Zanzibar

I have fallen in love. Completely and utterly. not with any person, with the amazing island of Zanzibar. On Tues. morn we got up and took the ferry to Stone town. the four of us rode in an open-air daladala for 1 and a half hours, and then walked 2 miles on a dirt road to a hotel. we stayed in a really nice place, with 3 twin beds(we shared) and air conditioning. i was most excited though about the large body towels, as we have been making due with hand towels and washclothes. i walked down to the beach and in that moment fell head over heels in love. the beach is white, white sand and the water is so beautiful that it could solve world hunger. it was amazing blue and we could see to the bottom. even when i was swimming, it was probably 15 feet deep and i thought i could touch, because it was so clear. we planned to stay 2 nights, but decided to extend it becuase we loved it so much. the next day, i got up early and made the fullest use of the free breakfast. Four cups of coffee and tea, a plate of fruit, two pieces of toast, a spanish omelet and enless refills of mango juice. needless to say, i didn’t feel up to swimming, so we walked down the beach and bought all sorts of awesome souveniurs for all you crazys back home. after some beach lounging, we went snorkling right off the beach for a couple of hours. there wasn’t anything spectacular like sharks or mermaids, but i saw some cool fish and coral. we met an awesome couple that were origianlly from finland, but were international servants in the congo. they were in Dar for the dedication and ended up in the same hotel as us in Kendwa beach. by the way, if you have google earth you should look that place up- it will change your life. later keziah and i got 8 dollar massages. i cramed so much into that first day, that the next day i didn’ do much until the evening. our finnish couple wanted to take us out for drinks down the beach. we walked a ways and came to this beautiful place on the water. it was going to be a 10 euro cover charge to get in, which was expensive. fourtunately courtney had other plans. just before going in, she looked at me and said i don’t feel very good. her face was the color of death. we walked about 20 feet down the ramp and she proceeded to faint. not without warning of course, so we slid her down to the ground. as she woke up, there were about 20 africans staring down at her, which scared her more than anything. i took her to the bathroom and brushed up on all of my nursing skills. courtney, who is narrating this to me right now has approved of my skills. after some time, she was freezing cold, so i asked our the finnish br. to get her a towel to warm her up. he responded by whipping off his shirt and in one fell swoop tied it around her neck. we laughed about it later that night. at one point i thought he was going to have to carry her back, but she drank some sugar/ salt water potion and perked up. that was probably the highlight of our trip. the next morning we went to stone town and looked around for awhile. it was beautiful and very architectually historical. there was some miscommunication the next morning and we missed our ferry ride home, so jillian was a little bit late getting to the airport. and by a little bit, i mean a lot. it all worked out though… as far as i know.

it seems a little strange that a month has gone by already, but we are looking forward to doing some more travelling in tanzania soon. i’ll let you all know what our plans are. i miss you all, and all of my favorite things (i.e. football and ponies) i have loved reading all of your rxns to my posts, so keep me updated on all things american. love you all and see you soon.