Island Time In Tanzania

I gravitate toward islands. I’m still learning what it is, exactly, that draws me to islands. I live on one, and I often find myself traveling to other islands no matter where I roam. I recently traveled to Tanzania and found my way to four different islands.

Great experiences were had….whale sharks on Mafia Island, spice tour on Zanzibar, tiki-hut on tranquil Bongoyo, hundreds of flying fox on Chole, soft sand, fruit, warm water, mango tastings, sailboats, fresh fish, new animal noises in the night. The islands were gems floating in a warm, clear ocean, teeming with life, and just a short flight away from the city of Dar es Salaam.

I’ve assembled a gallery of images, sharing a little slice of island time spent in Tanzania. Asante sana*

*Asante sana means “thank you very much” in Kiswahili

I love being able to go barefoot. Walking in warm, soft sand is an added bonus that feels soo good (and is something I cannot do at home).

Beautiful mangrove flowers open on a tree along the coast of Mafia Island. When the flowers fall to the ground, the “spiky” petals help lodge the flower into the sand, creating a protective “cage” as it sends the seed into the ground.

I love the shades of blue and green of the ocean. Add a dhow sailing by and it’s art-in-motion as we cruise the waters off the coast of Zanzibar in search of good snorkeling.

Clownfish hang close to anemone, which offer shelter and a good hiding place from predators.

I bumped into a few of these huge jellies before learning that they impose quite a sting with the trailing tentacles. My partner, E, captured a nice shot of me with this huge jelly, to give it a little perspective.

A bicycle is parked next to a sizable baobab tree on Chole Island. Except for a moto-ambulance, there are no motorized vehicles on this sweet little island, which is home to flying foxes and forests of food.

A bajaj taxi cruises by a gas station and bike rental on Mafia Island. Gas is sold by the liter, in plastic bottles.

For some reason, the Spanish omelette is really popular in Tanzania. It is tasty, and I love eggs, so I was happy to see them around. Lunch at a local spot in Zanzibar consisted of a Spanish omelette, whole-wheat chapati, and “Chinese,” a mixture of bitter greens cooked with a few other veggies. As always, meals are served with a side of “pili pili” or chili sauce to spice things up.

Ok, I know, it’s neither pasta nor coral. Its an anemone chillin on the reef. I want to be small enough to roll around and play in it. Lucky clown fish get that job 🙂

Wooden boat with outboard motor used for snorkeling excursions. Random bits of previous projects often find their way to new projects. This boat is extra tough, though, surviving a beating along the reef as we tried to push out before the tide left us stranded with the urchins. Eight of us pushed this rig in just a few inches of water before we made it out to open water.

A girl harvests flowers from a Christmas Tree on Zanzibar. Eventually all the green leaves drop and the tree is barren, except for the red bursts of flowers.

I really enjoyed seeing all the various colors, textures, forms of life in the Indian Ocean. Not sure what this is, but it kind of reminds me of the moss that grows in the forest at home.

A cool little fish keeps his eye on me while snorkeling a reef off the coast of Zanzibar.

An old church nestled in the streets of Stonetown in Zanzibar.

Boatbuilders on Chole Island are well-known for their superb dhows. We toured the boatyard and found several styles being built, with no sign of power tools anywhere.

The only motorized vehicle on quiet Chole Island.

A 20+ foot whale shark feeds in a circle around our boat. This massive, gentle giant was so amazing and we were lucky to find him…. it took 2 outings and several hours of looking around before we finally came upon this guy. They are filter-feeders, opening their VW bug-sized mouths to take in as much plankton as possible.

I got to swim with a whale shark! It was pretty amazing swimming with this giant, calm creature in his environment. Taking a photo of the entire shark was almost impossible in the murky water. By the time I swam far enough away to capture his 20-foot + length, I could hardly see the creature through the murky water. So, I did my best to swim like mad, aim for the head and stay out of the way when that giant maw came my way (which happened a couple times).

Standing in the shadow of a beached buoy, this is the morning scene at the main harbor on Mafia Island. A new jetty is being built to allow for larger boats, mainly passenger ferries, to come to Mafia. Because of the dramatic tides, the length of the jetty is significant, as low tide renders most of the harbor dry or very shallow.

Staying in a small, locally-owned lodge allowed me to catch a glimpse of real island life. I got a tour of the family’s garden, chicken coop, and the new suite featuring a hammock. There are only a couple lodges owned by local people and tourism is present, but not blown out. A new, paved road and larger airstrip make me nervous for this little “undiscovered” island’s future.

A young pineapple grows in the garden at Meremetta Lodge, on Mafia Island.

Also known as maracuya in South America, this delicious fruit grew very well on Maffia Island. Our quaint lodge had a huge garden with rows and rows of passionfruit. This not only provided me with delicious fresh juice every morning and readily available snacks, but entertainment at night as the bush babies and fruit bats battled it out for grazing space. They are not quiet and it really sounds like a baby screaming.

A dhow is anchored in a bay fringed with mangrove trees.

Our lovely bungalow, nestled among sandy paths, palm trees and fruit gardens.

Loy, our tour guide, who is also a teacher, poses by Kilindoni Secondary School sign. The motto is “Education is Light.”

A few curious students watch me take a photo of the school bell.

Seashells by the seashore, in a mangrove tree.

Next door to my hotel in Zanzibar was a noodle house run by a Chinese family. After making the noodles, they set them outside in wooden trays to dry in the sun.

Grilled lobster and fish roasting over the coals in preparation for our picnic on the beach.

Around sunset, as the tide goes out, all these little crabs come out of hiding on the beach. They make strange, subtle noises, that, when combined with the squeaky sound the sand makes as you walk on it, makes for an entertaining soundtrack. Each crab digs a hole in the sand, hauling the excavated matter several feet away from the hole. When you walk by, they usually take off, but this one hung out with me long enough to get his photo taken.

Our banda (thatched hut/tent) in the palm forest.

A lantern glows and illuminates the path to our banda at Ras Mbisi.

Flight route from mainland Tanzania to Mafia Island.

Fresh fish they catch after you order, then rubbed in spices and grilled by a cool island dude who cooks like a pro. He made me a special salad and the same dish for himself.

Lone eel in the tidepool.

Moray eels feast on scraps from the ktichen.

My slice of heaven on Bongoyo.

The perfect, white tongue of beach extending from the forest on Bongoyo island, about 30 minutes away from Dar.

One of the many styles of dhow cruising by en route to Bongoyo Island

Fabulous annatto (achiote) face paint on a guide who lead a tour of a spice farm in Zanzibar.

The beauty of an open annatto (achiote) pod. The seeds are used for their dye, or dried and used in cooking. Also ssed popularly as body paint in South America and nicknamed the “lipstick tree.”

Annatto pods blaze in the afternoon sun on a spice farm in Kizimbani, on the island of Zanzibar.

Fresh fruit picked from the tree reveals what will be processed and sold as mace (red striations) and nutmeg (brown nut mace is wrapped around).

Rooftops and the Indian Ocean at low tide, with a couple of dhow sailboats cruisin by in the wind.

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