Day 16: Across to Jambiani

Early start before our transfer to Jambiani on the eastern coast of Zanzibar. Had toast with a delicious banana jam for breakfast. Our transfer was supposed to cost $10 USD each, but this mysteriously increased to $15 when the driver arrived. He said it wasn't worth doing for $10 with only four passengers, so imagine our surprise when the bus left Stone Town with seven passengers! Felt a little conned, but it's still cheaper than a taxi. Not much money for us, but it's a lot for locals.

Casa del Mar is simply breathtaking. It's right on the water, which is a saltwater ocean beach protected by a large coral reef a couple of kilometres offshore. Sort of like northern Queensland. At low tide, the water is several hundred metres distant, but at high tide waves pound almost at the hotel gate.

We spent a lazy morning and afternoon doing very little. Snoozing in deckchairs, lounging in the pool, reading and writing. Annoyingly, several touts hung around on the beach selling food, boat trips, massages etc, and stepping through the gate onto the beach lead to them descending on you like locusts. Eventually "Captain Cook" broke through my resolve and sold us dinner at his restaurant.

He collected us from the gate and walked us to his "restaurant", which was really just the yard of his house. He'd promised a few minutes walk which ended up closer to 20 minutes (apparently African time applies to distance as well), and it was hidden away in Jambiani village. We both felt a little vulnerable, but he was completely genuine and the coconut crusted blue snapper was excellent. No hidden catches beyond the long walk; he stayed with us all the way back to the hotel and we both felt richer for the experience.

In the afternoon we'd had a brief wander around the village which was much larger than we'd expected. Bought some postcards and chatted with a local shopkeeper about the Premier League. He was a big Man United fan and saw my shirt. We discussed the win against Bolton from yesterday and Antonio Valencia's return to the first team before lamenting the injuries to our defenders. Apparently he's also a big fan of Spurs, Sunderland, Barcelona and AC Milan too! Covers all the bases I suppose.Read more