During the pandemic, the island became something like the new Sunny Beach for thousands of Bulgarian tourists
For each traveler to make plans where he will travel, which continent he will visit, in which country he has not been, in which beautiful corner of the planet he has not yet set foot is one of the most pleasant things to do.
The inability to realize his dreams over the past year, filled with so many bans, quarantines around the world, closing borders, restricting freedom of movement, made us, the travelers, very unhappy and eager for this situation to change, but it did not change .
That’s why some of us have started to find out where in the world the COVID hysteria is not so great and where you can travel without quarantining you so that there is time for sightseeing.
There weren’t many opportunities, but there were some. One of them was a trip to the most interesting continent Africa, namely Tanzania, as well as the nearby island of Zanzibar.
I hadn’t been there, and it turned out I wasn’t the only one. Thus a group was formed and the dream came true in the second half of February.
The trip included two stages – the first a leisurely 6-day vacation on the east coast of Zanzibar, and the second – a photo safari in the Serengeti National Park and a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
What a person needs – a dream, a little courage, a lot of health, a negative coronavirus test and the opportunity to make it happen.
So, once all the conditions were met, the adventure could begin. As we boarded the plane, seeing how full it was, we realized that many others like us had come to the same decisions.
Finally smiles and cheers. Zanzibar! Lots of sun, hot weather, turquoise Indian Ocean and no COVID according to locals.
Zanzibar Archipelago
includes two main ones
islands – Pemba
and Unguja
We were on Unguja, the older one. An hour’s bus ride from the airport awaited the resort town of Page and a simple hotel consisting of bungalows near the ocean with beautiful views. An ideal place to forget about the difficult moments of the past year, about the contagion that some of us had already suffered, and now this sun and this calmness helped us to overcome their consequences more easily and filled us with pleasant positive emotions.
The endless almost white sand and the various saturated colors of the lagoon immediately impress. We arrived at low tide and wherever you looked, you could see white sand and in the distance the reef in front of the lagoon. And in some places the ebb reached 2 kilometers. We waited for the tide to come so we could melt in the warm ocean.
The entire east coast of Zanzibar is protected by coral reefs, continuous from north to south. They form a long and shallow lagoon with wonderful color shades of water. This side of the island offers the most beautiful and widest beaches, covered with white sand and surrounded by coconut palms.
Here in the tropics, tides can be particularly pronounced, reaching up to 4 meters difference in ocean depth.
Every 24 hours there are peak periods of high tide and low tide, which are shifted daily by about 30 minutes and at the end of the break are in a different time range.
Another characteristic of the coast of Zanzibar is the strong wind that predisposes to
the practice of
water sports such as
especially popular
is kitesurfing There are surf schools all along the coast.
Because it was difficult to survive all day on the beach, especially at low tide, we organized various events every day for variety.
Safari Blue was the first, one of the most popular things to do in Zanzibar.
We visited the southern part of the island, from where we went by boat to small coral islands and lonely sandy beaches, where we took a light break with lunch of all kinds of typical fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, pineapples and others, which were very tasty.
Then there was snorkeling in the nearby coral reef, where we could enjoy the underwater world and the variety of fish and corals.
On the second day we visited the capital of Unguja – Stone Town (Stone Town) or the city of Zanzibar.
It’s Stone Town
an amazing mix
from oriental,
Arabic, Islamic
and Persian culture
There we got lost in the labyrinth of small streets. Around every corner we came across beautiful architecture. Following the different flavors, we came to the market, where everything that could be found on the island was sold.
It is especially impressive how the meat is sold, placed directly on wooden tables, perched by flies and slightly with the smell of spoiled in hot weather.
But once I sensed it, my sense of smell had returned after the virus had taken it away for a while.
The spice stalls smelled much better. The island is famous for its many species.
Of course, we also visited the Freddie Mercury Museum, which the locals do not particularly respect, because 90% are Muslims and for them everything against the will of Allah is a sin. They do not understand the different. But we took pictures in front of his poster. After all, he is a legend to many people.
This was followed by a visit to Prison Island, which is state-owned with free access. It is known for its other main inhabitants – the giant tortoises brought from the island of Aldabra, who live here. Unfortunately, due to poaching raids, they are in a large protected yard.
The name of the island comes from the prison complex that the British Prime Minister of Zanzibar Lloyd Matthews built in 1893 after buying the island. The plans did not materialize and prisoners were never accommodated on the island. Instead, the island became a quarantine station in cases of yellow fever, and today is a popular tourist attraction.
After returning from the island we visited the night market of Forodhani, which is a major tourist attraction and prices for non-locals are usually higher, but it is definitely an experience. You can try the famous Zanzibar pizza, beer, charcoal, date bread, coconut soup and many other delicacies. Here it is customary to bargain for the price, then to enjoy the feast in the consecrated garden of Forodhani!
There we met the sunset, took pictures and then back to the hotel.
We also visited a spice farm, where local guides introduced us to what plants are used to make different types of spices. We were shown how the locals climb the tall coconut palms, singing like a chorus
the popular local
Monkey Colobus
–
expression Hakuna Matata
You can dance with the locals.
–
(everything is fine)
We also met the typical Zanzibar red colobus monkeys in the Jozani forest.
Zanzibar red colobus monkeys are endemic to the island of Unguja and are definitely looking for support as they are an endangered species.
Efforts are being made to protect them, and one way to do this is to visit the Jozani Forest, pay the entrance fee and use a guide to guide you through it. You can also spot blue monkeys – the neighbors of red colobus, as well as other species in the swamp, and tiny frogs (up to 1 centimeter long). We also saw a small snake, a green mamba, on the branch of a tree.
So imperceptibly our time on the island ended and we had to go to a small airport to catch a 12-seater plane to the city of Arusha in Tanzania. That was where the second stage of our journey began.
– Expect the second part – a photo safari in the Serengeti National Park and a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater.
– .
