Stone Town

Originally I'd only considered 3 or 4 days in Zanzibar as necessary. It had all the hallmarks of a tourist trap. I've commented on that previously. Mingi was keen to go to see the turtles which were being bred in captivity on a nearby offshore island. You take a little boat from the beach in the morning. He'd spoken to the tourist desk in the fort and eventually reached an acceptable price, based on the discussion he'd had with a guide we'd met whilst having lunch awaiting the ferry. However on our way we met an older local gent who'd had a man with a boat as well. Same price. So off we went. Reaching the island we paid the local entrance and conservation fees of around 50000 Shillings, about US$20. Outside of tourist sites that would be considered steep. In the end getting up close and friendly with the turtles proved quite entertaining. After 90 minutes we headed back to Zanzibar and lunch. Deciding more activity was required I asked chatgpt to create a walking tour. It came up with a reasonable looking itinerary, but couldn't get google to give me a set of directions without a manual copy&paste. That was a fail. However I persisted and started out to the Cathedral on the way to Freddie Mercury's childhood home which was now museum. Mingi tagged along. It turned out to be a good way to wander the alleyways without getting stranded in the repetitive souvenir shops. Although some were quite original. Particularly the man who created necklace jewelery out of national coins. Heading back late afternoon, we encountered our morning gent. He strongly advised a trip to the rooftop bar of a local hotel, quite a posh joint, where it would be half price drinks for happy hour, with a sunset backdrop. It was a fabulous tip. We headed back to our preferred meal location after the beers. With our 2 night stay ending, I decided a few more days on the island would be warranted. It also gave Madeg a chance to rejoin us in Paje. That was one of the beach resorts on the eastern side of the island. Labs showed up and the transaction for the pointless 'insurance' was reversed as they didn't complete the 2 step processing in the required timeframe Wise requires. That was a lot of adventure back in the account.Читать далее