Mnemba Island!This is the part about the relaxing part of the African adventure.
The trip from NCL lodge to Mnemba was memorable. We made the drive to Lake Manyara Airport via a large souvenir store. Like Costco for tourist. Everything you ever wanted. I shipped. As you can see from the pictures our take off from Lake Manyara airport to Arusha was an interesting one. It was not a good weather day and the unexpected drop off at the end of the runway was heart stopping!
The plane from Lake Manyara
The runway at Lake Maynara.
The Cliff at the end of the runwayWe connected in Arusha for our flight to Zanzibar. Once again there was a bribe paid (about $20) to get my luggage aboard!
The airport in Arusha
Jeff be a blackberry addict at Arusha
The plane to Zanzibar
We flew to Zanzibar, drove across the island (and the roads were the worst yet!), and took a private boat for the short trip to the private island! Yes, it only had 10 rooms spread out on the western side on the whole thing!
The place we took a water taxi to the island
Jeff on the veranda working hard
The view to the beach from our room
Our bedThe bed came with a netting that was let down at night. One night a small green lizard took up residence on the top net.
The dining roomBreakfast and lunch were served here with a great view. Dinner every evening was served directly on the beach lit by a string of laterns.
The daily menu boardThe food was terrific. Every meal was better than the previous one. Every day we would watch the local fisherman pull up their boats and sell the catch of the day to the kitchen.
Every night guests and staff would gather for pre-dinner cocktails. It was a very nice way to end the day.
A bit about Zanzibar: it is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean 25–50 km off the coast of East Africa, which is part of Tanzania. The archipelago was once the separate state of Zanzibar, united with Tanganyika to form Tanzania (derived from the two names – get it?) The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. The city's old quarter, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
Zanzibar is sometimes referred to as the "Spice Islands," on the way to the water taxi we were given a lesson in island spices by our informed driver. Zanzibar's main industries are spices (which include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper), and tourism.
A very rocky drive to the coast we decided that we were not going to Stone Town. I didnt want to spend another two hours traveling over these terrible roads. Good choice!
an old fishing hut on the beach
So what did we do for four days on this island paradise? Not much. We never wore shoes for one. Not for meals or anything we did. Lovely! Jeff had his first scuba diving experience. I read 4 books, collected a lot of shells, walked around the island (took about 20 minutes!), worked on my tan, ate great food, and enjoyed the guests and staff. Oh yeah I had one of the best massages I ever had! Every dusk Jeff and I would sit on the beach watching the sun go down drinking champagne. I don’t think anything will ever be as good as that! We have taken away some fond memories of island life and the staff who get to live and work in this paradise.
The wildlife
me reading
Us on the beach
Happy Hour
Enough said. It was absolute Heaven! Here are the pictures!
This was the staff doing the wave to say goodbye.
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