Matemwe

Low tide at Matamwe Beach creates an enourmous lagoon between the reef 800 meters off shore and the 10 kilometres of the beach itself which is a wide stretch of the finest, whitest sand. This morning, our 4th on the western side of the island, the sun turned the knee deep lagoon into an uncomfortably warm bath, albeit one that is covered in underwater fields of dark brown and very spiky sea urchins. Picking your way through the lagoon out to the reef, requires, rubber soled shoes and more balance than we have.

With the turn of the tide, dozens and dozens of tiny fishing boats have been returning from overnight sorties and landing their catch. With the arrival of each boat, throngs of people from the villages behind our hotel emerged from the trees to inspect, barter and buy whatever is on offer. As the men parade their catch, women in full Muslim dress of long blacks abayas and and wildly colourful hijabs, congregate around the man with the scales. Weight dictates the price but loud haggling determines how much money actually changes hands.

Alongside the selling and buying, there are dozens of children who appear to help carry the fish or to start some kind of processing of the scores of octopus that have been caught. They make a hollow in the sand and then beat the octopus with a long stick for 10 to 15 minutes. This looks like it is to tenderise the octopus but the echo of sticks thwacking the sand becomes a constant background noise to the rest of the hubbub taking place right in front of our hotel.

As the fish changed hands, the chap who arrived on a scooter with an enormous crate on the rear, was doing a roaring trade in small loaves of fresh bread. Other motorbikes and bicycles also appeared and and disappeared quite quickly, transporting the fresh fish back to the hotels and restaurants that punctuate the beach front.

This is the 2nd time we have observed this mid-afternoon, semi hunter gatherer scene which to us, is a bit of a spectacle but the local population appear to be very much dependent on whatever the sea gives up each day. This way of life must have remained unchanged for years and years. The only difference can be that, over the last 15 to 20 years, the produce is now also the catch of the day that is then advertised on the menu boards of the plethora of hotel restaurants.

The co-existence of this local lifestyle and the apparent poverty of villages behind the hotel walls, alongside the bikini clad holidaymakers wandering amongst the traditionally dressed Muslim women, is strikingly incongruous. This was even more stark in Nungwe, where we were on the east coast last week, with the Muslim population on the beach seemingly to be completely unbothered by the much greater number of semi naked Mugunzus (white people). In addition, all of the beaches here have Masai Mari warriors strolling up and down. They come to Zanzibar from the mainland to sell goods and services - mainly sex. These groups of very tall, skinny men in traditional dress, add another layer of bizarreness to daily beach life in Zanzibar.

At the entrance to Nungwe is a sign saying, Nungwe Tourist Town and the development of hotels, the beachfront and activities is much more resort like. It is way ahead of Matamwe but there are signs of construction here that would indicate that things are a-changing. This is all part of island’s drive for and dependency on the tourist dollar. Sadly, from what we have learned, that revenue is not filtering down to the poorer levels of society but the strain on resources and increased demand for goods is adversely affecting them. This may change with the introduction of an obligatory 44$ tourist insurance policy which is specifically for the improvement of the island’s infrastructure.

We saw a little more of the island with a day trip to the old town capital, Stonetown. We hired a scooter for the 50km journey and successfully joined everybody else on 2 wheels weaving in and out of stationary traffic whenever possible. Stonetown’s maze of tiny alleys and streets seep with the history of the Omani and colonial rulers and the slave and spice trades. The 1800+ buildings crammed into this tiny space are all constructed of coral and red sand with much of it now crumbling away. Famously, Stonetown is also the birthplace of Farrouk Balsara and a visit to the small museum dedicated to him and his music produced a tear of two from both of us. The video explains this!

Zanzibar then is a conflation of the very old, the traditions of many different religions and the indulgent west. The beaches are, in the main, clean and endless but they are also places of work and trade. The sea presents hues of blues and greens and the people are unfailingly friendly. Zanzibar is also reassuringly safe. We have undoubtedly contributed to the employment of lots of local people but our holiday spend has been cocooned into very small areas of the islands. Our scooter rental outing to Stonetown apart, we could be almost anywhere in The Indian Ocean but here, it does feel like the impact on local life isn’t always positive.

Zanzibar sounds exotic and as a pure holiday destination it is - sun, sea, sand and invariably good food is pretty much guaranteed. However, outside of the tourist areas, we have seen some of the poorest communities in all of East Africa and elsewhere on the island there isn’t a great deal on offer. Underwater is wonderfully different and the diving and snorkelling in and around Zanzibar has huge appeal. Thankfully, these activities do appear to being sensitively managed.

We will always remember where we learned to dive and Zanzibar has also allowed us to recharge our batteries after 3 weeks on the road. We have experienced something that was undoubtedly authentic and absolutely fascinating to observe.Read more