positions... the look on ...

... re driving out of town through the slums, seeing goats feed amongst rubble, smells of sewage etc, and what a hell driver! clearly no road etiquette, just pure crazing driving, i'm feeling nauseated. I can't wait to get to the resort, I picture 'crystal blue water' to keep me motivated, and not tempted with regret!

After about an hour's drive, we reach the northern tip of the island, and arrive at Mnarani Beach Cottages. "Jambo" - smiles all round ...

... met on the ferry to their hotel (There were a million people offering to find you accomodation but it was slightly overwhelming on my own) and asked there for directions to my hotel. The guy that worked there ended up walking me for almost 45 minutes to find it (Stone Town is a bit confusing to find your way around...I never would have gotten there on my own, although it was very close to the ferry terminal and I had already walked like half an hour with the others I ...

... like it - SERIOUSLY!!! I think the tourists are a complete Invasion to their tropical sanctuary. Urgent phone calls the next morning to our tour operator saw us being collected to go to Kendwa Amaan in the North which turned out to be absolutely FANTASTIC - our host Santos was fabulous and we ended up having a fantastic stay there, the Vibe was much better, more to do, watersports, snorkelling, fishing trips, taxi boats and the weather and water were exquisite. The road to get ...

With reluctance, we left the Blue Oyster Hotel to wait two hours for a daladala, all the while swarmed by an ever-changing crowd of schoolchildren. We eventually gave up and took a comfortable taxi back to Stone Town. The driver stopped a few times on his way, once to pick up his father, who invited us to his home for supper. We reluctantly and politely refused as we all had to move on. Bo and I left the ...

... to get good cheap food and pass a few hours before we had to catch the train back to Zambia. I enjoyed the 42-hour train ride a lot more than I had expected. Aside from the occasional frightening lurch and some crashing noises along the way, it was a pretty good ride. Only four of the seven of us took the train back, so we got a compartment to ourselves - more bunk beds! The man in charge of the ...

... enjoyed comfortable times and decadent pleasures with his harem just a few miles away overlooking the azure waters. Now however, it is a peaceful laidback island rich in tourism and water activities such as sailing, diving, and snorkeling. The main hub is Spice Town, which is a maze of twisted alley like streets, most too small for cars. They seem to wind endlessly making for full days of getting lost amidst the tangles of interesting shops, markets ...