Antonio Garden Hotel, Stone Town

This morning, we had a leisurely last breakfast and then packed the last bits. We gave our snorkelling equipment and our beach shoes to Raman because we don’t want to carry them any further. Hopefully, he can sell them and make a few dollars. We tipped Freda and Halima and left some clothes that they might be able to use.

At 10am, our pre-booked taxi arrived to take us to Stone Town. It was an hour-long drive through the rural heartland of the island. We drove through rice, mango, and sugar cane growing areas. Zanzibar is so green and lush. We got a taste of the reason why just before we reached the city. It absolutely pelted down!! It soon stopped again, though, and it was dry and sunny by the time we arrived at our hotel, the Antonio Garden Hotel.

While we were in the taxi, I messaged Laban to ask if we need closed shoes on the next leg as mine are falling to bits! He said we do. He also checked when we are leaving here and said that we will definitely meet up with him on the way up to Nairobi. He also told us that our guide will be Nash, who we met in Swakopmund, and who was Kristina’s guide back in February. Both of these bits of news were very welcome!

The hotel is down a narrow alley in the heart of the old town. We had to walk the last couple of hundred metres. Mark was really struggling as his ankle has swollen up for some unknown reason! We were too early to check in, so we stored our bags and were directed to the pool area to wait until our room was ready. First impressions of the hotel were really good – an oasis of green and calm a few steps away from the busy alleyway. It reminded us both of the medina in Fez!

We sat by the pool for a while and then went to the bar. Mark didn’t want any lunch. I had tomato soup with croutons. It was fine, but it tasted of carrot rather than tomato!

After lunch, our room was ready, so we went to settle in. It’s clean and spacious and has a kitchen, not that we intend to cook for ourselves while we’re here!Read more