Zanzibar Round 3................

In case you didn't get enough the first time I wrote about Zanzibar, let me tell you about my third trip there. This R&R I decided to go back to the delightful island off the coast of Tanzania. I really am going to take advantage of the opportunity to see more places in the east, but you just can't beat Zanzibar! My friend Bethany flew out to meet me and hang out with me for the two weeks that I had for break from Sudan. We beat around Nairobi for a day then headed out into the Indian ocean. After arriving at the airport cautiously early, and waiting for three hours to board a plane with five other people, we were on our way. I was looking forward to the full moon celebration that takes place each month in Nungwi, but we missed it by one day. So we spent a couple days in Nungwi on the beach and dodging all the hagglers who want to arrange a snorkeling trip for you, or have you purchase some of their hand made collectibles that they purchased from a mass producer in Dar es Salaam. We journeyed down to Stone town on our third day to see the markets and do some shopping. We experienced many people in Stone town who want to sale you a CD of music from Zanzibar and they all start singing the first song to you as if you'd recognize it like it's on MTV or something. We were able to have lunch atop the Africa House hotel one day which was an awesome place to hang out. One night I hate grilled shark for the first time in an outdoor market, along with breadfruit and fresh squeezed sugar cane juice. I'd never had either, but now I now I'll never eat shark again. We did treat ourselves to one night at the Serena Inn, a five star hotel in Stone town as well, which was quite an upper scale treat. After a couple days in Stone town we headed back up to Nungwi to relax on the beach. It was rainy a couple of days, but for the most part we got to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets on God's green earth every afternoon. A couple of days the tide was low enough for us to go out and catch a glimpse of all the different sizes and colors of starfish sunbathing in the shallow water.









On another day we made our way up to the aquarium where there's a conservation project to preserve the lives of the sea turtles. Afterwards we saw this boat that matched Bethany's shorts. Nice to see Zanzibarian fisherman have taste in boat names. (The state, not the school, Go State!) Walking the beautiful beach by day followed by dinner on the water and great conversation by night proved to be another fulfilling time in Zanzibar, Tanzania. You really can't go wrong with restaurants on the water with breath taking sunsets at any rate. The seafood and spices are the freshest on the planet which makes for wonderful seafood curry. It was great to see Bethany and have time to spend together just catching up, in paradise. Living across the globe proves to be trying at times on friendships back home, so it was nice to have a wonderful part of home come to visit. I think she enjoyed Zanzi, if not she is really deceiving! We spent our last two days together back in Nairobi in shopping centers and great restaurants. Which brings me to my next life changing experience, the best meal I've ever had. I had heard about a Cuban restaurant here in Nairobi a few months back and we decided to try it. I never thought a meal could be a heavenly experience but I have been trumped on that one my friend. On the menu a glimmer of light appeared around the fillet so I read the description. It was a fillet of beef stuffed with onions and cheese and smothered in a blue cheese sauce. Grilled beef with cheese in it and on it can't be wrong from any angle! And trust me when I say it will change your life. We in America don't have that great of a relationship with Cuba, but in some aspects I think we are missing out. They know their way around a piece of grilled meat! I really am sorry about the Cuban Missile Crisis and all the complications around Gitmo, I really am. But that was the best meal I've ever had in my life! The empanadas were a great starter, and the tastiest ones I've ever had, but that steak will make you wanna slap your mama! No joke. So this R&R was definitely amazing. The only bad thing was when my external hard drive was stolen. That was definitely a blow to my happiness. Long story short, by my hard drive being stolen from my check bag by someone when I was boarding a FLY 540 (that's right, I put you on blast, and now refer to you as DON'T FLY 540) flight means that all the photos that I've taking in Sudan and East Africa over the last year are gone. Yeah. It sucks. But other than that, it was a wonderful trip with an even more wonderful friend. I'll fly back in to Sudan at the end of this week and continue on with my crazy life. Cheers. Jeremy.