My week in Zanzibar, in photos

The top picture is a typical Soviet-style apartment block in downtown Zanzibar Town, just opposite of the classroom where I have my Swahili classes. (I'm not sure why Blogger won't let me caption the picture properly, but it won't so this is where its caption is going to go.)

The second picture is of the street view on Creek Road in Zanzibar Town. The red-roofed stone building on the left is the Darajani Market (Sokoni Darajani) where I buy my vegetables and spices and whatnot. There's also a big fresh (?) meat and seafood market that smells like I bet you'd imagine an outdoor meat market smells like in the heat of the day on a tropical island. I've gotten really good at holding my breath for extended periods of time when I pass it.

Laura reppin' Swaziland on our dhow (traditional Swahili sailboat) on our trip to Mnemba Atoll. We strung her lihiya (Swazi cloth) up on the mast like a flag and then made jokes about Swazi pirates. (Incidentally, jokes about pirates are not funny in East Africa.)

"Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority" sewer cover in Stone Town. I'm not sure why, but I think they're pretty, especially when covered in sand.

"Warning! Do Not Sit on the Tortoise." After seeing how big the tortoises were at Chunguu Island, I totally understand the need for this sign.

Me hanging out with a 30-year-old Aldabra Tortoise at Chunguu Island. (You can tell she's 30 because her back says so.) She followed me around a lot that day...very slowly. Either turtles are attracted to brightly colored fabric or I am exceptionally attractive to tortoises.

If you tickle their armpits, they stand up like this. Seriously.

Biggest spider thing EVER! They have these in Swaziland, too, but I never got a good picture of them because usually I was too busy trying to get them out of my house. Gross.

Another typical street scene in Zanzibar Town. If I die in the next 2 weeks, it will be while trying to cross the road at this intersection. All of the lights are faded by the sun so they are all white and nobody really knows when they're supposed to go or not go and it's kind of scary. I usually wait to cross the road until a local person is crossing the road and then just go when they go. The truck thing with the red and white side is called a "dalla-dalla" and it's the kombi (mini-bus) of Tanzania/Zanzibar. It's basically a truck with a cover over the bed and wooden benches up against all the "walls." They generally seat 20-30 people (max capacity is stated at 20), plus bananas and doors and goats and bicycles and things strapped on the top. It's not so bad for the first 20 minutes, but after that your butt/legs/feet start to go numb from being all squished up. The worst part is that, as a tall person, when I'm sitting in a dalla-dalla my knees are up higher than the seat, so it's super uncomfortable.

Wild cocoa beans in the forest somewhere in the middle of the island. It tastes nothing like chocolate, unfortunately.

Persian baths in the middle of Zanzibar, built by some Zanzibari nobleman for his Persian wife.

Nutmeg (the brown nut part) and mace (the red part) on the spice tour. These are the only two spices that grow two to a plant, apparently, and it's SUPER expensive in Zanzibar. (Well, expensive relative to the cost of the other spices, but cheaper here than elsewhere in the world.) Really interesting, though. And pretty.

Laura and Victoria building a sand castle with a very confused local. He kept saying, "What is this again? A sand palace?" Which, for some reason, I thought was hilarious.

A dhow (traditional Swahili sailboat) and another little boat at sunset at Kendwa Beach. (You were probably at work while I was watching this.)

Masaai (or fake Masaai) person selling overpriced touristy things to people who don't know any better. As a general rule, it's advisable to say "Eish! Ni ghali sana!" (Whoa! That's too expensive!) to whatever price these guys give you.