We arrived early Friday and were met by our old taxi driver Salum (Mom & Auntie - he asked how you're doing). Josey and I spent the day kicking around Stone Town. We bought some crafts and then I was able to recreate the walk to the sandal shop (Josey had been back in September looking but had been unsuccessful). Upon studying a map later I discovered that I had gone roughly four times further than I needed to (anyone familiar with the layout of the town will understand). The sandal maker remembered me -- or claimed to have after looking at my sandals. We bought a few pairs to be picked up on Sunday before flying back to Dar and went on our way.
We tried to watch the sunset at the Africa Club but it was the first overcast day I've encountered in my six months in East Africa (which was good because normally I have to follow up a half hour jaunt in Stone Town with a two hour swim and a Tusker baridi -- it is usually that freaking hot). We were at the airport to pick up our French Canadian pals when, in the dark, Joanne was tugged on the sleeve by a gaggle of six girls.
They were the six girls we had met when they stayed at our place the week before. They were back from Arusha and were wrapping up their trip with ten more days in Zanzibar. They were gushing about their trip. The boy, who had been helping Dad with the luggage, loved the safari much more than the Granby Zoo.
Then we booted north. I was vaguely terrified that we would pick off one of the people on the street. We were going a hundred km/h, they were walking and talking on a cool Friday evening.
Our hotel was pretty fantastic with a deck out over the ocean on high tide (it was called Langi Langi and if you have to go to the north, you should stay here - folks come from other hotels to eat here and even if they are "resorts" they are really quite small (30 rooms?) and not behemoths like in Jamaica). Oh, and the hotel manager was a pretty fun guy. He informed me that all the beach boys should be put in a container and fed to the lions. The image I have is of them in tupperware.
Saturday and Sunday were overcast for the most part but there was some fantastic walking and swimming. We had intended to snorkel and sunset cruise but never quite managed to get going. It was a beautiful place. A reminder that consistently eschewing the popular might prevent you from seeing things that are popular for a damn good reason. I guess someday I'll have to get back and endure the lines at the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the catacombs...
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