November 24

Today we headed off for Zanzibar for some well-earned rest, hopping on tuk-tuks (little motorised bike thingys with two seats in the back) and going back into Dar Es Salaam on the 5-minute ferry. We did a quick shop and I bought myself a sim card before we hopped on a much nicer ferry (on golden class) on which we spent 2 hours (with the new, dreadful Karate Kid playing on the box) before arriving in Zanzibar.
Straight away I noticed that Zanzibar is a lot different to what we have seen before. There is a very Arabic feel to the buildings (although this became more apparent as we got closer to Dar Es Salaam), but the place in general looks really beautiful.
We took an hour and a half drive to our hotel on the North East of the island and, like the rest of Africa that I have seen so far, the roads are lined by small villages with tiny houses and sometimes some small shack-like shops.
Anyways we arrived at our hotel and could not believe our eyes when the taxi pulled up and we saw a glimpse through the main area to the view from the back - absolute paradise. The water was almost neon blue dotted with small wooden boats and  framed by beautiful trees and pure white sand. It was like something from those postcards you thought were photoshopped! Beautiful.
So, all sweaty and warm, we decided we'd cool down in the sea water - it wasn't happening. The sea was like a warm bath, the warmest natural water I have ever been in, but truly beautiful. We had a few beers overlooking our personal beach before getting a speech on scuba diving the following day. While I always maintained I would never be able to do it, I said "fuck it" and signed up to give it a shot. I was a bit apprehensive but the beer helped me sleep.

Above: Finally, some time to put the feet up!