The plane ride to Zanzibar:
The plane was not one of those tiny planes we had previously ridden on, but it was also not a massive 787. I was in seat 15 A, which was a window seat. I got some perfect pictures of the plane on the ground and out the window as we came up to Zanzibar. The ride felt very fast, up then down.
The landing was smooth, and we had finally arrived after an arduous journey of 1 hour over the ocean.
Zanzibar:
We got off the plane and onto the runway. We hopped onto a bus, and it drove us to an office where we kids and our parents had to fill out some paper thing so we could enter Zanzibar. We went through and got our bags when we finished with that. We then walked outside and looked for our car rental. We had rented a minivan, which we loaded our bags into.
I and KB had to sit in the back. It turned out that when the bags were in the trunk, the back was the worst spot. But when they aren’t, then it is the best spot. You could move the seats, so they went back and stretched out your legs. We drove for a while through the towns. We finally arrived at The Verde.
Exploreing the Verde:
It was an exciting hotel. There was a gym where the treadmill generated electricity. The elevators also did the same when going down. The rooms were even better. There were fancy doorbells and a balcony with a fun swingy chair.
The room me and Zeb had first got had a king bed, but we asked for twin beds. We called reception to ask about it and ended up changing rooms. The girls also changed rooms, but they went to floor three. We moved down to the very last room, but it did not have a bathtub like the one before. I was okay with that because there was a waterpark outside.
We learned that the food at the hotel was not good, so we usually went out. We did not go out on the first night but had dinner there. KB and Emmy were on the 3rd floor, and I, Zeb, mom, and dad was on the 2nd. I had a great sleep that night.
Exploring Stone Town and doing a Tuor:
Today was a going out day. I had gotten up, gone to breakfast with KB, and done a little blogging. We were going to go to stone town today. Stone town is a little town next to The Verde, our hotel. We had booked a tour, and we had to get there fast.
Stone Town Tuor:
We all got in the car and did the 15 min drive to Stone Town. We arrived and started looking for parking spots. We found one, and everyone got out. We meet up with our tour guide, Imron. He was a good dude.
We walked over to this fabulous old fort place. We walked in and looked around. Some shops were lining the edges, and in the middle, had a stage with concrete benches going around it in a half arc. We looked around in the shops, and in one, there was this cool weaving thing. These two brothers had built a giant loom and made all sorts of things: towels, shirts, dresses, hats, and much more.
We watched for a while but had to continue, so we left. Two other people had joined the tour with us. Their names were Maya and Max. Maya had just graduated college, and they lived in California. They were super friendly.
We chatted while walking around for about 20 min. Imron told us about the history of the place, how the British came and took over, and how Zanzibar used to be a prominent slave trading place. We went to an excellent museum. We went to the spice market too. It was soon over, but we invited Maya and Max to come to lunch with us, and they said yes.
Lunch at the Fish Market:
We went to a place called The Fish Market. It was a restaurant that had a lot of seafood. I got fried calamari and some juice. We talked a lot, and I enjoyed my food a lot.
My mom asked for the check, and it was time to go. We said bye to our new friends and walked back to the car. We drove back to the hotel.
Playing in the pool at the Verde:
When we got back, I and KB went to the park. We played for a while, but I started to get hot. I went back to my room and got my swimsuit on. I and KB went down to the pool and went swimming. The water was pretty warm, unlike most other pools.
We played in the pool until it closed. I went back up to the room to get changed. We were going to go to a different hotel for dinner. It was called the Hyatt. We got in the car in fancy clothes for the fancy dinner.
Dinner at the Hyatt:
We drove into town and to the other hotel. When we arrived, a doorman in a fancy suit was ready to greet us. We walked through the main lobby to the restaurant. There was a pool there, too, that I wish I could have gone in. We sat at a nicely set the table, but the only problem was the number of stray cats begging for food.
But a little bit into the dinner, a baby kitten came stumbling out of the bushes. We kids fell in love with it. There were four baby kittens in all. I chose chicken broth for dinner. When we came back to the hotel, I was so tired. I fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.
Blogging day:
I woke up at 8:30 AM because it was a sleep-in day. I got ready to head down to breakfast. Today was Friday, and the water park was open from Saturday through Sunday. We had to work on our blogs today and get them done to go to the water park. After breakfast, I went to the girl’s room to grab a computer.
Mom and dad were on errands, expecting us to be done when they returned. We all went to the girl’s room to work on our blogs except for Zeb, who stayed in the boy’s room. I kept getting distracted and had a hard time focusing. Later Zeb came and said that he needed a computer. We were all using them at the moment, so none of us wanted to give them up.
He came in, and I decided I would give mine up. Mom and dad were coming back soon, and I did not have my work done. That night mom and dad went out to the Hyatt, and I hand-wrote my blog. I will type it out later. We got room service and then went to bed.
Leaving the Verde for the Pearl:
Today was the water park opening, but I did not have my work done, so I had to do that instead of the water park. We were also leaving today, so I had a tight time getting my work done. I wrote as fast as possible, but writing by hand takes a while. I did not have to get it done before we left, but I wanted to go to the waterpark, and I could not do that after we left.
I did not get it done by the time we had to leave, but KB and Zeb did. KB got 2 hours in the park, and Zeb got one because he finished later. Next, we were going to stay at a hotel called The Pearl. It was more like villas than hotel rooms, and the ocean we were next to was about 80 degrees. It was an hour’s drive there so we would arrive at dinner time.
Driving to the Verde:
The ride there had a beautiful sunset, but that was the only incredible or eventful thing. When we arrived, it was like a little town. The roads were dirt and also super hard to drive on. When we finally found the hotel, we were relieved. The people at the gate let us in, and we all got out, but Dad stayed in to park the car.
Exploring the Verde:
Mom checked in, and we all sat down on cushiony couches. Dad came, and then a guy brought some juice. It was not that good. We had no food since the mini lunch, so we were hungry. The head of guest services, Joshua, wanted to show us around.
When he had finished showing us the rooms, we went back to the lobby/restaurant. The dinner was good, despite all the reviews saying the food was not good. Mom was unhappy because she had paid for a nice room with an ocean view, but the hotel had given her neither.
Us boys and mom and dad ended up switching rooms. We four were put in a super lovely villa/private house with two bedrooms and a courtyard with a mini cold tub in the middle, so mom and dad took our old bedroom next to the girls. Zeb and I moved our stuff into the single-room place and settled in. It was a nice room, but we would probably move to a different room tomorrow. Most beds in Africa have mosquito nets, and these beds had those too. We did not take our stuff out of our bags because we might move. I was exhausted from the day of travel and went to sleep immediately.
First Day at the Pearl and Playing in the Waves:
When I woke up, it was about 7:something. Zeb was still sleeping, but I was starving. I went over to my suitcase and got some clothes on. I walked over to the villa to see if anyone else was up. KB was, so I waited for her to get ready, and then we ate breakfast together. I got some “gluten-free” pancakes, but we did not know if they understood what gluten-free meant. When the pancakes came, I thought they looked gluten-free, but KB did not.
I decided I would wait for dad to verify. I also got a hot chocolate, which was delicious. I and KB left right as the others came. I went back to the villa to work on my blog. When I had finished that, I went to math.
I finished with that and wanted to go on to the beach. You could play in the water at four because that is when high tide was. I went down to the beach via a walkway straight from our house. When I first got to the beach, it was so bright that I had to close my eyes. I soon adjusted, so I walked to the water to feel it.
It was the temperature of my grandma’s pool. So about 80 degrees. I wanted to go into the water right then but did not want to step on a spiky sea urchin and get spikes in my foot. I went back up to the house. I went back to the beach and went looking for shells. I found lots of them, and they were beautiful.
Next, I went over to lunch, which started at 12:30 PM. There were many things to choose from, and I enjoyed the food. They did not have gluten-free bread, so that was sad. I tried to ask if they had gluten-free bread, but the guy brought the croissants and said they were “free,” We said, “are they gluten-free?” He answered, “Yes, they are free” I gave up asking and took it. I did not eat it, though.
When I had finished lunch, I wanted to go out to the beach. It was close to the high tide; the water was coming up. I got into my swimsuit and went down. I tried to build a wall, but the tide came up fast and swept it away. There were a long reef ways out where the big waves were crashing, but once the tide got over that, the big waves came in.
Playing on the Beach:
When the tide was finally in, I swam in, the others came out too, and we all played around. I wanted to do some body surfing as we did in Hawaii. Zeb wanted to also, so we tried. It was fun to crash around in the waves. Mom and dad came out to chill in the water but not do body surfing.
I asked dad if he would throw me, and he said yes. He threw me two times, and I had a blast. We stayed there for three more hours until we had to go in. The people at the hotel were able to move me and Zeb’s room to an upstairs room with a balcony. I moved my stuff up and got changed out of my sopping swimsuit.
Going to Dinner:
We went to dinner that night, so we had to get ready. We were not going to a fancy restaurant, but I still dressed nicely. We were planning on going to this place super close, but my dad could not find where it was when we tried to see it and not just look on google maps. We drove around a little, looking for good restaurants, and finally, my mom found this place called Mama Mia; it had thousand-something reviews.
We followed google maps to where it said it was. It was down this super narrow ally that might have fit a car, but there were cars parked all along the sides where it said NO PARKING. We parked the car in a nearby parking lot and walked over. Mama Mia was a gelato place, but the restaurant next door was where we went. It was all outside seating.
Eating at Mama Mia:
Everyone was sitting at these tables laid out by the beach. They got us a table for 6, and we all sat down. I got the kids a drink called a coconut kiss, which was excellent. For dinner, I got fried calamari, which was also very good. The food took a while, so in the meantime, we chatted.
Mom told us we could get gelato from Mama Mia when we finished eating. Us kids walked over each with 10,000 shillings from mom to get ice cream. I choose Stracatella and Mango flavors. The mango was good, but the Stracciatella, not so much. There was a bunch of wild dogs roaming around begging for food.
I gave one dog my leftover ice cream. We walked back out to the car and left. When we got back to the Peral, I got ready for bed.
The Diving Adventure and Beach Play:
Today I had to be in the lobby in a swimsuit and had eaten breakfast by 9:30. We were diving, so I had to get ready. Zeb got ready too. When I had everything, I went to breakfast. I quickly ate and then went down to the beach.
Mom told us to walk down to the right on the beach and go to the dive shop. I went down with KB, and we walked over to wait. Soon mom came, but she figured out we were at the wrong place, so we left. We needed to go to the left and walk a while until we came to a place called scuba fish.
We walked over and checked in. We went into this room where we got out wetsuits, flippers, and masks. When we got everything we needed, we loaded it into a bag to take to the boat. We had to take a bus to get to the ship, so we got on that. We drove to the beach where the boat was and took our bags out.
We took a smaller boat to get to the big one. There were some other people in our group, but no other divers.
On the Boat:
We went out to this island to drop the snorkelers off. Us divers were going to a different place little ways off the island. They drove the boat over to where we would dive. When we arrived, we got ready to go in the water. We got our BCDs on and oxygen tanks on while moving.
Though it was warm before the reef, the water we dove in was cold. We had to do a back roll into the water. I had never done this, so I was scared. When it was my turn to go in, I cried but did it. When we were all in except for Dad, we descended a rope to the dive depth and looked around.
We swam for a while, and our dive guide pointed out fish. I started to get cold, and so did Zeb. We looked around a little more and then decided to go up. We went up slowly, and then we reached the top. We put up a flag thingy. The small dingy came to get us.
I took off my BCD in the water, and they hoisted it onto the dinghy. We all got in, which drove us back to the big boat. I was freezing, and I immediately got a towel. He said we would do another dive but I was not up for another one. When we got to the next place, I decided not to go on the dive.
A toasty snooze:
I curled up in a ball in the sun and went to sleep. I woke up when the others came back from the dive. They said they saw a giant turtle and that it was excellent. I wish I had gone with them, but I had a superb snooze, so I was okay. We had to take the boat back to the dive shop and skip the bus.
Back on land:
We walked back to the Peral on the beach when we got there. It was 3:00 PM. So we could play in the water. We did the same thing, except mom and dad did not come out. We got more time in the waves because we were not going out to dinner. Zeb and I stayed out longer than anyone else.