Stone Town

I spent mt first day off in the big city... Stone Town, the main port and capital of the island. It's actually called Zanzibar while the island (made up of 2) is called Unguja. Not much to do here for night life but see some amazing sunsets, shop, see some historic sites and go to the markets.

Back in the day not only was it the trade hub for spices but also slaves. They were sent here from the mainland and were then put to tests, traded, and shipped out to the Middle East and other areas. I saw some of the holding cells and they are about as small as my bedroom at SDF for 100 men, no bathrooom but a small hole as a drain.

I even got to see the house Freddy Mercury grew up in. HA!



A typical Stone Town steet



The main harbor



A look at the island's beliefs... see mosque (in back) and church.



Statues commemorating the slaves that were brought through the island



Boats, old school and new school




The market, fresh fruit



Sea food, sea ray? and shark?



An Emerson Hotel located amongst the maze of small streets.



Serena Hotel






Distant Dhow

Spicey Tour with Moodie

Zanzibar is also known as Spice Island. A few years back ZNZ controlled 70% of the worlds clove market... now it focuses more on tourism.

I went on a guided tour through one and while I thought it would be the most boring thing ever it was pretty cool to see spices before they get dried, crushed, dyed, etc. Nutmeg is amazing looking (an egg shaped nut with a bright red center), I chewed a fresh stick of vanilla the whole day, saw a ton of clove (the king of spices), some cardimon, lemon grass, cinnamon, some other funky stuff.... and my favorite, ginger. I ate a lot of ginger.

At the end we tasted some amazing fruit - starfruit, znz apple, leechie, curddled apple (so nasty), jack fruit (the sweetest thing I've ever tasted... like tang). The tea made from spices was delicious too.




Lipstick Fruit vs Leechie
(Moodie, the 6-fingered guide. sadly I couldnt capture it on camera)



Leechie Flower



Twisted Palm, the locals say it was caused by lightening



Afterwards the guides climbed a tree, cut up a coconut for me to drink, and made me a hat from a palm

Bwejuu Beach

The three resorts sit on Bwejuu Beach which is on the Eastern side of ZNZ looking out onto the Indian Ocean. Conde Nast voted it amongst its "Top Beaches in the World".... I voted it my best backyard since SDF.

These shots are taken at 5pm so I'll have to take some daytime shots soon.

My New Diggs

After a quick flight from Nairobi through Mumbassa and finally to ZNZ I took an hour cab to my new place of work and home. My accommodations in the senior mngnt building are not too shabby. Cleaner than my place in DC and bigger than my place in NYC.

Being only a few steps from work will be either good or bad.... but either way, its right near the beach, BOY!




When you walk in there is a living room to the left.



A kitchenette to the right.



My bedroom, complete with mosquito net for full evening coverage.



Walk-in closet.



Bathroom, please note the Sox bath towel.

Nairobi Ntl Park

One day to kill before the trip to the island for work so the owners set me up on a quick mini-safari. In only 4 hours I saw Giraffe, Ostrich, a Black Rhino (which apparently is very rare), Hippos, Baboons, Impala, Zebra, Water Buffalo, a bunch of other weird looking things. Sadly no cats or elephants.....

I dont have too many pics of animals but trust me, I saw them.



Safari Seb!








At one point my driver stopped the truck and told me to go with "that guy". That guy he was referring to was a random guard with a gun in the middle of the savanah who only spoke Swahili ... no cars or ppl in sight for miles. Trusting my freindly driver, I did as I was told..... nothing bad happened - saw a few hippos and came upon some baboons getting it on.

2 Nights in Nairobi, Kenya

Staying at our sister hotel in Nairobi, The Palacina. Great little spot on the outskirts of the city. Beautiful pool, great little outdoor dining area with live music and interesting African art everywhere.


The Lobby, or Repception as they call it over here.


My Suite


Netted Beds... I'm going to need to get used to this!


The little man found all over the hotel.



Bedroom

From Boston to Nairobi

After the wild pirate party at SDF I was headed to London from Logan on a 930pm flight via British Air. With a last minute hook up to business class it was smooth sailing in a futuristic pod seat. The next flight to Nairobi wasn't so comfortable.

A total of 17 hours in the air, no big deal.



Pee holes in the snow



Jetson Pod



Going over the Mediterannean



Kid's foot that kicked my laptop 100 times