Dar, Arusha, and Zanzibar

We flew from Kigoma to Dar es Salaam, and checked into EconoLodge. After being in the quiet town of Kigoma for two months, the activity of Dar was a little crazy. I wasn’t quite used to so many cars and people in close quarters! We met up with Molly and Terry, and went out to dinner at Addis in Dar, an Ethiopian restaurant. The food was amazing – and it was nice to sit outside and not get eaten alive by mosquitoes! After a hot shower and a good meal, it felt like I was slowly returning to the real world.

The next day we flew to Arusha, and then the following day went on a one-day safari to Arusha National Park. The morning was great – we went on a walking safari and got very close to a lot of giraffes. We also saw a lot of zebras and wart hogs. The afternoon was a little boring – a lot of driving around and looking at scenery (which was beautiful), but no animals. We found out too late that Arusha doesn’t have any of the big game animas like lions, cheetahs, and elephants. So we were a little disappointed.

The next day we flew to Zanzibar, and we spent a night in Stonetown. The main part of the city is a labyrinth of old white washed buildings. It’s pretty, but very touristy, which I wasn’t really used to. We had dinner at Fondori Gardens – a park where locals set up stands and sell an incredible variety of seafood. Octopus, lobster, squid, several varieties of fish, prawns, and even some meat are grilled. You just point and they serve it up. We ate way too much, but it was cheap and very delicious, especially when washed down with cane juice.

The next morning we took a dala dala up to Kendwa, a beach town on the north coast of Zanzibar. Immediately upon arrival we had a one hour massage, which felt amazing. We spent the next three days lounging on the beach and eating great seafood. One day we did a discover scuba course and dive, where I saw beautiful coral and many different schools of fish. And on our last day we treated ourselves to full body scrubs and massages (very indulgent, but also very cheap), and I think the Kigoma dirt finally got scrubbed off of me.

One more night in Stonetown, a flight to Dar, and one more night in Dar, and then we were on our way home. Our flights were uneventful, and I got home safely on August 7th. Since I’ve arrived home, I’ve been enjoying hot showers (since I can count the number of them I had all summer on one hand), good food, reading Harry Potter, and cherishing all the comforts of living here. I do miss Kigoma and my life there a bit, but right now I’m really enjoying being back.