24 Hours in Stone Town, Zanzibar

With Snowzilla looming, my coworker and I decided to bump up our departure to Tanzania by a day, to make sure we didn't get grounded at Dulles. Fast forward 24 hours of airplane food and bad movies, and suddenly we were stepping out on the tarmac in Dar es Salaam, breathing in the still, hot air, the sticky after-scent of burning trash, of grass and sweat. Africa. Not a snowflake in sight.

On account of our early departure, we suddenly had a whole weekend in Dar before heading inland to our project site. What to do? Why, Zanzibar, of course!

Here's how it went:

11:45 a.m., Saturday: Arrival at domestic airport.

There are two ways to get to Zanzibar from Dar: a 3 hour, nauseating ferry ride for ~$40, or a 20 minute flight for ~ $75. We chose to fly. We arrive at 11:45. and are immediately beseiged by men hawking flight tickets. We are walked into the office of a small charter plane company, and begin the process of bargaining for the price of the plane tickets. After a couple of minutes of bargaining, I start feeling sketched out. Looks like we're the only two passengers on the plane, and the guy is willing to fly us for $60. We decide to leave sketchy charter plane office, and head next door to the office of Auric Air, another charter company that I had at least heard of (and flown with) before.

Auric has flights leaving at noon. It is now 11:50. We quickly begin the ticket transaction, which is made more complicated by the fact that I don't have enough cash and have to pay by credit card. Somehow in the confusion, my coworker is not charged for her ticket. We've inadvertently gotten a 2x1 deal.

At 11:55 we finish the transaction and the ticket agent leads us directly to the 12-seater plane. At noon, we're off. The pilot confusingly kept the door open almost to the point of takeoff, much to my terror.

12:30 p.m. - Arrival in Zanzibar.

We arrive at the airport and catch a taxi to Stone Town, the main "city" in Zanzibar. A note on history: Zanzibar is actually a semi-autonomous state within Tanzania, sort of like a Quebec/Canada situation. Its population is markedly more Arab (a carry-over from early settlement by Persians, and its days on the Spice Route), and the overwhelming majority of residents are Muslim. For 200 years, Zanzibar was a Portuguese colony, and thereafter it was under the control of Oman, the British, and finaly the newly independent Tanganyika (Tanzania).

Stone Town is a beautiful cuptural mash-up, with Swahili, Arab, and European influences present in the architecture, food, and music.

1 p.m.: With After checking into our hotel, we make our first stop: Zanzibar Coffee House for a cup of spiced coffee! Zanzibar is famous for its cloves and other spices, so it's not surprising that the combination of Tanzanian beans and Zanzibarian spice makes for a killer cup of coffee.

2 p.m. Sufficiently energized, we wander through the winding alleys and meandering streets of Stone Town. We watch the men pressing sugarcane juice, dig through curio shops full of British naval paraphanelia, and check out gift shops selling teak picture frames and treasure chests.

4 p.m. We make our way to the market, a sprawling open air affair where we find everything from live chickens to animal skins, to HDMI cables, to plastic chachkies.

5 p.m. As the scorching heat subsides and shadows start to fall, we make our way to the beach. We post up at Livingstone, an atmospheric beach-front restaurant serving cold beer and delicious fish. We watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean. The beach is packed, with little kids jumping off the pier into the water, others practicing capoera, and abaya-clad ladies strolling near the surf.

8 p.m. As night sets on the island, we head to the bustling Forodhani Gardens night market. Kids chase each other past overflowing stalls of seafood mishkaki. Fishermen lay out the catch of the day - octopus, giant prawns, crabs, and marinated fish kabobs - over plastic tablecloths lit by lanterns. It really is a feast for the eyes, but a bit of pragmatism goes a long way here: go to the popular stands that frequented by locals. That's where the seafood is freshest, and you're less likely to bite into a piece of fish that's been baking in the sun for too long.

9 a.m. Sunday. Before catching a flight back to Dar, we decide to take a quick trip to Changuu, a.k.a. Prison Island. This small island, just 3 miles off the coast of Zanzibar, was originally envisioned as a prison for slaves, but instead ended up as a quarantine point for yellow fever cases.

Aside from some interesting architecture and (or course) stunning views, Changuu houses a collection of about 150 endangered Aldabra giant tortoises, which were originally a gift from the Seychelles.

After spending an hour or so petting the turtles and wandering around the prison complex, we took a quick dip in the warn water, and it was time head back to catch our flight.

Zanzibar is a beautiful island, with so much to see and do. For nice beaches, I would recommend getting out of Stone Town and heading to the North, East, or South of the island. For scuba diving, head to nearby Pemba. But if you have 24 hours and want to experience a totally unique part of Tanzania, Stone Town is absolutely worth a visit.