November 28

A typical Zanzibar scene - archictecturally quite different to the rest of East Africa

A Stonetown sidestreet, close to our Hotel

After finishing last night in "Mercury's", named after Zanzibar and Stonetown's most famous son, Freddie Mercury, we were set to leave the island today. We packed our stuff and headed for the ferry.
Stonetown was a strange place - very beautiful with lovely architecture, nice bars and restaurants, while it also appeared to be quite fun and "happening" (relative to African standards), but it was also impossible to escape the hawkers on the streets, desperate to sell you anything from a fake Tanzania jersey to whatever drugs you wanted (which seemed as readily available as a bottle of water).
So, onto the ferry we hopped, passing by Zanzibar's own immigration (apparently they yearn to be independent and act as if they already are) along the way. The ferry trip wasn't all that bumpy but I still didn't feel great, even before the girl beside me started throwing up in her bag!
We eventually arrived back to the boiling hot Dar Es Salaam, moved our already-set up tents (despite the best efforts of a snake) and headed for another sweaty sleep, ready for a 4am start tomorrow and a long couple of days driving.