Tanzania

Day thirty: An overnight flight from Cape Town (with a stopover via Nairobi) landed us in Zanzibar early in the morning. Our taxi driver was ready and waiting to bring us an hour's drive to Blue Palm hotel in Bwejuu, on the East coast.

The hotel consists of two small apartment buildings either side of a bar and pool area, all of which faces directly onto the beach. The staff are immensely friendly. We sat for some lunch then collapsed in our room to rest for some of the afternoon. In the early evening we walked along the beach for a bit before eating dinner back at the hotel with a live acoustic set for entertainment. We can't wait for some intense relaxation over the next few days!

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Day thirty-one: We paddled, we ate, we sunbathed, we did yoga, we ate some more, we drank cocktails, we swam, a man chopped us some fresh cocunuts off a tree, we had massages, we slept.

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Day thirty-two: Up at sunrise, found a gym nearby, bartered* with some Maasai tribesmen, oggled at a troupe of Blue monkeys that were swinging above our room, sunbathed by the pool, drank a couple of local beers in the pool bar, ate an massive late lunch, chilled in the evening. At this point, feeling well rested.

*the bartering was essentially Jack, who the tribesmen named Simba, getting absolutely nowhere negotiating on prices and paying what would be considered an exorbitant amount for a bit of tat. The Maasai tribesmen are very nice though; they travel in from the mainland during tourist seasons to either work security for hotels or sell various wares along the beaches.

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Day thirty-three: Started the day strong: Another amazing early morning sunrise, Jack went for a beach run (in 80% humidity), we did a bit of yoga on the balcony, some more monkeys visited and hung out with us for the rest of the morning (this time they were Colobus Red monkeys*).

About midday, we set off in the blistering heat to walk 90 minutes along the beach to Blue Lagoon. It's a popular snorkelling spot, however we had no boat, no snorkels, no sea shoes and there were a lot of sea urchins...Oh well. We pressed on further up the beach, only for our path to become blocked when the tide came in (on certain parts of the coast, the sea comes fully in up against the shoreline). We diverted onto a parallel road and walked a further 30 minutes North to a spot called Pingwe to eat late lunch at "Rock Restaurant" - aptly named because of it being located on a rock in the middle of the sea (when the tide is in).

A taxi back to the hotel afterwards for a late sea and pool dip (the sea is so warm that a pool dip is necessary afterwards to cool off). Relaxed for the rest of the evening.

*Colobus Red monkeys are an endangered species, only found on Zanzibar island. To have them come to hang with us for so long is presumably a rare occurrence!Read more