Zanzibar

Here we are, on December 23rd we flew from Cape Town to Zanzibar (with a 9 hour stop over in Jo’Berg...but we don’t need to go into that) and I am now writing this from the comfort of our beautiful beach Bungalow in the idyllic town of Jambiani. Jambiani on the South East coast of Zanzibar is a long, narrow coastal village that hug’s one of the islands most pristine beaches. With only 8,000 people it is home to lush forest, crystal clear waters and ‘Blue Reef lodge’ where we are calling home for the next 4 nights.
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Upon arrival at the Airport, after being delayed as the baggage handlers didn’t turn up for work, we went through immigration, which is quite a process so make sure you have your Visa BEFORE entering the country. We did and it was still a process with a lot of finger print taking and questions – not how we wanted to start our trip but can’t complain too much as we had arrived in paradise. We arranged an Airport transfer as Jambiani is 1 hours drive from the Airport and main town but our driver Mufasa was brilliant. We saw him in the car park holding a well named sign for ‘Ally Mcferliene’ (close enough) and he greeted us with a warm welcome before we hopped in his van and headed off on our adventures.  

The drive was pretty ropey with the roads un-paved and very bumpy, filled with potholes and people, cows, chickens and random trucks on the wrong side of the road constantly being in our way. Mufasa told us that the roads have never been repaved in the 25 years of his life, so he knows them like the back of his hand albeit terrible as they are. We arrived eventually and were shown to our bungalow which couldn’t be in a better spot. It’s right on the beach and has everything we need. After a welcome drink and settling in I hopped straight into the crystal-clear water and splashed about like the happiest girl in the world. Tomorrow is Christmas, the 4th year I will spend with Leo and we are in bloody Zanzibar, I mean Jesus Christ – ZANZIBAR! What a moment to be alive!

Back to our accommodation, it’s costing us $75USD per night Inc. breakfast which is OK considering everywhere sells out months in advance. Here is the link if you wanted to check the place out but so far, we would recommend. What I love about it here is they are very environmentally friendly, no plastic, they reuse everything and have a strong focus on cleaning the environment. That I love.

After we chilled for the afternoon and explored the beach, we headed for our Xmas eve seafood BBQ at the lodge. It was great, the staff here are amazingly friendly, but the service is sooooo goddamn slow and the food was basic yet yummy. We were so tired but still managed an evening walk and then lie on the beach watching the stars and listening to a live performer at the bar next door before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
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Christmas tomorrow and I can’t wait to see what the day brings!