Saying goodbye to Kenya and our CTC family was bittersweet. A big part of us wanted to stay in Maai Mahiu for another week or two, but the island culture, long history, rich flavors and white sand beaches of Zanzibar were calling (and who are we to ignore curries and paradise?).

We flew from Nairobi, over the small strip of Indian Ocean that separates the island from its quasi-parent-country, Tanzania, and onto Zanzibar. Our first stop was Stone Town, Zanzibar's historic center (and a World Heritage Site). Like most places on the small island, Stone Town is located right on the water, but it’s more known for its role in the spice and slave trades than its beaches.

After a great night's sleep and delicious breakfast at our guesthouse, Stone Town Cafe, we committed to being tourists for the day and powered through the handful of cultural attractions in and around Stone Town:

1. House of Wonders, a poorly curated museum showcasing the history of the island.
2. Palace Museum, once home to the Oman Sultanate, which ruled Zanzibar for several hundred years before the British took control in the shortest war in history (roughly 25 minutes).
3. Spice Tour to see, smell and taste the many flavors of Zanzibar (we also were officially crowned as the "King and Queen of the Spices" and adorned in palm frond regalia).
4. Underground cave next to the ocean where slaves were hidden before being sent abroad, after slavery was outlawed by the British.
5. Boat trip out to Prison Island (no prison is actually on the island, but there are giant turtles and peacocks, which was actually a huge (literally) highlight of the day).

We ended the night at Faradani Gardens, a nightly market of fresh seafood, Zanzibar pizza (an interesting egg/crepe/pizza combo) and sugar cane juice offered in bulk at bargain prices. We ate lobster, octopus, fish, prawns, coconut bread, dessert pizza and washed it all down with sugar cane, ginger and lime for about $15. We went to bed fat and happy.

The next day, we took a break from the tourist circuit and simply got lost in the old-world labyrinth of narrow streets in Stonetown. If you can ignore the calls from the shop promoters (Hello... My friend... Welcome... Good price) this is the absolute best way to get a feel for the city. We ended the day with what we thought was going to be a sundowner with a friend-of-a-friend who is a pilot in Stone Town. One pilot turned into three and the sundowner turned into an all-nighter. We woke up tired, hungover and ready for some R&R on the beach.

Matemwe is a small town on the eastern coast of Zanzibar, located about halfway in between the northern and southern tips of the island. It's known for its soft white sand and crowd-free beaches and it delivered on all fronts. We quickly agreed that it was one of the most beautiful beaches either of us had been to and that it was the perfect place to kick back and soak up some sun for a few days. Unfortunately, our pale skin wasn't quite up to the challenge of the strong sun (Zanzibar is only 6 degrees from the equator). We both got fried on day one and had to do everything from find shade to apply massive amounts of sun screen to snorkel in long-sleeve shirts to continue. We read, went on afternoon jogs, walked the beach during golden hour to get photos, ate fresh seafood and curries and generally felt pretty good about our performance as beach bums for the week. As the cherry on top of an already amazing experience, we met Tom, the owner of a new boutique hotel in Matemwe. After some good conversation, a delicious meal and a bottle of Cointreau, we couldn't pass up the temptation to spend our last night at Matemwe Bandas. Hotel is somewhat of a misnomer - Bandas has only three private bungalows with a pool, hammocks, a great kitchen and staff to cater for your every need (more appropriately, want). We got spoiled rotten for 24 hours and loved every minute of it. Brendan even shared some smoothie making secrets with the chef, so if you decide to visit, order a fruit shake!

We headed back to Stone Town for one more night at Stone Town Cafe and another meal at Faradani Gardens and got packed up for our next adventure... A two-day train ride from Tanzania to Zambia.

Lastly, a very happy birthday today to Jamie Starr. We love you, bro!

In less than an hour today, we walked into a medical clinic and got antibiotics, paying $15 on the spot (everything is fine), found a replacement micro-USB cord for my external hard drive, bought fresh bananas from a local market, paid less than $7 for three days of unlimited mobile 3G internet connection and booked ferry tickets for later in the week. All of this on an under-developed island off the coast of Tanzania where donkeys still roam the streets.

Upon arriving to the beach, there was a chain of events, that together with the ones above, offered a ripe opportunity for reflection. We were sitting on our beach chairs reading while a hyperactive boy from London (his family originally from Tanzania) whizzed around us dancing and talking gibberish like he must have been one of the Lost Boys. A group of little street girls had already crowded around us a bit and instantly became fascinated with the London Tornado (real name, Ahmed). We watched as their interaction transpired like a medieval play-- first the girls extremely hesitant and confused by his erratic behavior, but then eventually moving closer and closer until they were all rolling around and dancing in the sand together. After mistakenly threatening the girls with throwing sand, they called Ahmed's bluff and gave him a taste of his own medicine, sending him running down the beach scared of the impending sand battle.

Just 50 yards down the beach in the direction Ahmed was running, we saw a Japanese tourist teaching a group of local boys break dancing and Capoeira moves. At one point he had two or three of the athletic beach boys holding handstands while kicking their legs straight up in the air like donkeys. It was truly a sight to behold.

Sitting on the beach and taking this all in got us thinking. Witnessing two such distinctive interactions was a reminder of how humans can relate and communicate on such fundamental levels, while having absolutely nothing in common. And in essence, that's what this trip is all about. Travel is about opening oneself up to experience and throwing away preconceptions. Striving for a true connection with the people, places, and things around you. These were great examples of that. While our experience earlier in the day was a reminder of how quickly the world is becoming flat. Sure, we marvel at and appreciate the conveniences of accessible medicine, 3G mobile Internet, and electronics stores, but we’re simultaneously reminded that things everywhere are starting to look more and more the same. You find yourself in a bit of a conundrum, hoping that varied cultural experiences aren’t slowly becoming extinct, and at the same time wanting to believe that technology and modernization will lead to a better way of life for those in need.

Island Retreat

Deep Thoughts from the Beach