ZANZIBAR TOWN, Zanzibar – Stone Town, Zanzibar’s old quarter, is relentlessly pretty, with fading colonial buildings with slightly blackened facades giving way to Arabesque compounds with rusting metalwork. Much of it looks like the slightest breeze from the Indian Ocean would bring entire neighborhoods crumbling down.
You can spend your money quickly on all kinds of schlocky tours here: just follow the slimy operator complimenting America and assuring you he will help you for “no money.” But getting lost in the town’s labyrinthine streets and watching local kids diving into the Indian Ocean and battling the incoming tide and outgoing sun to play an evening soccer on the beach (no teams, no rules, just dribble toward the goal) was how we chose to spend our day.
Being on an island famous for its spices and multi-ethnic cuisine, Connie and I wanted to grab a good meal, so I asked the sleepy looking clerk at our cheap hotel for a recommendation. He immediately mentioned what looked like a tourist trap down the road and I was suspicious.
“Is it good? Cheap? Expensive?” I asked.”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been there.”
We finally stumbled down the city’s alleyways a quiet place with plush Middle Eastern-style couches and an equally exotic accoutrement: air conditioning.
A meal of squid balls (tasty, if a bit salty – um, wait, that’s not what I meant) and a restless, mosquito-filled night later, we were pitching and rolling in heavy swells on the Kilimanjaro ferry back to Dar Es Salaam, as Arnold Schwarzenegger hacked, slashed, and shot his way through Commando on the boat’s televisions (it was in English but with English subtitles to help with the ex-Governators accent).
Personally, I love octopus balls. Also salty. Also not quite what I meant. In Japan, they are takoyaki, chewy fritters sold from trucks during festivals and at baseball games in the summer. Looking forward to seeing if you and Connie make it that far.
ReplyDelete