Malwai to Zanzibar, Tanzania

Once again a recap is necessary to cover the last 2 weeks of my overland tour. After Kande beach we head north to Chitimba, and camped again along the beach of Lake Malawi. Rather than dance with locals on this stop, I decided to take on the 30 kilometer "walk" to the town of Livingstonia at the top of the mountain. While the walk up was an invigorating challenge, the walk down was a brutal descent as our weary legs sluggisly carried on. In the end... we made it, and head straight to the bar with a rewarding and refreshing beer! The next day we passed into Tanzania, a lush green mountainous country covered in tea plants and banana trees. We arrived in Dar Es Salaam for our first night and camped on the beach of the Indian Ocean. On Thursday we took the ferry to the island of Zanzibar and explored the narrow cobblestone streets and were pursuaded into each little shop along the way by eager vendors. Apparently Zanzibar has been without electricity for over 3 months, so any existing power was being drawn from various generators. In many of the shops we entered it was very dark and we examine the merchandise with the use of a flashlight or lantern! Later in the afternoon Julie and I went on a spice tour to a local spice farm and saw how the plants of the various spices grow and how they are harvested. Some of the spices we enjoyed were: nutmeg (comes from a nut and is a crimson red on the inside), cinnamon (comes from bark), vanilla (grows as a bean), almonds, and ginger. There were so many, I can't remember them all. We also tasted some delicious tea and savory fruits (fresh pineapple, mango, passionfruit and lichi) In the evening we tried some local Zanzibarian pizza and fish kabobs from a local open air market in a park... the food was delicious, but the aftermath was not! Hours later I was definitely feeling ill for the duration of my stay in paradise I had to remain in close proximity to a restroom... gross. But that did not stop me from enjoying my time on the pristine northern beaches of the island! We stayed at sunset bungalows near Kendwa and enjoyed snorkeling in the clear blue water, beach volleyball with the locals and simply chilling on the beach. After a couple days of being a complete beach bum, we head back to Dar Es Salaam for my last night with out tour group. The following morning I flew out of Tanzania and back to Cape Town.